Ford launched the Maverick compact in 1970, and it would go on to be the company’s biggest sales hit since the 1965 Mustang. It was a simple car whose construction was similar to that “pony car” and the Falcon. Mercury was quick to lobby for its own version of the Maverick, and the Comet was reborn in 1971. The seller has a 1975 Comet coupe, which looks good until you look at the upholstery. Located in Ontario, Oregon, this cosmetic project is available here on craigslist for $3,800.

The Comet entered the Mercury world as a compact in 1960-61. Then it was a mid-size product from 1966 to 1969. When the rebadged Maverick was dreamed up the year following the Maverick’s debut, it became a compact again. The revived Comet was a Maverick except for the front clip sheet metal and the taillights. And by 1975, both cars had cowcatcher-sized bumpers that were the company’s response to changing Federal safety standards. Between 1971 and 1977, Mercury built and sold nearly half of a million Maverick clones.

Standard in the 1975 Comet was a 200 cubic inch inline-6, the same powerplant I had in my Mustang from a decade earlier. That’s what’s under the hood of the seller’s car, which purports to have just 41,000 miles. The 200 had decent acceleration (at least in the Mustang I had), and the one in the seller’s car is paired with a 3-speed automatic transmission. We’re told that the Merc here runs and drives “good.”

We don’t know much else about this Comet. While the body and paint look quite good for the age of the vehicle, the interior is another matter. There are coverings over both bench seats, and they’re there to make up for upholstery that looks all chewed up (at least on the driver’s side in the front). How this has happened is anyone’s guess. This vehicle is one of 22,700 2-door Comet coupes built in 1975 when buyers were flocking to more fuel-efficient cars. Does this Mercury need anything more than new upholstery?