There is also the possibility that at some time in it's life the Mav may have taken a hard front end hit. It would have been easy to replace the front clip with one from a newer Mav and swap the rear bumper so it would match the front. Any thing is possible after all these years but right now the car looks pretty sharp.
Is it possible some time in the last 30 years the car was wrecked? Maybe it happened in the late 70s and Ford would have had the later parts more available or the body shop just didn't care about accuracy. Just a thought. Dave
First of all let me say that is one great looking car. I hope to see it at the Roundup. I believe it is a 74 or 75 (unless it has a foot operated emergency brake, then a 76 or 77). Somebody has put the 71 VIN plate in the dash. Is there a Data Plate sticker on the door post? Those can be reproduced as well. 1 sure way to tell is remove a fender. The vin number is stamped on the inner fender lip buy the shock tower on both sides. I'll bet sombody had a 71 or older grabber parts car and a very nice 74 or newer complete car, and just made a very nice car from the 2. I doubt a body shop did this as a collision repair due to the amount of work it would take to swap from little bumpers to big ones. They make their money by getting things out the door quick. I have done the swap from big to small and it is not a bolt on deal.
Another way to tell us what is going on. A 1971 6-cyl car would have 4-lugs. All 1973 and up Mavericks and Comets were 5-lugs. It could have been changed, but tell us if it is a 4-lug or 5-lug.
I would find it far more likely that the car has been banged up in the past, then someone going through the entire criminal act of replacing the vin, then messing it up by putting on the wrong fenders, bumpers, and grill. If someone was meticulous enough to restore it to that caliber, and then put on another vin to make someone think it was a 71, they likely would have swapped the bumpers also, this car was wrecked and someone didn't care what went back on it.
I think Jeremy hit the nail on the head.It is 4 lug it does not have a glove box .the parking brake is a handle that would be by your left knee when your sitting in it. I think different fenders,grilland bumpers.I love the car,the intrest by other people is incredible I think I'm going to keep it the way it is ,unless I come across a deal on bumpers.keep talking to me about it, its great to here how much you guys know about your hobby. thanx BIGBRI
Since it is a 4-lug...I would say it is definitely a 1971. Now the mystery is why the big bumpers were put on??? Hummm????
Re: Whatisit! I say Watson, can you identify any of those mandated anti-smog equipment parts that would have been required by the government on your car. Is there is a cat converter, and a gas tank inlet tube allowing only non-leaded gas? (Remember the difference in nozzles between leaded and unleaded pumps?) I say dear fellows, if this equipment came from the factory, and was removed at a later time, it would probably be easier to change the VIN than to find all of those required items to pass inspection in the great state of North Carolina. Just a thought! I think it kinda' got all smashed up and somebody used what they could get there hands on to put it back together. Look in the trunk and see if there are any brackets with 2 bolt holes that used to hold a bumper on. I'll bet they didn't take them out, and if they did, they left a mess where they did. I tried salvaging them for my '74 to '73 bumper swap. I ended up buying new ones from Mustangs Unlimited! Have a good day!
Another thing.. One more thing you could look at to see if it is a real Grabber or not is on the bottom (facing the ground) of the rocker panels (long strip under door). If it is a normal 2-door sedan it should be stamped "62A" in big, almost block letters. If it is a Grabber, it should be stamped with "62D". Likewise, for those of you wondering the code for a 4-door is "54A". Hope this helps. Let us know what it says. This should solve whether it is a Grabber or not. Now we only have to figure out what happened with the big bumpers.... -Corbin Johnson
Asuming the car was involved in a front end collision at one time, It's a pretty good bet that the stock front bumper was mangled as well. Since the current front end is from a newer Maverick, it's likely the larger bumper came with the replacement front clip. Perhaps a front end of the correct year was not available at the time so whoever repaired the car used what they could find. It fit and the owner was just happy to have the car back in one piece again. As for the rear bumper, maybe the car got wacked in the rear as well and the bumper and valance were trashed too. We could speculate forever on the cars past history and never really know what happened to it. All we do know is that it's still on the road and looking good. If only our cars could talk!
bumpers maybe they got hit a little in the front and saw how the small bumpers did nearly nothing at all in the hit. then they got scared and put big bumpers on it for that extra protection. my dad and i were thinkin the same thing for when i get a two door to put relatively big bumpers on for safety issues. i dont know for certain if this is true but it might help a bit it makes sense as well
