I have my '69.5 torn all apart doing suspension and brake work. Something I noticed was that the rear frame rails directly above the rear axel are creased and bulged out looking. The passenger side is worse then the drivers side. None of my other Mavericks are like this, so that makes me believe it isn't right. The car leans to the drivers side when sitting on level ground, and feels really strange when makeing right turns, and the tires chirp. It feels normal makeing left turns. I also discovered that the drivers side rear has an aftermarket wheel with alot less back spaceing then the factory Maverick wheel. When you put two factory wheels on the back, it becomes obvious that the rear axel is either not centered under the body, or something isn't right with the body itself. Looking inside the trunk, it is obvious the car has taken a hit to the drivers side rear at some point. Someone did a bad job repairing it to being with, and I'm thinking this shallow wheel on the back was put there to hide further problems with the body. I was thinking it drove so funky because the suspension is totally worn out, but I am begining to think the rear frame rails on the car are bent down from being hit, and that would also explain why it leans to the drivers side. I do not have any pictures right now other then ones I took a few months back while it was still here at my house. I did attempt a MS Paint drawing (bare with me here) to show where the frame appeared to be bent, and a picture compareing the aftermarket wheel (chome) to the factory wheel off the car. I am considering swapping the doors, dash/steering column, and drivers side front fender to the '73 body I got from Earl Branham and building it instead. The '69.5 will need the entire rear quarter panel replaced, major work or replacement of the tail light panel, the roof is rippled (looks like someone jumped up and down on it), and the battery tray area is non existant, with a dime sized hole ate through a non-structural part of the frame rail under it, and now possible structural damage in the rear of the car. The '73 body on the other hand is straight, never been wrecked, with only VERY light surface rust on the roof. And it has the bigger trans tunnel and my high back buckets will just bolt in. I really want to build the '69.5, but it is starting to look like more body work then I am capable of doing (when I bought it, I thought only the roof and battery tray needed attention). Right now I am going to finish putting the 5 lug rearend with new leaf springs and shackels in, and then see how the car sits and drives. Any of you guys with a '70 Maverick, what does your rear frame look like above the axel? Is it creased looking or is it smooth and flat like every other Maverick?
Maybe the car was rear ended enough to bend the frame rails and then improperly straightened? If the 73 is that much better a body, I believe I'd go that route. You could always swap the dash at a later date.....
with the damage you describe i would lean toward building the 73 with any good parts off of the 69.5. it would be a ton of work to straighten out.
The frame rails are straight and smooth, with no ripples or bulges. I have a '72 beater that has had similar damage. The frame was pulled straight but the quarter panel and tail light panel repairs were really shoddy. Hence the decision to build the '70. Sounds like you should build the '73 as the '70 will be quite a bit more work to get right. Though I would think that with access to so many cars in the local salvage yards, you would be able to buy a straight back half as a donor to fix yours with. Good Luck with which ever route you go.
If I had the time to do that much work, I would just cut the entire front end off a junkyard car and fix my '74 Grabber over any of the others. Just don't have the time or really the desire to do that much work on the '69.5. I also forgot to mention, it is almost impossible to put the driveshaft in the '69.5. And once you get it in, the yoke is jammed almost all the way in the transmission, as if the rear end is too far forward or something... I'm going to take some measurements this weekend and compare them to my other Mavericks. If the frame is bent, then it's time to throw a carb on the '73 and get it ready to hit the road. That '73 also has the factory reinforced shock towers. The only down side to it is that it has the trim down the side, so I'll have to fill the holes in the rear. I guess the '69.5 body would make a good candidate for the pro street big block Maverick my boss wants to build... :evilsmile
Sounds like a bent framerail to me. Mine are smooth all the way up. Use the 69.5 for a backhalf project and build the 73. As the owner of a 69.5 that's what I would do. The early cars are just to much of an oddball. I tried to buy a 73 before the 69.5 but owner would not sell. My life would have been much easier with the 73. Good luck Jamie and keep us posted on your progress. Steve
