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Lean Green Machine: 1971 Ford Maverick

This lean, green machine is a 1971 Ford Maverick and it looks like a solid example. It can be found on Craigslist with an asking price of $2,900 and it’s in Amarillo, Texas. That location may explain the lack of visible rust. Thanks to Rocco B for tracking down this cool Maverick!

This 92,000-mile car really looks like a winner to me, but we all know that I like unusual and often unloved vehicles, like a lowly four-door Maverick, in medium lime green, with dog dish hubcaps and blackwall tires. It’s the perfect look to me, I would drive it as I restored it slowly back to like new. Yes, restore a four-door, 6-cylinder, 3-on-the-tree, lime green Maverick!

I know that a four-door Maverick may not be the ideal collector vehicle for too many folks, but for someone wanting to get into the hobby with a very inexpensive yet nice, solid car to tinker with and take to shows, this one would be perfect. There are a few dings and rough areas, but if it was in perfect condition it wouldn’t be $2,900. This one sure looks like it’s worth $2,900 to me!

The interior looks good, but you can see a cracked steering wheel with a cover on it, and it’s hard to miss the dash with the black astro-turf-like material on it. Obviously there are some cracks on the top of the dash, but hey, remember this is an inexpensive project car! The seats look good, front and back, but they’ve been recovered. I would have preferred ripped, original material and pattern seats, but that’s just me. Yes, that’s a clutch pedal, this is a 3-speed manual and the seller says that this car runs and drives well.

Are you sitting down? I hope so, because there are actually three engine photos in this Craigslist ad! Stop the presses! Kudos to the seller for providing some good photos of this car. You can see that this 105 hp, 170 cubic-inch inline-six could use some detailing, but that’s why this is such a nice project car for someone. The seller says that there’s a “new alternator, new battery, all new plugs, wires, distributor cap, points, rotors, fuel filter and oil change.” Four door car lovers, what do you think about this one? Wouldn’t this be a nice, fairly inexpensive project for someone jumping into the collector car hobby?

Comments

  1. Avatar Luke Fitzgerald

    Love it – detail – White Walls – enjoy

    Like 0
  2. Avatar Rob Jones Member

    Looking at the button at the bottom of the dash, I’m thinking the OEM horn went south. Darn shame it’s not a 2 door. I still have trouble seeing the coolness in a 4 door, but I keep trying. Great color though.
    rj

    Like 0
    • Avatar Kevin Reid

      There no coolness in a 4 door

      Like 0
      • Avatar Puhnto

        Depends on the car.
        There are lots of very cool four door cars. The early sixty’s Continentals, to. Some one just off hand.

        Like 1
      • Avatar Puhnto

        Depends on the car.
        There are lots of cool four door cars. The 1961 etc. Continental comes to mind, just to name one.

        Like 0
  3. Avatar bob S

    Finally, a Maverick I like on Barn Finds. I’d detail the engine, recore the rad and polish up that Green paint under the hood.

    Like 0
  4. Avatar Dan

    YUCK…..that’s all I can say…..sorry….

    Like 0
  5. Avatar Sukey

    Can you slam shift a 3 on the tree ?

    Like 0
    • Avatar flmikey

      …with practice, yes you can….

      Like 0
    • Avatar Jerry HW Brentnell

      you can but why that boat anchor ford 6 hasn’t got the balls to pull a sick you know what of a pee pot! slam shift it and you will lock up shift levers and you walk!

      Like 0
  6. Avatar JW

    Decent looking Maverick even for a 4 door. the color just seems not to match the greens they offered in 71. I wouldn’t think Ford would have painted a 4 door 6 cylinder Maverick in Grabber Green at the factory and that is the closest match I could see. Correct me if I’m wrong.

    Like 0
    • Avatar Fred W.

      I think Ford would have been happy to sell a 4 door Maverick and would gladly have taken your money and painted it Grabber Lime. That looks like the color to me.

      These are the Mavericks, with zero options, widely advertised at the time for $1999. If he gets his asking price, it’s worth more than it was new.

      Like 0
  7. Avatar bob S

    @JW, that under hood paint looks legitimate to me.

    Like 0
  8. Avatar charlie

    love it! a Maverick with zero options..

    Like 0
  9. Avatar KeithK

    It would be fun to make a head scratcher out of this one. Imagine , Boss 302 decals ,hockey stick stripe and magnum 500s . Remember ,you can’t open the hood while your driving down the road! Who has to know ?

    Like 0
  10. Avatar Rock On Member

    @Sukey- there was a kid in high school that always drove half ton pick up trucks with three on the tree. He put a warmed over 327 in one and promptly went to work smoking the tires in all three gears. Funny as hell watching him slam shift that truck!

    Like 0
  11. Avatar Texas Tea

    I have to think this was a company car, and probably ordered a fleet of them in this special color. What ever special color this is………………?

    I did all the ordering of new Chevrolet cars and trucks through out the 80s for a large Chevrolet dealership and this is about as generic of a car as I have ever seen. It would have taken a fleet order or large down payment to get this kind of car ordered.

    Like 0
  12. Avatar AMCSTEVE

    Possibly the second ugliest car I’ve ever seen. Why save this?

    Like 0
    • Avatar mark

      Was the ugliest one an AMC Pacer, Gremlin or Matador?

      Like 0
      • Avatar Kevin Reid

        Yes

        Like 0
  13. Avatar AMCSTEVE

    yeah the Pacer is ugly

    Like 0
  14. Avatar Morgan Winter

    I’d drive it!

    Like 0
  15. Avatar Teebee

    What are those wierd snowplow-looking mount brackets in the front? Tow bar?

    Like 0
    • Avatar gbvette62

      I saw those too. I’m guessing that someone originally bought that as a tow behind for their motor home. Now people buy loaded Suburbans, to tow behind their diesel pushers, but years ago, most RV people bought a cheap, manual trans, stripper to tow.

      Like 0
      • Avatar Russell Kershen

        Yes, it’s a tow bar to haul it around the back of a RV.
        Very perceptive of you!

        Like 0
    • Avatar Russell Kershen

      Yes, it’s a tow bar to haul it around the back of a RV.

      Like 0
  16. Avatar Larry

    I’m not sure why, but I love this Maverick. Three on the tree’s are fun to drive. Id like to take my millennial son and his friends for a ride and watch their jaws drop as I shifted through the gears. The price doesn’t seem too out of line. I hope my friends don’t see my post. They would consider it a cry for help.

    Like 0
  17. Avatar Rex Kahrs Member

    Maverick-palooza this week on BF!

    Like 0
  18. Avatar MrF

    So bad it’s good. I was a little surprised to see they were still using the 170 six, since the 200 and even 250 were used in later years. At least it’s better than the 144, which could hardly move early Falcons.

    Like 0
  19. Avatar LAWRENCE FEARS

    like…….yep I’d drive it…….

    Like 0
  20. Avatar RJ

    Lurid. I love it. Better than the hideous beige Maverick my mom’s friend had when I was growing up.

    Like 0
  21. Avatar XMA0891

    I’ve browsed this site forever and never left a comment, but something about this car did it. My dad had a ’76 two door with a three-on-tree. It replaced his ’71 Pinto. The car was not much more than rot holes, sags and squeaks. It has been a long time since I’ve seen a Maverick, not that l’ve been looking… Thanks for the memories.

    Like 0
  22. Avatar Rex Rice

    In her later years, my aunt Flo bought one for the advertised price of $1999. When she went to the dealer to pick it up, they had sprayed under coating on it and added that to the price. “Take it off because I didn’t order it!”, She demanded. She got a free undercoat. It was parked for years in a heated garage under her condo. When she stopped driving because of old age, she offered to sell it to me for $500. I told that I didn’t want it but thought it was worth more than that with under 13,000 miles on it. I told a neighbor about it and he gave her $1000. At the first rainfall, all of the rubber seals on the doors and windows leaked Also the tires were cracked with age. This was as basic as you could get back then.

    Like 0

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