my '71 isnt a Grabber, but probably had just as much if not more options than any Grabber ive seen of the same yr. in my eyes, the "93" in the vin is worthless. a hood, spoiler and some stripes don't make these cars appealing..... the owners do
I think the Grabber,Sprint,Etc. will always be worth more than the plane jane mavs, but its the sentimental value of this car you have to think about when deciding to save the car, good thing is its a grabber so you will be able to spend more to fix it before you get to the point of spending more to fix it than its worth.. they do keep going up in value , slowly compared to a lot of other cars but, still up. I would say save it if possible, I have regreted selling , cutting up, parting out,etc. some of the cars I have had in the past , but never regreted re doing one. best of luck with them no matter wich way you decide to go.
Cloning just isn't my thing... a lot of people do it... but i like to have the real thing... a true Factory 71-72 Grabber to me is exciting
Tough question ... Have you had experience fixing a rusty car? ... If not, I would say go with the nicer shell. Are you planning to keep it stock, (6 cylinder, etc)? ... If not, go with the nicer one. You can still use all the "good stuff" off of your dad's car and it will be a nice tribute to him. Just the fact that you are thinking in these terms is cool and would make your dad smile. The rust you can see is only a fraction of what is actually there. If you can see a lot of rust, I guarantee that there is still more there. My car has always been a Florida car and looks really solid from 10 feet,( and it is) and yet I will be doing new metal patches in about 10 places when it is all said and done... some small, some not so small. I am just learning welding now, and I don't think I would want to deal with too much more here.
thanks for the response.i think i will park the grabber in the back of the shop and find the parts to fix it later .i have a spare wing and sport grille to use on the plain jane car i need to find a grabber hood or scoop of some sort .i hate flat hoods.what are your thoughts on ldo seats? thanks for the great site. todd
Listen if you guys want these cars to really turn into something and I believe they will. Then you must respect vin numbers. As a Shelby and Cobra Torino owner and restorer I have seen first hand what happens to the genuine car when everyone starts cloning. All it does is diminish the market, granted they may never reach shelby status but no one knew what a shelby was to become either ... JMO..............
Well, whatever floats your boat. I've got a '72 Grabber, factory V8 floor shift car. The only thing different about it to me then any of my other 8 Mavericks is a 3 in the VIN.. A nice Maverick is a nice Maverick. If the Grabber VIN is that big of a deal to you, just swap it to the nicer body. If you do it right, no one could prove any different.
Personally, I'll leave all that crap to the Rustang guys. Some of us aren't in it for the money. I could care less what the market for these cars does, if it totally tanks out, all the better I think. There's enough overpriced old junk out there as it is. I like Mavericks, Grabber or not, clone or not. Though personally, I'd take a nice small bumper Comet over any Maverick.
I highly agree with Cjtorinoman... That's why VIN are so imporrtant when it comes to Muscle cars... Grabbers and gt's are starting to get recognized... and people are paying for them... to me it's nice to have a Low Production car.... and as for clones it takes away the History of the car itself...
I personally hope that they DON'T turn into something,because then I wouldn't be able to afford them.And I also believe that if they were going to "turn into something"(more valuable I'm assuming)they already would've.These cars(oldest) are knocking on 40 years old,there are late '70s-even '80s cars that are already more valuable as far as market goes.I'm content with a relatively tight group of people who like these cars and don't get bent out of shape(for the most part)if the motors been changed/stereos/small bumper conversions,etc. As far as cloning,I kinda agree.But why do those top-end cars get cloned?Probably because the real deal is out of reach for most people who want one.So,they grab a 302 Torino/307 Malibu or whatever,and buy up all the stuff to make'em a 429SCJ Cobra or 454 SS Chevelle.I see nothing wrong with this as long as they don't try & pass it off as the real thing.It does diminish the market,but I betcha those clones are out there being enjoyed while the real cars more often than not stay locked away in garages(they are after all,too valuable to drive with the goofball drivers out there nowadays). The car this guys got is a 6cyl rustbucket.He has a good non-Grabber body(that he should fix IMO).All that makes the "GRABBER" is the vin(and it's a 6 to boot)and a few stripes/mirrors/hood/spoiler.Big deal.Maybe it would've been worth saving if it were a v8/stick car.Maybe not.Neat thing I've noticed about the Maverick/Comet market is,if it's a well kept original,the Grabbers/GTs are worth more.But to throw money at a car & do it from the ground up,a well done,properly modified car(with or without the 93 vin) will almost ALWAYS bring more than a restored stocker.Probably because the v8 Grabbers had the look,but 2barrels,single exhaust,drum brakes(on the early cars)and small tires are just too tempting to NOT change. Not trying to pick a fight with you,and I do agree when referring to high end cars,just rambling on b4 beddy bye.
