<\/p>\n
Gary Scranton Sr. of Wallingford and his 1972 Ford Maverick Grabber.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n
Bud Wilkinson\/For Hearst Connecticut Media<\/p>\n
It was Ford\u2019s entry in the compact car segment during the 1970s. While more than 2.1 million examples of the inexpensive\u00a0Maverick<\/a> were sold from the 1970 through the 1977 model year, they\u2019re not as well remembered these days as other Ford<\/a> models from the era, such as the everlasting Mustang and the notorious Pinto.\u00a0<\/p>\n Gary Scranton Sr. has a sporty 1972 Ford Maverick \u201cGrabber\u201d edition in bright yellow with dual hood scoops and a 302-cubic-inch V8 engine. \u201cWe take it to car shows and some people don\u2019t know what it is, and it makes me feel good,\u201d he said recently while talking at a weekend car<\/a> show at the Connecticut Street Rod Association\u2019s clubhouse not far from his Wallingford home.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The 1972 Ford Maverick Grabber owned by Gary Scranton Sr. of Wallingford.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bud Wilkinson\/For Hearst Connecticut Media<\/p>\n \u201cI bought it brand new. Bought it for my wife as a present to my wife. She put all the mileage on it and now I don\u2019t let her drive it.\u201d<\/p>\n The Maverick had arrived at the local Ford dealer on a Friday and Scranton and his wife, Charlene, went shopping the following Monday. \u201cI said to her, \u2018If our three kids fit in that back seat, I\u2019m buying that car.\u2019 I just loved it from the minute I saw it.” he said, reporting that it currently has 139,000 miles on the odometer.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The Grabber trim package added graphics, larger tires and a spoiler, and it gives the Maverick a more aggressive look. Besides having it repainted once and replacing some parts, he\u2019s also tweaked it a bit for comfort and looks, including adding air conditioning.<\/p>\n The interior of the 1972 Ford Maverick Grabber.<\/p>\n Bud Wilkinson\/For Hearst Connecticut Media<\/p>\n \u201cI bought the bumper guards on it. They were an option and I found a place that had \u2019em. I had to buy new bumpers because I didn\u2019t want to drill holes in the old ones. I\u2019ve got the old ones home,\u201d Scranton said.<\/p>\n Make CT Insider a preferred source on Google to see more of our journalism when you search.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add Preferred Source<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n The Maverick was also in storage for a spell; likely in the 1990s. \u201cI had to have a new gas tank put on it. It\u2019s got new gas lines. Got new brakes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The car has been reliable. \u201cIt drives good. It\u2019s got power steering it. The only problem, it sits too low. If I\u2019m going to go anywhere I have a cushion I put in so I can sit a little bit higher. When I get out of it, I\u2019m on my knees. It really is built low to the ground but it drives good,\u201d Scranton said.<\/p>\n The 1972 Ford Maverick Grabber is powered by a 302-cubic-inch V8 engine.<\/p>\n Bud Wilkinson\/For Hearst Connecticut Media<\/p>\n Its durability can be traced to the way it\u2019s been maintained and treated. The Maverick has always been garaged. \u201cWe took good care of it. Changed the oil when it needed it and didn\u2019t beat it up, and still runs beautiful,\u201d he said. \u201cWe don\u2019t eat in it, either. If I take her (Charlene) down to get a hamburger, we stand outside eating it. I don\u2019t eat in my cars.\u201d<\/p>\n There is likely a good reason why Mavericks are seldom seen. They were somewhat disposal. \u201cPeople just bought \u2019em and they didn\u2019t take care of them. That\u2019s what happens to \u2019em and then they\u2019re in the junk yard and they rust out. They\u2019re gone but this car I kept inside all the time and it\u2019s in good shape.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The 1972 Ford Maverick Grabber has flashy graphics and larger wheels than a normal Maverick model from the era.<\/p>\n Bud Wilkinson\/For Hearst Connecticut Media<\/p>\n The Maverick did unexpectedly get abused once years ago by Scranton\u2019s son, Gary Jr. At the time, the family had a summer cottage in Moodus near Connecticut Dragway.<\/p>\n \u201cOur son took the car one Sunday. He was going with his girlfriend fishing. When he came home he had a trophy. He went to the drag strip and ran the car down the line. I almost killed him but he got a trophy for it so I couldn\u2019t,\u201d said Scranton, who also once took home a trophy himself for the Maverick after trailering the Grabber to the Carlisle Ford Nationals meet in Pennsylvania in 2011. It took first out of 20 entries in the Maverick category.<\/p>\n Bumper guards have been added to the 1972 Ford Maverick Grabber.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bud Wilkinson\/For Hearst Connecticut Media<\/p>\n In addition to the Maverick, Scranton also has a wood carving replica of his car done by an artisan in South Carolina that he met when on vacation. \u201cWe met him down at Myrtle Beach camping and we were talking. He made old carriages by hand. I asked him if he\u2019d ever think about doing a car. He said, \u2018I\u2019ll give it a try. Send me some pictures when you go home,\u2019 so I did,\u201d Scranton said.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The wood replica turned out beautifully. \u201cLooks exactly like my car; right down to the marker plate,\u201d he said, referring to the \u201cMOMS 40\u201d plates front and rear which refer to his wife and her year of birth. He added that at home he has a Jeep that also also personalized plates to recognize his service in the U.S. Marine Corps and his year of birth. They say \u201cSemper Fi 38.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The 1972 Ford Maverick Grabber has dual hood scoops.<\/p>\n Bud Wilkinson\/For Hearst Connecticut Media The sportier 1972 Ford Maverick edition says \u201cGrabber\u201d on either side.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bud Wilkinson\/For Hearst Connecticut Media Besides dual hood scoops, the 1972 Ford Maverick Grabber has a black graphics trim package.<\/p>\n Bud Wilkinson\/For Hearst Connecticut Media<\/p>\n Asked the best part about owning the Maverick, Scranton had a suitably compact answer. \u201cBeing the original owner,\u201d he replied. \u201cMakes me feel good that people appreciate what I have here.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Harwinton native Bud Wilkinson writes about classic cars and motorcycles for Hearst Connecticut Media. He previously reported for The Columbus Dispatch in Ohio and was columnist for The Arizona Republic in Phoenix before reporting for KSAZ-TV in Phoenix where he won a Scripps Howard National Journalism Award and an Emmy Award for commentary. He may be reached by email at budw@ride-ct.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Gary Scranton Sr. of Wallingford and his 1972 Ford Maverick Grabber.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Bud Wilkinson\/For Hearst Connecticut Media…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":187340,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[83569,178,180,179],"class_list":["post-187339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-scranton","tag-all-daily-sites","tag-scranton","tag-scranton-headlines","tag-scranton-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187339","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=187339"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187339\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/187340"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=187339"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=187339"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=187339"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/p>\n
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