70 Vs. 73 Maverick

My friend is looking for relaible transportation in the form of a maverick. Between the two of us we've found a '70 Maverick for about $1000 and a '73 for about $2000. They both have similar drivetrains (302/C4). The '70 sounds like it was used for racing whereas the 73 sounds like it was just driven on the street. He wants to eventualy turn whichever one he gets into a road rocket, so any recondmandations anyone can make would be great!

Some questions to ask. First and foremost, which car has a nicer body as far as rust goes? Does he like the mid sized '73 bumper or the small bumper better?

The '70 has a smaller transmission tunnel also, as well as non staggered shocks, a 7.5 rear and a drop in gas tank that is hard to find.

I took him to see the '70 and he fell in love with the car on the spot. The thing is rust free and the motor looks to be in good shape. The car has been converted to 5 lug among other upgrades that I havent been able to discern. There seems to be only two down sides, one is the fact that there is no back seat, and the other is that it will be faster than my car, lol.

Not all 70's have a 7.5 rear end. Mine has an 8".

We'll see what his car will have once he brings it home. The 302 seems pretty beefie, at least enough to snap a 7.5 if he were to put slicks on it. Once we get to changing out major parts we'll put at lease an 8.8 under it, but as it is right now the car was converted to 5 lug hubs all the way around.