The first time I know I was consciously aware of the cars in my neighborhood, I figured out pretty fast that just about everybody owned a Ford Maverick or it’s Mercury Comet twin. I was a couple of years away from kindergarten, but I could spot that body shape all the way up and down the neighborhood, driving around Colorado Springs, in parking lots everywhere. All of them were either brightly colored or were fresh dog turd brown…usually the four-doors were sour and the two-doors were sparkly and sweet. Then, as if by magic, they started disappearing. By the time I was in middle school and was driving a little bit, they were a rarity, as if some mass extinction event had killed off all but the strongest.

Nowadays, I see Mav race cars and the occasionally built one, but finding one like I remember them is nigh on impossible. That’s why this 1972 has my full and undivided attention. The light green color is fantastic. The white roof isn’t what I would’ve gone for but being a blue-plate California car, I’d leave it be, probably nothing to worry about under there. The interior looks good, the body seems straight, and under the hood ye old Falcon Six is still serving dutifully, if not in an excited manner.

Hot-rodding a Maverick/Comet is usually my second-nature. In this case, however, I don’t think I’d go straight for the V8. Instead, I would look at a Holley Sniper 2-bbl kit and some fresh exhaust work to get the Falcon Six up and breathing a little bit better, do some algebra with the gearing numbers until the car is highway happy…maybe a GearVendors to help with that equation. Some brakes worth mentioning, some good time with a buffer, then I’d locate the flat and fluted wheel covers and drive it in it’s most honest state: a nice, cheerful little economic car.

Craigslist link: 1972 Ford Maverick