72 Mercury Comet GT in Germany

I cant wait to see this come together! consolette looks great!

 

hole in the fender fixed, antenna deleted:



hood completely stripped:


i will try to position the scoop tomorrow. i started a new thread on the correct position...

 

I can give you ball park on the scoop location. These are the measurements taken off of my original 71 GT hood before I replaced it using the original scoop.

Rear Outside Hole: From side of hood measure in 13 1/2" and will be located 3 3/8" from back edge.

Front Outside Hole: From side of hood measure in 12 15/16" and about 24 1/8" from rear of hood.

I made a template of the hood scoop out of card board with the holes in it and positioned it to do the actual marking on the hood. It's easier to work with than trying to do it with the scoop. Laid the scoop on the card board with the studs and used some of the wife's lipstick to help mark it (Caught all kind of crap for that).

I would recommend getting a step bit to drill the sheet metal if you don't have one. They work great and don't tear the hood like a regular drill bit would.

- Matt

 

the cardboard template worked out really well:


i also marked the area which i'll cut to make the scoop functional:

 

tore the rearend down today. it seems that the axle still has the low versailles gears - 2.75:1. i'll try to figure which ratio will be the best for both the 347 and the fairly high german highway speeds of usually 80-90 mp/h.



i got rid of the custom made parking brake brackets welded on the axle tubes, the whole setup will be done properly this time. right next to it is a 4-lug 8" rear i got from chandler years ago. funny how small it looks in comparison. it will finally go under my mustang this spring!

 

Looks good, Thomas.

Just remember when you say "low gears" in reference to the 2.75 ratio, you really mean high gears. The lower the ratio the higher the gear number will be. I think my Versailles rear had even higher gears than yours. Something like 2.55 or something.

I had 3.50's in my 9 inch but just bought a set of 3.89's to better suit the Comp cam and dual quads now in the Cleveland

 

yes, you're right on that - high gears, low ratio

i ran the numbers on a web calculator - at 3000 rpm with 235/60R14 in the back, i will be running 80 mph with the 2.75 and 75 mph with the 3.00. not much of a difference, but the car will see the autobahn quite often. one of the teeth of the ring gear is broken, so i guess i'll have to change the gears anyway...

 

Whenever I get a little bummed out about the rust in my latest project...I just look back over your pictures, it is amazing!! This shows, that any Maverick/Comet can be saved!!!

 

dave, i'm glad this thread is an inspiration for you. i'm encouraged by comments like these

 

Wow great thread and some great work. Car is looking awesome.

 

Tody, Vielen Dank! Great pictures!

I am imagining the moment when you finish this monumental project.
Perhaps you will make a playlist of the greatest hits from 1972 when you take to the roads for the first time! I do hope that you will make a video.

The restoration shop that is repairing my Maverick is almost 3 hours from my home. I can only visit once a week -- to leave a stack of money and more parts usually.

 

thanks for the encouraging comments!

hood scoop is now functional and sitting where it belongs:




front steering and brakes are now completely disassembled. tank was cleaned up and is rust free!




two questions: what about the gaskets between dust shield and spindle - are they available new? the rubber bushing between center link and pitman arm - is there a replacement?

 

I made my own gaskets for between the dust shield and the spindle.

 

i made a decision this morning.
the car will be converted to manual transmission. i just bought maverick maniac's setup on ebay and will be getting a toploader transmission form a german mustang guy. this will let the costs of this build go more and more skyrocketing, but so far, i don't care.
havening never driven an automatic for a longer period of time before, i just wasn't convinced the c4 will be the real deal for me. all daily drivers and even my mustang are manual cars, i even learned to drive on a manual.
the car will be getting a 347 stroker, has the 9" rear already in place - so there should be something bulletproof in between. toplader 4 speed, here i come!

three questions on that:
- what do i use to make the z-bar work on a roller block?
- where exactly do i put the z-bar bracket on the frame rail?
- will the toploader stick come out in the same place as the c4 shifter hump i already have?

 

Thomas, you can always go with a hydraulic slave cylinder instead of a z bar. Doesn't take up much space and won't get in the way of your headers.