The four door, as a rule, has always been "less desireable" as a car to drive/restore than a two door, as is the hardtop favored over a sedan. Having lived in the 1957 Chevy world (some years back), the chain mostly followed this path (from cool to less cool): Convertible - 2 dr HDTP - 2 dr Sedan - 4 dr HDTP - 2 dr wagon - 4 door sedan - 4 dr wagon I had a 2 door HDTP, so my place on the "food chain" was higher. It amuses me that nowadays the only 57 Chevies you see left available to restore are the lowly wagons and 4 doors, with the convertibles nearly non-existant and the hardtops fetching BIG BUX in sorry shape. My opinion? The "classic car pond" has been fished hard over the last 30 years. The number of desireable cars and potential candidates will, eventually, come to a standstill, as sources are depleted through natural decay, active reduction (crushing), or restoration. Given what is left, nobody is going to want to restore a 1981 Chevy Citation, or any other number of vague, vanilla titles that did not hold interest at inception, and never will. My conclusion? Love them for what they are. Four doors are no longer seen as junk - for goodness sake, the new Chargers are ONLY built as four doors, and you see a LOT of them on the road!! Wagons, once seen as 'family trucksters", are the new cool ride, with car shows sporting untold numbers of interesting models of all vintages. To each his own....save it while it's available - because one day, there will be none left. Chris
i would love a 74 &up maverick I'd even kill to get my hands on one of those Brazilian station wagons & i know some others would to.... just to be different it would like this...... This would get all types of respect in my hometown.... where my buddy has a 4x4 mustang and another has a 4x4 corvette.... lol
Bottom line big bumpers = ugly Small bumpers = Perfect body lines and style. Also if they should be "preserved" you shouldnt repaint them any other way than factory, shouldnt put on different wheels, so on and so forth. IMO saying that they should be left alone or not changed and then changing everything else except the bumpers is hypocritical.
I just punched in Big bumper Maverick in google images and this came up!!! No just kidding,i have a 64 Mercury pick up and did a search for 1964 tow trucks and found this one thought it fit the bill.
just let me make me make one thing clear i'm not one of these make it back to stock original kind of guys.. why? it's a maverick no one cares... ok maybe a few people... but i don't lol! but personally i would just keep the bumpers that come with the car. 73's for sure they were only made for one year (well at least the fronts) just hard to find these days period... thus differant. i own a 74 i think the bumpers are butt ass ugly! i still love the car though... lol! these days with all the small conversions i'd just keep it the way it more so now just to be differant from all the maverick bad wagoners. doh!
See!!! Thats what happens when you skimp with the Worcestershire Sauce on the chocolate cake!!!! n I thought that was the American Way!!!!!!! PS, I like Hawkco ways of thinking, tried my cake without worcestershire,,,hmm PRETTY GOOD!!! PSS anyone want to buy 23 cases of Worcestershire sauce????
My Comet has it's big ass bumpers that i don't plan on changing any time soon and i do like 4-doors also, but then again i have changed my front to a Maverick front so i guess i'm still part of the problem.huh:
Bah. There is no problem. We need both types of people. We need them and they need us. I am very GLAD there are people who want to keep every meticulous detail stock and original. I am not one. The whole conversation makes me tired, and listening to Mustang and especially Corvette people talk about it is insufferable at best. It can turn somebody into a real douchebag if they get the wrong attitude, which is easy, because these people are proud of their cars as they should be. (Big bumper people- I'm not saying this is you, but careful that you don't let it happen) When that crowd criticizes my car they've crossed the line. They imply (or say outright) that I took shortcuts or that I am not as skilled as they are, or that I'm cheap, I ruined that poor car, etc., and I then want to give them some free dental work with my non-original tire iron. I could just as easily argue that all they did is follow a preordained plan and throw money at it, and that's not fair either. But I am glad they are here, because somebody has to do it. These cars do need to be preserved. How many of the more mundane cars from 50-70 years ago can still be seen today as they were then? Not many. Some get turned into rods that retain nothing original but their vague shape, some get gutted and tubbed to go racing, and most get thrown away. Right now any car from the 50's and back is cool and worth having, but no doubt many of the more "boring" cars from back then are fully extinct. So I applaud the "keep it original" crowd. You are making sacrifices most of us won't make, to be the caretakers of something most people won't appreciate for at least 10-20 more years. But whenever the time eventually comes, your cars will matter more than mine. Right now though, not so much. There are still enough Mavericks around that the rest of us can Frankenstein them into something we think is better than original. Give us a couple of decades I'm sure we'll have ruined enough of them that yours is worth quite a bit more.
facelessnumber i could not have said it any better and i pretty much like all our types of cars no matter how they are done. And love the tire iron comment .
I sorta like number 2 but i'd worry it would drag on all the curbs unless you went up them really slow.
The person who owns the car is the only one that should have the final say in how its done, and if that final say is to use someone elses opinion sobeit. History... its for books. A nice stock factory car is fine and dandy, but I dont have the time money or patience for it. If I hate how it looks/is factory, then I'll make it look how i want. ( I'm not trying to be disrespectful, I'm tryin to word it as nice I can.) really it all comes down to what the owner wants/can afford. I plan to paint mine just plain silver. Why? because my uncle has some silver that hes not gonna use and will give it to me. I do however plan to try to go as close to stock on my 57 wagon as i can. not because its cool or worth more or the right thing to do, but because its what I want. If you cant do what you want with your car, whats the point in owning a classic? Sorry if I stepped on any toes, but thats just my opinion. Not saying this is the only way or anything. Edit: my wagon is a 2-door, so I'm not quite at the bottom of the "food chain" And it has a Chrysler engine/pushbutton transmission. (neither one any good, rust)
If you need any ideas - check out Madbaverick's silver, big bumper car. It's a nice car. http://mmb.maverick.to/showthread.php?t=46885 http://mmb.maverick.to/showthread.php?t=46847
