1974 Mexican Maverick Restoration

time to show some progress, i worked many hours...

stripping is almost completed on the outside:








found some more small holes and dents, but nothing that horrible anymore.
but still many things to repair and exchange...

like the small bumper bracket. someone tried to make it fit on the car...


the old electro harness:
its a real mess, ill get a new one from Ron Francis...

http://braesspics.smugmug.com/Maverick/DIY-restoration/i-rz34RBc/0/M/electro harness 013-M.jpg

got some moore goodies, thanks Steven



but it does not work as expected, so ill need to make it work somehow...


then i worked on the steering:
the shop made a custom Rack& Pinion, but it does not work well.
it locks very early when turning left, because it hits itself.
so ill make some adaptions there.



as well the new tierod ends are not correct and have very short thread overlap so ill make a new tie rod connector and use the original style (just new ones...)


then i checked the suspension and brakes:




the spindles are shot! ill need new ones, but ill wait to see the stance to maybe get some drop spindles...


who knows if these are the original 74 mav spindles?
mine has 5 lug (5x4.5") and disk brakes, so im not sure. part number is D4DW 3108AA



and who knows which car these brakes came from? maverick or what?




the UCA got upgraded with roller perches and the shop made some custom rubber bushings to it. but when installed you cant even lift the UCA up and down by hand, its very hard. anyone knows if this is a common upgrade and will work?
to me its bad that it moves so hard, i think it takes its responsiveness out.
same system also on the LCA.







then i cleaned out the box where the LCA sits and painted with rusttough paint, the shop did not even clean it...





it seems to me as the LCA was rubbing on the sides, as the marks on the box an LCA show, but when i hold it in it would have to travel reeeeally far front and aft to touch there, with strut rods i dont think this is possible.
how could that come?



and also was thinking about what to do with my engine.
i was planning to change it completely to a hipo 302 with some 350HP and good torque in low rpms. but get a new engine from the us to mexico cost a fortune compared to what it costs in the us.
and i dont trust the mexicans anymore, so rebuild mine here is no option.
i have a mexican racing block, D1ZM-6015-AA, cast on 22 may 73.
but i dont know how far down compression was in that year in mexico so i dont know how much power it could have.
also the previous owner changed cam (spec unknown) and put a performer 289 intake and 600 cfm edelbrock 4v carb on.
i have no idea how it looks inside or if it has been rebuild or bored once.

would it be an option to just put some alu heads on it to get some power in the short turn. and on the long turn ill take it apart when im in europe bore and hone it, forged short block, new cam and use the heads again.

does that seem feasable? or a bad idea to put just heads on and use them again afterwards?



so im fighting in a lot of battles but i keep on going.
hope to get some good replacement metal soon to keep on working....

 

Those look like Maverick calipers, but holy crap! That spindle is junk!!

 

Holy cow! Very nice man!!!


Did you have a moment to review the PM I had sent you?

 

The work accomplished looks great.

You have the next two packages on their way.

Why not just put a running motor in for now and worry about a high performance build when you get home and find someone that can be trusted?

 

Ok good to know. Im planning on getting some wilwood 4 or 6 piston calipers, but ill stay with these for the moment as i had more unplanned expenses than i wanted. Take the car to switzerland, get it on the road with local number plate ( which still not is that sure if its gonna happen without problems because of very strict technical check) and when i can keep it for sure its gonna be time for some heavy upgrades...

Checked out the foto i had from a rusting donorcar that is sitting near me and saw it has discbreaks. Tommorow ill check how much he wants for the spindles so i can use the better ones. ( right side spindle is not that bad but not perfect either)

 

Thanks, ill try my best and dance on many weddings! :bananaman :bananaman

Yes if seen it, thanks for the quick reply, ill give you a detailed answer tomorrow

 

Thanks! And thanks for the parts! The valence and spoiler arrived yesterday!
Please pass me you bank details by pm!!

If nothing surprisingly good will happen ill stay with the engine i have as its running and at least a bit upgraded.
But i dont want to make that much work to this car and then have a bad engine in it! Should be the other way around...
Was just thinkin in a way to upgrade this quick and easy and could be reused when making a engine rework and upgrade...
But i have other things to do first so its not that priority

 

i have a pair of spindles over here in case you want to upgrade later on!

 

I just spent the past hour reading the entire thread. Braess You have the patience of JOB. keep up the good work, it will pay off in the long run.

 

hey tody! found some disc spindles here for 20 bucks, got lucky for once! :bananaman

 

thanks alot, im trying my best to make a god job. its been very difficult many times, but i just can go on and hope ill finish it one day...
if i would have some years time i would love it, but with just a few months left to finish its a hell of pression...

 

lets see an update, im working along, but its getting slower, because of many details to solve and not too much time...

first i put the engine back in with the new motor mounts, to check if it fits better now.
the mounts are good, it looks better, but i didnt measure engine angle yet...






a big headache still are the headers. it was difficult to get them in with the engine in place, and once in, they touched in a few places to the car. and the collectors dont sit nice centered to the transmission mount where i want them to be.
so thinking now about bending them a bit and dimple where they touch the car to get some clearance... but not a nice fit as many said they would be...





then i found two used disc spindles off an other maverick.
i was not sure first if they will be good, as the car sat a long time and was pretty rusty.
one side sat on the disc brake, the other side didnt have the disc brake on anymore.
but i got them for 20 bucks and these where the only ones available, so i gave them a try...







disassembled and cleaned they already looked better, and the spindles itself for sure alot better than mine before...




as a comparison the old spindle again:


cleaning with the wire wheel


and painted in black...


also the calipers and rotors got some attention, as i decided to stay with my brakes at the moment and upgrade when i got the car on the road in switzerland...




the braked is already painted, black caliper paint with ceramic formula that they stay cleaner of brake dust...


also the rotors got cleaned, preped and are in paint at the moment







then i finally found a brake master cylinder that fits my power booster.
it was dificult because its a GM booster with shallow rod, and i didnt have space for a long mc because of the shock tower.
so i went with a modern 2000 GM s-series 1" master.
it fits, lets hope it will give me the brake feel as expected...




i want to paint the reservoir black, that it wont be that obvious, but it will be difficult that it stays nice with the brake fluid. lets see...

also took out the dash to prepare it for paint, but it gives me a little problem as the wiper controls are glued in and i cant get the nob off. it is in with so many washers i have never seen, because they changed places of light and washer switch... mexican style...





took the wiper motor and handles out to clean and paint.





put the new gastank in to check fitting. it works, just need to adapt the filler neck.
it is a repop 68 mustang gas tank with 20 gallons iirc...



and i received the mustang export brace, which i want to adapt to stiffen the front.
but i let this to the side at the moment as i need the time for other things first.
also i have chosen the thicker export brace, to get more support, but the flange to attach to the firewall is different formed as the normal one, so it will need some more work to adapt than just cutting the lenght... thats why it has to wait...




so working on alot of details, but the most important stuff - the sheetmetal - is still waiting as i didnt find a donor rear yet and the doors, fenders and other missing stuff im still checking with levi... (thanks for your help by the way!!)

hope you enjoy the fotos, i try to document my progress as detailed as possible...
know you will like them...

 

Looks great.

 

It is looking allot better Keep up the great work!!!!

 

headers are looking a lot better. they're touching in exact the same places as in my car. i used a big hammer, and made them fit...