“More value, Affordable luxury, Very low maintenance cost, Exterior and interior decor packages, Range of options, Initial low cost, Comfortable ride in a compact size, Key sales emphasis, the 4-door sedan as a “full-size, family compact.” So spells out a 1974 Ford Maverick brochure. The seller has this one posted here on craigslist in Kittitas, Washington and they’re asking $7,500. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Rocco B. for sending in this tip!
Spaced between a bird of prey (Falcon) and a chain of hotels (Fairmont), Ford’s Maverick was quite a placeholder and was one of Ford’s western-themed car names. This is one of a line of cars that only had two body styles, a two-door sedan, and a four-door sedan – and, of course, the two-door Grabber. If I had the time I would like to see (via Photoshop and a couple of hours) what a two-door Maverick convertible may have looked like or a Maverick station wagon.
Ford offered these interesting cars from 1969 for the 1970 model year until the end of 1977. The four-door sedan showed up in 1971 and this looks like a nice example for anyone looking for a four-door Maverick. Are you out there? Ford touted its “thicker paint” for the 1974 Mavericks, being 3.0 mils thick compared to 2-1/4 mils for the 1973 Mavericks. I’d want to get some more factory-spec wheels and wheel covers for this car, but I can see the appeal of bigger tires and wheels.
For an additional $400, buyers could choose a Luxury Decor package, which came with wide bodyside and wheel arch moldings, a vinyl roof, a left-side mirror, color-keyed wheel covers, and more. This car doesn’t appear to have that package, but it does have a great interior. You can see a big tear in the bottom of the driver’s seat, but SMS Auto Fabrics appears to have replacement fabric and I’d have it on order before this car showed up on a trailer. What the heck, for $200 more, I’d get new carpet, too. The back seat looks basically perfect.
The engine in this Maverick is Ford’s 250-cu.in. straight-six with 91 horsepower and 190 lb-ft of torque, and it’s backed up by a three-speed automatic. This car has an upgraded aluminum radiator and electric fan. With a weekend of detailing, it would look as good under the hood as it does everywhere else on this car. Any thoughts on this Maverick?
Good write-up Scotty. The big bumpers sure didn’t help what was an attractively styled car, even in four-door form. The dark green paint looks good, but what makes this car is the avocado interior with the striped upholstery. It’s almost worth the price of admission to show this at Cars & Coffee to illustrate that, yes, at one time manufacturers built cars in eye-grabbing colors. I kind of like the tire/wheel package. This could provide some simple fun for not much money.
The government really screwed up the looks of this Maverick (and a host of other cars) when they mandated the 5 MPH bumpers.
But each one sat 3…..
I had one in 1978 I was 16
I actually preferred the safety bumpers over the 1973 which didn’t have one
I had one of these cars it was a good reliable car, but those bumpers always looked like something to stand on to look under the hood to me
The government screwed cars up royally starting in 1975. If they’d have stopped at the bumpers I’d have been good with that.
A nice, mechanically simple car that would make for a fun, economical 3-season daily driver. The interior is certainly eye-catching, that cloth and vinyl upholstery and the abundance of green surrounding the seats is a real ’70s-era treat. I don’t think the aftermarket wheels suit this car at all. It’s a 4-door sedan with a puny straight six, not a hot rod. I’d go with factory steelies, and period correct full wheel covers which would give the car that time-warp look. A big plus is that it has A/C, though it wouldn’t surprise me if it needs work. This vintage Maverick seems to be in excellent shape and I believe the price is fair for what you’d be getting.
It may not be for everyone, particularly those who like the earlier Mustang, but those willing to drive something that no one else that you know drives, this might be the one. I’ve always thought of the Maverick and Comet as being a 70s version of the Falcon and Comet most people knew about in the 1960s. While a V8 engine might’ve made the car a faster car to drive, I would’ve been fine with either a V6 engine or a standard inline six engine.
These were good little cars, and better than their Fairmont replacement. This one’s a beauty, I wouldn’t turn it down, but my favorite would be a Grabber with a 302 and manual trans.
I don’t don’t know if it’s still around ,but Louisville Kentucky/Clarksville Indiana late 80s early 90s used to see a chop top 4 Dr Maverick and rod runs,it was a good looking car.
The four-door Maverick was unusual – to my eye, and many others’, it had far better proportions than the two-door.
Unfortunately, bumper requirements screwed up what was one of the most attractive four-door offerings in the market at the time. The pre-bumper Maverick/Comet four doors looked lithe; well proportioned, flowing lines. After the bumpers, they looked overloaded, clumsy and ponderous. Which to some extent they were, with that weight on both ends.
Nice car; would prefer an earlier year. I’d actually be interested, since I have ties to Mavericks of that era.
A Maverick wagon for ya! From Brazil.
More about it here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/WeirdWheels/comments/12yqh29/ford_maverick_wagon_conversion/
I consider it damned unforgivable that this wasn’t available in the USA. In addition to the 4 door sedan and the 2 door coupe, I would’ve thought car buyers would appreciate a Maverick station wagon.
“Two-door sedan” was a misnomer for that version of the Maverick which had all the hallmarks of a true coupe – semifastback roofline aping the bigger Ford “SportsRoof” models on a shorter wheelbase than this 4-door. Making a convertible from one of those would look odd, maybe ‘shop a true 2-door sedan on the 4-door wheelbase and use that as a jumping off point for the ragtop?
A Brazilian dealer converted a few sedans into wagons in the mid ’70s; a more US-developed one might’ve borrowed the Pinto wagon hatch and taillights (or held over the Falcon wagon shell) because what they came up with was suboptimal. In any case it was too late to be considered for the US market since by that time the Fairmont development would’ve been well underway.
There was not the interest in a Maverick wagon. Frankly the Maverick four-door was almost not made – the original car was to be a poor man’s Mustang.
The idea was, someone who wanted a wagon could pony up (no pun) for a Torino wagon – or later, when the Japanese mini-longroofs were selling, and the Vega Kammback was launched, the Pinto wagon was created. Eighteen months after the sedan launch.
Apparently, the marketing people at Ford – the same ones who blocked the Mini-Max concept (which became the K-derived Chrysler Minivan) thought there was too much overlap, and too much threat to the high-profit “Squire” wagon lines, Torino and LTD.
Nope. Wouldn’t do. Only AMC was interested, in those years – and they were always trying to fill gaps, it was what they did best.
Too bad it’s a 4 dr and straight six.two strikes against it.i owned a 1970 that i did a 302 swap on,made 275hp.would probably do a v8 swap on this one as well.the price is a little steep to me
Yeah its got big bumpers, but it was a sign of the times. Never thought much about it when the 74 cars came out ; it was just that new cars had big bumpers. The only thing I’d change would be the wheels , I’d go with something more period correct.
Its green and its a Maverick email Richard at gas monkey garage it will probably be sold tonight for more than the asking price
The government really messed up the looks of the Maverick (along with a host of other cars) when they mandated the 5mph bumpers.
The government wasn’t in the business of designing cars. They were charged with ensuring vehicle safety.
True, but the government required it, so in a round about way, they did design it.
Always liked em and owned a 75 but the swooped back look was more attractive to my eyes, nice flow.
BUT……I don’t think “Luxury” and Maverick belong in the same sentence! 😁
I agree. If you want luxury Ford, check out an LTD. The Maverick seems to have been marketed for families or possibly taxi use. I don’t know. That’s what I see myself using the car for.
Nice looking car. Although I was way too young at the time to drive a car, I remember cars like the Ford Maverick and the Mercury Comet. Given its condition, I’d be willing to pay around the asking price. I’d still have enough money left over for inspection, insurance, upgrades if needed. If only more pics were posted on craigslist. Nine pics is nowhere near enough to show the whole car.
Appears to be a real good and leaning to the higher side of #3. book on a 4 door is around $3600, but you lose 20% for it being a 6 cylinder. So that makes it about $28-2900 dollar value. The $7500 seller is asking is more in line with a 2 door V-8 model in high #2 condition.
Having owned both a 77 Maverick 4-door and a 76 Comet 4-door, the guardrail bumpers didn’t seem as obtrusive on the Mercury version, at least from the front.
This Maverick is exactly what I would shop for if American manufacturers still offered more models. Sensible size compact (now probably labeled in the intermediate class). Six cylinders, automatic transmission, air conditioning and colorful interior compared to today. The four doors are handy for passengers and putting items in the back seat and the the bumpers were practical in the parking lot derby. The Craigslist ad offered no provenance on actual mileage, accidents, number of owners and whether the car came from the rust belt. Still it would be a fun daily fair weather driver and would stand out at any car show in a sea of 1950s classics and 1960s muscle cars.
I don’t know about some of these comments, I have no longings for this car. I was 16, looking around to buy my first car and every Maverick I saw that was 2 or 3 years old either rattled and were starting to rust and did nothing to make me want to buy it. And it wasn’t like I bought some now classic, I purchased a 68 VW Bug first…put a new oil cooler and brake pads and I was a happy camper. Then bought a 62 Buick Special from my grandmother’s estate. I had the chance to pick up a Maverick a few more times after that, just never liked the way they drove. The good thing, to each their own. Give me that Kaiser from today now.
My first memories of riding in a car were a red Maverick sedan. Mom traded it in for an orange 2door with the plaid interior when I was a bit older. We need to get back to more interesting interior patterns!
I wish I could like the Maverick more, but for Gen-X, it was the used car of last resort for impoverished students and divorced moms. A beat-up Duster or Nova might at least have a decent engine under the hood.
I think it’s unfortunate that Pinto debuted with amenities that
would have Maverick better: rack and pinion steering, 4-speed, optional disk brakes. Maverick was essentially a redone Falcon and Ford was trying to hit a price point but they could have done better. I blame the corporate bean-counters.
The Maverick was roomier than the Pinto and offered a V8. The 4 door was more convenient and family friendly. However, you are absolutely right about the rack and pinion steering and disc brakes making the stylish Pinto a more fun car to drive. I briefly had a used Pinto, the engine blew, so the seller swapped a newer Mercury Bobcat he had and used my broken Pinto trade-in as a parts car to keep my Bobcat running. I have read the Maverick had a slow gearing steering box from the Falcon and did not offer power steering until the 1971 model year.
I wish I was surprised. It’s typical of corporate “bean counters” to want to save money by making a car cheaper than it needs to be.
This car’s getting a lot more love in 2023 than any maverick in the last 50 years. These were crappy cars when they rolled off the assembly line.
Unfortunately, the same could be said for many cars sold in the 1970s with an American name. I think that’s why many consider the 1970s the “Malaise” Era.
They consider it the Malaise era because as soon as the Arab oil embargo hit, just about every muscle car got dropped like a ton of potatoes. The cars got much slower because of government air and safety recommendations. Muscle cars names that were once reveled and respected, were made fun of by people. The Volare road runner was called the road chicken. Dodge Aspen R/T—- the R/T meant real tape. The Mustang? Pinto base engine. The fastest vehicle in the late 70’s was the Dodge Little Red Express pick up with Cop Car E-58 360. The manufacturers had to deal with the government regs and sell cars that got better gas mileage. Plymouth had the “Feather Duster” and Dodge had the Dart lite in 76. They had aluminum firewalls, hoods and trunks along with tall gear ratios. Ford sold the Pinto and Mustang II MPG models that had very tall gear ratios. A pinto sedan with a stick in this configuration could get 26 plus mpg at that time. That was big when gas was in short supply and it quadrupled in price in a short period. Remember odd/even days??? You could only get gas on an odd day if your license plate ended in an odd number and Vice-versa. The limlit would be 10 gallons of gas and if your car was over a half of tank. They’d turn you away. The quality of the cars across the board had really gotten bad as well. People got fed up and this is where the Japanese automakers started to really make the sales of their small, fuel efficient, more reliable cars skyrocket. It wouldn’t be until the middle of the 80’s that we would see any muscle cars . The Mustang 5.0 starting in 87 and the 86 Buick Grand National got people back into it.
For the most part, with a few exceptions, 70s cars were better than 80s cars.
And the Mustang GT 5.0 came along in 1982, that’s the one that started the ball rolling again.
The listing has been pulled, did one of you buy this Maverick?
The 82 GT was announced as the “Boss is Back.” It was a 4 barrel 302 that was 157hp. It was 7.7 zero to 60. Slow. The 83 was175 ho. 84 was 205. 87 was 225. This is when they introduced quad rear shocks to help it stay on the road. This is where it became quick. It was very cheap to buy and could easily be made much faster. Buick started with turbo charging early as well. Grand National ended up with 245 hp for 86. It too, was quick. It was more expensive than Mustang. GNX was fastest of the period along with the 89 turbo T/A. Both of them are very expensive if and when you find a nice one today.
Wrong, the 82 GT was a 2barrel, the 83 had a 4barrel. And actually, Hot Rod Magazine tested one, and got 0-60 in 6 seconds. Not slow. I was a mechanic in a Ford garage back then, I remember them well
Actuslly 84 was the year of the start, 1st year for dual exhsust!
I’m not wrong. In stock form, the best it ever did was a 6.9 zero to sixty. Just go online and look. It only had 157 hp. Most of the times put it between 7 and 8 seconds. I am wrong in that it did, in fact, have a 2 barrel. 83 was the first year of the 4 barrel. Hot rod must have modified it to get that time. It was NOT stock
Well it was a long time ago, I may have been mistaken. Either way, they were pretty quick, most of the old high powered muscle cars hovered around the 6-7 second mark