Hi all, I went ahead and bought the '77 Mav. that was on CL in Roswell Ga. The day I first looked at it, I saw rust in the roof ,trunk and floors. I didn't dig through it any further. After clearing it out, it is in much better shape than I thought. I am stripping it now. I don't want to send the rest of the body to the crusher. If nobody wants the body whole, I plan to cut it up. I would like some advice on where to make the cuts to end up with the most usable sections. I don't want to ruin good parts out of ignorance. Thanks again for all the great information I've learned here. Johnny.
Johnny, If it has them, I would save the inner and outer shock tower braces. I have someone who is supposed to supply me a set, but after six months I'm doubting he will coming through. So, I may be interested in them. Micah
Hi Micah, I am familiar with the tower braces/struts that connect from the towers to the firewall. I can't see the img s in your post. Are the inner and outer braces something else ?
Early cars did not have this reinforcement. I have an early car that I might restore someday. Just gathering parts. Not sure why you can't see the pictures. If you look in the Showcase section, you can see pictures where I added the reinforcement to my current car. http://mmb.maverick.to/forums/maverick-comet-showcase.86/ Micah
Hi Eastern Raider, I have lots of pictures. This is all that would load last night. I will load more if possible. Is it better to make the pictures thumbnail or full ? Which parts would you like to see ?
Thanks jbrish , regular small Pics will be good. I would like pictures of the Cowl Vents, under the Dash ,and the right side below the Dash. Thanks again.
Thanks much,it really looks better than my daily driver, 1970. It needs some sanding and paint right away ,I think it will go another 30 years. I will have to pass on it.
Hi Micah, I've compared the shock towers of the '72 to the '77. The '77 has obvious reinforcements. It looks like it would be easier to fabricate reinforcements than to cut them from the towers. My intent is to cut the car into the largest storable parts with the most utility. I'm about done stripping the car. I will look over the chassis again and develop more specific questions about where is best to cut.
Jbrich, The inside ones would be nearly impossible to get out. The way to do it is to just cut out the spot welds and slice off the section of metal that wraps around the tower. Then you just graft it to the existing metal. If you see my photos on the Showcase post, you can see where I took a section from a blue car and welded onto the towers on my red car. The outside brace is really a big benefit. There were some issues of towers cracking. The 1/8 metal plate is not difficult to get out and is easily welded into the new car. Again, pictures in my Showcase post shows this plate being installed. It is best to have both sections since the outside one ties into the inner one. If you do get this chopped up and find you have them, I may be interested. I trying to get my money back from the person who was supposed to have them for me. Is anyone else not able to see the photos I posted at the top of this thread? If so, I will try posting them another way. http://mmb.maverick.to/resources/my-1971-maverick.221/ Micah
Well, I started cutting. I loaded it on the trailer. The plan right now is, cut out the core support and the front cross member, then cut each side inner fender/shock tower off at the fire wall. Then cut the cowl off as A complete unit. The torque boxes and rockers look really solid, so I thought I might be able to cut each side off complete box to box. The quarters and wheel tubs are also very solid. I haven't decided how best to deal with them. Should I separate the tubs from the quarters? Or cut them as A unit? Including the brace in the trunk with the hinge for the deck lid. I think I want the trans tunnel also. I may need it for tunnel mods on my car. The doors and deck lid are destined for the scrapper unless someone wants them for free. The rust in the doors is almost all at the bottom seam. They still look clean inside. The deck lid is rusted underneath , around the edges, but the top seems solid. I know I will have more parts that I won't need. I'll use the appropriate forum section when I decide what can go. Thanks for reading my post. I welcome any input. Johnny.
Hi William, The backing plates for the door hinges have some rust on them, but the they are solid and the threaded holes are in good shape.
