my 73 maverick project... i hope it turns out good

hey guys, is there any certain way for me to know which 1973 maverick do i have?

labels? paint? features? style?
anything i can identify would be awesome.

i bought it on 9/20/11 with 90k miles on it. it runs and everything works.
so far i have torn the interior apart and taken everything out. i will be changing the interior color from brown to black/brown, i think it'll look good. also today i took apart the fenders and hook as well as the radiator and condenser. i found out that there is few radiator body support damage as it seems like it has been in an accident.

so far my plans are as follows:

L and R fenders:√
front bucket seats x
front grille√
inside carpet
sport wood steering x
sport mirrors√
leather for seats
power brake conversion
manual transmission x
dent fixes√
engine rebuild x
new paint job√
wheel and tire√


here's few pics as from day one till now















sorry about too many pictures if it takes longer for some that has slower connection.

also please suggest anything that you can which would be a great help.

thanks and i'll keep you all posted.

 

Changing the doors would not change the data sticker. The data sticker is on the door jamb. 1969 1/2 Mavericks were the only Mavericks with a data tag rivited to the door.

 

I think you better find a body shop, and put that car on a frame machine...before you do too much. It's been hit pretty hard on the right side.

 

i don't think it has frame damage as i inspect it and see no bents or damage to the body frame. the only damage is that from the radiator support till battery holder is bent up. i'll have someone else take a look at it too to be sure.

 

Yes.....small correction. All 4-doors have it rivited to the door.

 

It takes a good hit to bend it up like this:

Since these are uni-body cars, it doesn't take much.

 

The bumper mount in this picture is severely bent UP. Have this car checked out by a professional.

 

man it's been a busy week. anyway, i am getting the radiator support tomorrow from a fella comet guy. i still haven't had the time to get it check out if the frame is bent or not. will do soon.

i bought these today
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...WAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649#ht_500wt_867
let me know if these are a good buy or not. thanks

 

I have the same mirrors on my 4-door. They were on the car when I bought it. They seem OK for aftermarket mirrors. They don't flop around...which is good.

 

Also....you really need to check and see if the frame is bent before you go any further with this car.

 

Can I visually inspect the frame bent? I'd like to inspect it myself before taking to body shop

 

You might be able to. But...do you know what you are looking for? The instant I saw your pictures...my first thought was "bent frame". It would be worth paying a shop $30 to $50 for a visual inspection. If you were closer....I would do it for you.

 

looking at bumper mount on drivers side. pushed up, and in towards the center of the car. passengerside just bent up. but more looking at how mangled the apron is.

look right above passenger side tire. how its kinked up like that. I don't know how older cars like these take hits because 99% of the cars i have worked on are like 1990 + newer and most of anything that old with any kind of frame damage aside from being pulled is going to totalled, at least that we get in.



looking at this picture looks like the welds are broken going towards the end of the frame rail at the bottom.

like i said i mainly work on newer vehicles which have all different designs for frame set ups now. but before you invest alot of money into this car i'd let a body shop take some measurements for you. do you want to put thousands of dollars into something that might never drive right?

 

even if the front frame rails are bent, the car is not scrap. you have options. you could put a custom front suspension on. you could do a mustang 2 suspension swap and build some custom frame rails to goto the front of the car. you could even get more creative than that.

 

Both of the quarter panels are slightly buckled, behind the wheel wells. It will take the same kind of pressure, but in reverse, to correct that. It will have to be done in a body shop, also. It doesn't take much of a rear ender to create those buckles, when the bumper is fastened directly to the tail panel of the car. Your car looks to be solid enough, but just not treated the best in the world by the previous owner.