Hello everyone. I'm new to this forum. I found it this morning when doing a search for Maverick repair manuals and looking for an idea of what parts cost these days for my old car. <P> I have a 1972 Maverick that was my first car when I was 18. I bought it used from the original owner, and drove it for several years back and forth to college and through my first year in the newspaper business in 1987-88. I named her Ethel. In 1988, I got new car fever and bought myself a P.O.S. Pontiac and gave Ethel to my sister and her husband. After they thoroughly trashed it out, it ended up sitting in a pasture at my parents' house until this week, when I took it back. It's in really bad shape. <P> But, inspired by a friend who completely restored a mustang he bought in worse shape than my Ethel, I'm going to restore this car. My original plan was to restore it to factory specs, but that may or may not happen, depending on what I get into when I get started. Did I mention it is in really bad shape? But I have hope! And time. What I don't have is a lot of money or experience, so this is going to be a great learning experience for me. I've ordered a repair manual for the car, and I can't wait to get started. I'll be in this forum a lot, asking what are probably some very dumb questions to most of you. I'll post pictures as soon as I take some. I plan to document everything I do on this car. I hope you'll bear with this middle-aged woman who is probably biting off more than she can chew. <P> I look forward to getting to know you all, and I've enjoyed reading the messages here. Now, how about the first dumb question: <P> The gasoline in the tank of this car has been in it for about 13 years. I don't want to try to crank this baby until I'm sure it's safe. Do I need to drain the gas tank and put in fresh gas? Anything else I should do before I try to crank it the first time besides the obvious oil and filter change?<P> Please don't laugh. This project is important to me. Thanks in advance for any help. And thanks for letting me join. I've learned a lot already.<P> Jean
Welcome Hi and welcome to the forum. Sure is nice to see folks restoring these old cars. On this forum there is a lot of folks who have done what you are planning and parts are cheaper here also . On the gas tank question I would put a battery in it and see how much gas is in it first. If its empty I might would put gas in it and try to start it. Lot of these fellas will probably disagree with me but its just my 2 cents worth . The gas thats in there will not be any good after 13 yrs. Keep us updated on your progress. Welcome & cya later Tim "my comet gt"
Welcome to the family. Here is my take on your project with what I've read from your statement. First you must determine if it is worth the effort to restore. A car sitting in a field is about the worst thing you can do to one. A lot of moisture comes out of dirt and rots the floors and fram rails out. First thing I would do is get it towed somewhere and put it up on a lift. Other than quarter skins, there is no reproduction panels for these cars. You will have to cut panels out of another car, if you can find them, or make your own. Your buddies Mustang is a piece of cake compared to working on these. Almost every part is reproduced for Mustangs. IF it is a rust bucket, fixing it will be a time consuming effort. Expense will be determined by how much metal needs to be replaced. You said you have limited experience so you will have to get someone else's help. Unless its a good buddy that works cheap, (free), it can get real expensive. I hate to paint a bleek picture, but it would be a shame for you to sink time and money into something only to get discouraged and quit. Hopefully it's not as bad as it seems. I'm sure your Mustang friend could give you a better opinion after looking it over. If you must restore this car no matter what, and believe me, most older guys know that feeling all to well, take a slow pace and put yourself on a budget. It will keep you from burning out. Sometimes its better to walk away and invest in something more sound. Either way, keep us updated and post pictures when you can. Remember, there are no stupid questions, only stupid people!!!!
Hi Jean. Welcome to the board. I'm a Jean too so I kind of feel like I'm talking to my self. I would have to agree with Mavaholic and get the Maverick off to someone who can give it a real good looking over. The worst ememy our cars have is rust and after sitting for a long time outside it's bound to have some degree of rust on the bottom it.. Not trying to discourage you in any way, it's just a fact of life with Mavericks. Rust just loves them. And Mustangs too for that matter. As for the old gas, I would drain the tank and make sure to check for any signs of rust in the old gas. Rust inside the gas tank is not a good thing to have. I would also check out the hoses, vacumn lines and wiring. Any car sitting in a pasture for a while is more than likely going to have some wildlife taking up housing in it. Mice will chew through darn near anything and they seem to have a real taste for wires. First and foremost though, make sure the car is structuraly sound before getting too much $ invested in it. Take it slow and feel free to ask as many questions as you need to. There are nothing but great people here who will try thier best to help you with your Maverick.
Welcome to the board. You have received sound advice from all, and I agree with everything they stated. On another note, I do know firsthand what you are up against. I think in reading your introduction that this car WILL be resurected. I bought a non restorable car in 1997. Everyone told me it was too far gone. No patch panels available, nothing. In the spring of 2000 I got it done. People were amazed. Just to have fun I took it to a car show. Got second place. Thought that must have been a fluke. Took it to another car show a couple years later. Got second place again. The car turned out extremely nice I must say. I put my heart and soul into it. You see, the car had to be restored. When I was a kid I used to carry groceries out to it when I worked in the grocery store. I always said, someday I will own this car. Now it is restored, I did everything but the rechroming of the bumpers and recovering the seats. It was a huge challenge. Was it worth it? YES! Would I do it again, yes I probably will, when the right car comes along. I hope you restore your car, and enjoy it to the max!
Jean, I know what you are feeling. Ethel is a part of your family, not just a car. I am restoring my first car, a 1973 Maverick, "The Mav". It is a lot of work and takes a lot of time, money, and patients. Good luck, I am looking forward to seeing your progress in pictures. I don't have a digital camera or I would have plenty of neat stuff to share. Have fun with it and don't get discouraged. By the way, drain your gas tank!!! Nick
hi jean, welcome. as all have said check the rust thing first. it sounds like you have the want to so the rest is just time and money. as suggested get someone to do a good lookie see for rusted floor pans, cowls and frame. that is the best place to start. i myself had about 14k invested in a 71' and had to abort the mission. got a 73' and am starting all over again. we realy need a 12 step program...frank...:bananaman :bananaman
Wow!! Thank you all so much for your welcome and encouraging words. Yes, Ethel is a project I MUST do, even if it takes me years to complete. I've thought about it a great deal, and know I'm ready. I just have to get moving on it. There is rust on this car. Probably more of it than I know about right now. And I live in an area where finding parts and help will be a big challenge. I am mechanically inclined, and have in the past done my own mechanic work on various vehicles, including brakes, water pumps, a carburetor, etc. So I'm comfortable with tools. I will leave most of the body work to professionals, I'm sure. I just can't wait to get started. Only being able to work on it in my spare time, what little there is of it, means I won't get much done till spring, aside from cleaning all the wasp nests and mouse houses out of it. I'm even looking forward to that. I told my husband today I'm going to wash it as soon as it warms up enough, and he just rolled his eyes. LOL Anyway, thanks so much for the kind words and the welcome. I'll keep you posted, as things progress. Jean
14K??? as in $14,000???? Ouch. I hope Ethel doesn't cost me that much. Mind if I ask why you had to abort? Sign me up for the 12 step program. Jean
Everyone has given great advice. I have about $6K sunk into a 72 Grabber plus lots of blood, sweat and tears and the car is FAR from finished ... and I am happily gonna strip out what I can and send it out to the junk yard (or anyone on the board interested in it)! Why? Well I get excited over a great looking cosmetic restoration that I am sure the previous owner spent alot of money and time on and paid more that I should have. But when I decided to strip it back down to really see what the car was all about it was incredible what the prior owner had covered up - covered up very well I might add. I have since found a 100% rust free car that in the end will be a much more original and solid vehicle and worth all the money I will sink into it. Don't get me wrong - lots of people here have worked miracles but the less time spent with a MIG Welder, a grinder and a gallon or two of BONDO and the more time spent with a rachet and spray gun the happier you will be with the finished product. RUST is never a good thing in a classic car - but in a Maverick it is the worst thing since - like everyone said - you can't put a Maverick together out of a Restoration Parts Catalog. Just my $.02 .... P.S. All is not a waste since I did learn alot about sheet metal repair and welding on the soon to be junker.
every part was to be painted and a lot were. everything was taken apart, primed and ready to paint. all including the paint job on the car was paid for. then my paint man just stopped. after almost a year it was going to cost me another 5k to paint and assy. so i just stopped there. they say talking about it helps, but not around my wife...frank...:bananaman :bananaman
just like everyone else's only totally different! welcome Jean, I know how you feel, my car sat in a pasture for exactly 10yrs to the month when I picked it up. It had rust in the quarters, floor boards, and fenders. The whole underside of the back seat was a mouse nest,luckily they never got any wires . With the exception of the wheels and tires I had mine road worthy in 3 months and even entered it in the local ford show, never won anything, but the only mav there and I got many compliments. I did all of this buy myself and only about $6,000. It's definatly not a show stopper but I can at least cruise it while I do other upgrades to it. Just start with the basic stuff get it running and safe to drive, then worry about the cosmetic stuff make a plan with a budget and stick to it and have alot of fun!!! ... check out my web page at the bottom of my post, I have alot of before&after pics.
I think the rust just adds a little something to it all. If you're able to repair the rust and do some custom design and fab work, it really shows the level of skill that you have. Very few people can do all that. With that being said, rust repairs are pretty tough and you will need a lot of dedication (and probably $$ too) to get through the project. These kind of repairs are not for everyone. Many people would like to just tear the car down, find no rust, replace, repaint and drive it around. Lots of people have brought these cars back from the dark side. Mavaholic's sprint was in a few major accidents and the pictures of it today show it to be one of the cleanest restorations you'll ever see.
