My Blue 1976 2 Door Maverick Project

Didn't do nearly the amount I wanted to today.

We took off the gas tank which was rather simple. The straps need to be beautified but the tank is fairly new. The previous owner said he bought it to get it up and running which is one of the few things I believe about his info on the car.

We took off the shocks which as you can see in the picture below were rusted to hell. I am replacing them with standard ones that are blue and I picked up for 21.99 ea. We couldn't get the bottom bolts out so I just cut through them with a cheap sawz-all. Worked beautifully.

After getting those off I also took off the brackets that hold the top part of them which after about 15 seconds of grinding started to shine up rather nice. I will paint them before re-install of course.

Grinding on the trunk interior is complete and I will be spraying that tomorrow hopefully. Under the trunk (above the gas tank) there was thicker surface rust - if thats what you call it. I couldn't remove all of it using the wire wheel because of the various angles. I will definately have to spend a bit of time down there.

Also spent a couple minutes seeing what method would remove rust from the rear axle quickest: wire brush or palm sander? Decided its a combo of brush first for thicker stuff and then the palm sander to finish it out

Question about the tank. There is light spots of rust starting to form on it which is clearly a bad thing. What should I spray it with to keep it in decent shape? Would the bed liner or rubberized undercoating be a bad idea?

 

I just took notice of something that is clearly very very bad about my car. I believe it to be fixable - anything is fixable. Just need your expert input on it.

The rear rails in the back under the trunk have begun to rot. As you can see in the pictures its rusted through and surely the metal in that area is getting weak. How should I go about fixing it?

 

Yes....that rust is fixable. But...if you don't know how to weld...it could be expensive. I honestly believe you could find a rust free car cheaper than what you will pay to have all the rust in that car fixed. My guess is you haven't found all the rust yet. What I see in those pictures leads me to beleive the car will have rust in many other areas. Before you go and start painting things (rear axle, above gas tank, etc) to make it look pretty....you need to really go over that car and either get all the structural rust fixed...or find another car.















Not trying to throw a wet towel on your dreams....just trying to be realistic in what you are working on.

 

I was initially going to take a couple different auto-body and welding classes at the college I have been attending but since we got the deployment orders I clearly have to push that back.

I don't know how to weld too great yet - I have tried and done it but obviously dont have enough experience yet. The instructor I spoke too said It would be fine to bring in any vehicle I wanted as a project and that was my plan with the Maverick. In litterally the past year there have only been 5 Mavericks and 2 Comets within a 250 mile radius of me. I checked them all out but they were in worst condition than mine.

Where should I be checking for this other rust? I will heed your warning definately. I don't want to proceed with something if its going to be pointless in the end.

 

Check both front torque boxes really well. Pass side is already toast as I can see in the pictures. Also check where the front bumper mounts to the car frame, check the battery area, check the area where the steering box mounts to the frame.

This can still be a good car to learn general mechanics on, like brake work, engine tune-up, etc. The car is still driveable, but eventually the rear leaf spring will shoot up through the trunk, because of all the rust.

 

Driver side floors and under car are solid. The front bumper bracket thats under the chrome is solid and the two studs it connects too are solid aswell. I took those off a couple days back and the entire front wheel well area and even below those brackets is in really good shape. Some light surface rust but for the most part its clean. Engine bay area is also clean with just a few rust scuffs the size of quarters. Battery tray was rusted and dented up so I pulled that the first chance I got looking at the mustang tray swap. The metal underneath the battery tray is solid

I still gotta check the area where the steering box mounts to the frame.

How to I prevent the catastophic failure with the leaf springs? Just weld in some fresh heavy duty metal?

 

Unfortunately for many of us, that day will come sooner for the man than it will for the machine...

 

Fresh metal can be welded in, but it will be a little tough. Can't really weld to rust.

I think you are quite a ways from catastrophic failure with the leaf springs. It is just something to keep an eye on.

Totally rust free Maverick shells, already stripped of their interior and engine, can easily be bought for less than $2000. You will have way more than that in fixing that car correctly and safely. There are rust free California cars for sale on here all the time. That is what I would recommend.

 

When I get back we will be arriving back somewhere down in mississippi so hopefully I can find a decent car to drive home and use as my daily driver. My explorer and camaro are nice but I want a Maverick daily driver. Then I will resume working on this project. I will have plenty of time once I get back.

This will be my last post for awhile. I will more than likely peak in any time I get some net time.

For now - have a good year guys and thanks for all the help and advice over these past months

 

Iowa national guard, Corn fed well bred, some of the best.

 

Take care, and stay safe!

 

Be safe and take care of yourself over there.

 

Be careful and return home safe.