I own a 1972 Maverick 2-door that I'll soon be turning into a modded Grabber clone. I plan on dropping it three inches and pie-cutting two inches out of the fenderwells a la Tammy Hackmann's '72 Grabber. I'll be putting a Boss 302 crate from Ford Racing in for the engine, a TKO-600 for the transmission, and either an 8.8- or 9-inch for the rear end. Right now the suspension is on the verge of going out again (being a paperboy with an 80-mile route will do that to a car), so instead of just fixing it back to the original state, I'd like to get some responsiveness and lose some body roll. Also, I'm about two weeks from going to work at the local Liquor Barrel instead of the paper office, so the suspension won't be as distressed. My question is, with this setup and all steel body panels, and my current goals in mind, what would be an effective suspension upgrade in order to take my Mav from roadkill to track star? Also, seeing as how I'm running a 200-cube inline six, should I just hold off on upgrading, or get the V-8 suspension and run the six until I can afford the drivetrain?
Hi CtrlZ, This is just my opinion, but I would break this up into projects. That way, the car isn't down for such a long time and you are less likely to lose interest in the car. If the car is not driveable for a long time, frustration rises and other priorities seem to take over. Of the projects you have listed, I would do the suspension upgrade first. You will certainly enjoy the enhanced driveability of the car even with the current six cylinder drivetrain. Then, the bodywork you mentioned. This will give you a boost visually and increase the interest in completing the drivetrain. Then, the drivetrain - assuming your current 200 six will last that long. Regards, BaldEagleMav
