MAVERICK DO'S AND DON'TS

To quote Mike Ford(Autorestomod), "build the car to suit duty it will see most". If plan is 90% street, 10% strip, don't even consider building a race car.

I have a 347 going into my Fairlane, already decided cam will be Comp 35-349-8. Less than than cam in my 428 and a bit more than whats in Comet, currently has one similar to a Trick Flow Stage II. I had a Stage I in my T-Bird(will again if I ever put it back together), while isn't terrible but would occasionally get the hiccups at low speed.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/...2tcvGNNf6S_B2XofpD5FiQcy-W_jXj90aAp-9EALw_wcB

 

I would like to add to the '''do not list...

do not order parts too far ahead of your build. as we find out some parts are listed for a Mav/Comet that don't fit or your build went in another direction. if ordered too far out it's too late to return the part (s).

 

Do list:
-Addco front and rear swaybars
-Vacuum assisted disc front brakes, get the factory tilted setup to fit around shock tower.
-Overdrive. I put in a AOD with 4.10 rear gears, woke car up and cruise at 65 MPH without running at 4000 RPM
-Build an engine for the street. Dual plan intake, runs on pump gas, drive anywhere.

 

I don't have a Maverick yet but I have owned/ restored three '67 Ford Mustangs an '89 LX 5.0. I'll treat a Maverick the same way I did the Mustangs when I get to mine.

Do: Priorities are as follows 1.) Stop 2.) Steer and THEN 3.) Roll (engine & drivetrain). I've seen a lot of folks get those out of order and it can be disastrous. Only after all of that do I start on cosmetics and personalization stuff like wheels/ tires , spoilers, etc.

Don't: Take the car apart in a million pieces. I had a neighbor that did this. He was a married guy with kids and worked alot of hours at his job. The "project" sat there in his garage....apart....for years and he ended up selling it off as parts. Point is that the odds of ever getting a car back together without losing interest are very high. I try to keep it simple and work on one area of the car at a time. There are those that can do it but they've obviously got time that those of us with high demand jobs / other priorities or time AND money for those of us with kids don't.

 

Don't put a project "on hold" because it pissed you off. I was going through a tough period where nothing seemed to fit correctly (mostly re-pop parts). I threw a cover over it and that is where it sat for two years. When I returned to the project, I had forgotten how and why I did some things and was having issues remembering where things went. I'm finally back on track, but in hindsight, it resulted in extra work.

 

Do: these are project(s) cars. do one project at a time, drive it, then do another one.
Don't: as mentioned before...blow the car apart.

 

The best advice I didn't take for my last project: Get your car on the road as quickly as possible. Drive it as often as possible while you evaluate what you'd like to do first to improve it. The first winter do just what you can complete before spring. Repeat the process every year you own the car.

As a result of not taking that advice the rough shell and unimproved, rolling chassis of a 1957 Chevy Handyman wagon is sitting in my brother's farmyard 1200 miles away and I'm driving a Focus.

Read this. I reread it myself from time to time, just to remind myself what I'm going to do differently next time. https://www.ridetech.com/how-to-build-a-happy-hot-rod/

 

My biggest... DON'T cut one up to build a...big wheel motor stand...out of it. find a car you don't give a hoot about and cut it up, drag it up on a trailer and haul it up and down the road.
build these for something you car drive (reasonably) on the street.
I want get into how...unimportant... it is of the color of paint you choose or if you paint it at all...one scratch or door knocker and it's just another repainted old car...

 

Ya'll are depressing me as my car goes into year 8 of sitting in the garage.

 

DON'T do another 8 years. -- Tomorrow ain't promised to any of us! Get your car on the road and enjoy it.

 

I'm trying man. Getting some old work that was not done right sorted and then moving forward. I don't need carpet, a radio, a heater, paint, or a lot of other things to drive the car and I'm in that triage mode now.

 

Eh'.... it'll get done eventually

 

Hi everyone started a few yrs ago taken apart my 73. It seems like it just came to a stop. Trying to figure out where to start again. Would it be a good idea to do a rust capsulator and then a epoxy primer on areas that I clean as I go to stop rusting?

 

I've had projects that stalled out due to lack of interest or other priorities that were going on at the time. The best thing I could probably offer up is to pick one area of the car that's not difficult to deal with and get that one area completed, no matter how small or insignificant of an area. Just something to get the interest and momentum going.

 

IIRC, what's the deal w/ the car you got from the Iowa, Grice family? You haven't dismantled it -- I hope?