Does a car need to be a full-kill Pro Touring, or a finished Pro Street, or something that is so raggedly off-the-wall as Roadkill’s General Mayhem Charger to be an awesome vehicle to drive? Hell no. If anything, having a completely finished car or one that is so well done that it becomes iconic takes away from the fun a bit. What about a nice car that has good lines, a killer powerplant under the hood and can both cruise with the best of them yet has no trouble complying when your darker vices speak a little louder than normal? If that doesn’t appeal to you, check your pulse.
Take, for example, this 1976 Ford Maverick. On the surface, it’s a clean example of the big-bumper compact that Ford sold. The earth tone paint with the (tan? gold? What color is that?!) stripe is very presentable, the tacked-on rear spoiler isn’t bad, and the Weld wheels suit the car well enough. Open the door and look inside…again, presentable, mostly stock with some pleasant upgrades, like a tachometer, some aftermarket monitoring gauges and a newer audio head unit. Again, nice, right?
Now let’s get to the good part: Under the hood is a roller-block 302 with a SCAT 347 kit, tons of Comp Cams goodies, MSD ignition, Hooker headers. Yeah, that sounds like a good time. Pair it off with a five-speed manual and that sounds like a real good time. And take a second look at that shifter: what do you think, line-lock or nitrous? It’s too old and nice to really pull off a serious sleeper act, but it would still surprise anyone thinking they have a regular V8 Maverick in their sights. We like it…what about you?
eBay Link: 1976 Ford Maverick
Other than the spoiler, I like the Maverick.
Lose the wing, convert to small bumpers and I’d be sporting a serious WANT.
Brown seems to be making a come-back on modern cars. That’s ironic as here in the UK brown cars used to fetch a much lower price than any other colour. But with the new subtle metallic shades available now that could all change.
I love the Maverick and I like the spoiler because it gives it an air of a Mustang Mach 1. Please arrange payment on my behalf and include shipping to the north east of England….