i was just given a 75 maverick. it belonged to my wifes gandma and only has 65,000 miles on it. its an original 302 auto car with ugly yellow factory paint and green interior. the car is near perfect. garage kept w/ a/c pwr steering brakes etc. my problem is the handling. i have always had sports cars and for the last 7 years 5.0 stangs. my question is what can be done to make it handle better and not lean and rock like a school bus. i live a few miles from texas mustang so if any parts are interchangable that would be nice. i buy wholesale tax free. and what can i do about these big ugly bumpers too? thanks guys steve
You will never get this to handle like a sports car or 5.0 without extensive modifications. Their main purpose in life was econo box grocery getters. You can buy better sway bars from Addco or PST and better shocks but not much else. If you have the skill and want to spend the money, there are some nice kits out there from RC Motorsports to convert to a MII front end, and late model Mustang IRS could be adapted in. Despite all the short commings, there is a loyal following here. They are unique and rare as cars go. Think about the last 10 shows you been to and count the number of Comets and Mavericks that were there. Its kinda neat being different. As far as the bumpers, They can be modified to accept the small early style. Here is a link to an article I wrote years ago about the project. You cannot buy bumpers or any brackets for these cars so you'll have to find used stuff to do the conversion. http://www.maverick.to/gtu_faq.php
Welcome to the board. Most early Mustang front end stuff is the same. Like Mavaholic said, these aren't sports cars, but most of things that apply to the early Mustangs apply to the Maverick. Russ
Steve, welcome to the board! Looks like you found a nice car to start with, since it has a 302 in it already. I agree with what Dennis said, this cars are not real common any more, and once you see the potential these cars do have you will be hooked! Good luck with your new car, and feel free to ask questions. Take care,
steve, sorry to hear you were given a near perfect maverick. i really don't think anyone should carry that burden all alone. if you need help i'll email my address and you can drop it off at my house. looks like a great car to start with. welcome to the board.
Well Steve you got a helluva deal if someone gave ya that car...they didn't know what they had. Mav's are not slalom cars but I eat stangs for lunch off the line Welcome to the board and if we can help just holler.
hi guys. yeah this car is eceptional. it was a one owner car tuill i got it. and in the last 12 years has only had 5000 miles put on it. my wifes grandma is from england and never drove till her husband died 10 years ago. and even then rarely. i dont have a lot of plans for it.. mainly cosmetic. my last 6 mustangs have been in the low 11sec range and my last one was running 10.20s consistantly. too much to be a daily driver so i sold it. im now building a 56 bug for the track. i would like to at least put the shifter on the floor although if these didnt come factory at one time with flor shifters i wont. i like original style stuff. if anyone is is interseted in stock low mileage parts when i remove them ill give them away. btw this car is 99% original with the exceptiopn of plugs and wires. even has some sort of screen covering on the exhaust. i gotta say this is the only car ive had that hasnt had nitrous on it. thats what i do for a living (NX).ill definitely be asking a lot of questions. steve btw heres a pic of the 93 coupe i just sold.
I'll jump up and disagree.... you can make a mav handle very well, and its not that difficult(in my opinion) our 77 will outhandle my 95 mustang with a kenny brown kit. redo/renew your suspension, better wheels/tires, shocks, sway bars,springs, a few other little things(as in bracing, ect) to get one to handle extremely well it will take a little work, but its sure fun!
A floor shifter was optional on both Automatic and Standard shift cars so as far as originality goes it would be correct ...
They did come factory on the floor either automatic or 3 speed and there's alot you can do with that 302 also. Mines not on the bottle, but it's strictly a street car
You can put nice springs in th front that will help immensely. Mustang springs will fit. You options are NOT just shocks and a bar.
My 77 Mav was our Nanny's car until she could no longer drive. It sat in her garage for 7 years, and she gave it to our daughter when she went to college. It was a pain in the neck to replace all the dry rotted rubber throughout the car, but I got it done. The fuel pump went out on it during her Senior year, and we bought her a new car for graduation. I put the Mav on a trailer and dragged it home. It sat in our driveway for 18 months, and I've adopted it as my first street rod, and a challenge to turn it into a real sleeper on the street. I suggest you drive it for a while, and decide if you want to sell it as a stock Mav to somebody that would appreciate it, (and there are many here) or start modifying it suit your desires. I love my Mav because I can mold it into anything I want: Hot rod, daily driver, drag racer, or purely stock as a nostalgia car. Somebody above said it right, "They are unique and rare as cars go." If I were you, I'd leave it stock, clean it up, and call Jay Leno! He buys rare cars of all types! Grant
If anyone is interested in this car, i would sell it if the price was right. I tried to post the pics in the classsifieds but cant seem to get it to work. Im a sucker for fuel injection, sports car handling and i dont think shell ever be for me. I drive it every day and it gets good gas mileage.
first off welcome to the boards! but sell it! what are your stupid just kidding! but man, you might regret that someday if you do! you'll be like all the people around my car at the cars shows going man.. "i should have kept mine! i didn't know you could make one look like that? i'm sick of seeing mustangs this is something differant!" as far as the color you could always paint it. infact i just bought one just like yours and i mean just like it, year, color everything! sit and think about it before you sell it! oh yeah a far as your mustang question if things will fit! some do fit but most don't.. infact most look the same but there are differances.. jsut make sure you have the part your replacing so you can compare them. good luck
