Wheels Galleries

Ethan Hager is a big fan of the underappreciated Ford Maverick. He took this 1974 model and turned it into a sporty '72 Grabber by replacing the clunky 5 mph safety bumpers with slim early model pieces, adding a '72 Grabber hood, blacked-out trim and the appropriate Grabber side stripes.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

Ethan Hager

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

The '72 Grabber hood features a pair of mini-scoops on either side of the center bulge, which is accented in gloss black; the Saddle Bronze color is a factory-issued hue for 1974, repainted by Hager's father, Tony Hager.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

Resisting the temptation to swap in a 302 V-8, Hager has retained the original 250 cubic inch inline 6-cylinder power plant; the engine bay is jazzed up a bit with chrome and a modified air cleaner, though.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

The Maverick shows its '74 heritage in the interior, where a real-life glove box supplants the early under-dash package tray; Hager's version still uses a column-shifted automatic transmission and factory air, although he modified the steering wheel with a custom-made Maverick horn button.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

Originally a bench seat car, the Maverick received a set of correct '74 Maverick bucket seats and console retrieved from another car.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

The Maverick coupe presents a clean, uncluttered design from the rear, with nicely arched wheel openings complementing the smoothly sloping roofline, which ends in a small Grabber rear spoiler over the blacked-out tail light panel.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

The open rear wheel wells allow Hager to use a set of 8-inch wide Weld Draglite wheels on his Maverick; a set of 235x60Rx15 Grand Prix blackwalls completes the equation.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

There's no question the blacked-out egg crate grille and thinner bumper give the Grabber version of the Maverick a cleaner, bolder look.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

Earlier Grabbers featured matte black paint trim, but Hager's '74-turned-'72 version has the later gloss black rear cove; it's also fitted with the tidier 3-piece duck-tail spoiler that blends into the early model rear bumper.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle