Many of you familiar with my writing have probably read, on multiple occasions, how I’ve expressed a desire to buy a curbside classic of my own. Sometimes, it has been sheer torture to read about those of you who enjoy taking your own prized cars and trucks out for a drive, doing both light maintenance and also big projects, and also telling the stories of how you came to own and become attached to your own rides. I haven’t owned a car since 2003, having moved that year to Chicago, a city with a truly world-class public transportation system. My neighborhood on the north side, Edgewater, while not the most congested on the planet, is still packed densely enough so that parking is either tricky (on the street) or expensive (for covered or designated spaces).
Finances also played a role in my heretofore car-less state. With me having no spouse, partner or kids to be responsible for, one would think I’d be regularly doing the backstroke in a pile of cash on my living room floor but, alas, this is not the case. I’ve tried to save a bunch for retirement at the behest of my older brother, so I live off a relatively small percentage of what I make. And then there’s taxes. Still, I had managed to squirrel away a bit of funds for the one big trip, project, or toy to keep myself entertained. This is how this whole Maverick episode started.
I’ve read it recommended that for optimum sleep, all electronic devices (i.e. smartphones, tablets, etc.) should be turned off and stowed at least a half hour before lights out. I have a few weaknesses, and my phone is one of them. I’ve occasionally been that guy who was glued to his phone a good fifteen to thirty minutes after I was supposed to have been already sawing logs. Just one more Facebook status update. Just one more Flickr stats check. Just one more Curbside Classic essay. Just one more hit on the ol’ list of Craig. Blessed / cursed Craigslist.
About two weeks ago, around the weekend of St. Patrick’s Day, I was scanning used and classic car listings on Craigslist, when I came across this ’74 Maverick Grabber. Finished in an appealing red with black trim and interior, it was listed at a shockingly low price of $3,000 “OBO”. Intrigued, I clicked on the listing to read more. It belonged to a wealthy family in the affluent, northshore suburb of Winnetka. They were relocating to the east coast and apparently were deciding which of their possessions to keep and which to leave behind.
As to why these wealthy people had a lowly Maverick in their garage next to their Porsche Cayenne and brand-new Lexus LS 500, the gentleman had owned and driven a Maverick Grabber just like this one when he was in undergraduate school. While this Maverick isn’t that same car, he had formed a strong attachment to his own Maverick and had always pined for another one like it for sentimental reasons, as a symbol of his own rags-to-riches story.
He had found and purchased this one about ten years go from its original owner. His wife was also on board with this, so this bright red Maverick soon found a new home in Winnetka, having been a southern car. It’s got a three-speed automatic, so anyone in the household could drive it – but they rarely did, as this was the doctor’s baby. It does have the 140-horse 302 V8 under the hood, so pickup isn’t terrible in this 2,800 pound, 45-year-old car. When the doctor let me take it out for a test drive, we got onto North Sheridan Road when he said to me, “Just go ahead and punch it. Go on.” I’m super reluctant to put myself in a “you broke it, you bought it” position, which may be why my inherent, cautious nature plays into my relative success as an insurance underwriter. Regardless, little “devil-Joe” on my left shoulder poked me with his pitchfork and I nailed the accelerator.
…And was immediately underwhelmed. I mean, really. I’ve always thought that the “Grabber” was something of a wasted opportunity for Ford, with performance that didn’t quite live up to this little Ford’s external promise. Another thing I can’t understand is how a performance-leaning car like the Grabber didn’t even have full instrumentation available as an option. The only real issues I have with my Maverick from a visual standpoint are the heavy, five-mile-per-hour bumpers that were present (both front and rear) for ’74, which do my new whip absolutely no aesthetic favors.
The Grabber had been around since the Maverick’s second, full model year (1971), when the semi-fastback coupe bore more than a passing resemblance to a mini-Mustang, especially in profile. This Maverick was quick enough, though, and its pristine interior – with acres of black vinyl as far as the eye could see – positively gleamed. This ’74 is one of about 23,500 Grabbers produced for the model year, along with 140,000 base coupes and 175,000 sedans.
Nonetheless, those of you who have also read my “CC Jukebox” features also know I have a taste for many things Seventies, so as the doctor and I arrived back at their soon-to-be-former McMansion (that has a listing price that is more money than I will probably ever see in my lifetime), I had been hearing Starbuck’s “Moonlight Feels Right”, Linda Ronstadt’s “You’re No Good”, and “Jackie Blue” by the Ozark Mountain Daredevils on “repeat” in my head for about ten minutes. In terms of playing things close to the vest, I have a terrible poker face, so my excitement about owning this car was probably apparent. (It probably didn’t help that I had worn my favorite pair of vintage Haggar polyester slacks that day to take the test drive.)
These people seemed like they had enough money, though, so when I offered the doctor $2,500 in cash on the spot, he hesitated… before he extended his hand to shake mine with a grin and said, “Congratulations. She’s yours.” And so, now I own a Maverick! One of the first things I did last weekend when I was done with my chores on Saturday morning was to take her (I haven’t named her yet, believe it or not) downtown to the John Kluczynski Federal Plaza, near the famous Alexander Calder “Flamingo” sculpture for an impromptu photo shoot.
Like any good model, she gave me angle, after angle, after angle as I clicked away with my Canon. Our photo shoot was cut short when a traffic cop told me I needed to move it or face a pretty substantial ticket, but I’m glad to be able to share these pictures with you. I look forward to bringing everyone in the CC community up to speed on the adventures of Joe Dennis and his new, trusty bovine.
Downtown, The Loop, Chicago, Illinois.
Thursday, January 28, 2010.
Haha! You had me Joseph for a few paragraphs, even though the paint seemed off to me. Congrats to the first fool’s post of the day!
Not bad, Joseph, not bad.
Very nice. I find ‘compact’ cars are much easier to look after than ‘full size sedans’ which can be a nightmare to park. I’ve owned this little Viva GT (a sort of pint-sized Camaro wannabe) since 1986.
That picture is way cool. From the image attached to your comment, it looks just like the real thing. I like the idea of creating a “world” in this manner.
Thanks Joseph, I appreciate that. I took quite a few like this back in the mid-1980s using my late Father’s Pentax KM, stopped down to f22 (so I needed a bright, sunny day to take them) but this one was the best. The background is a calender picture, the ground a sheet of abrasive. One trick I did learn was to match the background’s shadow direction. The car is 1:76 scale, just over 2″ long.
This must be one of those rare plastic bodied Mavericks built by ASC. No worries about rust, that’s for sure.
I truly laughed out loud! Thanks Joseph!
Happy April 1st, Joseph. And thanks for bringing back memories of my early days as a driver!
A non-Grabber 1974 Maverick was the car in which I learned to drive (it was technically Mom’s, after having been shared with my three older sisters), and at the same time my brother owned a 1973 Grabber with the LDO option. Both were two-doors and alas, both had sixes and automatics, but the engineering – or lack thereof – was downright bulletproof.
Buzzdog, I guess I hadn’t realized before reading your comment that the LDO option package was available on the Grabber! A quick internet search yielded a few pictures – cool!
My Aunt had a Maverick Grabber (slightly before my time) that was her first new car, if I remember correctly.
For whatever reason I was expecting you to say this was the Honorable Richard J. Daley Plaza. They have a Picasso. And a drive-thru office building.
My grandmother purchased a ’71 Maverick new. Like yours, it was dreadfully slow. It did not have a strong appetite for fuel and I’ll wager your’s will do even better given the strides in technology between 1971 and the time yours was built.
You have indeed struck gold (or maybe beef) with your Maverick. Something tells me you’ll be taking good care of it, keeping it parked inside, and driving it very little. Smart man.
Jason, I finally reached the top of the underground parking waiting list in my condo building! It was worth the wait. LOL
I have a yellow one just like that
I’m more into vintage VWs, myself…
Call it a hunch Joe, but I think this will be one of the less expensive personal classics you’ll own.
Bet the compact size will make parking in your living room…oops…neighborhood a breeze!😜
Jokes aside (and this was a good one!), from today’s perspective, I’m astounded that at one time, a 140hp Maverick was the top of the power spectrum. Today, only a handful of 4-cylinder econocars have *fewer* than 140hp.
Nice looking model. Happy April Fools!
I have mixed feelings here, Joe. I am certainly happy that you found a car that satisfies your inner cowboy. With a Mustang in your past, a Maverick seems a natural step forward for you – as a Ford guy, hopefully you don’t get burned by this brand.
However, I never really liked the way these drove. As you note, it can barely mooove out of its own way. And they don’t steer that well either. How you got roped into this one, well I hope that the powerful rich dude didn’t cow you into it.
One word of advice – be careful with those black vinyl seats on a hot day. You wouldn’t want to get a rawhide.
JP, reading this made me hungry for beef for dinner, for real. I actually splurged on a delicious Chinese meal for dinner tonight from my favorite restaurant (beef with broccoli), but if I hadn’t done that, it would have been thinly-sliced beef for dinner tonight.
So then we can safely assume you are, in fact, deeply awash in cash after all? Nice one!
That was a good one! I got my two sons with a car-related April Fool’s a couple of years ago… a GTO. Pulling up Jackie Blue ear candy now…
How, had I known that the plastic models would have that kind of value nowadays, I would’ve held onto my emerald green “Bunkie-Beak” 1971 Thunderbird. If your Maverick went for $2500, I could’ve easily gotten $4K for it! Sadly, I do not know what became of that beautiful car. I am pretty sure it did not suffer the same fate as my gold ’70 Impala. That one was blown up in a movie shoot (with a couple of firecrackers), sadly.
As always, great photography Joseph. The depth of field and perspective makes that Mav look quite real. I think I would’ve preferred this car in “Grabber Blue” however… ;o)
Thank you, RetroStang Rick. For a while back then (these pictures are nine years old), I was leaving the office on my lunch break and photographing my scale model cars at different spots in the Loop that were of quick walking distance to the building.
On the day I got these shots, it was so very cold outside. I had my gloves off to click the shutter button on my camera, and it took my hands a while to thaw once I got back to my desk.
My 230lb humanity would rather put your Maverick in his pocket than try to seat behind its steering wheel…unless it has a Flivver-style “Fat man’s wheel”
I love April Fool’s articles. If done by you…tops!
Nice! I should really stop being such a prick about Mavericks and get one of these to keep my 404 company in the driveway.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/my-new-curbside-classic-1965-peugeot-404-the-holy-grail-is-in-hand-literally/
BTW, I drove the very first Maverick V8s that was delivered to Towson Ford in what must have been December of 1970 or January 1971 right after the driver drove it off the truck. I had no idea it had a V8, as the announcement of that option had not yet made the magazines. I started it up, put it in gear and floored it, as that was SOP for all Maverick automatics. To my great surprise, it lit up one of the rear wheels quite spectacularly in the parking lot. Whoa!
I opened the hood and was utterly surprised to see the 302 in there. Did they make a mistake on the assembly line? The skinny but taller 14″ tires should have been a give-away, but I hadn’t bothered to look at them either.
I drove it another time, moving it between storage lot, and pulled my first official doughnut with it. Ironically, an old lady ended up buying it.
Hi Paul,
What scale is the Peugeot? It’s very nicely done. 1/18? I started with 1/64 scale because of price/space but a lot of cars are only done, or at least done well, in larger scales. Kyosho and Auto World do very realistic 1/64 scale, though.
Yes, 1:18. By Norev. Follow the link in my comment to see all the pictures. It now has a companion, which I need to write up sometime.
Okay, thanks Paul.
Thanks, Paul. I wonder if the old lady who bought that V8 Maverick ever floored it, and what her reaction was. (I remember liking that Peugeot piece when I had first read it. Great pictures.)
A scale model is probably the most trouble free way to own a classic car! Truth be told most of my cars are just sitting around most of the time.
Nice one Joseph, thanks for the laugh. Some days I think that my VW is a 1:1 scale model 🙂
I did build a Pinto model but I never built a Maverick model. I liked making them so much (and had so little money) that I would buy whatever was on sale.
Looks like Elvis was into model cars too. I bought this the way it is. This is some kind of mash up. I believe that the head came from a liquor decanter. It’s my favorite model.
Where’d the picture go?
I found out a week or two ago that if your picture is too large (like many high megapixel shots are these days, even from an iPhone) that the picture drops out when you click the “Post Comment” button with no warning it’s gonna happen.
And trying to edit your post, you can’t retry the attachment.
Presumably, this is to save space on Paul’s server. I’ll let him speak to that, as all of this is pure speculation on my part.
If you open your picture, and resize it to a more reasonable resolution and file size, you’ll be able to post it.
I replied to this one, so you can go back and reply to your other one (where you intended to put you picture) so that you can try again. May I suggest a size limit of about 500KB or less. That should get it done. My picture the other day in its original form was like 777KB, and I resized it to like 424KB. Somewhere in that range is the threshold, I suppose. Good Luck!!!
Nicely done Joseph! Very convincing. lol
And a great choice.
Motormax has offered some excellent malaise era choices the past several years.
And your Maverick is authentically detailed, and well finished. I know these well because my brother bought a red ’74 Maverick in 1977 as his first car. His was a base model with the 250 inline 6, with a black vinyl interior. Much like yours, only with the Ford corporate wheel covers as shown below.The first year or so, it served him well. But by 1979, it was rusting everywhere! As Fords of this vintage were renowned for.
I still remember the first night that my brother took me out for a drive in his new to him Maverick in the late Spring of 1977, and this was the first song I still remember hearing on the AM radio. I think it was a ‘Philco’ radio. We lived in the country at the time, just north of Kingston, Ontario and he was playing with the tuner. Back then there were a myriad number of American Top 40 AM stations we’d pick up in Canada very strongly after dark, as the US stations had such high wattages. While Canadian stations turned down their power. I’m pretty sure it was WABC in New York we were catching… It sounded pretty cool as this tune was just released…
I picked up the Motormax ’79 Chrysler LeBaron wagon a few years ago. It isn’t perfect, but it’s generally quite well executed.
Thanks for this great post!
Thanks, Daniel! Like you, I tend to form musical associations with experiences, so I can completely understand your tie in with that K.C. & The Sunshine Band tune with your memories of your brother’s car.
As for the crest in the middle of that wheel cover, I always wondered what it was supposed to symbolize!
Great photography.. and story!! I’m a big small car fan.
Fun story. That Maverick is amazingly detailed – really nice one.
My 1972 LDO is literally only a couple weeks old in this photo. I believe it is partially packed for my long drive from the Midwest to Los Angeles to begin graduate school at UCLA. I had to put a quick 1,000 miles on the “break-in” oil to get the first service before I left. It had the 302 and performed fairly well for the time – especially compared to the 1969 Beetle it replaced. Not a reliable car over the long haul but fun when it was new.
Joseph, I hope you are serious about major saving while you are young – and on your wise brother’s advice. I am here to say that you will never regret living under your income now to have a comfortable retirement later on – you will have time to do so many things and the money to pay for them.
CA Guy, thank you, and I am absolutely serious about saving. I appreciate you saying so. I like the color combination on your Maverick – so quintessentially Seventies.
Thanks, everyone, for reading this, the good words, and for playing along. I hope nobody got punked today for real. 🙂
Panel gaps on the model are better than the original. Probably same is true for the orange peel.
Great read Joseph and quite appropriate to April Fools. Nice model car too, what brand and scale is it? Owning model cars is way easier and less work than a real classic. Someone made a comment that there classics feel like model cars and I kind of agree in some sense. This is especially with all the detail work work I have done on mine. I was a huge model car collector as a kid and liked to build the kits. Have you ever seen the Neo brand scale models? They are only 1:43 scale, but very nicely detailed cars. They also have much less common models that we discuss here at CC often.
Thank you so much, Vince! I just looked at the bottom of my Maverick, and it’s made by a company called “Motor Max”. I bought it new at a local drug store some years back for something like just $10. It’s very nicely done, with a hood and doors that open.
I’ve never heard of the Neo brand before, but from what I just saw online, I’m already a fan. Their ’63 Studebaker Avanti looks very nicely done!