77 Maverick build (slopoke)

also got my Crites 351 Windsor headers and the engine is almost complete. I took a few photos of everything mocked up for you guys. the headers are now ceramic coated and I'll post pictures of that once I put them all back together but I will post a teaser photo of the header collector ceramic coated black. and I had a ton of engine accessories powder coated as well.

 

Catching up on your build. Looks great. Nice work!

 

thank you very much!

 

That is one wild set of headers

 

Working on suspension now! 100% brand new steering and suspension from Laurel mountain Mustang("performance kit" 7/8 sway bar and 1" drop springs, KYB gas adjust shocks. And TOPORANGER's HD belly bar (which it and installed perfectly, a very well designed addition). Also converted from power to manual steering and used AutoKrafters centerlink.

 

If you don't watch out you'll have a whole car before you know it..... Great progress, looking good.....

 

Finished my grill this evening. I'm sure this has been done before but haven't seen it. So I found a small bumper car grill with minimal cracks and a missing emblem in a local junkyard. I also found a good center grill portion from a big bumper car. From there I cut out the emblem section of the full grill and used a two part plastic epoxy to fit the center section of the other grill into it. I'm pretty happy how it turned out. I used a razor blade to cut out the extra epoxy befor it dried completely. Then I used a file and sandpaper to fine tune the edges one the epoxy dried completely

 

That process looks familiar..... Nice job.....

 

Ok I finally got the 351w back from the machine shop. It was ran on the run stand, cam was broken in, and carb tuned. Now she is back home and installed along with the trans. The Crites Restoration Headers fit like a dream!

 

Well I've got quite a bit finished over the last month. Suspension is all buttoned up, I painted and installed the front end after many test fits. Temporary hood and scoop installed. The scoop is functional. Hood clearance was really tight with the 351 so I figured why not? What do yall think about my grill? I ordered the emblem on ebay. I believe it is for the Maverick SUV. I thought it was elegant and different! Going to try and have the bumper installed in the next couple days along with the temporary rock guard and valance... they are too damaged (for me) to repair so I got them as straight as I could and rattle canned them black until I can find replacements. BTW this is the first time in over a year that she has had all 4 wheels on the ground.

 

Nice work! I like the grill; those headers look like pita to get installed -- close fit!

 

You should not feel intimidated at all...You have done nice work there so far...Love the grill, did the same thing with my Sprint grill, but I cut up a perfectly good 75 grill to do mine. Soo...Whats the specs on that mill between the towers???

 

Thanks for the kind words. The story on the motor goes like this. I took the "original" 302 in to be checked out because I could never get it to run quite right and it was having overheating issues. Let me just say, although i am learning, im not really an engine guy. Just have never been able to wrap my head around all the numerical specifics. Long story short, detonation caused some ring issues that in turn, scared the cylinder walls pretty good. This block was already 40 over and I didn't want to go 60 over (and that may not have been enough anyway). The machinist said " I pulled the Pistons and the rings fell to the floor in pieces. I don't know how this thing ran at all!" So I needed a new motor. My budget was low and I new I couldn't have the power I wanted with the budget I had. A few weeks later the machine shop called and said they had found a motor for me. What happened was, another customer was having a 351W built for his truck. He lost his job while trying to send his daughter to college. So he sold me the completed short block for a pretty good discount, though I wish I could have given him more. So I told you that, to tell you this. I don't remember all the specifics but I have it all write down somewhere. Here is what I do know. It came out of an eighties police car. The alternator was 9 inches in diameter(to run all the sirens and lights), and it had the external oil cooler set up. Crank, rods, and heads are original parts. Bored 30 over, pistons, RV cam, multi angle valve job, high volume oil pump, 100% ARP fasteners. I was told approx. 300hp and 350 ft. Lbs. I also know that it was built to pull a boat 3 hours to the coast. So I'm hoping that means it's a reliable torque monster! They ran it on a run stand and broke in the cam and boy did it sound healthy and angry. I'm sorry I don't valve more details. With the 355 gears, I think she is gonna fly!

 

Yeah...It will be a torquy little mill for a mav. Buy a couple sets of rear tires for it...LOL...Personally...I would ditch the spool and get a trac lok unit for it. All that torque and wet pavement with a healthy 351 will wake you up real quick if your not paying attention,with a spool. See how you like it though, some guys just love that chirp around corners and in parking lots...

 

I agree about the spool. That was another budget hold back. We will see. With the spool I bet I could dominate a drift competition lol. I'll give it a few miles before I make a change. In the end, I'll probably switch to a 9in anyway... I didn't want to spend a ton of money on the 8 in.