Alright. It's been a decade since I owned my last Maverick and logged into this group, but here I am again. I got a 75 Mav that my son and I are restoring. Here are some considerations I hope you guys can help with. It's been a minute. 1. I will be looking for a 200 I-6. This car is an original grabber and was V8, but for my son's sake I want to have a 200 with a T5 trans. He would prefer it look cool, but get good gas mileage. I agree, as I don't want it to be too fast, to be honest. Although It's a V8 car, it comes with 6 cyl mounts. So...I need the drivetrain. 6 cylinder, t5 transmission and whatever bell houseing/clutch assembly I need to hunt down. I will be installing an EFI TBI kit so I can tune it for economy. Again...I don't want his first car to be a fast car. He can make it fast later. Before you purists go off on me for putting a 6 cyl in an original Grabber, let me reassure you all modifications will be bolt-on. If he wants to put a 302 in it later, he can. 2. hood/bumpers. It's set up for the small bumper 70-72 front end. When I last had one, there were no reproduction grabber hoods. We just had the option of the fiberglass one for $600 or so. Any modern options for grabber hoods and skinny bumpers? I'm cool with fiberglass, but would prefer metal. Thanks guys and it's good to be back. I have to admit, it's nice having one of these cars in my driveway again. My first car was a Mav and I think i've owned 4-5 of them.
a lot of Grabbers came with 6 cyls. maybe that's why it has 6 cyl. mounts. mine was a 6 cyl 73 Grabber. I would think a 250 would fit to a 5 speed easier than a 200 here is a good start to get the info you need on the swap... rthomas771
Thanks for the info. I haven't picked it up, but it's a 75 and I'm told it was a v8 car, but he has the 6 cylinder mounts since he has owned many mavericks like I have. Good info on the 250. I will look for one of those instead. I'll probably end up finding a junked 4 door in my area and rip the engine out of it.
I didn't think Mavericks came with anything smaller than a 250 in '75. In any case, now is the perfect time for a V-8 swap. Steel reproduction Grabber hoods are available...
Yeah I decided to go ahead and put the 302 in it like it was made. It's an actual V8 grabber, so screw it. The reason I wanted the 6 is I was really trying to limit the horsepower (and get better gas mileage) since it'll be my son's first car. And yes...I know the I-6 didn't get much better mileage than the 302, but it's still a little better. I'd prefer it to be less horsepower and put the money on steering, braking and other safety issues. I'll just keep the 302 bone stock and maybe even have it de-tuned for economy.
It came with a 302 originally, it's just a roller with no drive train now. I wanted a smaller engine for economy and the fact that it's my sons first car. But i'm just gonna put a 302 in it and de-tune it like a slug.
Sounds like an interesting build and a cool, basic driver. Here's a short thread from another board with some suggestions for building a high gas mileage small block. https://www.vintage-mustang.com/threads/build-a-289-302-for-street-performance-and-20-mpg.767457/
very, very helpful read. I will post pics of the car tomorrow. This particular car came from another forum user, so itll be recognized once I post pics (Hint...It's a 75 grabber that's been sandblasted, primed and ready for assembly) I didn't want to say much till it was in my driveway. So far, the gentleman I bought it from threw in some hooker maverick headers, so it will already breathe well. I will go with a T5. It has a fresh-built 3:83 rear end I believe with a posi. Once I find the driveline, I will start getting specific gear specs and see what I can do to squeak some better mileage from this thing. I was thinking about an edelbrock 500-600, but I really want to go injected for reliability sake. Those 87-90 EFI kits are getting harder to come by. I'm already going to need to replace the air box (or get vintage air setup), so I'm not trying to bleed too much money on this thing. However...it's a rust free original grabber, so it'll hold it's value if I stick with bolt-on mods.
In my opinion, horsepower means nothing when it comes to safety. Even with a 6 cyl.....it will be FAST enough to be dangerous. Tons of reproduction parts compared to a few years ago. Grabber hoods, small front and rear bumpers, front and rear valences......all available now. For what it is worth, the 1975 Grabber is the rarest of all Grabbers.
I agree to an extent...However, being a teenage driver, horsepower would tempt my son to enjoy it a little more than he should. My first car was a maverick with a 200. I tried to light the tires up, but it wouldn't, so I stopped trying. It would barely go over 70, so I didn't race anybody. I found out the top speed because I had girls in the car who told me to drive fast. (We don't use our heads at that age). Can he injure himself in a 6 cylinder? Yes. Would a built up 302 tempt him to drive more recklessly (like burning out at the high school parking lot and hitting someone)? I believe so. Young men tend to push limits and test boundaries...at least his dad did at his age. I'd prefer setting those limits a little lower for all of our sake. I was very relieved to see the amount of repop sheet metal that didn't exist when I was here last. We had the crappy, often-warped, fiberglass grabber hood and that was it. Thankfully, this car doesn't need much in the way of body work. I also had no idea that the 75 was the rarest grabber. Car is sandblasted and the original interior is gone, but looking inside the factory dash, it was green. So, I guess I have a 75 grabber in "anti-establishmint" green. lol
Order a Marti report, find out everything about your vehicle. There's two in this thread. http://mmb.maverick.to/threads/71-comet-marti-report-question.104106/
