What did you do to your Maverick or Comet today

I was going to heat up some undercoating so I could scrape it off but that went horribly wrong. My brother in-law left a hand held propane torch behind some time ago and it had a nice, big tip on it (more like a rose bud) that I had been using up until today. This thing was old, even the bottle had been around for a long time. Well, as I went to light it off, I passed the match by the knob and the damn thing burst into flames right there. Panic set in, I really didn't want to burn the house down so there is sat, on a plastic fold out table next to the business end of our boat. Not much I could do other than reach into the flames and turn the knob, thankfully no burns, just less hair on my knuckles. I switched over to the 4" grinder, cleaned it up and was able to get back to welding. Once I get it finished, I can move to the other side and modify that fender too!

 

That could have turned into a disaster. Glad you are OK!

 

I 2nd that Ed!

 

Helped my buddy pull the 302 out of his Mustang II. What does that have to do with a Maverick? We found that the engine and 4 speed would not clear the R&P crossmember, forcing us to pull the tranny and bellhousing to allow the engine to come out.

I have a new Unisteer R&P for my Maverick and am now very concerned about being able to reinstall the engine and T5 as an assembly. Will there be adequate clearance? Let's hope. I hate installing transmissions on my back. I'm too old and feeble.

 

I hook my heater hose back up after it popped off at high rpm's added new coolant and loaded it up with some tools.. Going over to a friends house to help install a 302 and 4 speed into his comet gt...

 

These look great. Mine are painted black right now and I want to get them like yours. Can you summarize what it takes to polish these and clean up the lenses like you did. I have never tried this.

 

I am working on finding a garage to finish my comet close by. Need to work an finish things fast.

 

Many of us in the northern latitudes are trying to find ways to work on our cars in the winter months. It is not just a matter of having one's car finished, it must also be sorted out and reliable.

 

It's funny how quickly a little panic can wreck your thought process. I stared at it thinking it would blow at any second, all the while an extinguisher wash just two steps away!

On a new subject, this is what I was working on.....

I'll start by saying I am coveting another mans car, I just love Chris' Maverick (GrabberGT). What he and Thack did with the wheel arches in my opinion totally changes the car for the better. I had started this on my old car before I discovered the inner roof structure was rusted away and when I moved on to this car I wasn't sure I would do it again. After looking at this car again and again, I had to move on it.



Knowing my skill level I started on the front since I have extra fenders I could always abandon ship! As I worked with it, I realized I made a mistake when I made my cuts but I will avoid that on the other side. With the dinky 14" tire at full droop I has some serious second thoughts.





It was bugging me last night so this morning I pulled the shocks and springs, put the Welds on and collapsed the suspension to mimic ride height.





I need to grind the welds, adjust the front a bit to make it flow better and fill in the lip at the rear then hope like hell I can make the other side match! Just for reference, here's the same setup without the fender mod. I like the look and on a drag car it would be great but this car will get driven and driven hard when it hits the road again so I want the clearance.



Next up the passenger side and then the rear, that should be fun trying to rework the outer wheelhouse!

 

worked on my vent cowl..

 

Ok here goes..first was several coats of Easy-Off oven cleaner over a couple hours to remove remaining anodize/plating...then wet sanding with 800 grit til I could say ok....next was Turtle Wax brown rubbing compound on a foam wheel cone chucked up in my 3/8" electric drill clamped to my work surface with a zip-tie throttle for a couple hours...big mess...then an Eastwood linen ball in the chuck with good aluminum polish...long time...they will need to be sealed some how as they will scratch easily...going to try Eastwoods Exo-amour

Lenses...first was a good scrubbing with a little CLR as they had water deposits halfway up...then a clean Eastwood linen ball and Simichrome polish on the faces...

Got new gaskets from Detroit Muscle Technologies...nice pieces..only gripe was the lens/ back plate gasket was missing two hole reliefs...I emalied them with pics and measurements...they said they would fix it...

 

What is your plan for fixing this? Do you have a temporary reinforcement to join the two sides of the car together before you remove the lower cowl? I didn't when I did mine and I found the car had sprung over an 1/8" from side to side...

 

paul, i have a donor one from a 4dr i'm gonna use and from reading your thread, which was very helpfull, i'm gonna use a bar to keep the sides from moving

 

Almost broke my finger when my buffer "grabbed" my headlight bezel and tore it out of my hands. My finger is bandaged and my headlight bezel is FUBAR. Not a good Maverick day....

 

I put the belt on the power stearing pump for my new unisteer rack and pinion set up.