The Green Hornet Maverick build...

So here it goes. I have no real experience restoring vehicles..only piddlers experience.

My dad and I have been talking for years about restoring an old vehicle together..basically just to see if we can. I think we're gonna pull through..it just may take us awhile.

I introduced the car in the new members area. Here are some pics of how we found our project.






The first time I went to look at this car I unfortunately got stung by a few hornets...hence the build name.

This is a 72 Maverick 250cid automatic.

We brought it home...dropped the fuel tank, red coated it and cleaned the fuel lines. Ended up needing a new fuel pump. Turn key..and she runs. Now for some bad news. Water dripping from the back of the block. I've been told its a freeze plug behind the flywheel....out comes the motor. Right now thats how everything sits.

As for the body. It was a LITTLE more rusty than we originally thought out in the woods. We were looking for donor parts online and realized it was going to cost quite a bit to get new quarters a hood and new fenders.

Found a 74 rolling chassis on Craigslist for 600 bucks. Car is complete and has minimal rust. It even came with another running 250cid minus the transmission. One small area of the drivers floor pan and the battery tray have rust. This car is pretty straight and needs minimal body work other than sand/paint.

The plan as of now is to use the motor/tranny out of the 72 and put them in the 74 and finish out the body work on it. We're going to take all the usable parts off the 72 (glass, interior, trunk lid, gas tank, etc) and probably scrap the rest. I don't believe it will be much good to anyone with the amount of rust it has. Some one let me know if I'm wrong. Will probably sell the parts we decide we don't need.

 

put the carcass on craigslist for best offer youll be surprised at what some guys with the right skills and tools are willing to fix

 

Don't forget to keep the small bumpers and related parts off of the 72 as you can add them to the 74 and lose those big bumpers if you so desire

 

+1 to this ^

 

How hard is it to do that? I do like the smaller bumpers

 

Managed to grab some pics of the newer maverick.






Interior is trash. Has a little surface rust. Got some freebies in the 74... two sets of heads for 302's and an air cleaner. Dont mind the front clip either..it's not bolted. Just placed.

Most of what is trashed on this one is good on the 72.

Question...
The bucket seats out of my 72 should bolt into the 74 correct?

 

The bucket seats will bolt right in. '75-'77 needs different seat tracks on the passenger side, which is not an issue in your case.

 

Found the leaky culprit





This has got to be the most inconvenient place for a core plug!!

Got the new ones in!




Power washed the motor and the maverick. Kinda pointless since we're ****ing to start sanding...but it made me feel better.

 

I also washed mine before I began to strip the paint off of it but that was to mainly get the moss off of it

 

please post pics of new progress on the mav..(very excited to see restoration in the future)

 

Can anyone point me in the right direction for replacing the front suspension components? I want to replace the shocks and springs before the motor goes back in. Not sure what I need or the best place to buy it from. Is there anything else I should replace before the motor goes back in?

 

Have you looked to see if you even NEED these items? No sense in replacing stuff that may not need it.

 

Well without being able to drive it...how do you tell if you need new shocks, etc.

 

The "bounce" test.

 

Not gonna bounce much without the engine in place.
You can allways pull the top two bolts on the shock and see how much force it takes to compress it. If it takes little to no effort, replace em. As for the front coil springs. Did the car sit level with the engine in place? are there any broken coils? I would be more concerned with the condition of the ball joints/ cont' arm bushings and tie rods.