Hoping for information only. I have recently purchased a 1972 Maverick. Its a inline 6 version, but that is being covered with a 302 out of a 69 mustang a friend has. I'd like to go 5 lug, however I only have 2 donor cars I'm not sure if either would work. I have 1994 Mustang GT roller, and a 1979 5 lug mustang roller. Not sure if either has donor parts I can steal, Or if it would be more modification than I car for right now.
I'm gonna say "no". If you don't want to go with aftermarket disc brakes, the Maverick/Granada setup is a bolt-on.
I dont mind going after market later, this is something that could have been done this week. Thank you for your reply.
I figured the 94 gt wasn't. Was more curious about the 79 mustang. I'm new to mavericks never even been around one before this one.
Don't know how far you travel, but this one is in your general area and probably has 3.80 or 4.10 gears and disc brakes, you may be able to buy it for $150 or $200 http://wichitafalls.craigslist.org/pts/5504751742.html
wouldn't that have near to the same as my 94 gt? and Im in Wichita falls a lot thanks for the post and link.
Many makes and models of Ford Mercury and Lincoln shared leaf spring perch measurements. Rear discs and leaf springs are not very common, there may be other suitable donor vehicles with a rear axle assembly that swaps with little to no modification, but Mustangs are plentiful for parts mules. You will need to have spring perches installed on any rear axle assembly that did not have leaf springs. I would plan for a used mustang axle with discs ($200 or less on craigslist or You-Pull junkyard) and a trip to my local welder (probably $100) to set it up. Buying and adapting rear with disc brakes and good gears from junkyard or craigslist is the way I would go before I had the budget to go aftermarket, but then you are talking thousands of $ to put discs and good gears in your axle housing new aftermarket stuff. If you can weld, its a no brainer.
so my 94 axle would just need leaf spring purches welded on which is easy enough at the mechanic shop I work at? what about the front? or am I misunderstanding? this my mustang roller I currently have no plans of rebuilding.
...unless you go with big modern wheels with much deeper offset. the Mustang rear ends are usually about 3-4" wider than the stock Maverick, but I have to use 2" wheel adapters on the rear to use an old Maverick rear end with modern wheels. If I had a Mustang rear, I wouldn't need any adapters and would have the same look. and you can see here that the wheels do not stick out too much in the back with 2" spacers on the back. Its a trick I learned from having a Chevy S10 and doing the research into parts interchangeability between different GM models and what kind of off-the-shelf upgrades I could do with craigslist and junkyard parts without fab work. I found out you can use an F-body (Camaro/Firebird) rear with disc brakes and it fits under the truck prefectly if you use C5 or newer Corvette rims. Without the Corvette rims, it is 4" too wide for an S10 and looks stupid with wheels sticking out from under the wheel wells wider than the truck. The rear end swap from a 70 2 door Maverick 8" 4 lug to a 75 4 door Maverick 8" 5 lug was problem free and they are 2" difference in overall width. My dream rear end would have independent rear axles and come from a Lincoln Mark VIII and looks like this: The front is a whole other mess, not an easy bolt on upgrade like a Mustang rear. You can do like I did and replace all of the squishy bits in the front that wear out and have a 1970's economy car suspension that sucks, in like new condition... Or the other more desirable, MUCH more expensive and MUCH more complicated solution is to install a Mustang II front suspension. They have rack and pinion steering and weld-it-yourself kits start around $400 and complete kits ready to install run into the thousands for nice ones. This is what I really want for my Maverick! The mustang went to a McPherson strut style front suspension in 1979 with the development of the Fox body. The 79 you have is not a suitable parts donor for front suspension. The rear end from either Mustang may work for you depending on wheel selection, if you want old or new style rims. The 94 probably has better gears than the 79 if they are both stock. ( i would guess 3.00 or 3.08 in the 79 and 3.25, or maybe 3.50 in the 94) Let us know what you decide, I am interested.
