Help me find out more about my Maverick

LOL....slippery slope....that sums it up fairly well. Clogged carburetors, cruddy fuel lines, rusted gas tanks, old exhaust, crusty radiator, crusty brakes, The list of parts needing attention is endless....tools needed...need to know how to use tools. By the time I am done with mine, I could have bought a very nice car with what I have spent just on parts. If I had to buy the labor, I could probably have bought and paid for a brand new car. Sooooo.....welcome to the forum DC, and like the man said, figure out what you want to do and try your best to understand the time and cost to get there. Working on cars will SUCK in so many ways if you have no experience or tools, not to mention DANGEROUS. I have been working on my own cars for 40 years and still consult the internet, manuals, or other mechanics regularly. Are you going to look up what a starter solenoid is? Are you going to look up how it works before you just buy one? Will you figure out how to test it? Test a starter? Charge a battery, or at least measure the voltage (12.6 volts)? You may have to research at least 10 things before you buy anything......and once the engine cranks, that doesnt mean it will start.....getting it started might require you to learn 20 more things. Are you going to spend $200.00 to get it to crank and find out you need another $200.00 in parts just to idle in the driveway? This is the first step on that slippery slope, and it can eat your wallet without adding 20 cents to the value of your car.

 

Very well stated Stu it can be a very expensive lessen that some people cant handle . I have bought many project cars that have been given up on and people just wanted them to go away but I will say that if a person does work on the car and get it to running and driving they appreciate it more than just buying one all done up.

 

I had 14K in my first Mav.
it got hung up in "paint jail " so I gave it away...Free. it's a subject we ( Effie and I) don't talk about...

 

only thing he has going for him...it's a car from the West coast...

"being at others hands"...also means, who's advice is best for his situation.
as we know everything he needs to know he can find with the '"search function". but the problem with that...he doesn't know enough to type in the right question...
another case of someone not asking about one of these cars before buying.
if it ran..."perfect"... why has it been sitting for over a year...
I just hope he can see, we are trying to help...

 

some may remember when I first saw "Patches" it was on it's way to the crusher with a cracked block....only to find out it was a dime size freeze plug leaking...
16 years later I'm still averaging more than 1K a year to own it. more like financing it for 16 years @ $114 a month. (w/90% free labor)...LOL

 

,Are you still with us DC?

If so, welcome to the site from northeast Ohio!!!

There are so many members of this site that are willing to help you with your Maverick project. As you can read, you have received answers to questions you haven't even asked. They are anticipating your next move in the resurrection or separation from your Maverick.

Now is the time to decide, before you invest (wrong word) spend one dollar, whether to keep the car and at what level of repair or move it on along to the next owner.

 

Truly, you actually have a good start to a car....and a GARAGE!....I just hate to see it blindly pick your pocket. (I am a tightwad that way) Thanks for posting pics....and I did assume you were over your head with that thing. We do want it to be a good thing for you....and that will be a product of your decisions.

 

these are more of a project (hobby) car than a daily driver. they are like a fine wine, once you pick one it has to age a little. LOL

 

Hey dc there are members here in LA that can help you out. One member here, I think his name is Fordfreak on this forum has an instagram account and he trades parts with all sorts of other maverick/comet owners ( in Los Angeles) as well as pick a part alerts when one of our cars winds up in the junk yard.these other dudes are right though, figure out what you want out of that car then start selling your blood. Welcome to the club

 

sorry i haven't replied i checked out a couple of things, swapped the battery made sure it was charge, and checked the grounding cable, it wasn't connected properly so i fixed that. once i did that i went to start to see if it cranked, all i got was like a continuous buzz (sort of what it sounded like)

 

did the noise stop when you released the key? if it did, still sounds like a weak battery or you still have a bad cable connection.
did you have the battery checked or did you just charge it? it can read 12 volts but not have enough cranking amps...
Frank

 

i took it to get tested and charged everything checked out on it. you are probably right about the cable i was looking last night and it looks like the cables are frayed and i think one of them might have ripped through. im going to replace them once i have a chance

 

Deleted for poor navigation!

 

I did not! Wow, what a bone head move.

 

If anyone is still following this! i did a tune up on it, and changed out the battery cables/ grounded them properly, cleaned the carb, and it started right up! only thing i noticed after it ran for a while is it has a leak where the gas line connects to the carb, i changed the cable to be safe and it helped me notice it is the part connecting the hose to the carb.