Posted by Charlie (IP: 131.204.68.108) on November 12, 2000 at 22:23:37:
In Reply to: Swapping parts posted by MadMav71 on November 12, 2000 at 21:46:12:
Everything you want to do sounds like it should be pretty straightforward Earl. It'll be nice having both cars there to reference while you swap everything over. Don't try to do everything at once (ie, don't dissasemble one car and then put everything on the new one). Do one thing at a time. The AC will be the most difficult, but like I said having the donor car nearby will make it much easier. You'll have to cut holes in the firewall for the heater hose and Evaporator exits, and you might have to cut the holes for the condenser lines in the front apron. Both of these holes should be marked anyway. I'd swap the whole dash out, removing the windsheild will make this easier than it sounds. I'd buy a Ford Manual set if you don't already have one, the exploded views are priceless. I have many on my website but as you've mentioned they are kind of small. Personally, I'd keep manual steering, but its really a debatable subject. I'd put the power steering box in the manual car and have a 16:1 manual steering car. It'll be hard to steer but a lot of fun at speed. -CP
: My recent purchase of a 71 Maverick has left me in a quandry. I was actually searching for a parts car to use to fix up my 71 Grabber. The car I bought is so complete, though, that I will probably use the Grabber as the parts car instead (hope that doesn't offend anyone!). I would like to get some advice on what to use and what to keep. The car I am going to restore has manual steering and brakes, and no A/C. The Grabber has factory A/C as well as power steering. How hard would it be to swap those pieces over to the other car? Given Ford's reputation for sucky power-steering, should I stick with the manual set-up? Also, the non-A/C car's dash is different (lacks the vents next to the ashtray). Is it possible to swap out those dash panels, or would I have to do a cut-n-hack job on the panel to put the vents in? Are there any other complications that would prevent the A/C swap? Any info is truly appreciated.