Somehow, 53 years have trickled by, and I’m not sure how that happened. I seem to remember 1972 as if it were just yesterday. Well, maybe not that vividly, but I certainly remember parts of it. This 1972 Ford Maverick is 53 years old now and has had just two owners. The second owner has it posted here on craigslist in Santee, California, and they’re asking $13,000. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Barney for the tip!
What a good-looking Maverick! We saw a somewhat similar Maverick three years ago here on Barn Finds, but that one was on the opposite side of the country, it only had 52,000 miles, and it had a great houndstooth fabric interior. Being in southern California since new (originally an hour north in Fallbrook), this Maverick appears to be rock solid, but the trunk lid has been repainted, I’m assuming due to the hot sun beating on it for five decades.
Speaking of that hot Southern California sun and what it does to the top of your head, and to the top of your vehicles, here’s what the roof looks like. As long as there aren’t gaping rust holes, I don’t mind a little missing and sunburnt paint. The Ford Maverick (the car, not the new pickup) was made from 1969, for the 1970 model year, until the end of 1977. So, from hippies to disco, from the middle of the Vietnam War to after the Vietnam War. What a short span that was, but just think of how much happened in those few years.
This one doesn’t have the standard houndstooth fabric seats and door panels, unfortunately. After 112,100 miles of living in the hot California sun, the seller mentions that the front seat, having been redone in vinyl once, is showing some damage again. The matching vinyl back seat looks perfect, and the headliner is new. After having the windshield replaced, the headliner was damaged. I’d redo these seats in original type fabric asap, but that’s just me. I love the center “consolette” with the clock! You can see three aftermarket gauges mounted above that, and it appears to be a nice job and a nice interior, overall. The aftermarket steering wheel is a nice touch, but I’d want to source an original two-spoke wheel.
The engine is Ford’s 200-cu.in. OHV inline-six, which would have been factory-rated at 91 horsepower and 154 lb-ft of torque when new. This one is backed by a three-speed automatic with a column selector, and power is sent to the rear wheels. The seller has owned this car for 15 years, and it has new tires, brakes, shocks, and much more, but it still needs some tinkering. Hagerty lists a 1972 Maverick Grabber in #2 excellent condition at $12,900 as a comparison. This car isn’t a grabber, so what’s your offer on this ’72 Maverick?
A brown, 200 automatic, two-door 1972 Maverick…. my straightforward, honest, no-nonsense, frugal grandfather had one. A perfect fit, I’d say. This example has had lots of work (see the ad which has tons of detail). It would look really good with fresh paint. I like that sporty Ford steering wheel.
Good work Scotty.
Very clean basic Maverick here and I also like that Ford steering wheel.
Nice, very nice Maverick. It looks like it was taken care of over all the years. And its solid. I liked Bob_in_Tns comment about his frugal, no nonsense Grandfather having one just like this. ( Hey Bob, just curious, did he spring for power steering and power brakes?). If the original 2 spoke wheel ( hope they saved it) was badly cracked I like the choice of the sporty Ford Wheel in its place, I like that little console too. And while I’m not big into adding aftermarket gauges, I do like knowing whats happening under the hood and they did such a nice neat job, good placement, I’d leave them and be happy to have them in this case. Hubcaps trim rings and white walls are a great look too. ( wonder if it had whitewalls or blackwalls from new?). I really like this one. The color too. If I had it, I’d be tempted to go nuts and have a good paint job and maybe spruce up the seats too. Great find Barney and great write up too Scotty.
Yeah I guess I’ll say it, this isn’t a #2 car and at best a #3 so the money is a bit steep. Looks like a solid car that has been taken care of for quite a while. These were pretty basic automobiles. They were quite similar to the early Mustang, Falcons etc..Now a Grabber had the sportier look and most had the 302, but this little car should make someone happy with a little elbow grease.
Well, SG, ( regarding 1st sentence), Pink Floyd summed it up best, “and then one day you find, 10 years have got behind you”,,can you imagine our folks seeing a Maverick for $13 grand? Preposterous, they’d say, yet, here we are pops.
I’d like to say, the Maverick was probably Fords best car. It appealed to a wide range of people that knew nothing about cars, and if not for the outrageous price, it could once again. Originally, the $1995 price tag, $160 less than a new Bug, and 10 times the car, was the cheese. A Pinto on steroids, as if. There was a good reason for that. Mavericks could take abuse that was dished out by those people, not intentionally, but add oil when the light came on ( Ma, she’d say, Howie, my oil light is on, can you add some oil?) or the back seat rusted through, pinching the e brake cables, burning out the back brakes, type of stuff. I’m not sure what eventually killed them, but it wasn’t abuse.
I’m not sure I’ll live long enough to see this foolishness cease, I’ve done some research on why people are asking so much money for typically not such valuable things, many agree, it’s a sign of desperation, and rough times ahead. This isn’t a 5 figure car, like the ’62 GP, but these people seem to think so. That’s how disconnected they are. Let’s watch,,,
Nice starting point for a project, but it’s overpriced. These have been gaining in popularity for years, but is probably a few years off from this sellers asking price.
Steve R
Like others have essentially said, nice Maverick but overpriced. This is the car that absolutely has to have the early bumpers. Drive it or drop a 302/351 in it. For $10K, I might be inclined.
If I was going to drop an 8 in it, I’d rather go with the lesser known, 6 bolt main Godzilla w/ 430HP & 485 ftlb! After all, no shoehorning, it’s a 445 small block! Love it in my ’23 F350 Tremor
I’d say $8K would be about right. But then again there really aren’t too many of these left, especially in SoCal condition. My wife’s first car was this EXACTLY. Brown with brown vinyl, 6 cyl auto. This one is missing all of the floorboard rust and holes from her Iowa special.
cool but a bit too rich on the price
I have always liked the body style of these since Mom rented one of the first ones fir a week. It had the 302 2bbl. and ran real hard. The ones I like the most (early ones with the small bumpers) are the ones that are lowered an inch or two,with fat tires and wheels filling up the wheel wells. The lines on this car are beautifully done. My sister ended up with a green one that gave her good service until a drunk “T” boned her. She was ok, but the car was not.
Two brown mavericks in one day?
Both flavors 2 and 4 door both not worth the money
A Coworker modified of these back in the mid 80’s. He had a strongly built 351 Cleveland and 4 speed drivetrain sitting in his garage. The car was a green 6 cylinder automatic when he bought it. Stripped the body and sprayed it black lacquer. Wide Weld wheels in the rear with skinnies up front, traction bars, .411 rear, big tach on the steering column and a fire extinguisher mounted right behind the shifter. No console, all business. It was a beautiful build, strong runner and sounded great.
The seller has lowered their asking price to $11,500, but I’m afraid it may still be a bit on the high side.