(first posted 8/9/2016) Things have really changed changed quickly the past few years here, in regard to the former demon weed marijuana. So much so that folks will put out a nice classic car for sale on a busy street corner and ask for weed in trade, right there on the For Sale sign. And if you call up the number on the sign, and ask just how much weed they’re wanting, they’ll not only tell you in no uncertain terms, and even offer to to buy more from you for cash. Weed For Clunkers. Or classics, I should say, in the case of this fine Maverick Grabber.
I was in a rather desperate hurry when this Creamsicle Maverick first grabbed my attention, given that I had a Moen shower valve in my pocket and was heading to my favorite plumbing supply shop, that freely dispenses advice (as well as parts). It was advice I needed just then. And I got it. Too bad I didn’t implement it well.
So not more than 20 minutes later, I was heading there again, this time with the cold shut off valve insert from the Moen valve, having dropped the hot one into the void of the wall cavity as I was attempting to screw it back, through the round opening in the tub wall behind that chrome plate of the tub/shower handle. It’s the plumbing equivalent of brain surgery, and I failed. But I had cleared the arterial blockage/mineral debris that had clogged that valve, so at least I knew the main problem was solved, so I gave myself three minutes to shoot the Grabber. Good thing. I almost made a drug deal as a result.
First stop was the For Sale sign, as I was quite curious what a rather pristine Grabber could nab these days. The answer is: “OMMP trades or Powerstroke”. Any Oregon resident will instantly know what “OMMP” stands for (Oregon Medical Marijuana Program), and you all certainly know what a Powerstroke is (a big Ford diesel pickup, for you non-Americans). “OMMP” as well as just “medicine” has of course become the euphemism for cannabis here, although now that recreational marijuana is legal here too, “OMMP” is not used quite so much anymore. It’s all out of the closet now. And it’s quite a revolution, really. In my neighborhood, it’s growing everywhere in back yards.
But why just “OMMP trades”? Well, the Montana license plate might be an explanation. Montana has a very restricted MM program, and no recreational, so street prices are much higher than Oregon. So maybe they’re looking to swap one of Montana’s finer Mavericks for some of Oregon’s finer crops. It certainly won’t be the first time.
One certainly doesn’t have to be stoned to appreciate this fine example of a Grabber, the decor package that elevated the Maverick from poverty-mobile to entry-level slave-wage-mobile. Something to cheer a young woman up on a cold, dark morning on the drive to another day in a cubicle.
Yes, they did have those in 1974, although not quite as commonly. And now offices are moving back more to the way they looked back in the 1920s. Except for laptops instead of typewriters; and not in such orderly rows.
Yes, the Grabber was strictly all show, and no go, given the standard 84 hp 200 inch six. Or possibly the 91 hp 250 incher. the seller didn’t specify which one, so we can only guess. Or hope. Or just despair.
But who cares about that on a nasty cold morning? It’s the little touches like the orange highlights backing up the Maverick logo on the grille that really count. You still have doubts this was a “Secretary Special”.
Dad told her to stay away from those furrin’ cars when she got that first job at All-American Industries straight out of high school, with full benefits and enough pay for both an apartment and a new Maverick. Yes, 1974 was just a year or two past the all-time peak hourly earnings for Americans. I wonder if anyone has ever calculated how average hourly earnings for recent high school grads has changed since then. Don’t ask…wrong topic…wrong time of year…wrong web site…see how cheerful it is in there?
Even the back seat looks cheerful, until one tries to sit back there. Lee Iaccoca’s decision to recreate the 1960 Falcon with fashionable bell bottoms, wide lapels and miniskirts resulted in a 6″ loss of wheelbase, all of it out of the back seat. Young kids don’t care about that; they have competitions to see how many of them can cram into a VW. Let them try that in a Maverick…
Well, much has changed since this Maverick’s day. Certainly no one considered trading marijuana for one in 1974, although Jimmy Carter did come out very strongly for decriminalizing it in 1977. But one ounce isn’t going to buy this Maverick. I did wonder how much marijuana the seller has in mind? Only one way to find out.
So I called him up, and told him I didn’t have a Powerstroke, but was interested to know roughly how much he wanted in OMMP trades. “Well, that depends on what you got; I’d like to see it first. But I’m thinking about 8 plus (pounds). How much do you value your stuff at?”
His immediate directness put me on the spot a bit. “Ummm…eleven, twelve, thirteen? (hundred per pound).” (I’ve heard wholesale prices have really been slipping, but I’m hardly an expert). “Oh! Well, hey man, I’d really like to see it; I’d pay cash for that, and as much as you got, if it’s reasonably decent.”
Oops…I’ve underpriced my imaginary product. I never was good at buying and selling cars, never mind with weed. “Well, yeah; let me think about that a bit more. I was really attracted to your Grabber more than the cash…I’ll get back to you…” Actually, current prices in Oregon for outdoor-grown cannabis is down below $1400 (an all-time low) on the spot market, according to the most reliable source. So I wasn’t far off. And I was talking about last year’s outdoor leftovers.
“Yeah, man; do call me back…I don’t really need to sell the car; I’ve got plenty of cash. I’m really looking for product…” So is the Grabber sitting there with its For Sale sign just a classic bait and switch routine?
Postscript/Warning/Disclaimer: Selling Medical Marijuana in Oregon other than to a licensed OMMP dispensary or directly from a licensed OMMP grower to their registered OMMP patient is still strictly illegal. The sale of recreational marijuana is likewise highly regulated (and taxed). Of course, enforcement is essentially nonexistent. Unless one happens to get pulled over in a Creamsicle Grabber on the way to Montana with 8+ pounds of weed.
Not my style, but that is a superclean Maverick. At £8, it sounds like a bargain. hehehe
These look much much better without the cow catchers (5 MPH) bumper bars.
The bullet mirrors look great. However, GM made them nicer.
Brings a whole new meaning to “Grab a smoking deal on a Mavarrick”.
What car can you get for some coke?. No not that Ed one ina can!.
I called that phone number. It’s the Montana State Pics drug squad. I hung up quickly. But I think I told them my name was Paul N….. Something.
I remember the Ford Maverick and Mercury Comet. Although no-one in my family owned one, and I’ve never driven one, I’ve always preferred the car over the Mustang and Cougar.
Apart from revolutionising the vintage car trade, what effect has the (sort-of) legal weed had on the fabric of Oregon society?
It has absolutely flooded the Portland area with a massive amount of new arrivals, causing unprecedented rent/house price surges and pushing out locals. And we now have the largest homeless camp in the country.
Portland (and Eugene) are also experiencing strong (non-weed related) job growth, like other West Coast cities and elsewhere. Portland’s (and SF/Seattle) issues are not just because of legal weed.
And the homeless issue has been growing in all these cities for decades.
I don’t know if you live in Portland but none of that is related to marijuana. The homeless population has been a problem for a long time now and hasn’t changed in the last 2 years, and housing prices have been skyrocketing for the last 5-10 years.
A lot of money has come out in the open. Folks are opening lots of businesses, weed or not weed related. Official unemployment is super low; and that doesn’t count those working for cash. There are dispensaries popping up everywhere.
But all it’s really done is bring out into the open what has been going on here for decades. People no longer feel the need to hide what they do. But if you’re thinking/wondering whether society is going to hell, umm, no. The issues that have been problems are the same ones that have been around for a long time now.
It wasn’t just the legal weed that has changed things, true, but I believe that it was definitely the thing that put the popularity of Oregon over the top. Mixed in amongst the everyday Portland traffic, you see plates from any and all of the United States. And most of the time the driver is a stoner stereotype. There are 156 pot shops in Portland now.
Personally, I love weed. But I didn’t anticipate the negative effects of legalization.
lw wrote: “Personally, I love weed. But I didn’t anticipate the negative effects of legalization.”
Legalizing controlled substances in general has the
effect of decreasing demand for them.
Same with good ol beer & cigarrettes: Take away
the silly age minimums at which you can buy them,
and sales will go down over time.
(OOPS: so will tax revenues – the REAL reason for
those age limits in the first place!)
My parents bought a green ’73 Comet two-door
new, to replace the “rusting fire trap” my father
considered Mom’s ’66 Mustang to be after I
came along in 1970. The back seat photo
in this article brings back memories of sitting
in similar digs as a small child!
The net effect on the state’s coffers has to be significant. Not only are they earning tax money on the product they are getting tax money on all those profits that were not declared on anyone’s income tax.
Washington State actually does not allow growing plants for personal use, if non-medicinal. In a way it makes sense to increase legal sales and tax revenue.
Time will tell as to how strictly this is enforced. When going for walks during late summer there are an awful lot of dead skunks lurking about.
I’d like this well done Maverick pre big bumper and with 302 if given a choice. Had in the family a ’72 Mercury Comet version, 2 door 302 auto with PS and not much else, fairly base trim.
At one time the family had a total stripper ’74 Duster. I would take a Duster over a Maverick given the choice. The styling does imitate ’65-’66 Impala, but a nice looking copy they were indeed.
Actually, Washington allows 4 plants per adult household member, recreationally.
It’s actually a Class C felony to grow personal use in WA. Up to 5 years in jail and $10,000 fine. There is a petition circulating now for a bill (HB 2629) to legalize personal grow. Would allow 6 plants per adult, 24 personal ounces for possession at home.
This no grow at home provision was in the voter approved law passed in 2012.
No in Washington state it is illegal to grow recreational marijuana for one’s own consumption. http://www.liq.wa.gov/mj2015/faqs_i-502
The other thing is that easy access to supplies for the DIY’er is drying up quickly. Lots of indoor gardening stores around here have closed down, kind of proving out that the equipment and fertilizers the sold were not intended for, nor were used for growing “tomato plants”.
My local NAPA is in a little strip mall. The building used to house a indoor gardening store and had a space that had been vacant for some time. Not that long after the legal sales were up and running the indoor gardening store closed. The vacant store front became a recreational store a little later.
The ironic thing is the vacant gardening store has finally been filled with a gun store. So we have a gun store with a big sign stating that “federal law prohibits controlled substances on the premises” right next door to a weed store with a big sign on the door that says “state law prohibits fire arms on the premises”. So you have to put your weed/guns in your car before you go into the other store to buy your guns/weed. The good news is you can bring your weed and guns into the NAPA.
Comment of the day. Particularly appropriate since the buyer of the feature Maverick would likely be spending some time at the local NAPA. At least he’ll be able to bring in his guns and weed when buying parts. Or maybe the NAPA can offer to safely hold the guns/weed of people patronizing the next door gun/weed stores.
Damn…you all were right. Oregon allows 4 plants per adult but not Washington.
Yes a great comment and so unexpected in a post about a ’74 Maverick Grabber.
What I don’t understand, if everything is becoming so legal, is why there aren’t more 100% organic, non-GMO outdoor farms growing healthy high quality. These DIYers are using chemical fertilizers and insecticides with no growing oversight whatsoever as far as I know.
Of course the DIY’ers and the former black market growers had zero oversight.
Stuff sold at retail has to undergo testing by a Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board approved lab, what exactly they test for other than THC and CBD content I’m not sure. I’m betting that there are a number of legal producers of both marijuana and edibles that would qualify as 100% organic and there may be some marketing it as such.
“Stuff sold at retail has to undergo testing by a Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board approved lab, what exactly they test for other than THC and CBD content I’m not sure.”
That is very interesting. As far as I know the suppliers to the dispensaries here in CA are small time DIY growers with no overnight or testing. The “pharmacies” are in the most dilapidated old storefronts imaginable. If you’re talking nice stores with a WA state label on the medicine that’s quite a contrast.
Note I’m talking about recreational, not medicinal which has a entirely separate set of regulations. There is no “state seal of approval” much of it seems to be concerned with labeling the strength just like listing the proof on a bottle of booze. Another part of it is to track it from seed to store, another state requirement, to try to eliminate diversion of the product into the black market. http://www.liq.wa.gov/mj2015/traceability_system
As far as the stores themselves go it varies significantly, more or less following the neighborhood they are in. As I mentioned elsewhere the store near me is in a newer strip mall with the NAPA and some other business and it is right across from Costco. Meanwhile I was driving through the less than affluent part of Seattle this weekend and there was one store that seemed to have recently opened that was in a very run down building that had obviously just been given a crappy quick paint job.
Legalization has pointed out just how prevalent Marijuana use really is. The biggest effect I’ve seen is in real estate and the number of former grow houses that are coming on the market. Chances are if you are in one of the states where it is illegal there is a house near you that is lit up and growing. And it is not just in rural or inexpensive areas. I’ve seen some nice houses in nice middle class neighborhoods with varying amounts of evidence from out in the open left over smells and equipment to things you have to know what you are looking for.
My daughter went off to college last year and because of the price of rent in a college town let alone the dorm rates I choose to buy and collect rent from her roommates instead. When showing her and my wife potential options on line I half jokingly would point out the plus of this house has a nice room to grow your weed. Neither of them believed me that we would find so many houses that had been grow houses.
Over the last two years I have seen many, one I looked at last month couldn’t have been shut down for too long because the smell was still hanging over the house before you even opened up the door. When checking out another the neighbor walked over and asked if I was buying. He said that he had never been inside but knew that the previous tenant had “modified the wiring…for his…um…business”. That particular neighborhood is of houses on 5-7000 sq ft lots and their pricing spans the median pricing for that area.
So the net effect is definitely positive as the gov’t is getting tax money and it is grown in commercial areas, not the house down the street nor near your child’s school. Yes I found one just a couple of blocks from the HS my son and daughter went to, as well as another 2 blocks away from a teacher they both had at that school.
Canada is on the path to federal legalization within the next two or three years, and it’s been extremely helpful to have Washington, Oregon, and Colorado as test cases to look at.
The biggest concern here seems to be how to control and label edibles, and prevent accidental consumption by kids. There was a major story on CBC this week about THC content and common sense packaging standards for chocolate, cookies, beverages, etc. used by producers in Seattle.
It will be interesting to see if legalization increases consumption significantly, or if large numbers of non-users start taking it up.
It would be interesting to see the real numbers of users before and after legalization. The problem is that the before numbers would always be suspect because some people will lie when asked if they do something illegal and looked down upon by many people.
Edibles are certainly a big potential problem. Just yesterday I saw a news story where a number of people went to the hospital because they had apparently eaten infused gummy bear products at a child’s birthday party. That was in California where they are medical only at this point. They quoted a retail price of $25 for a pack of 10 so I think it would be very easy for a small child to seriously overdose. Ditto for the chocolates and all of the other candy type products. Seems like child safe packaging is a good idea but then again there is no child proof cap on alcohol containers and there are things like hard lemonade, cider and root beer and other flavors I can see a kid being interested in and drinking no knowing that they contain alcohol.
My guess is that a lot of people who did it in the past are now doing it again since they can now go to a store rather than having to know “a guy” and having to meet that guy in a less than desirable area.
Rule # 17: Never put white walls on the outside, of a mag wheel!
That happened quite a lot in the 1970s, when this car was new.
Yes, it gave them a “crisp” look to neophyte car buyers. However, it became a faux pas to genuine enthusiasts.
A $200 ’72 Ford Maverick I-6 200hp automatic, 4-door was my first car in ’77. I put wide “Dunlop Gt Qualifiers” in raised white letters, on the unpretentious snail.
I thought I was so cool! lol
My partner told me once how good his Cutlass looked with wire spoked wheel covers combined with white letter tires.
I just smiled.
Must admit the interior does look sort of inviting. I had a plain ’74 Mav four-door in 1983. Solid and reliable but a horrible driving experience. No sense of connection, no possible comfort in the seat. The opposite of the experience Paul describes: After commuting to work in this Mav, the office would be your reward.
Weed in a legal or even semi legal environment is almost worthless or so I thought in Tasmania, never tried swapping any for cars though, probably could have we had kilos of it, Nice old Maverick though a few Aussie Falcon upgrades would lift its game a DOHC motor trans axle and later disc brakes would all bolt in I reckon its certainly in great condition.
Wow. I never thought I would be so enamoured with a Maverick, but the two-tone treatment and that orange vinyl is stunning!
I have no real problem with weed and even if it is illegal in a jurisdiction people find a way. And I’d rather people be smoking blunts than popping pills or shooting up. Can marijuana be harmful? Yes, if you have an addictive personality and you are waking and baking every day. But I don’t really see it being any more harmful than booze and legalising it nets some nice tax revenue (and tourist dollars) for a state. It seems like there’s some solid regulation in place so let’s see how Oregon, Colorado and the other legalisation states go over the next few years.
I’m laughing at your conversation, Paul. Quick thinking on your feet!
I wake and bake everyday and live quite a normal life. My wallet does take a hit but I’ve gotten smarter about it. I live in a decriminalized state that isn’t too far away from recreational legalization. We have an expanded MM program though.
As for the Maverick? It doesn’t quite “grab” me. I can think of much cooler rigs from the same time period.
Exactly, I know habitual smokers who smoke all day, when they can. They live normal, productive lives.
Someone might, MIGHT be able to do that with meth, heroin, cocaine/crack or alcohol…for a while, until it comes crashing down and their lives are completely destroyed. Stoners can “maintain” for decades and live out their lives happy with no real detriment to themselves or others.
This guy I’m speaking of paints cars at a high-end body shop, and he’s the best in the business. Makes excellent money, lives in a nice house, drives a car he loves. Not exactly the “broke loser in mom’s basement” people tend to picture someone as when they smoke as much as he does.
$1400.00 a pound? Boy, prices have changed since the Sixties, when a “nickle bag” was essentially a fist full of product for $5.00.
Although I knew the car to be a joke back when it was new, I’ll have to give the stylists credit. The final effect is attractive, and this is probably as close as you’ll ever get to having an attractive vinyl roof. It fails, but not as badly as 99% of the other efforts.
No comparison. That that “product” was typically Mexican ditch weed, mostly leaves and even seeds. If you were getting anything decent quality, you were lucky or well connected. We used to smoke huge amounts and the results were often based on wishful thinking. And $5 back then is $36 today. The amount of active substances in $36 worth of today’s weed is vastly more than what that $5 bought you back then.
Modern strains are anywhere from 20-60 times more potent. If you haven’t built up some tolerance, one good hi can send you into a full-one hallucinogenic mini-trip (ask me how I know), depending on the strain and THC levels.
Wholesale prices have been on a downward slide for some years; ten years ago or so, they were closer to $7k/lb. That was because of the risk factor being so much higher. Oregon’s first recreational crops are growing this summer, and that will undoubtedly drop prices lower. When weed becomes fully legal, and is grown on large fields and commercially processed, prices will come down a whole lot more.
I’m not disagreeing. I’m just being reminded how old I am. It’s been a decade or so since I last toked (about the same time as the end of my M/C days), and if anything, chemistry has made any and all drugs too bloody powerful for me to be comfortable imbibing.
And back in 1966, you had to go to the black district in town to get any. Johnstown, PA didn’t hit the Sixties until something like 1971.
I’m completely opposite from all of you. I turn 52 in September and to this day I’ve never smoked (weed or otherwise) never taken a single drug (although I have been around or offered cocaine, heroin, etc., etc) and I’m a complete teetottaller who doesn’t drink alcohol ( thanks to parents who were raging alcoholics). And I don’t want too, not even remotely interested. I really and truly don’t understand the appeal. I just don’t. Guess I’m odd man out. You’all can have it.
I’ve never visited Oregon except for a drive by on the 5 up to Seattle. I did stop at a gas station once and could not pump my own gas. I like weird little things like that and want to spend more time in the area.
While I’m up there checking out the old cars I might want to do some research on the other subject. The organic / non-GMO food thing is really hot right now and I’m wondering when that’s going to spill over to cannabis.
My research will be to see if that trend is happening up there. But what a disappointment it would be if my California driver’s license doesn’t get me into a dispensary 🙁 Do I need a prescription or something like that Paul?
Do I need a prescription or something like that Paul?
Nope; just need to be 21 or older. It’s legal as a recreational drug. But edibles haven’t yet been approved for recreational (will be soon as testing protocols are introduced shortly). So you’ll have to inhale. 🙂
MM and Recreational M are two different programs. MM is somewhat cheaper (no 25% tax), and a wide range of products currently, but one has to have an OMMP card to get in. RM is wide open.
Great info and thank you. I might want to have my occasional anxiety and insomnia looked at while I’m up there, if the selection turns out to be much better in the MM stores. But if the only difference is edibles I think I can force myself to inhale. The most important thing for good research is sufficient sample size.
I can’t smoke the stuff, I cough for a half hour from just one hit. I haven’t tried vaping yet tho, just smoking and bongs.
Edibles have been legal for sale in Washington for two years. I bought 100mg (10mg x 10 nasty jack’s malted milk balls) of edibles last month for $30. They’re great when my Meloxicam Rx isn’t doing it’s job on my arthritis.
You can keep driving on up to WA where you can buy recreational edibles.
But you can’t legally take them back across the river 🙁
When the first stores opened in WA the reported avg price per gram was near $40 or far above the black market pricing, yet there were reports of those first handful of stores selling out their first or second day. Since more growers and stores have opened the avg price I saw a few months ago was down to $14/gram. Of course there is a range of prices. In Bellingham there was a bit of a price war going on for a while. One store claimed they were home of the $10 gram (the going price when I was in HS) which prompted $9 and $8 grams from other stores. The one near my daughter’s house was touting $5 grams when they opened but that appeared to be a grand opening special.
Just like grocery stores and coffee shops many of them now have a loyalty/punch card, as my son has shown me “what’s in his wallet”.
After now having some nasty flashbacks to the interior of my paternal grandmother’s 1971 Maverick just now, the interior on this one is downright Lincoln-esque. Scary.
I grew up on seven acres, wooded on three sides. One day, my father had heard the adjacent family – none of which will ever have to worry about glaucoma – had started, uh, gardening. Knowing how they operated, he and I went for a walk in the woods. Sure enough, we found some growing fifty feet from the house, well onto our property. Its growing in a horizontal tire full of potting soil indicated it wasn’t of the wild flower variety (which grew native there). So, it all got cut off at the ground and ran down the garbage disposal in the kitchen.
He’d dealt with it before; he once evicted somebody from his rental house and they left all their plants and grow lights in the basement when they left. I’m not sure how he disposed of it as law enforcement was a joke where we lived.
We threw out several dozen mason jars of “product” in poultice form when we cleaned out the cellar of our farmhouse after we moved in. The farmer we bought it from had bad back problems and his wife (born in Mexico) made it to use (I suppose) as a topical anesthetic. Never did find where she was growing it, though.
I think it may have been more appropriate to trade that cheesy maverick for a big block of cheddar!
I had two of those rims on my matador back in the day
Not the white walls though
Crazy… you’ve got diverse needs when your willing to take either a diesel truck OR weed.
Forget the tiny backseat, with a bench up front that wide and open – that’s where the fun is to be had!
This is great! We’re now trading cars for reefer! Just when you think the world can’t be more absurd, it slaps that last ace on the table and takes all your marijuana, leaving you with a ’74 Maverick. I love it.
That is a “cool” Maverick though; usually you see the thin bumper Grabbers that have a nitrous bottle in the trunk, but this is refreshing, even if it’s not the car that most people would trade all their weed over.
If you think we’ve reached the maximum of absurdity, you’re dreaming.
Just being rhetorical…there’s always room for the human race to surprise you.
If the Maverick Grabber had a Boss 302, the Grabber could had grabbed some Duster. 😉
And speaking of Duster, I spotted this vintage dealer promo film doing a comparo of the Maverick and Duster.
Interesting the change in trim choices on the video. To make the Duster stand out, whitewalls, a vinyl top and a bright gold paint job were all present. While the Maverick sported a plain top, blackwalls, and a less of the moment blue shade. In most years if not 1971, the Megan Draper lookalike would have thought the Maverick trim more tasteful.
Stéphane, this video was superb – thanks for sharing it.
I was wondering if there was a way a 302 Maverick (if it had the Boss motor in it) would have caught a 340 Duster. While the Maverick (290HP/290TQ on a ~2800 lb car) would have had a slight horsepower advantage, the Duster’s higher torque output on a slightly heavier car (275 HP/340TQ ~3100 lbs) would win the day, IMO. The Boss Maverick would have a 10:1 HP to weight ratio and a similar TQ to weight ratio. The 340 Duster has a 11:1 HP to weight, but a 9:1 TQ to weight ratio.
Something like a Boss 302 Maverick would have put it in the same league as the other hot rod compacts, instead of the milquetoast supercar it pretended to be.
Sally Sublette posted a link further down of period road tests, one of which is of a Boss 302 equipped swapped car. In a nutshell, they would seem to be dead even. Its the August 1969 Motor Trend article:
http://www.maverick.to/grabber/Articles.html
The Boss 302 is another one of those engines specifically developed for racing that, when detuned to be sold at dealerships to the public, wasn’t so great. Like the Street Hemi and Boss 429, the Boss 302 was designed to run best at high rpm and didn’t have a whole lot of torque at lower rpms, making it a less than stellar street engine.
OTOH, Ford fixed that issue with the Boss 351 (or any Cleveland series engine, for that matter). It was quite a runner and a 351C-4v, even one that wasn’t at the very top of the horsepower pecking order, in a Maverick would seem to have been ideal competition for the Duster 340, better even than the Nova SS. Unfortunately, it would also have been competition for the aircraft-carrier sized (and undoubtedly more expensive) Mustang, as well. Ford wisely foresaw that scenario, and is the reason nothing bigger than a 302-2v V8 was ever available in the Maverick.
Having owned a 65 Falcon hand me down, I really liked the idea of a more stylish version as the Maverick was supposed to be. I worked at a Ford Dealership in the Early 70’s as a “New Car Get Ready Mechanic” (actual job title). It was your basic entry level position. There was this Dark Green Metallic Grabber fully optioned with the 302 V8 that came through. I wanted that car so bad. They Sold that car 3 times and each time the deal fell through because the buyer couldn’t get financing. I tried to buy it but they wouldn’t sell it to me because they would have to give it to me at just a little over dealer cost. The “Dealer Markup” on those was tremendous. I kept after them each time a deal fell through, but they wouldn’t have it. So I gave up, I was so pissed off, I went down to the competing Ford dealer 3 miles down the road just for spite. (I know, who lives in a town with 2 Ford Dealers 3 miles apart right?). I went in to order a new Grabber just like the one I that was sitting in my dealers lot. I sat down with the salesman and started checking of the options on the order sheet but he talked me into buying one of the cars off of the lot. It wasn’t a Grabber,but it had almost all the options I wanted. I was my very first new car But that is another story. I had a lot of fun with that car but it was built at the dawn of the the decline of the American Automobile. Lets just say it did not hold up as well as the 65 Falcon it replaced.
Brings back instant memories — back in high school I knew a girl who drove an identical Grabber. This was in the late ’80s, so Mavericks were becoming scarce even in high school parking lots, and particularly among girls (parents would usually opt for a used Honda instead), so her car really stood out.
OK, I had a crush on her, and the car was part of it because not only did she have a Maverick, but she loved that car. And she called it a hot rod, which was amusing because a 6-cylinder Maverick hardly made a hot rod, but it was close enough for her, and for me.
Until reading your article here, I never knew the Grabber was just a trim package. Well, if the Grabber was all about show, then the version I knew acted its role perfectly. And as tacky as the orange and white paint job may seem, this car looked a whole lot better than the same model in avocado green.
Thanks for the memories.
Yesterday I spotted a same color combination Mercury Bobcat in a restaurant parking lot. I can’t remember the last time I saw one of those. I wish I’d had my camera with me.
I haven’t seen a Bobcat in so long I can’t even remember what it looks like. That’s a rare puddy tat in the world of 2016!
There’s a late square-lamp Bobcat in relatively good shape lurking around Richmond. I’ve seen it a few times and have some photos; it’s on my list of things I’d like to get around to writing up.
A high-school friend’s mom bough a new ’73 Maverick 4-door (high-end trim & vinyl roof – might have been a ‘Grabber’) with the 302. She said it would pass anything except a gas station!
Happy Motoring, Mark
Mark, that could have been an LDO: “Luxury Decor Option” Maverick. Unless that appeared for the first time in 74. They could be optioned up from plain fabric seat inserts to pleated and buttoned vinyl, as seen above or LDO style all vinyl all the time. Plush shag like carpet instead of rubber, color keyed hub caps, wide vinyl rub strips on the sides.
See what you missed.
Could that ’73 Maverick have been the Ghia edition?
It was white with a tan vinyl roof, thick side moldings with thick tan rubber inserts, shag carpet, pleat & button upholstery, and color-matching full wheel covers. She used to tell stories about high-school kids trying to beat her at traffic lights, thinking it was a six. Then she would blow their doors off.
Maybe another reason it wouldn’t pass a gas station!
Happy Motoring, Mark
There never was a Ghia model Maverick. DweezilAZ is right, it would have had the Luxury Decor Option group.
http://oldcarbrochures.org/NA/Ford/1973_Ford/1973_Ford_Maverick_Brochure/1973-Ford-Maverick-04
“Lee Iaccoca’s decision to recreate the 1960 Falcon with fashionable bell bottoms, wide lapels and miniskirts resulted in a 6″ loss of wheelbase, all of it out of the back seat. Young kids don’t care about that…”
There was a method to Lee’s madness, the extra six inches were still there in the four-door model.
Judging him on his ability to park that Maverick in only one parking space, I’d say that he has a bag to fall back on if it doesn’t sell.
This Grabber makes for a Maverick that I could get interested in. Especially if it was packing the 302.
A cousin had a 73 Pinto with some kind of sport option that was in this same color combo. Very 70s.
With a 302, 4 Speed and bucket seats, it would be a great ride. Even with the I6, the 4 Speed would make it much more attractive.
As it is though there’s just too much ‘blah’ about the car. The I6/Auto is a pretty dismal combo.
I think those floor-shift Mavericks were a rather rare beast, even when new. Was there even a four-speed available? Seems like the only transmission you could get with the 302 was an automatic, and the only manual with a six was the three-speed (although it was possible to get either the auto or 3-speed on the floor, so long as buckets were specified).
Was the Maverick/Comet perhaps the last American-built car introduced with painted metal interior door panels? I guess the rear seat passengers got the full PVC treatment as compensation for the loss of legroom, but the juxtaposition is unfortunate.
The Pinto was introduced later and it had the same painted metal and vinyl combo on it its doors, and of course it stayed around longer than the Maverick.
Perhaps it was. Both the ’70 & ’71 Mav’s I had even had real glass for the lens of the license plate light. And my ’83 Ranger has real metal interior trim
Going on memory here but I think that the Chevy Chevette had metal vinyl doors like this until 1987.
I thought the Grabber package included the 302 , learning , always learning .
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I’d choose the Duster over this car but I do think it’s good looking .
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Liked the promo film strip , thanx for sharing that .
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Good thing SWMBO wasn’t watching else she’d be after yet another pair of boots….
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1974 was the year Ford added the ‘ vacuum amplifier ‘ and about a mile (it seemed) of vacuum hoses to these poor cars ~ we had a huge fleet of them and they ran forever if slowly and thirstily ~ as every one had to be smogged , I wasn’t allowed to by pass the E.G.R. and otherwise tune them to run well .
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-Nate
Hopefully you had your Caller ID cloaked while you were making that call.
Why?
Either you trust these kinds of people more than I do, or your phone number is well anonymized.
“These kinds of people”.
Painting with a wide brush there.
Well this guy is obviously not the most upstanding person.
He is obviously breaking several laws if he indeed finds a willing participant in this deal. I’m also pretty certain he is looking to take what ever he can get back home to MT and I’m betting it isn’t for his mother’s glaucoma.
I’ve read stories that some states around CO have found a fair number of people who have made a trip to CO went to several stores, purchased the limit at each one and are bringing it back home.
What would he do with my phone number?
Call you at 2 am and bug you to sell him all that weed you implied you had.
“What would he do with my phone number?”.
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Are you one of the lucky few that never gets robo calls ? .
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Once you’ve talked to some fool who thinks they can scam you for a Dollar , they’ll resell your ‘phone # many times over .
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The ‘ national do not call list only helps a little bit .
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-Nate
I was ready to buy an avocado green and white LDO Maverick until I drove it. I had to sit on the base of my spine on the test drive!
Ugh! Tried that weed stuff and I don’t like it at all. Can’t stand the taste and the smell literally makes me sick to my stomach. To each their own I guess. But I am glad that some of my “reefer madness” friends are no longer hanging out at my house as much though.
As for the Maverick, it was ok for what it was but nothing special. Notice all the bare metal at the top of the interior door panels, and you’d need to be a contorsionist to get in that back seat. My uncle had one of these things in the ’80s, a red 2-dr that was pretty basic with just a six and auto. He drove it until the front sub-frame literally fell apart. His replacement car was a ’78 Aeroback 4-dr Olds Cutlass, a far better car in every way.
Ha, I’m the opposite on the smell, for some reason I can’t smell it. Walking around the block the other night Mrs says “Hmm those guys were smoking weed on their front porch” and I go “What, really? I didn’t smell a thing.”
Now burnout smoke at the dragstrip, THAT makes me feel sick..
The inability to smell it would have come in handy for me a few years back. For 4 months of 2012, after my fiancee (now wife) moved up to Richmond to start grad school, I rented a room in a house in Raleigh while looking for jobs as I wasn’t planning on moving until I had something lined up. The folks I was sharing the house with smoked frequently, sometimes daily. I’m not opposed to weed at all–I think it should be legalized generally–but I don’t particularly like the smell, and all of the common areas of the house smelled strongly of it. My room stayed mostly clear since I always kept the door shut, but it was everywhere else. I was quite glad to get out of there for a multitude of reasons, but being rid of that smell was certainly one of them!
Dude!
Like its owner, this Maverick probably passes reluctantly.
I have always been repulsed by Mavericks. Three members of my extended family each owned one, and each car, in its own way, was a lemon.
“Grandma’s” was a top line 1977 Ghia two door with 302. It never ran properly…EVER. Misfires, carburetor backfires, stalling…the lot. Cat converter had the rotten egg smell ALWAYS.
“Papa” traded his 1972 Lincoln Continental land barge for a 1976 four door Maverick with the inline 6. It pinged. It surged. It shifted harshly. It was noisy, rode rough, was pathetic. After of year of driving that POS, Papa, for the first time in his life, went GM.
Aunt Rosie had a 1973 Comet version with the 302. Like Grandma’s, that 302 refused to run properly. I remember removing the carburetor one day, and the aluminum EGR adaptor plate (http://www.allfordmustangs.com/forums/attachments/mustang-ii-tech/100831d1275714839-replace-egr-carb-spacer-non-egr-spacer-egr-plate-3.jpg) beneath had corroded, was full of carbon, and a complete mess. The carbon blockage extended down into the intake manifold. Upon removing that for cleaning, I found the passages in the cylinder head were also fully carbon plugged. After cleaning all that junk out, installing a factory steel replacement EGR adaptor and EGR valve, it STILL ran poorly…..I was so glad when Aunt Rosie grew too old drive that POS….and sold it…
This (the car, not the weed) brings back memories. In the summer of 1978, my best friend’s girlfriend got her license, and her father bought her a used 1974 Mercury Comet GT in this exact color combination. Her relatives owned the Chambersburg Lincoln-Mercury dealership (which still survives as a standalone Lincoln dealership), and he bought the Comet there.
The car looked brand-new, and was equipped with the six, bucket seats and a floor-mounted automatic. We took it out for a spin when she got it – and initially drove it with the parking brake engaged, because the warning light was not working. Otherwise, she used the car without much drama throughout the remainder of our time in high school.
Geeber: my Grandmother bought the first Grabber in the Chambersburg area from probably that same dealer. Bright yellow [a real yellow, not that “chrome” school bus yellow used today], all the trim, whitewalls, auto, $2600 out the door and a 60 Falcon [also purchased in Chambersburg for $100 but a few months prior] in trade.
Swingin’ Granny. She met the love of her life not long after and kept that Grabber till they moved to AZ in 1980.
DweezilAZ, the Chambersburg Ford dealer was Hal Lowry Ford, located on Lincoln Way East, towards Fayetteville. That dealership is completely gone now, and a new Ford dealer, located very close to the Lincoln Way exit of I-81, and known as Keystone Ford, has taken its place.
The Lincoln-Mercury dealer was Forrester Lincoln-Mercury. It’s also located on Lincoln Way East, but very close to the hospital. It’s still in the same building, and now known as Forrester Lincoln. I’m guessing that it’s one of the few standalone Lincoln dealers in the country.
In 1977, my grandmother bought a used 1973 Maverick sedan from Hal Lowry Ford. It had the six, but she constantly complained about the poor gas mileage. It was later wrecked by my aunt, and my grandmother located a very clean 1973 Dodge Dart Custom sedan with the slant six. She kept that car until the early 1990s, when she gave up driving. She much preferred the Dart to the Maverick.
Thanks for clarifying. At one point we lived in the cottages at Lincoln Manor while my Dad was doing temporary duty for the Army Depot before moving there permanently. Also on Lincoln Way.
Good memories, Geeber. I loved Chambersburg and PA when we lived there. Beautiful place and wonderful people. Charmed time to grow up.
Dad bought a 62 Rambler Classic wagon from Hal Lowry. Someone had rebuilt the engine, put in the wrong head gasket and the engine burned itself up.
Yes: 73 was about the time when primitive smog controls ruined gas mileage and drivability. I am not surprised she complained.
Dad said he’d never buy any car from the 1974 model year as they all seemed to have bad gas mileage and performance problems.
Old road tests even mentioned throttle cut out on hard left and right turns, backfiring, hard starting. 74 had to be the lowest point.
I never owned one, but I helped a GF buy a Maverick as a $150 beater. Pop had owned an early Falcon as a beater, so I was familiar with the platform and drivetrain.
Compared to the early Falcon, the Maverick’s design disgusted me. The Falcon was simple, honest and fairly roomy for it’s size. It didn’t have an exciting design – I’d compare it to a Volvo 240 – but it just made sense.
The Maverick’s interior was horribly cramped by comparison. Even in the 4-door, the rear seat was almost uninhabitable. No room, and no headroom to boot. The trunk was likewise tiny and virtually useless.
All in the name of style, I suppose, but I didn’t find the Maverick very good-looking, either.
I wonder if the Maverick’s more cramped interior accommodations were done on purpose.
One of the problems with the old Falcon was that it was reasonably roomy for its size. It was thus able to cannibalize a fair number of sales from the low-end, full-size Fords. The full-size cars were more profitable than the Falcon.
I would guess that, prior to the first fuel crunch, the obviously more cramped accommodations of the Maverick dissuaded a fair number of people from trading a Galaxie or even a Fairlane/Torino for a Maverick.
Compacts and Middies led to the death of stripped [non-fleet] big cars like Ford Custom 500, Plymouth Fury I/II and Chevy Biscayne/BelAir. Got more ‘bells and whistles’ for same price, versus just size.
That’s one of the reasons I appreciate my ’64 Falcon. It may have been a cheap car, but it was a ~roomy~ cheap car! 😀 There’s plenty of room for a mid-sized fellow like myself to move about. And it’s got a bench seat and I dig that, too.
I had a ’62 Fairlane SW in ’72 when a friend of mine bought a brand new Grabber. It was cramped, hard to see out of and claustrophobic to me. I much preferred my Fairlane, it was roomier and a lot easier to see out of. He had a 6 in his Grabber and I had a 260 V8 in my Fairlane and I always got better gas mileage than he did. I have kicked myself many times for selling that Fairlane.
This is an early-on PM survey, from the car’s most spartan/frugal days (no 250 or 302 option yet), FWIW. I remember several of these as friends’ “first new car”:
Great survey post. I loved those PM reports. 70% take rate for the manual. Imagine that today. 80% no problems.
See some of the other reports for other cars of the period, way higher numbers of problems. You can access old PM issues in Google Books.
Keep in mind that the Maverick made its debut on April 17th that year, so the sample cars could only be 7 months old, at most. That also would mean no winter condition experience either.
Yeah those old owner’s reports are great to read.
I have no idea how often the back seats of the 2-doors were ever used, but the surveyed owners didn’t seem too disappointed: [Whoops—forgot pic–I’ll post it below:]
Here we go:
There were few complaints because that upholstery pattern gave everyone a seizure, so they were unable to complain. 🙂
Ridden back there many times. And in the back seat of a Gremlin for a long family trip.
A lot of kids got stuffed in those back seats. My best friend’s family bought one of the first Mavericks in town in 1970. Both he and I rode in that back seat many times, but we were young, and didn’t bother complaining.
My parents had a 1973 AMC Gremlin, and the back seat was even more cramped than that of the Maverick.
But remember that the frame of reference for small cars in that era was the VW Beetle, which wasn’t exactly a palace on wheels.
The feeling was that, if you wanted more room, you should buy a bigger car. The idea that a manufacturer could pack more room into a small car by using a front-wheel-drive layout with a transverse-mounted engine didn’t really take hold in this country until the VW Rabbit debuted in 1975, followed by the Honda Accord in 1976.
Definitely: “You want a small car? You can have one, but we’ll make you wish you hadn’t”.
I miss my Mavericks, had a key-on-the-dash 1970, and a ’71. The ’70 had the 170 six, the ’71 the 200. And my Mac tool dealer managed to score a unicorn, a fully optioned ’70 with the 250 six, power steering, and deluxe interior, I didn’t care for the color scheme but very nice condition. And I bet it was a wee bit more than $1995 🙂 Both my sixes ran great while attempting to pull the peel of a rotten banana. The worst six I ever had was the 250 in my ’75 Granada. My Chevy LUV was faster.
The only Maverick I ever drove was a medium green “stripper”, six cylinder and three speed, right when they were introduced in April 1969. Dreadful car. It was obviously cost-accounted to the last dime of its $1995 advertised price. It was cramped and slow, although it certainly seemed well made. I couldn’t wait to get back to my ’68 Volkswagen.
The Grabber always struck me as an attempt to disguise baked crow as a chicken dinner.
One of the more interesting impacts of legalized marijuana is how the levels of THC have increased dramatically from the past. So much so that, frankly, anyone interested in imbibing should seriously consider using the absolute weakest product available. Not only is it much cheaper than the premium quality stuff, it would likely work out better in the long run.
Of course, it’s probably like any recreational substance (like maybe alcohol) where individuals with low resistance are going to steadily ramp-up to the more powerful levels, regardless of where they start.
As to the Grabber, can anyone translate the price from weed to actual dollars? It’s definitely a ‘meh’ seventies’ car, but still a very nice one. If the price wasn’t too bad, it’d be a great way to cheaply get a weekend car show ride, the sort of thing that stands out against the sea of Mustangs and Camaros that proliferate at such events..
While the tape stripe “sporty” car of the ’70s suffers a lot of well deserved criticism, I can’t help but smile at this car, and assume a lot of these probably went to people with a sense of humor and fun. It certainly is about as cheerful a car as I’ve seen in a while. Hopefully the owners were still smiling after a few years of ownership.
As Geeber said, the whitewalls are properly installed for a period piece, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I don’t think anybody has said it, but since the car has been repainted, apparently reproduction tape and logos are available? That, or somebody went through some extraordinary measures for a ’70s economy car.
If that’s a respray, no kidding that someone went to way too much trouble to get the stripes correct. OTOH, the guy definitely sounds like he’s into his weed.
As to the actual preference of the Grabber package back in the day, you have to wonder how many were customer orders as opposed to stock for inventory.
As with the “X” option for contemporary Gremlins, the Grabber option for Mavericks was more popular than you’d think. A fair number of people liked the idea of a small car that LOOKED sporty but didn’t cost them an arm and a leg in insurance and gasoline costs.
Aha! A nice assortment of 1969-70 Road Tests and such (PM, Road Test, Motor Trend, Car Life, etc.) along with Hot Rod’s speed tips:
http://www.maverick.to/grabber/Articles.html
BTW, Paul: Since you mentioned the plumbing chore–thank goodness for the folks who’ll sell you parts *and* give advice (though I’ve had to call real plumbers to save my bacon more than once).
I must point out that this story and the ad would be a pretty salable basis for a feature comedy pitch.
+1
Certainly inspiration for an episode of Portlandia.
That too, but a particular subset of Hollywood “stoner comedy” people would probably be so taken with the opportunity to say “Grabber” repeatedly that that would be an added bonus. In fact, you make the title Get the Grabber.
If it wasn’t for the fact that I’ve become very well indoctrinated in the weed world here, I would have felt like I’d stumbled into a set up. As it was, this added a new dimension for me.
My grandfather seriously considered buying an early 1970 Maverick but ended getting a year end model 1969 Dodge Coronet 500 coupe. I was sure happy he went with the Dodge. That Coronet eventually became my first car.
I had a 1974 Maverick back in the early 1980’s. I’ve mentioned this car before, it came with the standard 250 six (the only six that year and from 1973 on) with the FMX (IIRC) autobox. I had a friend who worked for a Ford dealership where (I eventually worked for it’s competition across town) I got a NOS 289 V8 to swap into it. It was a lot of work and woke the car up, but then the brakes weren’t very strong and it still handled like a shopping cart. The tin worm eventually ruined all of my efforts and I sold the car off…
In the intervening years, I’ve lost my Ford blinders and come to realize that car was not very good. However, seeing this period piece reminded me of how cheerful looking these cars could be with the right package. Not that I would pay for one now, in either weed or cash. It’s like running across pictures of an old girlfriend, when things were going well and the future was bright.
But we all know how it ends…
The brochures list the 200 all the way thru ’77. It actually outlasted it’s bigger sister, the 250 was gone after 1980, but the 200 went until about ’85 or so.
Had a neighbor who had a 1972 or 73 Orange Grabber with black hood and side stripes. He liked it but wife hated it.
My mother had a 1974 Maverick dark blue, with 302 V-8, autormatic, airconditioner and the Luxury Décor option, trim, wheelcovers, vinyl seats……and the 5mph bumper and bumper guards…..and the seatbelt-ignition interlock system.
The V-8 gave it a lot of pep, although the engine compartment was cramped. Rather sporty with the fastback rear window. But when it rained or rear window fogged up, it was hard to see out, especially when backing up. Of course this was before rear window wipers. Instrument cluster and controls were well grouped with headlights, wipers, heater/airconditioner controls and handbrake on left side of steering wheel (which was great as my mother could only use her left hand.)
The seatbelt-ignition interlock system was a pain. Couldn’t start the engine unless driver AND passenger buckled up. If seatbelts weren’t buckled up, you’d get an annoying buzzer and light on the instrument cluster.
I didn’t mind the 5mph bumpers; they were sturdy and did their job. I remembered a mid-1980s car rear ended the Maverick….at about 10mph.. Rear bumper was hardly tweaked, but the other car’s front bumper and fascia was heavily damaged.
We drove the car for 14 years. It was an okay car.
Regarding a car owned by a marijuana smoker. I know how a car owned by a cigarette (or cigar) smoker smells and how difficult to fumigate it, but how about marijuana smell in the car? Can you get that smell out?
This clearly suggest some opportunities for businesses in weed-legal states.
Instead of CarMax advertising that they’ll pay cash for your car, they can offer to give you weed for your car. Or a car for your weed. Instead of title loans, they can offer weed loans – although unlike title loans, they’ll probably want to hold onto the weed until they are repaid.
Since I first read this Maverick for OMMP story my imagination keeps taking it to a more proper conclusion. It’s not helping that Paul keeps posting motorhome pics. The way the story goes in my mind, Paul really wants the Maverick, more than any car in his life. But all of his cash is tied up in the rental business so what to do? Stephanie knows where every dime goes in the family budget so there’s no skimming out of that for another 1970s Ford.
Few people are aware of this, and it’s one of the main reasons he moved to Oregon, but Paul’s other hobby is horticulture, specifically genetic engineering done the old fashioned way by cross pollinating flowers to arrive at the best possible seeds. In the Eugene Gardening Association Paul has achieved master status and has had several hydrangea strains named after him, Niedermeyer Haze being the most famous.
He developed, for medicinal use only!!!, a hybrid cannabis plant that brings you up when you’re down, down when you’re up, has no burnout and tastes like inhaling in a grove of pine trees after an ice cold rain. He has kept this largely to himself, until now.
Never being one to let a good car get away, Paul comes up with an idea. Since the owner doesn’t care much about money maybe he will hold the car if Paul can produce a killer product within the next three months. So he calls the guy back saying he will do three pounds for $3,000 if he will take the sign off the Maverick. Paul offers to meet with a sample of said product and damn if these two don’t hit it off like Walter and Jesse.
To be continued…
Well, I must be smoking something because the typist at right appears to be a time traveling James Taylor hiding in a dress and wig.
By george, you’re right. Shared hallucinations?
Two things entered my mind:
– was driver high when he parked it?
– maybe the car is a DEA honeypot!
At the shop where I worked in the mid ’80s, an elderly woman came up to me, almost in tears, saying her car was stuck in the drugstore parking lot across the street and wouldn’t start. She added her husband was bedridden at home and needed his medication.
So I walked across the street with her to see her car, ’74 Maverick with a bag of groceries on the front passenger seat. I moved the bag and it started right up. Then I explained to her about the seat-belt interlock.
No charge for the ‘road service’!
I think that interlock was the only government-mandated ‘car-safety’ device to ever be so rapidly repealed.
Happy Motoring, Mark
It may have been all show and no go, but I’ve always thought the 2-door Mavericks were damn good-looking cars. The Grabber package and mags help here too.
That color scheme, though, says to me “TEXAS LONGHORNS” quite loudly. I think it’d be a hit in Austin during football season.
Same here, and not because I’m a sports fan, only because I’ve seen several trucks (probably owned by boys who worked in the oil fields) decked out in various sports team colors, including Texas Longhorns in this scheme. I’ve seen enough purple LSU themed vehicles to last a lifetime, traveling throughout Louisiana for work.
There was always one or two “sports team themed” trucks or Dodge Chargers in the contractor’s parking lots when I worked as an industrial contractor.
I called that phone number. It’s the Montana State Pics drug squad. I hung up quickly. But I think I told them my name was Paul N….. Something.
I wouldn’t put it past the cops to use this as a “bait car.” I was just up in Oregon, part of the time in the Eugene/Springfield area. Dispensaries are everywhere, much more numerous than in even the my Bay Area location.Even in the coastal tourist area where we were staying, there were several nice looking retail establishments.
I’m not a fan of marijuana though I grew up during the 60’s-70’s. I know that it has legitimate medical uses. Still, since it’s now legal all over the place I won’t waste any energy getting excited by it. It’s just another influence that can derail a person’s life if mis-used. Just like alcohol, which has ruined many more lives. Edibles do pose danger to children and even unaware adults. Little kids are unlikely to light up but, would be likely to eat gummie bears and other candies. Parents will just have to be alert.
Our “71 Grabber” had a 302 under the hood.
Sorry, but I remember this version of the Ford Maverick, so I’ll completely disinterested and the idea that the owner would trade pot for it is really sad all around.
Attended university in Colorado which is now a total stoner state. Then I went to graduate school just an hour from the Netherlands where that stuff has been legal for generations. Go to a “coffee shop” and they are filled with stoned teen boys during school hours.
The Woodstock generation remembers ditch weed. The stuff out now is mind blowing. You smoke that for a few decades and we’ll see how much brain you got left that isn’t totally paranoid beyond help.
Glad I’m not confronting that crap situation today. Expect more homelessness, more mental illness and more broken homes.
Looks like you meant you’re uninterested in (=don’t want) the Maverick. You’re sure as hell not disinterested (= have no stake/don’t care)—not with that amount of frothy ranting.
There was no frothy ranting over the car. Just the offer. Thanks for the English lesson.
Really sounds like your rant would be better directed at meth and or Fentanyl, which are far more likely to cause homelessness, broken homes, etc.
Weed is not legal in my state, nor any state within reasonable driving distance. Homelessness is very much a problem, getting worse, and none of the wide-eyed vagrants twitching and drooling all over town are smoking weed, I promise. You know what else? Overdoses. People falling out foaming at the mouth.
The real problem is that the drug cartels have switched to Fentanyl and meth because it’s more profitable. You hear about groups of kids overdosing on Fentanyl, about a dad finding his teenage boy face down on his desk, dead, after he took ONE fake percocet, and you’re worried about pot. That’s like being woried about a flat tire when the rest of the car is actively on fire.
If we’re talking FOMOCO here, forget the Maverick… I’ll take that Lincoln LS please.