My 71 Maverick Grabber Build.....

I would like too, but my time is very tight..... I would like to get this thing up and running for NMCA in March, I don't know if it's gonna make it but it won't be for the lack of trying.....

Thanks alot.....

Thank you, all compliments are much appreciated..... I have been doing this kind of thing for alot of years, but always just as more of a hobby thing then a profession..... Atleast until a year ago when I found myself looking for work and found a job working on custom street and hot rods.....

I would be more then happy too meet you sometime..... Next time you are gonna be in town send me a pm and I'll get you my number/shop addy so we can meet up.....

 

That is an excellent goal in itself.

 

Got the rear bars for the roll bar bent this week..... I worked on the car today for a little while..... The pass side rear bar is trimmed up and fitted, ready to weld..... The 1/8" plate that bar mounts too is also ready to weld in.....

When I was cleaning/stripping the trunk floor to weld the roll bar plates in, I found a litte rust under the seam sealer where inner fender wells meet the trunk floor..... This is why when you are restoring one of these older cars you need to check everything even if it looks fine before, the seam sealer in this are looked like it was in great shape with no signs of rust..... Here's what it looked like.....





Here's what the rear bar look like fitted in place..... The 1/8" plate on the trunk floor has six holes in it that line up with the lip on the stock rear frame rail, I am going to drill through the sheet metal floor so I can plug weld those directly into the rear frame rail lip.....








Oh hell, I almost forgot some more stuff came in for the car this week..... The new cylinder heads, a gas tank kit for the early stang tank conversion, seat belts and mounting tabs all got here.....

 

When I was cleaning/stripping the trunk floor to weld the roll bar plates in, I found a litte rust under the seam sealer where inner fender wells meet the trunk floor..... This is why when you are restoring one of these older cars you need to check everything even if it looks fine before, the seam sealer in this are looked like it was in great shape with no signs of rust..... Here's what it looked like.....

I too, have seen the same thing working on my Mavericks, and even on my '94 Lightning. FOMOCO should have called it seem killer. All it does is breed rust. By the way, SUPER progress and craftsmanship on your project.

 

Got the rear bars for the roll bar bent this week

A very nice job on the cage - great fitment - your rear down bars going through the rear deck look similer to mine but I had the extra bend for that extra head clearence as I was anal about retaining my rear seat


When I was cleaning/stripping the trunk floor to weld the roll bar plates in, I found a litte rust under the seam sealer where inner fender wells meet the trunk floor

I was lucky to find this early on in my restoration which caused me to remove all of the seam sealer that I could possibly find - most of it was brittle and fell out of the seams - it gave me the chance to repair rust that I normally might not have found

 

Hey Franktf
Like I said, Awesome Work...I do have one little peice of advice though. I have been building roadrace cars for about 15 years and have wrecked more than my fair share While you are building your cage tab the cross bar behind the seat so you can make some sort of brace from the back of the seat to the cage and with those Jazz seats ( or any other plastic seat or aluminum seat ) you ALWAYS need to plate the body side of the seat ( where you back and your butt go ) where the bolts won't pull through in a bad accident. You have to always think of the worst possiable wreck when your building anything quick. I'm not trying to tell you what to do I just think your way to much of a talent to loose in a wreck I've seen some of the worst seat mounting in all of racing at the local drag strip....I've wrecked at over 100mph plenty of times and man you DON'T want that seat to move, Period..... Gary

 

Thanks, the seam sealer does seem to do that at times.....

Thanks, I'm not to worried about use of the rear seat..... I was just trying to get the rear bar at the same angle as the top of the quater window opening, and it's pretty damn close.....

The funny thing is that the seam sealer I removed from that area was still very pliable..... Oh well, it will get fixed just like the rest did.....

Thanks again, now your getting ahead of me a little bit..... I have brackets to support the rear of the seat, I just have not put them in yet..... I wanted to get the roll bar completed and the second seat bracket built then I was going to do the rear seat brace and seat belt mounts for both seats.....

I have no problem with people making suggestions, as far as I'm concerned no one knows everything and a person should always be open to learning something new..... I know I still find things I don't know all the time.....

 

The rear bars for the roll bar are now welded in..... Next thing is the kickers from the main hoop to the frame connecters and then the swing out side bar for the driver side.....

Some pic's of the progress today.....

 

I just can't get over how nice your welds look

Really looking great

 

I like that you welded the bar to the package tray, looks really nice and also I'm sure it gives more support

 

Welds are beautiful! What engine combo are you going to be using in the build?

 

Thanks guys.....

It's gonna get a decent 351W, nothing too crazy..... Just a flat top, some TFS track heats and a fairly healthy solid flat tappet cam.....

 

More progress made this morning..... I got the subframe suport in, and the top part of the swing out side bar is finished.....

Here's some pic's of todays progress.....









Also had to put the drivers door on so I could make sure the side bar doesn't interfear with anything, so I got to see how the replacement drivers door aligns with the body.....

 

Once again I will say......Great work!

 

Are you going to be using a door bar on the passenger side too? That would give you at least a 6 point cage.

I wish I got something done today on my car but instead I just cleaned, cleaned and cleaned the garage. :16suspect