Not sure what I am doing... but I just impulse-bought a '75 Maverick

Hi guys, I am a completely new member and I just picked up a beautiful 4 door '75 Maverick running a 250 i6 with absolutely everything working.

I am typically not the sort to buy classic cars as I have been warned by mother all my life, "They are just a pit you throw money into" but come on, I got it for 500 bucks! This thing has got to be worth a lot more than that right?

Anyway, I don't have much experience with working on cars at all except for basic things, and was wondering if anyone had some tips for cosmetic changes as well as ways to make this car fly.Basic maintenance and general information is also greatly appreciated.

The idea of owning a sleeper really appeals to me as well... I have been reading about people sticking turbo's on these things, any suggestions/cautionary tales for something like that?

Not sure how I feel about the colors yet, but everything is original and it matches so I hesitate to change anything big in that department.

Will get more pictures once I actually get the thing to my house. New York is crazy about driving un-inspected cars and I have a 40 minute drive to get it home. Waiting for my uncle to get me the dealer plates he said he has!

 

Welcome to the Forum!!!!

 

You stole that car -- $500.00. Don't you feel a little guilty?
Makin it fly will entail a heavy dose of checkbook unless you have a lot of mechanical skills and gear head friends. What is your idea on how the car will be used?

 

I was hoping for it to be more of a fun summer car that I can speed down back roads with while blasting "Long Time/Foreplay" by Boston and praying no cops happen to be around

I do have several friends who know their way around classic cars, and I am willing drop some money into it, while getting the biggest bang for my buck of course. I would like to do most things myself if possible! Kind of a learning experience.

 

Well, sounds like you have some idea and sort of plan -- always a good idea to have some kind of plan. Good luck w/ your car ...

 

I appreciate it!

 

from Northeast Pennsylvania

 

depending on how fast you want to fly that old 250 I6 you have in there can be fun and halfway decent on fuel when youre not flying. start with just changing the wheels to something more modern and see where you want to go from there.

as far as flying goes. if you really want to go budget buy a wrecked fox body mustang and snag the motor and trans and stick it there and upgrade to an aluminum radiator and be done or a junkyard 5.0 that rearend will hold up just fine it has the larger bearings than the earlier rearends so you can beat on that thing until it dies or the cops take it and the total investment if you shop around and do the work yourself with your friends can be under $3000 so not a huge loss if you smash it.

OR

you can build a monster and be ready to spend your lifes savings on it. there are plenty of members here who have spent a fortune on there cars and aresnt even close to done. take me for example so far Ive spent $13100 on my engine alone and havent even started on the chassis or transmission yet

 

from central VA!

Nice car for the money! Enjoy!

 

to the site!!!!!

 

from Atlantic Canada! That car looks very straight and clean! Well bought!! My first car was a 77 4dr Maverick.

 

Welcome to the madness. Best bang for the buck to start...Provided all the safety issues are good to go...Put a set of gears in the diff. 3.55:1 is a good ratio for a 250/C-4 trans combo. Have fun with it!!!

 

Sweet deal, drive it and enjoy, & preserve it

 

Welcome to the forum!
You got a sweet deal.
V8's are fun but the swap isn't a 4 hour job on 1 weekend.
Lots can be done with a 250.
Here are some good websites to check out: classicinlines, Jegs, Summitt, Melvins.
Waking up the motor may complicate emissions inspections, be careful what you remove...
Changing the rear end gear ratio will make the biggest difference and be the biggest bang for the buck.
Your car should have the 3.00:1 gears, that means 0-60 time of less than 10 minutes...
A decent, cheap upgrade would be a Ford Ranger 4X4 8.8rear end, it should have 3.80 or 4.10 gears and may have disc brakes and is already set up for leaf springs. The spring perches MAY line up, I'm not sure. A complete rear end assembly from stud to stud with brakes is about $200 in my local U-pull junkyard.
Good luck with your build!!
Post lots of pictures!
here's what mine looked like the day I got it and what it looks like right now...:

 

3.80/4.10 gears make it a mostly street car w/o OD. I wud go along w/ Mavman72 and 3:55 gears at most, even then I wud be thinking OD if I were doing any real highway work.