Blue My Mind, 1972 Ford Maverick

[Boss 5.0]

Originally Posted by Kcrain

Looks great all that hard work is paying off. That shade of blue looks killer out in the sun

Thanks, as a painter color is everything. I played for a while with different shades and fell in love with this.

Originally Posted by Ripped

I really like the concept of your car. The Mavericks were always kind of a cute car, but it looks like you've enhanced the right parts of the body lines and are making it pretty bad ass looking!
Nice job.

Thanks. Clearly when people think of a Maverick this isn't what they picture. When done and I roll into a show or wherever I am I want to make people stop and reconsider what a Maverick could be. I think that is the biggest reason for liking this car, it's an underdog. Everyone expects a 69 Camaro to be bad ass, no one expects a Maverick to be even remotely cool.

Originally Posted by Ketzer

Those outside shots had to feel awesome!

It sure was, the first time on the ground outside in years. I was like a kid on Christmas that just got a new bike. I was ear to ear grin walking around it for a while. Left it right there for a few hours just so every time I went outside I could check it out more!

[Boss 5.0]

I have had everything on this car fitted up a couple times so that after paint I know it will all just bolt together as it should. Here is one more time of that, the taillights and the fuel filler I found.






The fuel filler was another issue for me. I really wanted something more cool than a regular gas cap, but the raised area on this rear tail pan was just over 4" across. It didn't leave me with many options. As a life long hot rodder I pay attention to the street rod market and was fortunate enough that Alan Johnson had designed and was selling his Timeless Tradiational line of hot rod parts. This flip top fuel filler is part of that line. It is exactly the size I needed, and the quality is second to none. Investment cast and show polished stainless steel, it is a thing of beauty.





While looking at the rest of the car I knew I couldn't leave the rear pan stock. So on the lift I started to play with some ideas I have seen here on Lat-G. I made cut outs for the exhaust tips and created the indented/beveled reveal that will surround the area. While at it I welded and molded the pan onto the car for a cleaner look.

[Boss 5.0]

And now the power plant. Compared to what 99% of you all this is probably so mundane it isn't funny, but I am working with what I have both in talent and in money.

I found a donor 89 Mustang GT that my brother in law wanted some parts off of as he was building a Factory Five Cobra. The engine and trans were high mileage but in great running shape and with great oil pressure at all cylinders.

So I blew the 5.0 apart and checked it out, and what I found amazed me. Clearly the car had been well taken care of. Everything internally was super clean. I sent it out to be checked and we found that with 190k on it, the cylinders were so clean they only had to be honed out a little. The crank was turned ten thousandths.

I did replace the heads with GT40P heads an swapped in Ford's E cam. At some pint I wasn't to put injection on it, and will likely go with something long the lines of MSD's Atomic EFI, or FAST etc. but for now I am just wanting it up and running and on the street, so the carb was the easy way to go until funds for the EFI come around.


I know this probably has way more bling that what a lot of guys may like. I just decided that with the matte finish paint in the engine compartment that the engine would really Pop looking like this.




I have never been a big fan of the way the Ford motors have the dizzy up front which leads to plug wires draped all over the place. So for me I decided to go with Compu-Tronix distibutorless ignition. There is that one cable off of it that runs to two different coil packs that will mont on the firewall. From there the plug wires can be routed nice and cleanly.





I also sent out the Ford AOD trans that had been attached to this same engine for a rebuild. It should now be good for up to 500hp.

[SSLance]

Very nice build... I'm digging the way this is coming together. Please keep posting the progress pics.

[Boss 5.0]

Originally Posted by SSLance

Very nice build... I'm digging the way this is coming together. Please keep posting the progress pics.

Glad you are liking it. I have a few more updates before everyone is up to date. Spreading them out to not inundate you all at once.

There is so much I could have shared, this is really just a quick overview. The minutia of it all I wasn't sure people would want to see.

[Boss 5.0]

After getting the car back on four wheels and seeing it outside I couldn't wait to hang the nose and stand back once more.

Here is what I saw for the first time…….

[Boss 5.0]

A few days later when the weather cooperated I was able to push it back outside and see how it looks assembled.

I Like it!!!

I also took some time to play with stripe ideas. My original plan was a Boss 302 hockey stick style stripe. But as I have been building this car that design has been used over and over agin, even on new cars. Ford is even using it now on the new trucks, doesn't make it very original at all now does it?!

So here I am playing with a stripe design somewhat reminiscent of the the Must GT/Shelby's had. I of course don;t want to copy that, so I have not only extended them from the front valance all the way into the rear quarters.













The hood will also have my take on the factory Grabber stripe seen here in tape. I plan on also running them up onto the top of the dash as well just for the sake of doing it.



Unsure if I will go with one solid stripe like this first one, or on the second U shape like seen below.