ok now i am looking for a maverick and i really know nothing about these cars. in the building of these little treasures i am sure that they made changes in them. what is the best year for one. parts avalibility and all things involved. just do not know what i am really looking for to make sure i get a good one so i dont have to put way too much cash into it to get the good stuff. thanks dave
Welcome aboard and best of luck on your endeavor. We'll be here to help. They have a saying about opinions and it rings true. Aside from the universal love for these cars here, we have diverse opinions on what years, models, etc. we like. Some like the small bumper early cars, some the big bumper, some have no specific feeling one way or the other. It's YOUR project and YOUR $$ so nobody but YOU has to be happy with the choice. One thing you'll quickly find here is that there is no bad Mav...we love them all, rusty, in progress, and finely restored. Makes no difference to us. Parts availability varies depending on specifically what you need for your particular project. For example, nobody makes front fenders for any year, but reproduction quarter panels can be bought for all years. Many mechanical parts can still be bought through any auto parts store. Many of us have stockpiles of used and NOS parts that we are willing to sell, or sometimes give away. We find stuff at swap meets often enough. Some parts are getting downright scarce as the cars have been getting more popular and parts demand is up. Some are outright impossible to find anymore like good small bumpers. Other collectable cars have exactly the same problems, so this is not unique to Mavericks/Comets. You have to decide if there is a specific year range you prefer, if you want to do a complete project or one that needs less restoration, and how much $$ you are willing to spend. It is possible to get a Mav that needs a lot for say, $1000 or sometimes a bit less. Then, there is others like the Stallion I'm selling that needs a bit but not a lot and because of it's rarity, is going for substantially more. There's some in between. Our cars are still collectable bargains as far as the market goes so now is still a good time to become a Mav freak.
I like the 2 door small bumper cars. Very good advice is given above. The only thing I would add is that you can purchase fiberglass body parts if you're not afraid of having to tweak them to get them to fit right. You'll also need to get familiar with all the tools of the trade, because any 30 year old car is going to need some kind of work.
i am not scared of work and do know my way around a garage. LOL. i have a millermatic 250x mig welder and a hyertherm 600 plasma cutter. plus all of my hand and air tools. so i am really not scared. HA HA HA. ok not for the nuts and bolts, is there a better year for rearends, engines, transmisions, ect. i do what a 3 door and a V8 with a trans. dont care if it is a auto or man just want one. LOL. now i do like the grabber good and the little add-ons as such, are all of those interchangeable from all years, and the fenders and doors are they interchangeable.
Opinions?? Cool, here I go: I like the '71-'73 2-doors the best, because they have smaller (and more attractive) bumpers, 120mph speedometers, the least amount of emissions control devices (no catalytic converters [and therefore no hump in the floor for one] or air pumps), 5-lug wheel bolt patterns, and readily accept the ducktail-style rear spoiler. Grabbers (and Grabber clones) look the best, performance-wise, there is no difference from a non-grabber version. Of course these model-years need front disc brakes and electronic ignition upgrades to be as good (actually better in my opinion) as their successors that came stock with them...
Ok,here goes; '70 has several unique parts to it-doorsill plates,rear shock location,gas tank,maybe some more,but these parts won't work on other models.'70 also never came w/v8,therefore the shocktowers lack the xtra bracing the later cars have.Trans tunnel is smaller too. '70-72 6cyl cars are 4-lug drum brake '71-75 all v8 cars are 5-lug drum brake '73-75 6cyl-same as v8 cars '76-77 all cars got disc front/drum rear All cars got the 8" rear from '71-up,but the 4-lugger has smaller axle flanges/bearings Factory v8 cars have an "F" as the fifth vin digit small bumpers-produced'70-73,later "crash bumper" cars are easily coverted back to small bumpers. Grabber hood was only made 2 years.And notorious for rustout on the front lip.Priced accordingly.$$ Grabber rear spoiler made '70-73,not as hard to find as the hood,you have to use small bumpers in order to use it unless you splice the upper part of the spoiler cap w/the crash bumper lower 1/4 cap. Aftermarket support is getting better all the time.
i have a 71 small bumper 2 door.. and i love it... i did the 170 to 302 swap without any help from the board.. and it was easy.. had i known that there was a detailed thread on it, it could have helped me in a few places... but it was easy enough i dont really care for the large bumper look, but i have seen some cars in here that look awesome with the large bumpers... i just wish i had found a 5lug car... it helps a lot to give you tires and rims choices.. but like everyone has said.. its all personal preference.. and the beauty is.. you can make it look any way you want
