Edumacate me on the Ford Maverick

Hey guys,

So, I just found out that my family's contractor has a brother who owns a salvage yard and specializes in 1970's american metal. This was the first thought that popped into my head, but I am more a japanese car guy. Can these things be made to handle at a reasonable price? Also, given the gas prices,I was thinking budget performance. Can mustang SVO/thunderbird turbo fours be swapped into these cars easily? The plan right now is to find something I can restomod for relatively cheap and autocross locally for fun. Would this work? Any better ideas?

>Any better ideas?

AE92. MR2. Even, wait for it... Miata. Old Ford==PITA.

old Fords have a lot of cheap parts available. Mavericks share stuff with Musangs and Falcons, so upgrades are quite easy. The only sticking part is in finding replacement body panels if you have rust, as the cars weren't popular enough to generate much more than fiberglass bits for drag versions.

But mechanically, cheap and simple.

http://krang.mustangandfords.com/freestuff/mufp_0705_1973_ford_maverick_1024x768.jpg

or this:

yeah, I want that last one...

sanman wrote: Hey guys, Can mustang SVO/thunderbird turbo fours be swapped into these cars easily?

i dunno. maybe. but I think a pinto would be a better choice.

Remember, these things only weighed 2500 lbs back in '71-72. That's over a thousand lbs less than a T-bird Turbo Coupe, which already goes pretty good. Imagine stripping 1300lbs out of an '88 Turbo Coupe...

Hess,

I'm looking more for coupes/hatches. I used to have an AE92 in hghschool. Fun and underrated, but I'm trying something different.

The reason for Amercan metal is that I have this guy call me if he comes across a clean body for anything I am looking for (A huge boon in New York). Yeah, the pinto would be easier as it has a non-turbo version of the engine, but I prefer the lines of the Maverick (plus I would then be driving a pinto).

Nothing wrong with Pintos, either...

I had a line on a free pinto in central IL, no title & the engine was locked, but if anyone is interested I can see if it's still available.

didn't Ford paint some of them anti-establishment orange?

I read an article in some car collector mag this past month that said the Maverick was produced in Brazil at about the same time as the U.S. and towards the end of the model run (mid-late '70s) that indeed the 2.3 liter Lima 4 cylinder was offered and was quite popular in the Maverick. The Lima 2.3 is the engine used in Pintos and Mustang II's.

Mavericks and Pintos share the same tail lights. Nick

I've always liked the Maverick . And I've been kicking around the idea of doing a "what if" 70-72 Maverick as a Trans-Am vinatge roadracer . Sort of like , what if Bud Moore would have built it ? Bulged fenders 400 hp and the same yellow orange he painted the Boss 302 Mustangs .

I like Mavericks too. They were real bare-bones stripper cars when they first came out. Not much going on in the interior.

Watch them for rust though. One of the problems I've seen them get is the front subframe rails will rot around the steering box mounts. Not good. Even a good looking car can have this.

The brakes and rear axle tend to be small and weak and upgrading, IIRC from reading web sites some time ago, is not an inexpensive process as some of the needed bits are pretty hard to come by. Research heavily first.

Mavs rock. Stick with the small bumper ones. Later ones can be converted, but the parts are rare. An EFI 5.0 would be cheap and easy, or the entire turbo coupe donor idea is cool too. The rear end of a Mav has leaf springs, so the rear is not a direct swap, regardless of width (fox bodies all had coils). Erik

Chris_V wrote: Nothing wrong with Pintos, either...

Awesome picture. I LOVE concept drawings like that.

ohhh... Mavericks..... my first hod rod build was a 72, with a factory 302 hp, massaged with lifter and cam upgrades.had to put in both traction shackles and traction bars , along with "ballast" to limit the wheel slip. Even so, it was easy to spin a tire off the rim if i wasn't careful. the ballast was often a set of spare tires/wheels for the rears.. i also added a reverse pattern hurst slap floor shifter(auto) and some tranny work as well. i stripped it down too, no back seat, added buckets up front, removed insulation and installed lightweight carpet, etc. I also put on the thin bumpers from a 70, bolted right on. that car would do a 13.25 1/4 mile on four different branded tires and not even break a sweat...which was rocket fast at the time (late 80's.) my freids dubbed it the Camaro killer...

color was a pea green, the pics scanned in in technicolor, no idea why, but you get the idea.. i sold it in 1990 or so after moving south the first time, no a/c in it, and id given up street racing. Last i heard, some years ago, it was still doing duty at a sw florida drag track

1969 Maverick, $1995 out the door. Amazing.

A yard that specialized in 70's American iron, what else is in there? Are you stuck on a Maverick?

I had a '70 Challenger that got my young butt in way too much trouble, also a 383 Road Runner. Now that I'm older and wiser, I think I could behave.

My apologies for this brief Maverick memory:

During the summer before my junior year (1979) in high school I enrolled in the auto repair class at the local trade school. Most of the others were redneck dropouts from the piney woods, but there was one other student from my school. He was a weight-lifting narcissist who thought his lime green Maverick was the acme of auto styling and engineering. It was an inline-six with Crager wheels.

While alone in the shop during lunch break one day, he decided to remove all of the wheels. Dunno why. I also can't explain why he decided to slide underneath. Without jackstands.

Typical for Louisiana, the tools and equipment weren't in the best condition. As the jacks slowly lost pressure, he found refuge in the driveshaft tunnel. Fortunately for him, students were returning from break as he started yelling for help. Asked if he was ok, he replied "Yes. I'm holding the car up with my chest!"

I think 2500 lbs may be a little optimistic for the weight? I know Mopar A-bodies of the same vintage are ~2900-3100, depending on options and engine. Pretty sure Novas are the same. Still, lightweight for '70s iron, and no heavier than a modern Civic (wow, never thought that day would come).

littleturquoiseb wrote: didn't Ford paint some of them anti-establishment orange?

gamby wrote:

Chris_V wrote: Nothing wrong with Pintos, either...

Awesome picture. I LOVE concept drawings like that.

IIRC, that was from the cover of an old Racer Walsh catalog. The flares and NACA duct make it, don't they?

Another bit of Maverick/Pinto trivia: the Pinto was known as the 'Special Maverick' at one point during development. There used to be a Petersen Publishing book on Pintos (and another on Vegas) which had several pictures of the styling mockups with 'SP MAVERICK' license tags.

My aunt had one of the first 69's off of the line. The emblem on the dash said "Maveick", great build quality, typical of the era.

914driver,

I'm not married to the idea of a Maverick. He has a whole lot of different stuff and will salvage anything. However, since he goes to swap meets to sell parts for 70's American metal (especially Chevy), I was thinking about doing something in that era. Since I prefer smaller, more agile cars I though of the maverick. I've also had thoughts of a late 1960's corvair. I can always ask him to look out for a solid body of anything that comes his way, I'm just trying to figure out would make a good project. It needs to look cool, handle well for the era, and be fairly cheap for parts/buildup. The car that was built on the Boss drawing above gave me the Maverick idea.

I was thinking a Bullitt version of the maverick grabber. Maybe the 302 or the turbo 4, roll the fenders, 2001 Bullitt mustang wheels

littleturquoiseb wrote: didn't Ford paint some of them anti-establishment orange?

Green = Anti-establsih-MINT Orange = vermillion

Can you tell I had one?

psteav wrote: I think 2500 lbs may be a little optimistic for the weight? I know Mopar A-bodies of the same vintage are ~2900-3100, depending on options and engine. Pretty sure Novas are the same. Still, lightweight for '70s iron, and no heavier than a modern Civic (wow, never thought that day would come).

Actally, I don't think so. The Maverick (at least my 1970) was really pretty spartan, and, for those who don't know it, the Falcon six it used was incredibly light- about 385 lbs, about 85 lbs less than a 302, and almost 200 lb less than a SBC. Unibody, non-power everything (including the engine), 3 on the tree, I can see them under 2500 quite easily.

if I were to come across one that was solid, the 331" Ford might find a new home. The can be made to handle. They won't like it, but they will turn