Well, I guess I never thought there would be a time when a Ford Maverick would get coverage on an automotive enthusiast’s website. Sure, the Maverick, such as today’s 1976 discovery, sold well – 2.1 M copies between model years 1970 and 1977, and it was the right car for the right time. But…enthusiast material? Well, today, most cars that have achieved a certain age, and are still in nice shape, generally are review-worthy so yes, I’m presenting a Ford Maverick for your consideration. This sharp-looking compact is located in Palmetto, Florida and is available, here on eBay, for an opening bid of $10,000. There is a BIN price of $16,000 available too.
Maverick was getting long in the tooth in ’76. There were standard two and four-door sedans and then an optional “Stallion”, two-tone, two-door sedan and that was it. The sporty “Grabber” model was discontinued at the end of the ’75 model year. If a prospective buyer wanted something with a little more pizazz than the standard Maverick fare, there was a decor option available along with a few different stripe arrangements too.
This 76K mile example looks pretty stout, especially with its side stripes, black rear valance panel, Torque-Thrust wheels, and oversized tires. The pale green finish is a matter of taste ( I’m a green fan but maybe not this shade) but it’s in fine shape. I see signs of overspray on the fuel tank and tailpipe, likely from the rear roll pan, so it could be a touch-up or an entire redo. Call me big bumper obsessive but this Maverick is not wearing its 1976 vintage five MPH rear banger. The one that’s on this car is a standard 2.5 MPH piece from a pre-’73 model. Was the rear end damaged and fixed with the more svelte unit? Perhaps, it would be something to investigate. No mistake about it, the park bench attached to the front end is correct for this model year.
Under the hood, is an 81 net HP 250 CI, in-line six-cylinder engine doing its thing with a three-speed automatic transmission. The engine compartment is exceedingly clean and it appears that a chrome-plated valve cover has taken the place of the original blue finished piece. The seller adds, “The economical 250 CID inline 6-cylinder engine is peppy and fun while being easy on the wallet. Gas isn’t 59 cents a gallon like it was in 1976, so that’s important!“. One bit of good news is that ’76 was the first year that the Maverick came standard with front disc brakes. For your review, here’s a walkaround and driving video.
A green exterior begets a green interior. It’s a very austere, but clean vinyl-clad environment. Other than a worn driver’s side seat back bolster, nothing seems to be out of place – and this Maverick is A/C equipped though it’s not said if it’s operational. The dashpad is non-marred and I would venture that the carpet has been replaced – it looks too good to be 47 years old.
The seller claims, based on the included Marti report, that this Maverick is one of only 229 so equipped. I don’t doubt that statistic, I just don’t think it’s a relevant point for a commonplace commodity car like a six-cylinder equipped Maverick. It is further suggested, “This would be a fantastic car to drive and enjoy, or V8 swap it and make it the ultimate restomod or sleeper!”. I suppose those are all possibilities though just driving it and enjoying it would probably become too routine and repetitive after a while. As for swapping out the six-banger for a V8, that seems like the wrong thing to do with a car that’s in this original condition. We’re only a day in with the bidding action and no one’s buying at an opening bid of $10K so this Ford might be more difficult to move, at least at the assumed value, than anticipated. I like it but…how about you?
You are right Jim, who would have thought that something as simple and austere as a Maverick would be collectible, and would even draw five-figure prices. But here we are.
They did have attractive, somewhat sporty styling (the big bumpers notwithstanding). This shade of yellow isn’t my favorite either, but with the black stripes and aftermarket wheels, it looks good. I also suspect some cosmetic surgery in the back, a perfect excuse to go back to the small bumper. Period-correct green interior looks fine. It wouldn’t be fast but that’s okay with me. Overall a nice car.
By the way, $0.59 for a gallon of gas in 1976 is equivalent to $3.19 today— exactly what I paid today for a fill-up.
Six cylinder automatic. Nothing special
Moose, How about a Ford 3.7 V6 swap. Keep the column shift auto, add the diff w 3.72 gears ⚙️
Neat Maverick here.
81 horsepower … measure zero to sixty time with an abacus.
yeah, no swap-ins necessary. OEM sales are higher $ for classics anyway. The driving ( low rev tq comes on earlier in i6 ) enjoyable. The history more interesting (6 ThriftPower motors in 2 separate “blocks”). Ownership a bit rarer? I like the “odd ball” ‘small block’ (a misnomer & cheb term) 4.1L so much I put it in a same era model that hada 170 (2.8), 200 (3.3) & 289/302 (no 5 oh till 80s when it came’n went). Ford makes ‘families’ instead.
A bud uses a Mav for his mule. Placed the largest boar thriftpower in (’96 4.9L) and uses @ drags only. It can B daily-ed (used to drive the 75 mi there) and was for yrs but now he tinkers for strip max only.
Keep tryin’ bud, keep tryin’.
5.0 is 302..
I think he meant that it wasn’t called 5.0 until the 80’s.
I can speak chrlsful.
A buddy bought one of these brand new right out of highschool. An absolute strippo,three on the tree and radio delete plate. We teased him and called it a Maverdick.
I wouldn’t have paid that much for it but let me tell you, back in 1978-79 when I lived in Detroit I had a used Red 75 Maverick with that 250, 6 auto and I beat on it, hard!!!
Thing would NOT die!!!
I drove it like it had 400hp.
After I was done my Mom wanted it and she drove it another 2 or 3 years or so.
Even if it had a hot 302 or 351w in it,still not seeing $10k….and certainly not with a straight six.
Not even for a Maverick Grabber.
SOLD for $17,000!! WOW!
How do you get 17K with a BIN of 16K??? Crazy
That interior color sucks
Seeing how as I have 3 bucks in my pocket st the moment I’m free to spend on any thing , I won’t bother commenting on the price , totally irrelevant to me in my situation. I do know I’ve liked these since they were new. Personally love that color stripe wheel combo. Perfectly fine with the 6 , wish it was a stick shift.
I like it. It’s a great car for anyone wanting to get into the hobby. It looks like a turnkey proposition to me. The customer wouldn’t need to touch the powertrain, body or interior- the 250 is a (relatively) good performer-and the Maverick is a great body style- big front bumper not withstanding, but that’s easily fixable. $10000 is a lot of money for a Maverick, but it would only buy you the rusted hulk of a 55 Chevy…
So here we have another crazy priced B.I. N. car that’s far from special…..(I’m being kind here)….awful colors in & out, no doubt it’s been hit in the rear…..my girlfriend back in 75’ had a new 75’ model with the 250 six engine & catalytic converter……car was a real snail……it hesitated all the time off idle….I replaced the EGR valve, timed it correctly, dealer rebuilt the carb to no avail……gotta’ love the Pinto rear tail lamps……and we all know how they fared in rear end collisions……
The Maverick came before the Pinto. The Pinto used Maverick tail lights!
Once again, an example of how “rare” and “valuable” are two different things.
A 6 cylinder??? It’s not grabbing anything.
I still see the grabber I sent to the crusher, I took the 302 auto but didn’t have time for the 9 inch.
No Maverick came from the factory with a 9 inch rear end.
The front bumper may have been tucked in, but still looks too big.
If a 1970-72 bumper is available, i wonder if it would bolt on, matching the rear bumper.
I bought this exact car (in brown) new in 76. Recently married and a baby on the way. This POS was in the dealership more than it was on the road. Worst car I’ve ever owned and after 2500 miles, traded it in on an Olds. I wouldn’t own another Ford for 40 years when I bought an F150. Great truck by the way.
I would think even a 1st year ’70 maverick stripper model with non/minimal emissions carb, manual trans & brakes & no a/c or cat or egr valve would not have been an issue, since my bought-used ’70 boxy falcon with 200 cube motor served me well driving to college & 3 years after that. Tho it handled lousy(NO front sway bar! lol) & the c4 auto trans had to be rebuilt at about 70k miles.
I know I’m in the minority, but I still consider that Maverick to be one of the best looking cars of the 70s (in two door form)…and especially the earlier models with the smaller bumpers. My girlfriend at the time had the sister Comet, and it was a joy to drive along with being attractive. I don’t know why these cars aren’t appreciated more.
The Maverick was a sporty looking, low buck vehicle. The Capri/Mercury Capri was more attractive to my eyes. Of course the powers that were had other ideas for the Mustang II.
This particular car I would step away from. The seller says this car has an AM/FM/Cassette player complete with manual. The images show a Fomoco AM/FM/8-track player in the dash. The Marti report indicate an AM radio was a factory option. If the seller can’t get these trivial things correct why bother?
I really like it, but not near $10,000. I’d put a V8 in it for sure.
My sister had a 1975 Grabber with the 302 grabber red. It was pretty plain but it was very quick l remember that about that car. Never thought it would be a collector some day. Mavericks going for that kinda money. What’s next?
The small bumper Comets and Mavercks were nice, reliable, good looking cars. I had a 71 two door, 6 cyl, 3 speed, a 71 two door V8 auto that was breathed on and very quick and a 27k mile 72 Comet GT. Every bit as nice as a Nova imo.
Definitely beauty.
Mom’s ’72 four-door had the exact same engine, and it couldn’t get out of its own way! I particularly dislike the Ford sixes of this era, with the intake manifold cast as part of the cylinder head! So no carburetor upgrades here! This one at least has disk brakes and a power vacuum brake booster, so they have to be better than the manual four-wheel drum brakes on Mom’s example. A/C is a plus, but if the A/C works, what little performance is left in the motor will be devoted to driving the A/C compressor when the A/C is on, LOL! With the A/C running, you don’t time this thing with a stopwatch, you use a calendar, LOL!
not a bad looker simple and clean.
so to all the blue oval guys and gals.. how many base blocks did ford run in the i6 form? is the 300 the same base block or is it a bigger animal?
i never had one of these small displacement 6s in the shop at the same time as a straight 6 truck.
The 300 was a truck only engine, and unlike its passenger car cousins, the intake manifold was bolt-on part, and NOT cast as part of the cylinder head! Passenger cars all used the same basic block and head, available in displacements of 144, 170, 200 and 250 cubic inches. The truck engines were available in 262 and 300 cubic-inch displacement. Source: Wikipedia. Here’s a link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_straight-six_engine
The car engines were “third-generation” designs, the truck engines are considered a “fourth-generation” design.
Nope, the 262 and 300 cubic-inch sixes were different animals, used only in trucks. The 262 and 300 engines used timing gears instead of a timing chain, and the intake manifold was a bolt-on affair, so some folks replaced the factory Carter one-barrel carburetor with an aftermarket manifold and a four-barrel carb. Later versions of the truck engines got EFI, and were in production until 1996.
Source: Wikipedia. Here’s a link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_straight-six_engine
I had a 75 back in the 80s. We put a straight axle front end. And a 429ci big block, c6 and 9 inch rear end. It ate up the street and most of the competition. In DeSoto Mo
Fantastic inline 6 example of what should have been the mainstream instead of V8. Sold for $17k. Seems like fair price and good buy for the buyer. No swaps necessary at all. Let the boys pretend it turns ladies on. That bench seat and straight 6 automatic is date night ready. But if you are looking for a boy to impress, definitely swap in that big motor and loud pipes.
I don’t understand why you couldn’t/can’t get a cheaper modern mustang or camaro with a 175 – 200 hp base motor that would be cheaper to insure & build & buy.
Looked at a new mustang while back , asked how much for one with JUST AC AM/FM , manual transmission and the turbo 4. No tv screen in the dash or lights canning colors. He stared at me a sec and said they don’t make an like that. Sigh
It could be 1 of 1, and $100. Keep it.