1976 Ford Maverick

Ford produced the Maverick from 1970 to 1977, serving as a compact model built atop the platform from the discontinued Falcon. The Granada was introduced in 1975, prompting the scheduled end of the Maverick, yet it lived on for two more years (in North America) as uncertainty surrounding the fuel crisis. Both the Granada and the four-door Maverick had a 109.9-inch wheelbase, while the two-door Mavericks received a 103-inch platform. Both came standard with a 200 cubic-inch inline six-cylinder engine with overhead valves, a cast-iron block and head, 8.3:1 compression, seven main bearings, hydraulic valve lifters, and a one-barrel carburetor. It produced 81 horsepower at 3,400 RPM and 151 lb-ft of torque at 1,700 RPM. The two-door Maverick was priced at $3,115 and the two-door Granada at #3,700. The four-door Maverick was $3,190 and the four-door Granada listed at $3,800. The 1976 Granda was vastly more popular with nearly 388,000 examples sold compared to a total of 139,687 units of the Maverick.

While both the Maverick and Granada were similar, the Granada had a long list of optional equipment, adding many features traditionally included on the Ford Gran Torino and Ford LTD. Both vehicles were compact, affordable, and a popular option during the fuel crisis of the 1970s.

Among the biggest updates to the 1976 Maverick was the loss of the Grabber package and the introduction of the 'Stallion' Package which came with special trim and paint. The grilles of the Mavericks were new and front disc brakes were now standard equipment along with new foot-operated parking brakes. The new front grille was slanted forward, incorporating horizontal bars, and split into two sections by a central vertical divider bar. Within the grille, on each end and just before the round headlights, were rectangular park/signal lamps. At the back, the backup lights were integral with the taillamps. The hood had a sculptured bulge, giving it a more sporty appearance but allowing room for the option V8. The 200 CID inline 6 was standard, while the 250 CID six with a one-barrel carburetor or the 302 V8 with two-barrel carburetors were optional. The 250 CID inline-6 produced 90 hp at 3,000 RPM and 190 lb-ft of torque at 2,000 RPM. The V8 produced 138 hp at 3,600 RPM and 245 lb-ft at 2,000 RPM. A three-speed fully-synchronized manual transmission with column shift was standard, while a Select-Shift three-automatic was optional. A lower rear axle ratio of 2.79:1 helped improve fuel economy, along with re-calibrated engines and adding back-pressure modulation of the EGR system. The suspension was comprised of a ball-join setup at the front with short and long arms, while the rear used a Hotchkiss system with a trio of longitudinal semi-elliptic leaf springs. At all four corners were C78 x 14 bias-ply tires. The previous 16-gallon fuel tank was enlarged to 19.2 gallons.

The Stallion package, priced at $329, added styling elements that gave the Maverick a unique and sporty persona. Elements included unique paint/tape treatment on the hood, decklid, grille, lower back panel, and lower body. There was a large Stallion decal on the front quarter panel, dual outside mirrors, raised white-letter steel-belted radials on styled steel wheels, and black grille and moldings. Mechanical upgrades came in the form of a 'competition' suspension.

The two-door body styles had a new optional three-quarter vinyl roof and the four doors could be optioned with the 'halo' vinyl roof. Other items found on the options list included an AM/FM radio with a stereo tape player, reclining bucket seats, paint stripes that traversed the bodyside and over the roof, decklid luggage rack, rocker panel moldings, deluxe seatbelts, forged aluminum wheels, tinted glass, and fuel monitor warning light.

The four-door sedan was the more popular of the two body styles, with 79,076 examples built compared to 60,611 of the two-door sedan.

By Daniel Vaughan | Jun 2018