Hi, I'm starting to look for a nice 73 or earlier V-8 Maverick/Comet for a daily driver in the So. Cal area. I'm pretty familiar with earlier Fairlanes and Mustangs but don't know too much about Mavericks. Can anyone recommend any sources of info? I assume no Mavericks came with 9 inch rearends. Do the 302 Mavericks come with 5 bolt wheels and front discs? Are the discs all nonpower assist? (I recently used a 74 Mav nonpower disc MC for my 69 Mustang to get rid of the power booster) Hopefully most Mavs have manual steering. Thanks for any info. BTW anyone bringing their car to LACR Nov 1?
Hi, Well, for the most part i think what you're looking for is something you're going to have to build. Most of the pre '73 mav's (and comets) with the little bumpers are not disc brake. Fortunately, you can simply bolt up the disc brakes off the later years. As for four or five lug, you've got about a 50/50 chance. I'm no authority on the subject but it seems that most of the v8's came with five lug and all the (again, pre-'73) sixes came with four. The axle housings are different, so in the back you would actually need to swap rear ends. No, no mavericks came with 9" rears--just the 7.5" and the 8" (8" is more desireable, and more common, it is just a smaller 9" design). There are some power disc setups but they're not as common from what i've seen. Fitting the power booster on these cars proved to be quite a trick, and Ford had to make a funny looking shock tower brace to go around it. Not all mavs have manual steering but quite a few (especially earlier ones) do. You might want to keep an eye on ebay, if you wouldn't mind buying one out-of-state. There are quite a few project cars that get sold with exactly what you are looking for done to them, at a fraction of the cost of doing it yourself (in fact, that's what i have done to mine). Good luck!
Welcome to the fold. Mavs started to come with the five lug axles commonly after '72 regardless of the engine size they came with. All of the latter Mavs have five lugs. The latter Mavs all have front discs, but power was hit or miss. I just obtained a power steering setup from a junker for a Mav owner in Mexico. The conversion can be done, but you do need the steering piston, pump & reservoir with integral cooler and brackets. The brake setup consists of the booster and the weird shaped driver side shock tower brace. Finding that for my customer was more of a challenge, but they're out there if you scrounge enough. The boosters are still available remanufactured for under $125/exchange. A factory shop manual is a big help if you are doing an upgrade if the Mav you find doesn't have either or both. They can be found through literature dealers and sometimes on eBay. There's little that we can't help you with for the most part so stay tuned right here to this station. Good luck!!
afret, where in so. cal are you located? As for the 73 and earlier (I have a 73 which I bought in the SFV for $1200) you are going to have to look and be moderate in your standards. Luckily a lot of the so. cal cars are in pretty good conditions. The 8" rears are getting harder to find but are possible. I had manual drum in the front but I converted to power disk (75 granada parts) in the front. Good luck on your search and keep us posted. This is a great board and you will find lots of great tips. Jeri*
Thanks all for the good advice and info. I guess I just have to keep my eyes open for the right car. Probably won't find anything up here in the Palmdale/Lancaster area. Something reasonable should show up in the LA area one of these days I would hope. I'm just about done with my Mustang so am about ready to start on a daily driver project. Too bad the CA smog regs require smog checks for 74 and up cars - limits the choices somewhat if you plan on tweaking the motor a bit . Also found a site with a lot of good stuff: maverickgrabber.com Thanks again.
Hey afret! I live in Lancaster off of K and 10th west! Well welcome to the mav world. I don't know if you've seen me I have the 73 light blue with a black racing stripe on the hood. If you need any help don't hesitate to email/pm me through the board. Where in Palmdale/Lancaster are you located? Jeri*
I guess I'll have to keep an eye out for your Maverick. What engine and any mods? If you see a really old retired guy in a red 69 Mach 1 on the east side of Lancaster, that's probably me - just got the car back on the road after being in storage for about 10 years.
I have a recently rebuilt 302 with Edlebrock Performer 2 Intake, Edlebrock 650cfm 4 barrel, Headman shorty hedders, MSD coil and ignition box, Accel performance electronic distributor, dual exhaust with 2 chamber flowmasters on each side. Unfortunately no internals except for Mustang II heads. Everything else is stock including the 2.79 gears!!! Hoping to get those switched by Christmas, bring on the 3.55's. Well you are definately in good company. Good luck on finding the mav of your dreams. Let me know if you need any help, doesn't sound like it but just thought I'd offer. See ya around. Jeri*
