Hello, I am new and need help really fast and really bad. My situation: I am the spanking new and proud owner of a 1975 Maverick 6 cylinder 4.1 liter. I live in Maryland and I want to have it pass the safety inspection because I don't want to be limited to historic license plates. Now here's the thing: I have done all the required repairs for inspection save one: the inspector determined that the warning light for when the emergency parking brake is engaged (which happens to be a hand brake in this car) does not come on. He says that the switch must have gone bad. Two mechanics have looked at the e brake and tell me that there is NO switch nor anything electrical coming off of the hand brake column. I had already ordered a switch from a junk yard on the Eastern Shore (Cambridge Auto Recycling) and what they sent me (they said they took it off of a 1976 Maverick) is a switch but from a FOOT parking brake, not a hand one. That's what the inspector and another mechanic told me. BTW, they charged me $60 for this thing! So here are my two questions: one, was the 1975 Maverick ordinarily manufactured with a hand brake, and was that changed to foot brake on the following two years? And two, was the 1975 Maverick just NOT equipped with a warning light switch for the emergency brake at all? I'm told this would be very rare indeed but there doesn't seem to be any other explanation. If so, then the inspector should pass my car as the warning light thing would not apply in my case, I hope. Thank you. Sergio
No hand brake operated Maverick EVER had a brake light. 1975 would be a hand brake. In 1976 Ford switched to a foot parking brake. I have never noticed if it has a brake light switch or not (and I even have a 1976...but it is not here at my house). Bottom line: You car should pass inspection.
Used my parking brake yesterday and forgot to disengage it, remembered when I got home from work and the rear brakes were smoking. I might rig up a switch to the handle rod and wire it to the brake light or to the key switch buzzer.
