1973 Maverick 4-door

The Car: This Ford Maverick is a very late 73 four-door with factory air, 302, C4, power steering and a bench seat with simulated saddle-tooled inserts. Bought new in Modesto, California, and driven locally by its original owner until it went into a garage for 30 years. I'm the second and a half owner. I bought it from the couple who revived the vehicle from its slumber. They must have figured out the car was a hot mess. Wisely, they cut their losses and sold it to me.


Work done so far: Front disk brake conversion (required 15-inch wheels) / Full front end rebuilt with stock-style parts / New front seat belts/ Replaced camshaft, lifters and timing chain (original cam had gone flat) / Replaced all disposable parts: water and fuel pumps, all belts and hoses / Heater core replaced; radiator rodded / Stock muffler / Headlight relays / Harmonic balancer, Street Demon 625 carb / R134a A/C conversion / Headliner & window seals / Dedicated 12-volt circuits for ignition and choke heater / Pertronix III ignition with low resistance coil / Transmission rebuilt; U-joints replaced.


Performance: Starts with the twist of a key after warmup, with a loopy 7-cylinder idle at 650 rpm. About 14 mpg around town. No dieseling, pinging, hesitation, smoke or flat spots. If left unused for more than a few days, fuel evaporates from the carb, requiring extra cranking to fill the bowl. Known bad rings with blowby. Running Autolite 45 plugs in five cylinders, with 46s (hotter) in the oily holes. So far, this works. Only fluid leaks are from the made-in-China power steering control valve. At modern highway speeds, it's a twitchy, nervous handful. Best enjoyed under 50 mph. Going to replace the worn-out leaf-spring shackles and bushings and see if that improves things.