As a new guy here to your site, I'd like to ask for some advice and help to lead me in the right direction. I bought a 1970 2 door Maverick. It was a project that never got finished. I'd say it's about half done the way I picked it up. Has a new / mild / 302, new c6 & 8" rear. The front end of the car was being built with all new Grabber front end parts. I want to build the car mostly for a weekend toy at the Drag Strip but able to run on the street if I choose once in awhile. I have 8 buddies who run the Street Class at the local strip with 70's cars... Nova's, Camero's, Malibu's, Chevelle's... no Ford's. Cut off E.T. for this class is 12.0 and slower. All of my buddies run between 12.0 and 12.80's. I'd like to be in this same time zone. I have a 302 motor that I can replace with what's currently in there. I know can run with that time. I hear mixed feelings about the c6 (TCI / Streetfighter) Am I wasting my time with tranny or will it work? Is the c4 a better choice? ~ What about the radiator? It's got a new Grabber in it. Should I replace it with a better radiator for the strip? ~ A-arms shocks and springs??? Should I switch to Coil Overs? ~ Rear end... Is the 8 inch "good enough" or should I spend the money and go with a 9" ? ~ What about tires on the rear? Will 8 inch street/slicks work or would 10 inch be better. Help is needed!!! None of my buddies can help me out without any Ford knowledge.
Here's a list of what was on the car when I bought it... 1970 maverick originally had 68,000 miles Engine: 302 From 1973 Torino Has Edelbrock 203 Cam Edelbrock 650 cfm Carb Holley Hi Flow Fuel Pump Holley Hi Flow oil Pump Clevete Bearings Has 2 starters, 1 old, 1 rebuilt New rings Crank Polished New Valves, vavle springs,seats, guides Tru Roller Timing Chain New water pump exhaust Manifolds from Bronco 302 Engine and heads boiled and cleaned street damper, Harmonic balancer New alternator Power Brake unit added Front spindles from 77 Granada disc New rotors and calipers Rear brakes, shoe type New drums, cylinders, e-cable Rear end 8-1/2" 5 lug Mustang (Year?) New brake lines New TCI Streetfighter C-6 tranny Manual/auto valve body Needs shifter New Torque converter and plate Interior Black back seat newly recovered R1 Racing seats for front, ready for 4 point harness Have orignal steel bumpers both front and rear, also new fiberglass for both New radiator for Grabber (302) Tranny Cooler Custom Jazz fuel racing cell All front end parts new to include V-8 springs and A frames New fuel Lines New Tran lines New Hoses New Motor mounts
The 8 inch rear end will be strong enough for the 302, treads id say the 8 will work 10 may be a tight fit in the wheel wells( im not much of the huge tires stickin out the side of the car person), C6 will work, id preffer the c4, rad is fine, shocks is really up to you either will work, it will take some work to push that 302 into the 12's personaly i would say find a 351w. I have a stroked 351w, and im still in the high 12's but i still need some more work, done to it, If you decide to go with a engine up grade you will want a 9" rear the 8" will handle it but not forever and especaily with strip racing. Just my .02
C6 is a STRONG tranny but it will rob power that you want to the rear wheels. If you were running a big block I would go with the c6 otherwise, put a c4 in it and free up some HP.
I know of a guy that busted up two C6s with his slightly modded 300 I6 . You can get into the 12s with the 302 but you`ll need to put a lot of love money and time into in you would prolly be better off getting a 351 and stroking it to 393 you can make a C4 live behind a 393 but it will prolly be cheaper with the C6
I disagree with this. I have a 302 with stock bottom end (cheap). With a good set of heads, cam, intake, and carb,which you will need and spend on any motor, it will easily hit mid 12's with slicks. And this is in a 3010lb Maverick.
I beleave you, Comet'ed, about making a 302 run mid 12's. I have raced IMCA type Modifieds (dirt track) for 4 years and we run 302's with what your talking about We run on alcohol. I was thinking of switching the new motor the car came with for one of the stock car motors. I strongly beleave my stock car motor will run mid 12's. How much power will be robbed from the c6? I attended two Fun Ford Weekend events last year and was hearing complaints about the c4 not holding up to some of the power they were putting out. Infact, I think I read somewhere that FFW Event rules were going to allow them to use a Glide if they wanted to. Why would a Ford Event allow a Glide if it's a "Ford Event"? Why wouldn't they tell them to use the c6 instead? ~Comet-73... I know what your saying about wheels sticking out. I'm not a fan of that either. I was thinking that if I was to purchase a 9", I would shorten it up just a little bit and put a small tub in the car and tuck the rear tires in just a little bit.
There are people with 10 second daily driven 302s, they'll do just about whatever you want. FYI, the grabber was just an appearance package, so the radiator and the suspension you have is oem stock.
I think studies showed the c6 robs about 50 additional horses than a c4 does......as far a a c4 holding up????? Built it with good parts and it will handle 300-400 horses for quite sometime. I had trouble with my c4 when I first got the new motor, but with the right parts it seems to be doing fine! And 12 's are pretty easily found in a maverick with the right parts and attention to detail.
You`r gonna need to love spending all that money on them good heads, intake ,cam , and carb and it will prolly take some time to build up that money so it will take love money and time
Thanks Jeremy & maverick5946... Is there any market of buyers for the Radiator, A-arms and springs? If so, is it worth anything? There all new... installed but, never used on road yet. I'd like to sell the entire steering column as well (automatic on the column). I was looking at buying the "JEGSTER Complete Front End" from the JEG'S catalog which is priced around $2500, along with Traction Bars, Subframe Connectors, 6 point cage & Flaming River Tilt Steering Column. Going this far with it was the reason I was asking about the 8" rear end. Sounds like I might as well buy the 9". Jeremy, what parts were used to build your c4? Would you mind posting a list to guide me along?
Re: the 302 Keep in mind that the 351W would require at least some clearancing of the notoriously tight shock towers to fit. If you are looking at running in a particular class at the track, get a rule book and build your car according to the rules. I would guess that you can be more competitive in most classes going with the 302-bored or stroked up to 347 and have less fire breathing competition. Over 347 cubes and you start running into stroked 350 GM stuff. A 302 starting base, stroked or not, with GOOD heads and other bolt-ons will get you going in the right direction. If you are only going to drive it on the street once in a while, I would build a stomper of a 302 based car. If you were going to drive it mainly on the street, but wanted to hit the strip once or twice a year, I would go with the 351W stroked. That way you have a 'driveable' car for the street. You would not need such a radical cam with the 351 base engine to get the hp you would want. Many would suggest the elimination of the shock towers and going with coil overs and rack and pinion steering. Look up Stephen Moore, the NC state rep for the Maverick/Comet club. He runs 1/8 in his Comet GT. I believe he still has his shock towers in and runs a 347-(302 bored and stroked). He is running down in the mid to low 6's. His board name is: CometGT1974 There are several other drag race enthusiasts here as well who can give you good input. From my knowledge, that C6 will not fit without clearance around the tranny hump as well. I helped a buddy try to put one in his car back in the 80's. His headers would not clear the bellhousing. I would look at the C4-good tranny and the previous post about it handling 300-400 hp is correct provided it is built with stout parts. Best of luck in your new project. Seth
Seth- Thanks for your help... so, the "JEGSTER Complete Front End" would be a good choice? This way I could go ahead and eliminate the shock towers. Here's what Jeg's has listed in their catalog... "Stiff crossmember does not require motor plates or rigid motor mounts for reinforcement. Uses readily available, off-the-shelf header kits. 6 degrees of antidive geometry and lower performance use... Kit includes: frame, tig welded upper and lower control arms, tie rod adaptors, ball joint kit, Wilwood steering rack, new Mustang II spindles, QA-1 coil-over shocks and Aerospace Components brake kit."
Again... ..talk to the drag racing gurus here and elsewhere and most importantly check the rule book. I am pretty sure that some classes of drag racing limit the suspension mods that you can make. I think that Stephen runs in the true street class for the 1/8 and he has to be crafty in his suspension modifications. I bet eliminating those shock towers violates the rules of many classes. Seth
