I have been thinking about building an "all wheel drive" Mav. My thought is to use front diff out of an Explorer.Any one have any thoughts what might fit the best.I know it will take a LOT of fab work but I think it would be a terror on the twisty roads.It will have independant rear susp. as well. I would build a complete front sub-frame, just not sure what would clear eng./oil pan.
Sounds like a neat idea......but it's WAY out of the bounds of anything that I would be able to accomplish. I don't suppose that there are any AWD vehicles out there that might would accept a Maverick body.....even if it took a lot of work....Good Luck!! Preston
I have seen a Maverick set upon an AMC Eagle AWD car frame. Still set up high. The Eagles did anyway.
Not wanting the 4WD look,must look stock height.I would probly cut off the stock frame in front of the firewall and fab up a new one or graft on one from something else.
Well, if you're going to go crazy then why not go craaaaaaaazy. A couple of years ago I saw a project Cadillac that took a FWD drivetrain from a spare car and placed it in the trunk of another Caddy. Dubbed the "Twinstar" because of it's dual Northstar V8 engines. So why not get a pair of early Ford FWD cars and let the fun begin. Perhaps a pair of 1990 Probes with 3.0L V6s? I know the 2.2L out of the early Mazda 323 makes a nice little trike. (same motor as the probe.) http://www.personal.psu.edu/dtb147/images/photogallery/trikegallery/ Thoughts? ...I guess I should mention that my stepdad is a welder by trade and many strange things have been known to roll out of the garage back home. You'll have to forgive the occasional crazy scheme I come up with.
They make an all wheel drive Ford Fusion! Maybe that would work? It would just be expensive unless u can find a junk one..
I've seen a few around here in monterrey, some on the streets some in junkyards. I'd say there are plenty of them in the states. (I'm talking about 4x4 aerostars) I'm not sure if Rangers/Bronco IIs or Explorers share the same components with the aerostar.
You are going to need some stout driveline components if you plan to AWD a maverick.Remember most truck front diffs are not meant to be engaged all the time like an AWD setup.Even most of them use a viscous coupler to release one of the diffs from duty when its not needed.AWD ford escapes have a decent set up,but the transverse engine mounting could be a problem when it comes to packaging in a mav.Even with godlike fab skills.Aerostar components may be a good choice also.(RWD)orientation.You may want to seriously check em out.Durability is going to be a major factor to consider.Especially if you plan to put some real torque to the driveline.Good luck man,sounds like a wild project.
I have seen several at the Pull-A-Part off of Buford Hwy. Couldn't tell you if there are any there right now or not.
Ford made some AWD Taurus. Independent rearend also. Sold a lot of them up here in the land nasty snowfalls. A friend of mine gave one to his daughter one to drive, which she did, into a ditch and on to it's top. I don't know what salvage yard it went to, but by now it's probably on it's way to China. I heard they made AWD Tempos, but I've never seen one. Not sure if they really did or not.
Didn't the Taurus and Tempo use trans axels up front? Would be too weak anyway.If I go forward with it I would have to find a fromt diff that would be strong and compact.
