1974 Mexican Maverick Restoration

I know that so far it has been alot of constantly bad news.

SO - I am really looking forward to seeing it all get sorted out and put back together - right.

 

working hours over hours... can confirm now that it has to look worse before it can get better

the combination valve with its nicely laid lines...
will do everything new with a new MC (need a GM one for disc/disc to fit the GM hydro booster) and disc/disc combo valve (PV4)


the hydr. clutch which they installed:


1" sway bar


handbreak assy is out and found the problem why it was so hard to pull: the pin in the wheel was halfway out, so it was blocking itself...


column and pedal holder: the made it pretty custom to fit the hydro booster, hopefully it wont fail on me...


the box (top piece with the big hole) they made in the firewall to put the hydro booster further in...
http://braesspics.smugmug.com/Maver...jF/0/M/lenkig, brems, fender, pedal 095-M.jpg

view from outside, as well as the dented shocktower to give space for the MC


a rust hole in the drivers a-pillar, didnt found the spot where the water came in yet...



stripping the fender to see how bad the metal really is:





some drill holes where the maverick sign was

and some more of ??


some not finished spots in the wheelwell


stripping the roof now in progress


front fender must have had an accident, its pretty bent where the lights go in. i def need new ones...



this weekend ill do as many hours possible to get it stripped completely...

 

Wow - still haven't found the end!

Here's some good news for you - I picked up some new parts today.

 

Jesus! There is probably 100lbs of filler on the car if not more! Scary!!

 

Wow....you've got your work cut out for you. The hydro boost is interesting, it's something thats crossed my mind, if it fit.

 

it sure was more!!!! and glass fiber underneath to fill the rustholes... just sad!!

 

alot more work than id wish to have. and still not found all of it.
the hydroboost should be great, i hope it will work as expected.
the changes they made are pretty big, so i hope it wont fail on me... no chance to go back!

 

i ****ing hate that ****ing **** rustbucket!!!!!!

just angry, i got tricked so bad. and too much work and money in it to just throw it away...

disassembled the doors, and the passenger door was repaired the mexican way again.
tons of dirt in it which closed the water drain holes, glass fiber over the rust, bondo and paint and noone will ever see it again... NOT!
so need new door, if not both of them...

passenger side door:




the driver side door:


just incredible, i dont want anymore...

 

Mike you have definitely found the money (and time and labor) pit of working on an older Mexican car.

Find the very best replacement that you can find so your end product will be worth the investment you are making.

 

thats the biggest ****pit of all mexico! i found the worst of all them.
and got talked into restoring it than selling and look for anotherone...
feeling like an idiot...

yeah, its gonna be difficult finding a good one...
all the mavs i know around in the area are rusted out, so none will be better.
will be difficult to find a good one.

 

I'm surprised at the rust, did the car come from the coast? I've seen some Mexican cars that have been pretty solid.

 

i have no idea where it has been and what it has made through...
i think it must have been mistreated all his life as the sheet metal looks and all the bumps and holes and that much rust all over...

maybe it has been sitting somewhere for years and some guy thought making money with 200 bucks of glassfiber, bondo and paint and sell it for alot more...

im so fed up i dont even wanna know...

 

I am ready just to tell you to find another car and use the best of both to make one. There is way more work in this car than it should be for the type of car you want in the end. I usually am not the person to tell someone to give up but this thing is going to nickle and dime you to death. For the money that you will spend fixing the one you have you can get a solid car for the same amount if not less.

Do you have a media blast company anywhere down there? If so I would have the entire car blasted to see what you have to work with. It looks like there is allot of hidden stuff in the car.

 

looks very familiar..



it will take a lot of patience to get that car back to life. after all the disappointments you already had i'd suggest to tear it down completely - maybe media blast it as suggested - and decide from the damage what's best.

 

I have lived in Mexico for ten years - Mike's car is normal fare. It would be rare for Mike to be able to find a better starting point here. I have also been looking for a Mexican friend for about three years and we have not come up with anything worth purchasing locally (Sonora).

In the meantime we have come up with several options in Arizona and California. If you decide to start with a new slate Mike I would recommend looking into the possibility of importing a Maverick to Switerland from the U.S. For about $1,000 U.S. dollars more you could import it into Mexico in the meantime.

This California Maverick sold for $2,500. Complete, no rust, original. Add paint, interior and rebuild motor - well worth a lifetime investment!