Project no.2! **1971 Ford Maverick Grabber**

[topcatcustom]

Right folks, now that the mad mx is done and out of the garage, the next project is in and started: Marilyn- the 302ci '71 Ford Maverick Grabber

It is destined to have a full bare shell, bare metal (or almost) rebuild, to standard spec but with a nice pair of headers, 4bbl carb and inlet to replace the std 2bbl holley. Has a C4 transmission, 8" rear, and good old american style drums all round and leaf springs Discs will hopefully find their way to the front in due course. It is going to be pretty standard to use as a no worries daily driver.

Bought in pretty rough condition- but as it is a very rare car to see over here I think it will be worth the effort! Had a couple of mates over on saturday, I had already taken the engine out but it took about 5 hours for us to strip pretty much the whole car, doors etc so not bad progress so far!

Heres a couple of pics:









After half a crate of stella we stopped work and jumped in the pool, probably for the best!

I made a roll over jig which I will be bolting it to in the next few days, came out quite nice and I know it works as I made a pair and a mk1 Escort RS2000 is sitting on the other one at the moment

[unstable load]

Looks like it is going to be a fun job. Some tin worm, but not terminal. Can you get body panels easily eneough?

Have you got drawings for that rotisserie? I want to build one for my P6.

[kiwicar]

Hi Tom
Are you going to dip it or bead blast it? I shall watch with interest.
Best regards
Mike

[bones]

good thing about yank motors, they dont take long to strip. So another 400+bhp motor to build then. Drinking Stella explains the work you got done, if you drink Spitfire you would of had the bodywork back to bare metal aswell. rich

[mgbv8]

Thats a pretty looking car Tom!!
It has some nice lines which remind me of a lot of cars.
Is there much room to tub the rear a bit without interfering with too much? It would look nice sat fairly low with some 11's tucked under the back??

[topcatcustom]

Cheers for the comments guys, in my eyes it is a really nice looking car- the fastback style is flawless, great shape- the only thing I'm not completely set on is the front end with the big round headlights, but that can be sorted cosmetically when the main work is done.

John, I didnt do any drawings, just got on and made a pair (4 ends) with the design in my head, the only thing I really checked was the centre height which may be approx 43" IIRC?! Oh- and panels are non existant over here, no new ones in the States just second hand so hoping to make do with what I have. I think it is one of about 5 cars here in the UK, I've never seen one before!

Mike, I am planning on using paint stripper on all the big panels (roof, doors, wings(or fenders ), rear quarters etc) and getting the rest shot blasted (the fiddly bits). I know I will end up with hollows full of crappy sand or beads, but dipping will thin the metal and I've seen cars with panels like a corrugated sheet because they were blasted too hard or no support etc. I would strip the lot by hand but I will never get in all the gaps and it also wont get the rust off like blasting will.

Rich- I think I should use Special Brew, drank some at the Pod when camping- awful stuff!

And Pel I'm going to block your drag mod ideas as it will get way too expensive! (Though tubbing by a couple of inches may actually be a good idea.....)

[unstable load]

See if your blaster will do a soda blast. They use a coarse sodium bi-carbonate medium and after you are done, you hose it off to dissolve the stuff and dry the body well before starting on the restoration.

[gelmonkey]

Hi Tom
Am watching with interest.
Get hold of some Dronco Fleeces to remove the paint.
This bit of kit will completely strip a wing free of paint in about 20mins.
No damage at all to the metal and ready to paint almost straight away.
Fixes to a 4 1/2" grinder.
Awesome bit of kit and cheap as chips.
Cheers
P

[kiwicar]

Hi Tom
what is the front suspension type? I can only see a lower wishbone in the Photos and what looks like a strut tower so is it Mcfurson? I wouldd have thought it would be based on the Mustang II as it looks a similar size and period car. I cant help thinking a descreet roll cage would br a good idea to put back in some of the stiffness that time and tinworm have removed.
Best regards
Mike

[topcatcustom]

Double wishbone Mike, it is very similar to Mustang II- some people actually chop the existing out and replace it with an entire mustang front end, but as we dont have thousands of mustangs etc over here it's not so cheap or easy to do so for me. I might chop an inch off the sides of the turrets on the inside as I will be able to fit some nice headers in there a bit easier then!

P- if you mean the black squiggly looking silicone carbide pads/discs then I have one to try out, might be less messy than using nitromors stripper too! If they do them for 9" grinders it wouldn't take long at all

[kiwicar]

Hi Tom,
if it is Mustang II or can ues Mustang II parts then it gives you an easy route to fitting discs on the front via mustang hubs and uprights, also you can get uprights with the stub axel mounted an inch or two lower on the upright if you want to lower the front withur mucking up the front geomitry too much.
Best regards
Mike

[bones]

TC, have alook at Real steel site, they do suspension stuff, they could have some parts for you . You could have alook at them when your picking up the alloy heads and all forged internals and pro-injection and supercharger, to build the 550bhp for it. rich

[topcatcustom]

Mike- it is not direct component replacement- the Maverick uses steering behind the hubs, Mustang is in front- so you either swap the whole lot or nothing. I can get discs as the later Mav's had them, about $300 see's me a used set up, new isn't a whole lot more.

Rich I am thinking about making use of that brand new nitrous bottle and plate I have sitting in my workshop...

[kiwicar]

Hi Tom
there are aftermarket kist for the Mustang II front clip with the rack infront or behind the axel line, if My new subscription to Car craft ever turns up I will pass on some kit makers names if you are interested.
Best regards
Mike
PS I am saying nothing about engines until asked!

[unstable load]

Hi Tom
Am watching with interest.
Get hold of some Dronco Fleeces to remove the paint.
This bit of kit will completely strip a wing free of paint in about 20mins.
No damage at all to the metal and ready to paint almost straight away.
Fixes to a 4 1/2" grinder.
Awesome bit of kit and cheap as chips.
Cheers
P

Look at this too, www.mirka.com particularly the Abranet range. I have used it a bit and it produces a lot less dust than the closed discs and works a treat. Velcro backed for ease of use, too.