72' Grabber Restoration with Sub-Projects

Hey Roger...those seat track came out great!

 

excellent post with the exellent pics of the fabric. I appriciate the time that took.

 

Thank you Gene and Derik.

I'm just waiting on parts and stuff...chomping at the bit to do more!

I will keep everyone posted.

 

High Back Bucket Seat Cover Removal

I don’t have my new seat covers back for my Maverick seats, so I decided to go ahead and remove the old seat covers from my High Back Bucket Seats, and do a detailed write-up on this. This will help me, and others, to know how to remove the seat covers, which is somewhat confusing if you have never done it, and it will be good for using the reverse order when re-installing new covers. So please excuse the looong worded step-by step post. It took me 2 hours to disassemble, and slowly remove the covers, from all 4 pieces of the front buckets, while typing the directions on my laptop. Fred Carello also gave me some tips on doing this procedure!

I have 2 complete sets of High Back Bucket Seats, so I will still have another set to refer to when re-installing new covers. Also, the foam was in excellent condition on the set I am using, so I won’t need to install new foam. The seat frames show some surface rust, but this will all be covered up by the new seat covers, and I’m not going to the extreme of removing the foam, and dipping the seat frames. The frames came from a different area than Arizona, and I know the climate here will not make the surface rust worse.

The backseat upper and lower will be a breeze compared to the fronts.

For Maverick/Comet High-Back Bucket Seats.

Removal of Front Bottom Covers:

Step 1: Remove the Hinge bolts, Seat-Stop Bumpers and Latch Hardware, and set aside for resto.

- Turn the Seat Bottom upside down, take picture, and cut all the perimeter hog rings with a Klein side cutters, they will split in 2 pieces, so carefully remove and throw in old coffee can.

- I noticed the sides of the vinyl were folded down and hog ringed last, from the factory.



- There is a steel wire, that will be seen inserted into the sewed in slot, on all 4 sides of the bottom of the vinyl. The hog rings were clamped around trio of: the oval holes in the seat frame, the sewn-in channels that hold the wires, and the wire.

- The General rule is there is a hog ring clamped onto nearly every oval hole, on the bottom of the seat frame, holding the trio down.
- The wires in the cloth slots on the left and right side, were sticking out of the cloth slot on the front end, and poked through the front oval holes on each side. The opposite end stayed in the cloth slots.

Step 2: Cut all the bottom wire perimeter hog rings off, and remove the 4 pieces of wire, from the cloth slots, and save for later. The 2 side wires are longer than the front and back bottom wires. front and back wires are 11 inches long, and the sides are 14 inches long.



Step 3: Now we are ready to start really removing the seat cover!

- Flip the seat bottom upright, and starting at the rear of the seat bottom, roll the vinyl up over the seat frame and foam, and flip up.



- This will expose the 2 hog rings holding down the wire/cloth slot, inside the foam channel, starting about 4 inches from the rear of the frame. The hog rings are clamped down around the snaking spring on the underside.

- Cut these 2 hog rings off.


(Screwdriver tip is pointing at location of first hog ring in foam channel)

Step 4: Now you can roll the remainder of the sides of the vinyl covers up, from the back to the front, exposing the middle, then front channel hog rings, that hold the channel wires in place. Cut these hog rings, once exposed, being careful to not cut the hog rings, that are clamping the foam to the frame. The foam wire retainers, are made of thicker wire, so it will be easy to identify them, compared to the thinner seat cover retainer wires.



- These foam channel side wires have a hook bent into each side, so you might have to straighten one side, to remove them from the cloth slots. These are 15 inches long with one side straightened.

- Do the other side channel the same.

- There are other hog rings that you can see, that hold the foam and the thicker foam wires to the frame, but I left them in, as I am re using my factory foam cushions, as they are in good shape. If you are changing to new foam, which they are available, you can just remove those corresponding hog rings, and replace the foam.



Step 5: I took a dustvac down between the channels to remove debris, and sprayed Lysol on the foam to kill any mold or germs.

Removal of Front Seatback Top Covers:



Step 1: Remove the back plastic bottom cover by first removing either the one or two Philip screws at the bottom. some versions have one screw in the bottom middle, and other versions have one on each side at the bottom.

- Next, carefully pry the rest of the cover off at the sides and top. There are spring clips that hold the rest of the plastic back cover on:



- I found a 40 year old hog ring lying pressed behind the first one.

- The bottom back of the cover, was folded up last from the factory.

Step 2: Cut off the perimeter hog rings from the seat-back. They line up with the oval holes in the seatback frame, and go around the slot wires and vinyl cloth.

- Remove 14 inch back-bottom wire and side wires, and the 10.5 inch top back wire. The bottom section of the seat cover is now loose:



Step 3: Flip the seat-back over.

- Now flip-up and roll the bottom of each side vinyl, so that the lower foam channel hog rings are visible. Now cut these lower channel hog rings: In the below picture, my screwdriver tip is pointing at the first foam channel hog ring location.



Step 4: Cut the 6 hog rings, on each side-bottom channel. They are about 3 inches apart on the wire.

Step 5: Now roll the vinyl all the way up to the wire above the seat emblem button:



Step 6: Straighten one side of the thicker side wires,if you need to, and remove these. The topside is hooked into these u-hooks that are embedded in the frame. These side wires are 18 inches long with both hooks still bent.

Step 7: Cut the 2 hog rings around the wire in the upper horizontal foam channel, near the seat button emblem.

- Remove the 12 inch wire from the cloth slot.

- * If you are removing and installing new seatback foam, it will be obvious to you by this point, which hog rings to cut for this. Those have the thicker wires.

Step 8: Pull the remainder of the seat cover off, and you’re done with removing the cover from the seat back!



Installation of Seat Covers:

I will post pic of my new seat covers once I receive and install them, and make a tech article on here specifically for Maverick/Comet High Back Buckets, but in the meantime, just follow the reverse order of removing them for the installation. Use the spring loaded hog ring pliers, to crimp the hog rings into the oval holes, and zigzag springs. You might have to use plastic grocery bags, to ease the new seat covers over the foam, then pull the bags out once the cover slides into place. Fred gave me the grocery bag tip also!

 

Detailing and Restoring Factory Automatic Floor Shifter and Deluxe Map Light

In the meantime, I have been working on detailing, and restoring various parts that I have collected over the last few years.

For my Automatic Floor Shifter, I completely disassembled it, and cleaned and detailed all of the inside parts. I used a second floor shifter to pick and choose the best parts between them. The only parts I used from the extra one, was the inside pointer, and the wiring harness. The wiring harness on my main one was in bad shape from the grommet out, and the pointer on my main one, looked to be covered with a thick aftermarket shiny orange paint, which was very hard, and globbed on thick. I didn’t want to risk breaking the pointer while removing the extra paint, so I used the one off my extra shifter, which looked to be factory clean. The rest of my main shifter was in excellent condition, including the chrome, electrical parts, and the mechanics were all tight.

After cleaning all the inside parts, I restored the rubber boot, that slips around the chrome shifter shaft, by carefully measuring, and cutting a thin piece of corded rubber, with a razor knife, on a plastic cutting board. I decided to make my own, instead of using the aftermarket (repopped) ones, because I had a small piece of this Industrial strength rubber, and I knew it would be perfect for this application. Make sure to cut the width of the boot all the way over to the gear selector dial, so that there is plenty of rubber left to give, and so that no air gap shows, when sliding the selector shaft through the gears!

Oh…I forgot to mention how I removed the metal retainer clips, that push on one-way, to the backs of the gear selector dial, and the boot retainer. I carefully lifted each side of the clips with a small screwdriver, then used a large set of Klein angled side-cutters, and wedged each side of the cutter blade, under each side of the retainer clips, then teeter-tottered it upwards, until the clips were off.

Here is what the Floor Shifter Bezel underside looked like when I installed my custom corded rubber boot:



After re-assembly, I carefully masked off the face of the shifter bezel, to redo the black paint, which was chipped out, in a couple of very tiny spots. I decided to just repaint all of the black paint on top. I first put a black self etching primer down, and then used the good ole Rustolium 7777 Satin Black, which is a perfect match for a lot of the Satin Black parts on the Mavericks. I will have to be careful to use the right professional grade, mix, cure, chemical resistance, and temperature rating, on future parts that I paint, or have painted.

Another tip is that I use one of those clip-on spray nozzle guns, that you can pick up at Home Depot, or various places. The one I use is called “Can Gun”. These things are great for eliminating finger fatigue, and painting mistakes where your finger gets tired of pushing on the nozzle, and you over compensate and your finger gets in the paint stream, and messes up your paint job. I like the “Can Gun” brand because the handle allows all your fingers to fit on the squeeze trigger.

Here are some pictures of the Floor Shifter after resto: (The wiring harness is taped up into a plastic baggie.)





I also took my LDO Map Light out of storage (oops..called it Deluxe Map Light in Title), and disassembled it, and cleaned and tested the internals, and then cleaned and polished the outside. Here is a pic:

 

Factory Automatic Floor Shifter Rods, and related items

Since my Grabber did not come with the floor shifter, I had the fun task of locating all the hard to find shift rods and stuff.

I have to give credit to Craig Selvey, for providing me with numerous pictures of his Factory Floor Shift setup. Craig’s pictures allowed me to visually confirm that I had the correct setup. Part numbers that Dan Hines and Craig posted on these forums were also a big help. Thanks guys!

Here are pictures of my floor shift rod, column lock rod, double-sided tranny lever, and kick-down lever and rod:

* Note: The Column Lock Rod pictured (shiny silver one), is for the V8 engine, with Factory Automatic Floor Shift.


Part Numbers courtesy of Dan Hines and Craig Selvey:
D1DZ-7326-C - Shifter to tranny rod (all engines)
D1DZ-7E330-F - Column Lock Rod (302)

Extra part numbers:
D1DA-7340-AA - Shifter to tranny rod (all engines)
D1DA-7E330-FA Column Lock Rod (302)
D1DP-AA - Double-sided Manual Lever, for Tranny.









Pic of Shifter Hump:

 

Organizing Parts

I have a bunch of other parts that I will be restoring, and detailing in the future months.

Here is a picture of some of my Factory Power Booster Brake parts that I will be restoring. I originally thought this was from a 77’ Maverick, but when I dragged it out, I discovered the 1976 Maverick owner’s manual was thrown in with the setup. I will have the booster section remanufactured by a brakes shop that specializes in classic Ford brake boosters.



The interesting thing about switching to Power Brakes, is that the brake pedal wraps around the left side of the steering column, instead of the right side. This must be why manual 3-speed Mavericks didn’t come with power brakes, because the clutch pedal takes the spot where the power brake pedal would need to go. It would be interesting to see if anyone has been able to custom install factory power brakes, with a factory pedal setup on a Maverick/Comet with Manual 3 speed Tranny.


In the meantime, I have taken several pictures of of all of my collected parts, and areas of my Grabber, so that I don’t accidentally collect parts that I already have, and it also helps for researching parts, and aiding in the resto.

I have also organized a Master list, of all of the various parts, and what paint colors need to go on which parts, so that I don’t forget to paint certain parts that should be painted at the same time, when I am setup to do so. I've also started a list of what parts need to be plastic and metal re-chromed, and Gold Cladded, etc.

Computers and the Internet sure make it a lot better for doing restorations! I have my laptop being put to use the same as many others do on here I’m sure. Hundreds of Maverick pictures, vendor and supplier links, Catalogs, Factory manuals and diagrams, Master parts lists, etc. I have so much Maverick stuff on my computer now, that I’ve had to recently make sub-folders for a lot of the stuff, so that I can find certain pictures, parts, catalogs, and vendors!

 

Great tech write-up on the seat covers. I recently did my Comet but don't really have the patience for the documentation. I did the same method as you, with few exceptions. I got my covers frm the same source. On re-installing the front wires w/bends, I slit/made a hole in top center; that's the only way I cud figure it wud work. I did'nt take any pix of that process but did take lot of pix. My foam was in pretty gud shape, but I did have to patch a little spot in the pass side seat bottom. I did'nt think abt the Lysol - gud idea.
Also, I switched the seat bottoms arnd - since the drv side gets 100% use and the pass side in most cases - much less.
Lastly, I like the rehab on the shifter too and the way u have organized to keep errors at a minimum..

 

Very nice work.

 

Really nice write up on the seat cover installation ... I'll be doing mine soon.

That shifter looks brand new. Awesome chrome on that one.

 

really nice work and write up!

 

Thanks for the compliments guys!

I will try to get a better camera to take better pictures in the future.

I'm trying to get as many parts, and sections of the Grabber restored, and boxed up, so that I can pretty much just install the parts later, when I am ready.

I am still working on detailing the rest of my interior parts, and also finalizing my list of parts that will go along with the remanufacture of my rear-end, and transmission. I will be completely redoing the rear drum brakes at the same time that the rear-end is done, so that it is easier to just slap in, when I am ready.

The factory items of gas tank, A/C System, and Power Steering system will be other larger items that are on my list for sub items to resto. I have already rebuilt my Grabber racing mirrors, and restored my air breather, and have alot of other NOS and mint parts that will go into this build for later. The interior will be in the factory black with the factory dark charcoal metallic gray dash area, with the black deluxe door panels. I will try to speed this up as fast as I am able to within my budget.

 

Factory Auto Floor Shift Conversion - Maverick/Comet

There have been alot of questions about the specifics of Converting to the Factory Auto Floor Shifters, in the Mavericks and Comets lately.

I thought I would write a post that includes as much infomation that I have, all in one post, to help out others that are interested in doing this. If anyone wants to add to, or clarify any mistakes I may have made, feel free. I have duplicated this post in my Project thread so that it is easier for others to find.

I am using a combination of my pictures, pictures that other members have sent me on here, and pictures from the web. Picture credit goes to the members that originally took these pics.

It takes ALOT of hard-to-find parts, if you plan on doing this conversion, according to the Factory setup, so this is important to know, before spending the money.

Here is a picture I saw from either on here, or the web, that shows most of the Factory Auto Floor Shifter Setup, from a side Tranny view:

(I put the Labels in for Clarification)




Here is a Tranny View that Shows both the Column Lock Rod Installed, and the Floor Shifter Rod Installed, onto the Double-Sided Manual Tranny Lever, into a V8 Auto Floor Maverick. Photo courtesy of Craig Selvey:



And below is a Side-By-Side Photo comparison of the Two different Column Lock Rod Styles Installed: (2 different Column Lock Rods)

The Below-Left Pic is Craig's 302 V8 Floorshift Column Lock Rod Installed, and the Below-Right Pic is Mavtricks71's I6/200 Floorshift Column Lock Rod Installed.



Part Number shown in above-left pic: D1DA-7E330-FA (Column Lock Rod for a V8 auto Floor Shift Maverick...and supposedly the 6 cyl 250's also use this rod, but I have not seen this in person)

The part number shown in the above-right pic: D1DA-7E330-C and Column Lock Rod for the I6 cyl 170/200 Mavs.


Below is my current I6/200 Column Shift Rod setup, for comparison: (Notice the Factory Transfer Bar in the Setup) :



Here is the list of parts that you will need to do a Full Factory Auto Floor Shifter Setup:

1. A Factory Auto Floor Shifter for the Mavericks/Comets.

2. A Factory Shifter Hump, from an Auto Floor Shifter Maverick/Comet.

3. The Floor Shifter to Tranny Rod. (part number: D1DA-7340-AA).

4. Column Lock Rod. (Life-Safety Lock for Transmission. Part Number for 302 engine style: D1DA-7E330-FA, and Part Number for the I6/200 engine style is: D1DA-7E330-C).

5. Double-sided Manual Transmission Lever, so both the Floor Shift Rod and Column Lock Rod will connect. Floor shifter rod connects to Top hole, and Column Lock Rod to bottom. Part Number: D1DP-AA)

6. An original Factory Steering Column that came with a Auto Floor shift Maverick, or a Factory Steering Column that came with a Auto Column Shift Maverick. And you may have never noticed...but on the factory Steering Columns, part of the upper collar on the steering column, moves in tandem, with the linkage "Ear" in the engine bay. The auto-trans column-shifters, and the auto floor shift columns do this.

Here is a good link that has an exellent writup showing Mustang Monthly details of the inner workings of the Steering Columns:
http://xtremecarzone.com.au/index.php?showtopic=745

- You will also need the various rod connector bolts, washers, bushings, neutral safety switch, firewall wiring harness if you use the tranny mounted neutral safety, etc...I have the part numbers and sources for most of these also.

Craig Selvey did a great Tech Article on the Factory Firewall Wiring Harness, located here: (For Tranny Mounted Neutral Safety/Reverse Lights/Floor Shifter Light)
http://mmb.maverick.to/showthread.php?t=19094



This page talks about doing the final tightening, after everything related to the Factory Column Lock Rod, has been set: (bottom of page, courtesy of Jeff in Georgia)

http://1bad6t.com/Maverick/repair/clutch_transmission_03.html

Also, Jack (jmgford) recently pointed out that the 70-72 Ford Mavericks DO NOT HAVE A NEUTRAL SAFETY SWITCH MOUNTED AT THE BASE OF THE STEERING COLUMNS, ON THE AUTO COLUMN SHIFT MAVERICKS AND COMETS....and he is right. The neutral safety function is interlocked mechanically, inside the auto-column-shift steering column, with the keyswitch. The switch at the base of the auto-column shift steering column is for Reverse Lights Only on the 70-72 Mavs. So keep this in mind when deciding how you want your car's neutral safety function to be.

*** The purpose of the Transmission Column Lock Rod was a Life Safety device, with an intended safety purpose to prevent the transmission gear selector, from being moved out of the Park position, when the keyswitch is in the "OFF" position. This is so that you can take your keys out of the ignition, and not worry about an unattended child, shifting the car into neutral, and the car rolling down a hill, and into a lake, or oncoming traffic. So it's for locking the transmission, and not the steering wheel. The steering wheel has a separate lock pin, actuated by the keyswitch.

It's true, that the Lock Rod allows you to remove the keys, when in Park, on a Factory setup, but that is a "Result" of the opposite of it's original intended purpose.

When it's all hooked up according to the Factory setup, your tranny cannot be accidentally moved out of Park, when the keys are out of the ignition, because the whole system is interlocked mechanically, and so of course, you can't remove the keys until you put the floor shifter in park.

Some owners decide to not use the Column Transmission Lock Rod by choice. You "can" secure the lower steering column "ear", or rod bracket, in the engine bay, or on your interior steering column, if you decide this is what you want for your Maverick, I'm just posting this info, for owners to make an informed safety decision.

If you decide to not use the Transmission Column Lock Rod, and secure your Lower Steering Column "ear", or rod bracket, in the engine bay, or on your interior steering column...the only unlikely unsafe result, would be that someone could turn off your engine, and pull your keys out, while you are driving down the road, and your steering wheel could then lockup...which could be deadly.
__________________________

Here is some info on the Bushing for the Column Lock Rods:

http://rockauto.com/dbphp/x,carcode,1332302,parttype,11004,d,1967_FORD_MUSTANG_3.3L_3277cc_200_cubic_inch_L6_1BBL_Shift_Linkage_Bushing.html

(The Rock Auto one is the same color as the Factory ones)


(The Mustangs Unlimited one is Black color)

http://www.mustangsunlimited.com/itemdy01.asp?T1=F2466+01&Category=Drivetrain&subCategory=Shifter+Components&CatKey=EMUSTANG




Here's a picture of one on a similar Column Linkage "Ear" (spun around the other way)



Here is a source for the Tranny Mounted Neutral Safety/Reverse Lights Switch:
http://www.mustangsunlimited.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=SW1615+01



Here is what an NOS MotorCraft one looks like:



Here are two sources for Neutral Safety Wiring Harness that can be modified to the Factory Style:

http://www.rivercitymustang.com/Mer...Code=RC&Product_Code=7A240&Category_Code=NSWH

http://www.mustangsunlimited.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=57247+01



Here is a source for the Rod Clips:
http://www.mustangsunlimited.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=LC65+01


Here is a source for the Shift Rod Bolts:
http://www.amkproducts.com/bulk3.asp?part=B-10337



Here is a Kit:
http://www.toploaderheaven.com/shifter_parts/shifter_parts.htm


An AutoKrafters Kit:
http://www.autokrafters.com/v4/go.gnf?session=2cd64cd5fac6e064657d84698ab5ad6b&s=autokrafters&t=&n=default&d=products&show_product_id=526451&product=32191

__________________________

More Pictures for Reference:

Double-Sided Manual Tranny Levers



302 Style Column Lock Rod:





* If you plan on using the Throttle Kickdown setup, some Very Special Modifications might have to be done
to the Throttle Kick Down Setup, if you plan on having Headers on your V8 engine.
I'm not sure the Factory Kickdown setup will fit with Headers, without Modifying the Kickdown Rod and Lever.





* Also...the Kick-down Rod Linkage Levers, that connect the Kick-down Rods, to the Manual Tranny Lever, are also different, between the 6 cyl Mav/Comets, and the V8 cars. The V8 style has 90 degree dogleg bends, and the 6 cyl style bends look more like 45 degree bends on the offset.



Pic of Shifter Hump:

 

Another really helpful write up... thanks for posting it.

This is going to help me "un-cobble" mine. Info that I had access to 15 years ago wasn't so hot.

 

Looks like the Moderators made my Floor Shift Conversion post a Tech Article:

http://mmb.maverick.to/showthread.php?t=81113

Thanks to everyone that contributed info on this.