I'm considering buying a '73 Grabber and converting it to the '71-'72 Grabber external appearance. The differences I am aware of are the front bumper and mounts, the rear bumper mounts and the hood. Are the front and rear valances different also? My first car was a '72 Grabber back in 1973 and I have loved them ever since! Who figured at 51 I would start yearning for another one!
Hello, and welcome to the board. You are correct about the front bumper, grabber hood, rear bumper brackets being different. The front valence is different, rear is the same. Also the filler pieces under your quarter extensions are 73 specific.
Thanks Maverick '73! My main interest in considering a '73 is the increasing difficulty in finding rust free or mildly rusted 71 and 71 Mavericks. I took excellent care of my 72 Grabber and I fought rust constantly. I also owned a 73 Mach 1 that was nowhere near as bad in that regard. If I go this route, I'll oil it up and put it away until I find all of the right pieces to re-create my old car (or close).
welcome back. good luck with the projuec i believe the stripe kit would also be diffrent and also the coloring of the rear tail panel area. someone would know better them me but some grabbers had the black tail panel and black tail light bezzles
Welcome aboard! Yes, go ahead with it. That will be a very simple project if it's a decent car. Good luck with it.
70-72 fenders are notched for the small bumper, 73's are not. If your going to do the conversion, please notch the fenders, don't cheap out and cut the stone shield, it's just not right!! Why not keep the 73 front bumper (one year only, and why be like everyone else) and convert the rear bumper???
Dave, Thanks for the tip. It doesn't look like the '73 deal is going to gel. When I asked the guy for pics, he went silent. The 73's look a lot better IMO than the later models, where the bumpers look like battering rams. I just loved the looks of my old '72 Grabber. It was really sharp when I sold it in '75 (after yearly rust repairs) and was destroyed in a head on 2 weeks later.
