It's been a while since I had a Maverick and I didn't modify my past ones at all, they were just basic transportation for me then. Now however I'm buying a Grabber/250 this week and I want to upgrade the handling. Will the large front sway bar from a Granada work on the Maverick? What rear bar is available? Will Mustang bars work? Thanks for the help.
There has been very heated debates on this subject and I guess its who you believe, on wether they will work or not. But you can contact Addco. They make them for our cars. http://www.addco.net/
when i added 3/4" swaybars to my karmann ghia, i virtually eliminated body roll. those windy turns on backroads that had speed avisory signs... well i just all but double the speed posted and my ghia did them! kyb shocks sure helped too! i don't know for sure if this will be the result for a maverick but based on my experience with my ghia... i am gonna put the fattest swaybars i can find for my maverick. already have kybs' on the front. can't seem to find them for the back. adding the 4/leaf rear springs sure helped too! (thanks for the input dennis) let us know if you put the sway bars on and how you like 'em! if you find anybody that has kyb gas-a-just shocks for the back lemme know!
Addco's are good. I had them on my 57 Chubby and they transformed the car into a good handler. JC whiney sells them cheaper then anyone else. I used to road race (sports cars and sedans) and sway bars are a must, but you do not want to over bar the car as it will just slide. On the Ford Falcon News board (tffn,I have one of them too.) a popular and cheap swap is the granada 1" front bar. I just picked one up for $10. at pick a part and was gonna put it on my '63 Ranchero, but if it will fit the Mav then I'll put it on there first. The Mav will be my back up driver while the Ranchero will be the toy. A rear bar will also be put on, but again ya don't wann go to big or the car will want to be tail happy. As far as gas shocks, the will be the next step. If you can't find the listing under the make/model section then look at the back of a monroe or gabriel book. It will give you the end info and measurements (open/closed) of the stock shock. Match it up as close as you can to another shock that will work. Make sure the closed demention is not larger then stock or you will bottom the shock and distroy the valves. Anyway, thanks guys for your info. Hope what I've said helps you. Anyone out there with bars on their Mav?
Granada bar... ... I was told that the Granada bar would fit. A guy with a '67 Mustang told me that, it fit his car. I bought one out of a junkyard for $15. It will not fit. My buddy now has a spare for his '67 Mustang. I bought one from www.p-s-t.com Seth
On the Falcons that are narrower, ya need to use different end link bolts, but they fit. I better climb under and see whats there. Thanks, Bob beck
I added a rear bar from PST to my Mav: I also upgraded to a larger front bar. I believe the rear bar is 3/4" and the front bar is 7/8", although it has been awhile since I ordered that stuff, so I am not absolutely sure. I have only recently gotten the Mav back on the road in the past few days, so the verdict is not completely in, but is does seem to corner better with far less body roll. I also added a Total Control Products coil-over suspension on the front, so that will also change the handling: (a picture from several months ago, but you can see the coilover )
I don't know why the IMG tags I posted above got interpreted as URL tags, but if you click them you will get the idea...
hotrodbob- this is not an arguement from me. just asking for info. as i said, i intend to put swaybars on my 70. i had intended to put the fattest ones i could buy. you said if i over-bar it will just slide. why? is it possible you just need softer tires? i dunno. which is why i am asking. the ghia came factory with this really small bar-front only. i added 3/4" front and rear. i would think if it is possible to over_bar a car, i did it with my ghia. in all seriousness, explain ...(i do have a nasty habit of being a wise guy but not this time) thanks in advance before i buy the sway bars.
Never thought you were being a wise guy. Basically what a sway bar does is restrict suspension movement by connecting the right and left side of car. The right can't move up unless the left does to with a sway bar on. Because of this and mounting it solid to the frame/body you also limit body roll. To stiff a bar and it's like not having any suspension, so tires wont grip hard enough. The days of rock hard suspensions is gone. I also had a VW that I put a 3/4" bar on the rear, but VW had a lot of understeer at low speeds and I autocrossed it. It needed to turn tighter. With the big bar in the rear and the smaller one up front I could get it to over steer or kick the back end out in turns. VW suspensions were way to soft so the large sway bars would really make a difference. I don't think that a 1" bar on a Mave would be to big since the car is very wide for its size. Lots of guys are running the Granada 1" bars on falcons and they are working just fine. I prefer a larger bar over stiffer shocks and springs. It makes the ride smoother when you are just cruzin down the hiway, but tames the car in the corners and allows the tires to stay in contact with the road.
ok bob- thanks for the input. just two mre questions... 1) would a 1" bar in back also be ok? 2)if i sent you a lot of money,would you freeze and overnite me a sh*tload of jack in the box tacos? all we have in new jersey is taco bell. YUK!
You don't want the same size bar front and back. It will make your car over steer. Go smaller in back then front. No problem on the tacos. I'm from New Jersey too, I feel your pain. I lived in Elm Wood Park (East Paterson when I lived there). Went to Bergen Tech my first year of high school. We escaped and moved to So.Cal. after Detroit. Two car guy dream places.
Do you know what brand bars you have? I'm looking into ADDCO since they are inexpensive, but I have a Granada bar that I was going to put on my Falcon unless it also fit the Maverick.
Just spoke to the guy I'm buying the Maverick from and he has informed me that the car already has front and rear bars that he took off when he bought it. He will throw them in with the deal. He also added V8 front brakes (drums) & rear end. He says was a 4 lug car when he got it. I thought all Grabbers were 5 lug? Any one have any info on this?
