typical Maverick thinking

Cars I will never sell;
My '72 Comet.
My '70 LTD 4dr ht.
Both are worth almost enough to get a steak dinner at the outback,but each has it's place.The Comet is what the wife & I took one of our first dates in and brought our baby girl home from the hospital.And the LTD is the only car my grannie ever owned in her life(bought it new too)and gave it to me when I started driving.As far as the "be different,drive a Maverick" thing,yea I'm with that.I got respect for any old car brought back to life,but when you can build it almost entirely from a catalog(mustang/camaro/chevelle)and you see 500 of 'em at every show,I just yawn.But it's just not Mavericks that are unique,how about the 75-80 Novas,72-73 Torinos,69-70 fastback Galaxies or any odd year/model cars that the "crowd" gasn't picked up on?When I see something different my thinking is"this owner could've caved and built something more mainstream,but he/she built what they WANTED".And that's cooler to me than building a "predictable" ride IMO.

 

Same for me.
People laugh at me when i say i wont sell my '86 Grand Am. Why? Because i love it and it was the first car i had. Then i bought my '97 Grand am GT (wont sell it either). People laugh even more when i tell them i'm looking for a '88 Grand Am Turbo. They even said: "why you dont sell all your car a bought a better one"... Cause i love them.

 

To all of the above

 

People at work ask me why I'm building a motor for my Mav and I tell them because you see too many mustang, and it irritates you.

 

Well, I know what you mean about being different. I traded my 65 Fastback this weekend to my cousin for his 65 Falcon 2dr HT, 289 4spd. I got more looks and questions about that car today than I did with my Mustang for the past 4 years. So, now I've got quite a diverse stable. 65 Falcon, 70 Mustang Grabber, 71 Comet GT, 2x 27 Model T 1 Ton trucks and a 23 Model T speedster in progress. Different is good. - Matt

 

Man I love this place!!!!! I have had many cars. 48 plymouth coup to muckstains to road runners to hum drum transportation.None I mean None has ever given me as many memories or strange looks as my maverick.I have owned it for 22 years.The only one I owned longer was my 48 plymouth.I loved that car too.Muckstains/Camaros are like belly buttons.Dare to be different is where its at, and man are we ever. Yes I will be dead some day.My car will live on with my boy.I have allways been a maverick,its good to be home with you guys and gals.Pete.

 

One of the things that hurts the Maverick image is visibility. Like the Cougar, you rarely see one at a show. Our new Mustang club had a show recently and 160 cars showed up. In that group, there were 2 Cougars and 2 Mavericks. This is the norm for shows, except you rarely even see 1 Maverick. At Silver Springs last year, we had 16 Cougars and there was probably 10+ Mavericks out of 1200 cars.

People like these cars and they draw a great amount of attention, but you just don't see enough of them out in the public. Ken( Part-Time here)'s Maverick won the 70-79 Ford class at our show, beating out some very nice other models in the process. Until more Mavericks and Comets get out in the public, this condition will continue to exist. Mustangs are common, but extremely popular. My son sold his '69 XR7 conv. Cougar, which I gave him for his 16th birthday to buy a more popular '69 Mach 1. He questioned my sanity when he found out I bought the Maverick and Comet. He doesn't even know about the Grabber yet. Even my Mustangs are a little different from the mainstream, being 71-73's. Different is good. You draw a lot of attention, but it doesn't make them more popular.

In the 10 years that I have owned Cougars, I have seen prices of cars increase dramatically, especially parts for these cars. The same will be for the Mavericks, but more need to get out in the public eye.

The Cougar was perceived to be a luxury Mustang, usually owned by an older person, not a sporty image. The Maverick was basic transportation, not a sporty image. The Cougar had the GTE and the Eliminator to draw attention to it as having muscle, the Maverick had the Grabber, Comet, the GT. None of these models have enjoyed the popularity of the Mustang GT or Boss, even though the Mustang never had a 427 installed in it, like the Cougar GTE.

We need to bring more of these cars out into the public eye. But, in the long run, when people start paying my bills, I will care what they say. I guess I am a Maverick, too. It's all good.

Jim

 

First: I want to say Thanks Everyone!! This forum is hands down better than the alpar forum I started on. You don't put anyone down for what they drive.
Second: I like to drink beer,talk on a CB,hunt & fish and have cars that other people don't & IF that makes me a "Maverick" GOOD!
I have started another project of restoring a Aspen R/T SuperPack 1647 made in '76 and you should hear the people get on me about why would you build a Aspen. Thats a Grama car, its a muscle car wantabe. Well they just don't get it but, whats Great is You guys Do! And you know what all the ney sayers when I get it done are going to say I didn't know they made Aspen's like that, just like they did about my Grabber. But I don't care thats not why we do it and we don't do it to be noticed we do it because we Want to, Right! Good Luck & thank you Everyone!

 

How many times have you been to a car show and saw all the run of the mill Mustangs, Camros, B Mopars etc, but what do you notice , really notice the most, the Nash Rambler, the Jeep Commanado, the Vega with the Blown 350, the Maverick wiht the 351, My Comet is my Comet, It says something about me, It says here is a guy who, is adventurous, doesn't mind workign a little harder for results, wants to stadn out not blend in. Wants to hack a new trail instead of folling behind someone who forged it before him. My Comet says, This is a guy who wants the thing for his own taste not the taste of millions of others.

By the way think about the growth of interest in the site in the last few years, I think the reason there aren't many Comets and Mavs at shows is because most of them are projects.. at this point.. hey i've been on this site goin on 10 years . i think.. but I have only just this year mad emy Comet so I trust driving it regularly.
next stop round up Porkys cruise night in Des Moines, then a round up or gathering, after that a ford show or 2 Watch as this site has grown you'll see more an dmore of us at Shows !

 

im glad my g-ma hooked me up phat with my maverick..

 

Yeah my freinds allways say the same thing."you still have that old maverick?!" "why???"I simply tell them "Its' me"I have never been mainstream.Sometimes to a fault,But its who I am.Yes our cars definitely make a statement as to who we are.If the car is truely an extension of who and what we are as society likes to claim then the sheep better look out!!I agree you never see enough of our cars represented at local or regional shows.That may change as time goes by and muscle car prices continue to climb out of range of all but the wealthy car "collector"So as for now we should be happy to be a rare breed.

 

What cars/trucks would i sell if i had too?.....That is probably the toughest question in the world to answer.The two i would most likely pick first don't technically belong to me they are really my wifes,the 1978 Bronco and the 1985 Mercury capri RS.Probably because i don't have the attachment to them like she does.My 1979 F150 4x4 has been an awsome truck,it's a little rough around the edges but super reliable i've had it for 13 years.I owe that truck a restoration.My 1964 Mercury pick up,first vehicle i ever owned,i have had it for 18 years,every one that knows me knows the truck.The Comet well i just really like that car always wanted one,anytime i seen one i always stopped to look and sitll do,of all the vehicals i have owned i can say it's the most fun.So to say which one i would sell i can't answer that right now.I will have to wait till that time comes.I would probaby sell them all because i won't be happy without one of them in the driveway

 

The two vehicle's that would have to be ripped from my cold dead hands would be my '71 F-250, and my '74 Grabber. Both are nowhere near running condition, and not really worth anything, but I will have both forever.

I would have to think long and hard before selling my Fiat Spider, or '80 Capri RS.

Also, I have a 1971 Sl125 Honda that my dad pulled out of a scrap metal dumpster where he used to work back in 1997, and we restored. When he was loading it in his truck to bring it home, everyone was saying he was crazy and it would never run again. 6 months later, he took it back to work and rode it around the parking lot. After 6 summers of riding that thing practically every day from sun up to sun down, riding it on weekends and afternoons the rest of the year, and wearing out/blowing up three engines, it is in need of another restoration, but I will own it for the rest of my life. If the gas prices keep going the way they are, the next restoration may be more street oriented.

On the other hand, I would give up all of the above in a heartbeat to get my dad's old '84 Mustang GT and '71 Comet GT back. The Comet is still around down in Florida, the Mustang was totaled out, parted out, and crushed in 2003.