1971 Grabber Maverick 1972 Ford Grabber Maverick all original and full restoration
18.2 هزار بار بازدید -
4 سال پیش
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Did you know ? Ford
Did you know ? Ford sold more than 580,000 Mavericks in its first extended model year, from mid-'69 through the end of 1970. That made the Maverick a better seller than the Mustang when it hit in the spring of '64.
Here is a fine pair a 1971 Ford Grabber Maverick in Yellow over black and all original, side by side with 1972 Grabber Maverick in Medium Blue Metallic going through a full concours restoration and likely to be the nicest Maverick in existence.
Grabber was an apt name for Ford's cut-price V-8 coupe: Maverick was grabbing for the low end of the performance car market with a machine that, either hilariously or foolishly (or both), didn't offer any additional performance. Grabber was truly a trim package, nothing more: a harbinger of days to come later that decade. To its credit, Ford never pretended that it was a performance-car killer, even calling it "more of a jazzy firecracker" than "a superbomb" in its own advertising.Even so, the Grabber package lent a sporting flair to the cut-price coupe, and today, three and a half decades on and fresh off another summer of $3 per gallon gas, the oft-forgotten compact Maverick Grabber deserves a second look. If you have trouble getting past the Grabber's lack of actual performance equipment, try viewing it from the perspective of its potential--these lightweight cars have the look, and their Falcon/Mustang underpinnings mean they're a few parts swaps away from big fun.The introductory 1970 Maverick models lasted 18 months, and those early Grabbers were merely a trim level, offering stripes, a blackout grille and precious little else.For 1971, though, the Grabber became its own model within the Maverick family. The package included simulated hood scoops (which, simulated or not, looked darned good) with blackout paint, Grabber stripes on the sides, fender decals, blackout tail panel, grille-mounted road lamps and Maverick nameplate, blackened grille, hubcaps with trim rings on 14-inch wheels and D70-14 tires, twin body-color sport mirrors, a decklid spoiler offering a little more of a duck-tail effect, bright window frames and drip moldings and the DeLuxe steering wheel. Most importantly, V-8 power became available, as it did throughout the Maverick line, in the form of Ford's reliable 302.For 1972, Grabber added "full-width" seats in a choice of vinyl or cloth, carpeting, and four different colors of tape stripes and matching painted rear panel; only a 3.00:1 rear gear ratio was available. A year later, the 5 MPH battering-ram front bumper debuted, and the scooped hood departed in favor of a new tape treatment on the standard flat hood, along with new side stripes and rear valance treatment.
In 1971, the two-barrel, 9:1 compression 302 was rated at 210hp, good enough for mid-9-second 0-60 and sub-17-second quarter-mile times.For 1972, the auto industry switched from gross to net power figures, which explained much of the year-to-year power decline to 143hp in the 302. Lost in that massive dip was Ford dropping the F-code 302's compression half a point, to 8.5:1. Compression dropped again to 8.0:1 for 1973, but power stayed at a rated 140hp; by 1975, with compression remaining at 8.0:1, the 302 was rated at a paltry 129hp.Parts for the 302 remain plentiful at the corner store, and hop-up parts, invisible or otherwise, are nearly as plentiful for the 302 Ford as they are for the small-block Chevy.
Transmissions Two were available throughout the Grabber's life: a three-speed manual shift, which was standard on the Grabber and elsewhere in the Maverick range, and the Cruise-O-Matic three-speed automatic, perhaps better known in gearhead circles as the C4. Standard column shifting was a given, no matter which transmission was available; a floor shifter for either transmission was optional. These are, as is usual with Mavericks and Fords in general, stout units that should provide few problems, assuming they've been well maintained.
Differential The 8-inch axle lived under V-8 Mavericks throughout the model's lifetime. For 1971, ratios varied slightly depending on engine, transmission and whether the car had air conditioning or not. Starting in 1972, all Mavericks had a 3.00 rear regardless of engine or transmission. There wasn't enough power on tap to warrant a limited-slip differential.
Suspension and chassis In keeping with its low cost and "simple" advertising tagline, there was nothing cutting-edge going on under the Maverick: independent coil-sprung suspension up front, with semi-elliptical leaf springs in the rear attached to subframes, attached in turn to a steel unit-body.
Here is a fine pair a 1971 Ford Grabber Maverick in Yellow over black and all original, side by side with 1972 Grabber Maverick in Medium Blue Metallic going through a full concours restoration and likely to be the nicest Maverick in existence.
Grabber was an apt name for Ford's cut-price V-8 coupe: Maverick was grabbing for the low end of the performance car market with a machine that, either hilariously or foolishly (or both), didn't offer any additional performance. Grabber was truly a trim package, nothing more: a harbinger of days to come later that decade. To its credit, Ford never pretended that it was a performance-car killer, even calling it "more of a jazzy firecracker" than "a superbomb" in its own advertising.Even so, the Grabber package lent a sporting flair to the cut-price coupe, and today, three and a half decades on and fresh off another summer of $3 per gallon gas, the oft-forgotten compact Maverick Grabber deserves a second look. If you have trouble getting past the Grabber's lack of actual performance equipment, try viewing it from the perspective of its potential--these lightweight cars have the look, and their Falcon/Mustang underpinnings mean they're a few parts swaps away from big fun.The introductory 1970 Maverick models lasted 18 months, and those early Grabbers were merely a trim level, offering stripes, a blackout grille and precious little else.For 1971, though, the Grabber became its own model within the Maverick family. The package included simulated hood scoops (which, simulated or not, looked darned good) with blackout paint, Grabber stripes on the sides, fender decals, blackout tail panel, grille-mounted road lamps and Maverick nameplate, blackened grille, hubcaps with trim rings on 14-inch wheels and D70-14 tires, twin body-color sport mirrors, a decklid spoiler offering a little more of a duck-tail effect, bright window frames and drip moldings and the DeLuxe steering wheel. Most importantly, V-8 power became available, as it did throughout the Maverick line, in the form of Ford's reliable 302.For 1972, Grabber added "full-width" seats in a choice of vinyl or cloth, carpeting, and four different colors of tape stripes and matching painted rear panel; only a 3.00:1 rear gear ratio was available. A year later, the 5 MPH battering-ram front bumper debuted, and the scooped hood departed in favor of a new tape treatment on the standard flat hood, along with new side stripes and rear valance treatment.
In 1971, the two-barrel, 9:1 compression 302 was rated at 210hp, good enough for mid-9-second 0-60 and sub-17-second quarter-mile times.For 1972, the auto industry switched from gross to net power figures, which explained much of the year-to-year power decline to 143hp in the 302. Lost in that massive dip was Ford dropping the F-code 302's compression half a point, to 8.5:1. Compression dropped again to 8.0:1 for 1973, but power stayed at a rated 140hp; by 1975, with compression remaining at 8.0:1, the 302 was rated at a paltry 129hp.Parts for the 302 remain plentiful at the corner store, and hop-up parts, invisible or otherwise, are nearly as plentiful for the 302 Ford as they are for the small-block Chevy.
Transmissions Two were available throughout the Grabber's life: a three-speed manual shift, which was standard on the Grabber and elsewhere in the Maverick range, and the Cruise-O-Matic three-speed automatic, perhaps better known in gearhead circles as the C4. Standard column shifting was a given, no matter which transmission was available; a floor shifter for either transmission was optional. These are, as is usual with Mavericks and Fords in general, stout units that should provide few problems, assuming they've been well maintained.
Differential The 8-inch axle lived under V-8 Mavericks throughout the model's lifetime. For 1971, ratios varied slightly depending on engine, transmission and whether the car had air conditioning or not. Starting in 1972, all Mavericks had a 3.00 rear regardless of engine or transmission. There wasn't enough power on tap to warrant a limited-slip differential.
Suspension and chassis In keeping with its low cost and "simple" advertising tagline, there was nothing cutting-edge going on under the Maverick: independent coil-sprung suspension up front, with semi-elliptical leaf springs in the rear attached to subframes, attached in turn to a steel unit-body.
4 سال پیش
در تاریخ 1399/03/30 منتشر شده
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