SC 3.8 into Maverick (along with "a few" more goodies from donor-92 SC Thunderbird)

Hello everyone, I've read many of your posts for many years... tips and ideas have been great!!... Now it's time I post about my own crazy project. My project involves extensive modifications that purist Maverick lovers might hate... but I never intended to produce a factory-specs restoration and some of those mods were just impossible to not do... Some of you will love it, some will hate it and some others will pull their flag ... ...

It all started with me just wanting the fuel efficiency and good manners of a fuel injected V8 like the 5.0L -so common in Mustangs and 90+ Cougars and Tunderbirds-... ... Shopped around for awhile and buying the engine and all other necessary parts from a junkyard would be very expensive (even if I bought everything as a "package deal", parts in Mexico are not cheap at all) One of the junkyard owners said it straight to me: "Buy a 90+ Cougar or Thunderbird and get everything you need, then I will buy the rest from you" (believe it or not, buying the whole car would be cheaper and I could hear and see the engine running) ... so that's what I did!!... I'm Mexican and everything on my project has been done on a kind of a short budget, but I believe it's looking pretty good. In Mexico, forget about calling your local parts dealer or any specialty stores that will stock that sought-after part you need to finish something and will ship it to you next day, that simply does not exist here, so we're always forced to get very creative to get things done, that said, I'll tell you what I'm doing...

Before buying the donor car, I thought to myself: "Heck, if I'm buying a 90+ Thunderbird or Cougar, I might as well get the Super Charged one!"... So I did ... At the beginning, I thought of getting only the engine, EFI-related stuff and electronics to do the swap. I knew I'd be working a lot, fabricating, welding, grinding, cutting, adapting, etc... but I was not in a hurry and the challenge is what made it interesting, plus, a 3.8L supercharged engine would be sexy under that Grabber hood... wouldn't it?

Just after removing the engine from the Thunderbird, I realized the front suspension was a lot sturdier than I'd expected it... lots of heavy-gauge stamped-steel and badass-looking parts (compared to the Maverick's suspension) ... My mind started toying... (only toying) with the idea of putting that very suspension in my car (after all, Mavericks didn't come stock with the strongest front end, right?)... I told one of my friends about this crazy idea -just jokingly, of course- and, to my surprise, he said: "lets do it!!!" ... (I thought we'd be crazy just by attempting it but we would certainly attain semi-god status if we pulled this one right) ... Lots of measuring went on... lots of thought... lots of careful pondering if it would be smart at all --- or if we were just being plain stupid by believing we could even start switching the whole damn thing into the Maverick and not get killed in the process (or, worse, later on, while driving ) ... The willingness, tools, equipment and time to do it were there... but a lot of uncertainty was preventing me from making the first cuts on that sheet metal around the front suspension... then... ... ... oh wow!!! ... then for some reason I took a quick peek AT THE REAR SUSPENSION... and that... THAT MY FRIENDS is when it hit me hard and I knew I could not live without what I had just laid my eyes on: a beautiful IRS mounted on some more badass-loking stamped-steel (!!!!) ... OMG!!! (I didn't know until that moment that Thunderbirds came stock with IRS and limited slip differentials... (that I learned later on) ... .... I drooled at the possibilities for a few minutes and then... for a few days and then... for a few weeks ... ... wait! ... wait!... some of these little cars came equipped with stock rear disc-brakes didn't they? ... Yes.... they did!! ... damned!!! ... uhmmm .... ... I started toying with the idea (only toying with the idea, again ) of using that very same rear suspension in my Maverick... it sounded just too sweet and good to be possible... Could it be done? ...

But if my parents wanted to have me do something difficult, they told me "it was impossible" ... ... .... and then I would "prove them wrong"...

All I can say for now is: Both, front suspension and IRS: ... ... ... Currently IN my maverick... :bananaman ... ...

Lots... tons of hard work still ahead... but yes, it can be done if you're crazy and stubborn enough (and you don't mind the project taking ages) LOL!!!

I leave you with this pic... not very revealing... (on purpose, though)... ... but for the prying eye.... it will suffice! ... see anything you like or hate yet???

http://mmb.maverick.to/attachment.php?attachmentid=63476&stc=1&d=1391304474

Cheers pals!!

 

Looking forward to following your build

 

You know we need more .. How old is the pic?

 

Yep!... I'll be posting more pics pretty soon... and probably a short video (I don't even know if video is supported on the forum in here, but I can always upload onto Youtube and paste link, right? ... ... I just need to leave you drooling as bad as I was when I first conceived the whole thing... LOL...

I took the picture this afternoon...

 

I'm scared.... that engine bay doesn't look like mine...:16suspect

That looks like you're into an awesome build! Keep the updates and pictures coming!!!

 

Thanks for the good vibes Bob, Blugene and Paul!... Indeed I'm all worked up with the progress these last few weeks (can you tell?)... And yes, I think It'll be an awsome build when finally finished!!! working hard... it'll be my 42nd birthday present in August!!

 

Don't start using age as an excuse like I do ..
I would also like to see some of Cancun how you see it.. I always imagine tropical settings and eating lobster, sipping on fruity drinks on a beach haha

 

This is a really cool build! Looking forward to seeing more.
On a side note my dad was the head drivetrain engineer for the SC.

 

Mine's Aug 27th. Hopefully we both get similar Birthday Presents!! Maybe, even a little early!

 

I need to see more pictures!!

 

That's bad ass!!! Perfect use of a MN-12 Bird...

I had one with Eibach suspension, handled like it was on rails but I never much cared for the ergonomics, that and the fat girl 4.6 were finally deal breakers, sold it after approx seven months...

 

This is what the Mav looked like when I brought it home... Poor thing... It was almost ready for the junkyard... Plain jane... No grabber hood... Bumpers thrown away... Big plans comming up...

 

These are some IRS suspension parts from the donor next to the Mav fenders... I cleaned and painted most suspension parts before putting them away for a while... This was a few years ago... Progress has been slow and on and off... ... whenever I found the time, I didn't have the cash and viceversa...

 

And this pic should reveal most of the plot... But I'll leave you guys to connect the dots...

 

Looks like you are cleaning your used parts up very nicely before transferring them over.