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1970 Ford Maverick Survivor

1970-maverick-survivor

This 1970 Ford Maverick only has 25k miles on the clock and is claimed to still be wearing its original paint. A six-cylinder automatic Maverick may not be the most exciting thing on the road, but vintage cars in this sort of shape do not come along often. It runs and drives well and supposedly has no rust. That is quite a statement considering it is located in New York. Find it here on eBay where bidding is already at $3,500. Thanks goes out to reader Larry K. for finding this one.

1970-maverick-survivor-interior

The plaid interior does look great for a 42 year old car. It obviously didn’t see much action. We doubt the owner was trying to save it because of how great it drove since these were basically Ford’s entry into the compact market. The Falcon was done and they needed something to keep up with small car offerings from Europe.

1970-maverick-survivor-side

It may not have been the best looking car in 1970, but the fastback body is actually starting to grow on us. Even though the Maverick was meant to be economical, Ford did offer a 302 V8 which was good for around 200 horsepower. This one looks to be equipped with the 105 horsepower Thriftpower six which could offer up to 22 mpg. Now you can own a classic and feel like you are environmentally responsible at the same time…

Comments

  1. Avatar Rene

    Would just love to own and drive this one!

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  2. Avatar Rene

    It looks as if it has a nasty dent there on tho door.

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    • Avatar Cameron

      Thats what Renault an Pugeot call a design feature “the pre crashed look” as my family say

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    • Avatar David Deerberg

      That’s not a dent. If you own a truck, that’s called a “personality.” Works for cars as well.

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  3. Avatar Al Lebo

    Love that interior!

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    • Avatar Cameron

      That Interior is awful, I was once verbally stoned by my sister for wearing something like that

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  4. Avatar HITHEREFOLKS

    Back in the summer of 1973, i rented in Sacramento a little Maverick from Avis ,or Budget, i forget, it was dark green, and white interior,lovely color combination, it had a great air conditionong, highly needed in the summer heat,and,most of all, had a huge ( for the car ) 302 cubic inch V8 with automatic transmission , and boy it went ! i loved it, i even asked the company if they wanted to sell it , but was not available at the moment unfortunately.i wish i had the little car now, it was very enjoyable.

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    • Avatar Geebee

      I had a red ’77 with a 302. Slapped some duals on it, and a little adjustment to the carb and timing…it surprised a few folks!

      Like 1
      • Avatar HITHEREFOLKS

        yes Geebee, it was a very enjoyable little car with the 302 in it, and if you ‘re good with mechanical stuff like you ( i don’t have the skill unfoetunately ) the little machine flies !!!!!

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  5. Avatar james smith

    Always wanted one of those cars but now im disabled. They run forever if you take care of thim. all this one seems to need is makeup.

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  6. Avatar Cameron

    I sort of like it, its sort of quirky, its got the rear of a Mustang and the front of a Pinto ( I hope its safer than a Pinto)

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  7. Avatar Tim

    If it was red it would be the car my brother had back in 73. He is actually looking for another 70 now. Going to send him the link.

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  8. Avatar Lemble

    If it was a Grabber, I would be bidding. We had three Mavericks around the house while I was growing up . They were dependable cars, but rusted fast in the Michigan salt. My brothers trashed the Grabber like a run away animal and it kept running.

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  9. Avatar Carl W. French

    Boy this brings back memories. My father bought the third Maverick ordered in MA back then. it was the first NEW car he had bought in twenty years and we all poured over the brochures trying to figure out exactly what color paint, what wheel covers etc. It came eventually came down to $ so it was a pretty base model with the six cylinder engine driven through a ‘three on the tree’ transmission. I do not even think we splashed for the plaid trim. Ours came in a really nice medium metallic blue. What really stopped me was the third shot down here. The Maverick parked in front of the late 60’s Econoline van was OUR driveway in the early 70’s. Very nice memories of both on this Sunday morning. Thanks for posting this!

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  10. Avatar FRED

    A FRIEND OF MINE HAD A COUPLE GRABBERS AND WITH A LITTLE MODIFICATIONS MADE THEM NICE LITTLE RUNNERS.NICE FIND IF THE PRICE DOESN’T GET OUT OF HAND. I WONDER WHERE IN THE GREAT STATE OF NEW YORK THIS WAS FOUND.

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    • Avatar FRED

      JUST LOOKED AT THE EBAY LISTING.IT IS RIGHT ACROSS THE HUDSON RIVER FROM WHERE I AM.IT MUST HAVE BEEN STORED VERY WELL CAUSE THERE HAVE BEEN SOME PRETTY BAD WINTERS HERE.

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  11. Avatar John

    That has to be one of the most reliable little cars ever invented. Its basically a Falcon/Mustang, and its little six cylinder motor and single barrell carburettor were bullet-proof and the distributor was sitting on the side where you could work on every part of it with no gymnastics or contortionist abilities. We used to make jokes about knowing that everything was working because you could hear it working. They were great old cars.

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  12. Avatar jim

    built before the 55mph national speed limit so should be geared spot on or very close to what is needed for todays speed limits. what fun this car would be.

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  13. Avatar Gordon Baker

    When I was 20, I bought the red 1977 Maverick that my dad had bought for my mom, brand new, in August of 1978. It was sitting on a backwoods, country Ford dealership, in Hartshorne, Oklahoma, and had just never sold. Same place had a brand new, 1976 Thunderbird sitting in the showroom, papers still in the window. If I recall correctly, it had the 460 engine, and sticker price was a bit over $9000. That dealership is long gone, and I have wondered about whatever became of that old T-Bird……as for the Maverick,I treated it about the way most twenty year old guys in 1980 would have. Put some chrome wheels and dual exhausts on it, and drove the living hell out of it. If I’d had more money, I would have turned that 302 into something even more dangerous than it was…

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  14. Avatar Polarisky

    That van behind it is almost as old, looks like early ’70s also?

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  15. Avatar NoSeventiesJunk

    Mavericks were the begining of the nadir of American auto making……….the seventies were the absolute pit of American auto manufacturing. Add to that this is a six cylinder automatic and you have a well preserved boat anchor.

    Sheesh!

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  16. Avatar braktrcr

    Should it be cleaner under the hood? Just a little…? Might be a fun driver. See a Vega anywhere near this shape?

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    • Avatar Lee

      HAHA yeah? Hello Chevy?? Vega was a disaster! Looked good, but DONE at about 60k. Engine seized! Geez. The only other simple car was the Dodge Dart/Plymouth Valiant combo…now they ran forever! Boxy but did the job!

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  17. Avatar Richard L Gugenberger

    had 3 of these thru the years ,only one new a 1970 red big 6 3 speed , reliable cars!

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  18. Avatar Chris in WNC

    wow, I love it! most of the ones we see for sale now have had V8s installed.
    my ’70 Mav is one of the cars I wish I could get back…..

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  19. Avatar midicat

    The wife had a 302 Maverick when we first got married, smoked like crazy, but was a fun car to drive… gave it to her parents and her younger sister drove it for a couple of years, not sure what ever happened to it, if I had had the garage space, I’d be interested.

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  20. Avatar scot c

    ~ my dear friend (& x-girl friend) Ellie owned the cleanest Mercury Comet version you ever saw. she is absolutely obsessive about maintaining her vehicles, moreso than than any ‘car-guy’ i know. 302 w/ C4, just immaculate. her mom was every bit as enthusiastic about her ’67 Pontiac Grand Prix convertible. cleaned the underside with a toothbrush.

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  21. Avatar AMCFAN

    The Maverick was Fords answer to the AMC Hornet which was introduced first in 1970. In April of 1970 AMC introduced the Gremlin. Part of the reason the Maverick has such low miles could be the person (s) who owned it were elderly. The location of the slanted rear window and huge pillars make it almost impossible to see out of. Not only has it been tagged on the door but also on rear splash pan. I have had several and the quality was poor. Looks better sitting. If I were seriously interested I would want to see this car in person. The white paint looks a little too nice for the vehicles location as stated above. The Grabber package didn’t sell well compaired to The Gremlin X which could be ordered with the Javelin V8. The six cylinder Gremlins were a powerhouse with a 232 and more so with the 4.2 258 six. The Hornet could be had the same way and offered a hatchback in 1973 and was a fantastic design. For 71 AMC offered the SC/360 and would run solid 14’s out of the box and with a few mods was knocking on GM and Chrysler’s doors.

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  22. Avatar Chris

    Way back when I worked on these I thought the Ford manual was written and illustrated for teenage boys. Dead simple car. Build quality was spotty and the paint was a joke. However the bigger 6 made it an easy car to drive in town as it had plenty of grunt. The trunk is tiny and the car needed weight in the trunk for winter. A better car than the Vega, but about a cheap a car that even Ford could build. The slant six Valiant is a much better car. I look at it and say “why bother”, been there, done that.

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    • Avatar scot c

      ~ ‘better car than the Vega’ – damned by praise.

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    • Avatar Oingo

      You are right on. Mom had a 70 when I was wearing short pants.

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      • Avatar HITHEREFOLKS

        HI,don’t know it you replied about the maverick,but just to tell you the little 302 v8 went like a rocket !!! and p.s. i must be,well,at least 10 years older than your mom i think,as i was about 25 in 73……kind regards

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  23. Avatar Rancho Bella

    Some of the Ford guys like to drop Boss 302 engines in these. Makes for a great little car.

    Like 1
  24. Avatar Richard

    Crying shame Bunkie Knudsen ordered the gigantic ’71-’73 version of the Mustang to go into production. Ford could’ve easily gone back to the original Mustang concept by doing some Mustang-esque appearance upgrades to the Maverick as well as some cool interior upgrades and come up with a better car than the Mustang II they were forced into building in ’74 because of the Arab oil embargo. THESE cars actually make better Mustangs than THOSE Mustangs!

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    • Avatar Jesse

      Interesting thought Richard. The more I think about what you said, the more I like the idea. As a base Maverick, this car doesn’t excite me much, but it was 400-600 pounds lighter than the same vintage Mustang, so with the right engine it would have made a very fun pony car indeed. Just think what the Boss or Shelby versions would have been like without all that added fat…

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      • Avatar Roger

        Jesse, believe it or not they actually did make a Shelby Maverick. It was sold in Mexico though not US.

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  25. Avatar Jesse

    The seller ended the auction early, so we have no idea how much they got for it.

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  26. Avatar cometlady73

    Looks just like my Grandma’s car.

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  27. Avatar Tincan Bluejacket

    My Mom bought one with the larger six when I was 17 and I used it for my driving test. Passed on the first try. She let me drive her to work at Bell Labs in Murry Hill. I beat the snot out of the poor car, even offroading it down the power line right of way we used QA-50’s to hoon. It never skipped a beat and somehow Mom never suspected anything.

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  28. Avatar mark

    My Dad bought a ’71 Maverick when I was about 10, in 1983. I remember just a few things about it; it was red, had 25,000 miles and he bought it for $500 from a lady from church who bought it new. At the time I was a bit embarrassed by it because it was just an old car and not really cool at the time. Although I’d be happy to drive it now. I also remember he reupholstered the seats with a two tone red/black scheme with velvety inserts.

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  29. Avatar mark

    also, I’ll take that Econoline..

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  30. Avatar Ampman

    Imagine a Boss 302 drivetrain in this car!!!

    Like 1
    • Avatar HITHEREFOLKS

      yes,Ampman, i rented one in northern California back in the 70’s with a 302 in it, and it was a real joy to drive with that big v8 in such a small car……

      Like 0

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