This is the project thread for our Maverick project. I've been meaning to post this for a while now but I've never gotten around to it. So here's the facts on the car (when it was purchased) : - 1973 Ford Maverick - 4.1L (250 ci) ThriftPower Straight Six - C4 Automatic Transmission - Gold Glow Metallic Paint - LDO Dark Ginger Interior - 5-Lug w/ 8" Rear - 73xxx Original Miles - All-Stock The car was purchased from its second-owner in South Carolina, who had only had the car for about a year at the time. He had purchased the car in Wisconsin, where it had originally belonged to an older couple and eventually sat for an unknown period of time before being driven to SC. When we purchased the car in August of 2012 it had severe rust damage and a large dent in the driver side door where it had beeni hit by a snowplow. However, the interior was nearly immaculate along with certain other parts of the car, which made it a very odd combination. The first work done on the car was the cleaning of almost every area possible. While cleaning the trunk out, we found the car still had its original spare, unused from 1973. If you're interested in having an original spare, contact me because for me it just takes up space in the trunk. When we began to pull the car apart we uncovered even more issues. The fender aprons on the engine compartment were rusted through, along with the fenders, parts of the floor boards, the right side torque box, both rear quarter panels, and a few other small areas. It wasn't until we found all these problems that restoration began. (To be continued)
Restoration actually began with customization on this Maverick. One of the first things we did on this car was modify the tail panel to work with tail lights from a 1971 Ford Torino. The full story can be found here . Pics of the conversion are attached. We then purchased a 1972 Driver Side Fender and a 1971 Grabber Passenger Side Fender. We quickly found that these fenders are somewhat different from each other so we changed the 1972 to look like the 1971. We also purchased a 1970 driver door which has now been placed on the car. The interior door panel on this door is different from the 1973, so we also modified that to match. After the door was on, we decided the car should have front disc brakes, for obvious safety reasons. We managed to find a set of 1975 Maverick disc brakes and put them on the car along with modern shock absorbers. Pics are also attached. (NOTE: In picture, shock has not yet been attached.) You may notice in the picture of the modified brakes that the brackets for the bumper still on. We have removed them. This is because we plan to put the small 69-72 bumper on the car. However it has come to my attention that the original bumper on the car, known as the "medium" bumper, is actually more valuable due to the fact that is was only in production for approximately 7 months (11/72-7-73). The bumper is still in great condition and the chrome is nice, but I still want to go with the small bumper. Any input on this would be nice, and if you're interested in a Medium bumper, contact me. (To be continued)
Continuation Update (6/14) The Passenger side torque box was in bad condition, and is being replaced with a reproduction from PPP. A new master cylinder and brake booster were added, and lines are being connected. Fenders are being sanded and primed, along with other body pieces. Purchased a straight 1972 bumper, rough with rust but still straight. We intend to clean it up and paint it the same color as the car will be painted (Gold Glow, 1973) Pictures to come.
