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V8 Power for $3,800: 1977 Ford Maverick

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If you happen to be in the Cedar Rapids, Iowa area and you happen to have a hankerin’ for a small, V8-powered, 39-year old, light blue, four-door car, this 1977 Ford Maverick is for you! This sedate sedan is on Craigslist where it’s listed at $3,800.

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This unbranded-range-animal (Maverick) looks like it just rolled out of the showroom! The seller says that the body is in fantastic shape and there’s no disputing that. The tires are brand new but I’m surprised that they aren’t white walls? Although the Maverick was originally meant to be inexpensive to buy, maintain, and manufacturer, a lot of them came with white walls so I’m surprised to not see them here. On a light blue car with a white top, white walls probably would have looked pretty good on this car. The wire wheel covers were an option, but I would track down a set of the styled steel wheels, those are smokin’ hot, in my opinion even on a four-door. Or, the color-keyed wheel covers, or anything but wire wheel covers on black wall tires.

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This car has the optional SelectAire AC, which is nice, but it isn’t working, which isn’t nice. It’s even more dire than just “needing charged”, this one “needs recharged! 1977 was the last year for the Maverick in North America they were was made in Brazil until 1979. These cars were supposed to fight imports, namely the VW Beetle and those from Honda, Toyota, and Datsun. In 1978 they gave way to the Ford Fairmont and Mercury Zephyr (for the Mercury Comet).

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This car has 62,000 miles on it and it sure looks great, in my opinion. There is just this one interior photo but, dang! It’s beautiful! Those seats are super cool and they’re in fantastic shape. The carpet looks a bit faded but after a weekend of studying a few YouTube videos on carpet dying and then experimenting with that, they’ll look great again. This car also has the optional front disc brakes which is nice. The heater core had a small leak so that’s been bypassed, you’ll probably want to check that out.

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This is worth the price of admission! As if the rust-free body and great looking interior wasn’t enough, here’s Ford’s 5.0L 302 cubic-inch V8 with 140 hp. Ok, that’s not a lot of get up and go, but we all know that there are relatively simple and inexpensive things that a person can do with a Ford 302 to create a tire-burning monster. So, there ya go, the gauntlet has been tossed out down. Would you keep this car looking like the one that your aunt drove to church on Sundays in the summer, or would you turn it into a sleeper?

Comments

  1. Avatar Rando

    I sent this to my wife, whose first driving experiences were in a 4 door Maverick. We’ll see if I get to sleep inside or on the porch tonight.

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    • Avatar Rando

      She said I’m on the sofa tonight – that her parents’ car had more options! lol

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  2. Avatar Billy Bob

    It’s hard to find whitewalls these days.

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  3. Avatar Bill

    This nice? I’d clean it up and breath on the engine a little to make a sleeper. Definitely lose the wires. Pinner white walls would be great.

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    • Avatar Jeffro

      I agree. This car screams sleeper. I’d put white walls on to add to the look.

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  4. Avatar Bill

    Four door, bench seats and no working air. I’d say it’s about a grand too high.

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  5. Avatar Dovi65

    Not much I’d do to grandma’s little gem; I like it as it is. Reviving the A/C, putting white walls, & stock wheelcovers on it, and coaxing a few more ponies from the 302.
    I agree that non-working A/C makes this a sub $3K car

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  6. Avatar TD Driver

    I had a Maverick that was nearly identical to this one as a company car…total dog. Would not put one in my yard for love nor money. I was driving along with another guy in the office one day and the needle fell off the gas gauge. What a piece of junk. Only rivaled by the Mercury Monarch/Ford Granada.

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  7. Avatar Terry J

    Bought one like this about 25 years ago. My neighbor was the head of the industrial Arts section (including the mechanics classes) at the local JC, and the Maverick was a donation from an 85 year old grandma to the school. It was also a very nice original 4 door, V8, C4 car with low miles, 2 tone brown. Ran like a top. I paid the school for it and gave it to my (future) stepson Mike, who needed a car. But he never liked it, didn’t take car of it and within a couple of years it was beat, though that drive train was still drop dead dependable. He finally totaled it one night. Then he bought HIS dream car – a VW Jetta with a bigger engine transplant. He owned that for 10 years because a cumulative 9 of those it was broke down. I think he came to appreciate the goodness of that Maverick in retrospect. Sad tale? Yup, but I did pull the 302,C4 outta the wreck and put in in another son’s ’58 Ford F100, and that truck is still around the area. Saw it for sale on C/L last summer. :-) Terry J

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  8. Avatar Paul Masson

    I had styled steel wheels on my 77 4dr. Factory wheels with a slightly sporty touch, still very much at home on a more-door.

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    • Avatar Jay Goon

      Where’d you get that car? Florida?

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  9. Avatar Luki

    I was in Venezuela in the 1990s. We would pull up to a red light and be surrounded by Mavericks.
    I asked about it and found out that Ford sent the tooling down there and they cranked them out for years.

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  10. Avatar tmc_61

    The Ramones were kickin’ ass when that was new.

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  11. Avatar Gear Head Engineer

    A Mavillac! At least that’s what we called the dressed up ones back in the day.

    My brother had one like this, must have been in the mid-80s. Similar year, similar color, but with a dark vinyl top. Even had the wire wheel covers. His was a 6 cyl. He got stuck on a dirt road one night when a piece of solid steel wire got wrapped around the driveshaft somehow. Of course, he wasn’t supposed to be anywhere near that party so he got a ride home, then woke me up late at night in a panic. We grabbed tools and spent an hour or so cutting that stupid wire so he could get it home. As far as I know, our parents never heard about it.

    Gotta love the seat fabric on this one. Unfortunately that material never held up well – this is in very impressive condition but I don’t know how long it will stay that way.

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  12. Avatar mike Member

    That is an ugly automobile.

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  13. Avatar PaulieB

    A friend of mine named Wayne bought a ’75 in 1977. 3 years later he tried to trade it in and the Ford dealer offered him $500. It had become a rust bucket in the 3 years that he owned it. A few weeks later he went to the same dealer.. on a busines call.. in a ’64 Corvair that he had paid $350 for only a few months earlier. The dealer offered him $800 for the ‘Vair. Sold. I mentioned that to the guy who sold Wayne the Corvair. “Oh that? I paid $35 for it” lol..

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  14. Avatar Chebby

    Man you could have the FoMoCo hat trick with this car for weekdays, the Grabber for Saturdays, and the King Cobra for some day…..

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    • Avatar Paul Masson

      I’ve had two of the three… My red/white 4dr above was my first car that I bought at 14 and completely restored. I currently own a 71 Grabber with just over 23,000 miles and original paint. I really don’t think I’ll ever own a MII. I like them, but I like my Mavericks more…

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  15. Avatar Melvin Burwell

    This is the type a car I wanted for my first car. Out of my price range at the time.16, bagging groceries. Ended up with a 74 Pinto instead. Too bad they always get a bad rap.

    Like 0

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