Blue My Mind, 1972 Ford Maverick

[Dave Pratt]

What a great build! Love the rear deck and front spoiler to mention just a few areas.You have some mad talent sir! Coolest Maverick I've seen...cheers

Dave

[Boss 5.0]

Originally Posted by WSSix

I really like the color choices you've made with the car. I think you nailed your grabber stripe design, too. The black frame rail area should look good and help hide dirt or oil that would stick out like a sore thumb on the blue. Love the build. Keep up the great work! Thanks for sharing the pictures.

Thanks. I think the black area will be easier to keep looking good as well.

Originally Posted by paulk68

Glenn, that is looking increadible!!!!

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Ron in SoCal

That's a lot of hard work, and it shows in the finished product.

Great job Sir

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Dave Pratt

What a great build! Love the rear deck and front spoiler to mention just a few areas.You have some mad talent sir! Coolest Maverick I've seen...cheers

Dave

Thanks!

With only a couple comments to date I was wondering if this project wasn't the type that anyone here would care much about. I don't need the pat on the back, but I do know most of you lean towards the performance pro touring style and so far I haven't shown anything in that area other than body work.

In the end it still will not be anywhere near what most of you guys are building. I am just trying to humbly build a cool little light weight car with good performance and handling in mind.

I am doing this entire car myself. To date the only thing I haven't done with my own two hands was to have the transmission built by a friend. At the end the only other thing will be the interior too, that just isn't my thing.

Thanks again,
Glenn

[Boss 5.0]

I know I have brought you all through this pretty quick, considering that the project started in 2009 and we are almost up to date. Remember, this is a side thing and has to be done in between side jobs to fund this one.

Here is the car back on my lift and off that dolly for the first time in 4 years! Now I start to install all the suspension.







The rear is just an 8". I know, i'm crazy for not using a 9", but I got the rear for free and came upon a fully rebuilt center section with a posi 3.80 gear set. At the time it just seemed the right way to go. Of course in hind site I wish I went with a 9', and also wish I had mini tubbed it too.

See also below brand new rear springs, and Cal-Trac bars as well as the 13" brakes along with the 18x8 Billet Specialties wheels.

[Boss 5.0]

All that brings us to this point, the car on the ground on its own four wheels for the first time in nearly 5 years. For me this was monumental. I was in love seeing it on the ground and being able to stand back and check out the fruits of all the labor.




Outside on four wheels! An amazing feeling that I am sure most of you have felt before.














Fun to put the plate on the car for a chuckle….



And now back on the lift ready for more work to begin.

[Kcrain]

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

[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.

[Ketzer]

Those outside shots had to feel awesome!

[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.