Not sure about the rear quarters, but I can speak a little about the rear tubbing and installing a narrowed rear. I have personally done this on my car.

First off is knowing whether you can weld proficiently or not, because this is absolutely necessary.

Second is knowing whether you have the facilities to perform this because it's not going to happen overnight and it's not something that I would want to do in my driveway.

Next thing to consider are some of the things that might not immediately come to mind. Like do you want to keep any of the rear trunk floor? How about the gas tank? What are you going to use for rear suspension? (Ladder bars or 4-link) Are you planning to race the car or drive it on the street? Do you plan on having a rear seat? What wheel/tire combo do you plan on using? Do the wheel wells have enough of a diameter to allow the tires that you want to use to fit without modifications? These are just some of the things that you will have to give some thought to before you begin.

After you decide on these things, you can begin to formulate a plan to shoot for. On my car, I already had a narrowed rear-end that I used. It was narrowed by Moser Engineering in Northern Indiana. I purchased a set of Ladder Bars from Chris Alston Chassisworks and a set of rear framerails from Chassis Engineering. The roll-cage that I used is a 10-point kit from S&W, made specifically for a Maverick. The shocks are a coil-over kit from Competition Engineering. I also use a Harwood vertical style 3-gallon fuel cell, and 14x32 Goodyear slicks mounted on a set of older Cragar Supertrick rims.

I originally intended to keep as much of the rear floor as possible, but this became increasingly difficult as I began to make my measurements to fit the framerails. The trunk floor is not symmetrical in '72 Mavericks at all. So on one side the trunk floor would have mated to the frame rail perfectly, while on the other it wasn't even close. As a result, I removed the entire floor from the drivers seat back and made aluminum panels to replace it. Keep in mind that this is a full-on race only car.

I also wanted to maintain the original size of the wheel well openings, but it was just not to be...the Goodyears were just too big around. I had to open them up quite a bit to prevent rubbing.

Installing the wheel tubs themselves was also a lesson in patience. Lots of measuring, re-measuring, re-re-measuring, cutting, test fitting, and then repeating the whole process all over again. Measuring once and cutting twice is not nearly enough when it comes to wheel tubs.

The most important thing that I can stress is to make CAREFUL measurements, make them again, check them two or three times, test-fit, then check them again. This goes for the entire project.

It's a lot of work, and it takes a little time, but a competent hot rodder can do it himself, and it's very rewarding when you complete the project. The most important thing is patience, and having a well thought out plan from the beginning. Good Luck, and take baby steps!

Tom Stone