Okay, I'm going to try & post a pic for the first time here & I'm not sure whether it will work or not. Still am working with upper intake/brake booster clearance issue.
Thanks Mavaholic. It's funny, I almost didn't buy the car because of the color, but it has grown on me. When I painted the car, it had all original paint & the jams & trunk were so nice, I left them as they were, but relented to repainting the engine bay.
That tower brace over the power booster might interfere with your EFI set up. Have you checked it or come up with a solution?
Yes, that is another issue that is unresolved. Trouble is, I can't deal with that until I resolve the upper intake/brake booster clearance issue. I'm going to modify the upper intake by having the corners radiused by a machinist. It is off by slightly less than an inch. There is aproximately 3/4" of excess material before you would get into the chamber. I plan on fabricating or modifying shock tower braces, but I can't determine the curve(if any)in the brace on the drivers side until the upper intake is mounted. I bought a tubular aluminum shock tower brace kit from MPG for a Falcon that I will try & modify first. MPG stated that they will clear the EFI & that they have succesfully installed them on Mavericks with very little modifications. So, we're going to see if that will work first.
Thanks Jeremy. It'll be a couple of weeks until I get the intake done. Gotta work for a livin', ya know. I see you're from Corona. I work in Corona...You don't have that Red Grabber that runs around Corona, do you?
Hi there! I put EFI in my Mav as well...how did I deal with the power brake booster issue? Well, I took a hammer used for body work that looked kind of like a pick and carefully contoured the booter until the upper intake clears it by about a half inch. It did not affect the functioning of the brakes in any way. May not have been the best solution, but it works! As far as the braces between the firewall and the shocktowers...they definitely will not fit. I have not found a decent solution yet, but I saw a website somewhere where you could get some kind of tubular brace that goes from shocktower to shocktower and supposedly will fit in a Mav with EFI... Another thing I have not solved yet it the transmission kick-down, since the solid rod that was originally in the Mav will not work with the EFI...
MPG claims their tubular tower brace kit will work on a Maverick with EFI. I have already resolved the kick down cable issue with my C4. I moved the shifter to the floor. I used a 73 Mustang shifter with the neutral safety switch incorporated into the the shifter. I built a bracket to hold the cable(Stock 89 5.0 Mustang cable)that bolts onto the neutral safety switch studs located on the transmission case. In Fords from that era, there were 3 different locations that the neutral safety switch could be located: The steering column, the floor shifter, & the transmission side case. I installed a ball stud in the kickdown lever on the transmission & then just snapped the cable end onto the ballstud. The hardest part is building the bracket that bolts to the neutral safety switch studs & retains the cable. I also thought of building a bracket that would be retained by the trans pan bolts, but opted for the other way, as it appeared to be a straighter shot. I'm not too kean on taking a hammer to the brake booster, but I guess if I get frustrated enough...
Yeah, most people would not like the "take the hammer to the brake booster" option.. I am thinking that an aftermarket upper intake might provide more clearance...of course that would cost some more $$$....
Master Power Brakes makes a number of smaller diameter power boosters. A 7" booster should probably clear without problems. You could also use a "remote vacuum assist" instead of the standard booster. These are sometimes used on street rods with limited firewall clearance. http://www.mpbrakes.com/bs1010k.htm Hope this helps. --Jay Curtis
Mav Mark; I have EFI on the original engine against the C4 and have the kick down in place and operating using the original TV cable. A special double acting lever has to be made and installed at the transmission along with a cable mount at the bell housing. My car is in winter storage now so I need to take a new look at it to tell you how I done it specifically because it was almost 7 years ago.
There is no question that there are aftermarket upper & lower intakes that will clear, but they are big bucks & they do kill low rpm horsepower(torque). The smaller booster is another alternative, but again, big bucks. I would opt for the booster change first, but I'm sure the bolt pattern mounting is different & the rod to the pedal could be another issue. And yes, the kickdown lever did also have to be modified to accept the cable. I forgot to mention that. The original Maverick kickdown rod pushes the lever to engage the kick down, whereas the cable has to pull the lever to engage the kick down. Thus the positioning of the lever has to be changed without interfering with the shift lever.
I haven't seen the red grabber in corona yet, strange, because I have been living here for 4 years or so now. I have a blue one that sits in the garage--but will be getting restro in march. It would be kinda nice to see your setup one of thesedays because you are so close. I am going to go with a late roller motor, but I am still debating on carb vs injection.
