Hey, first time poster here. A little bit about myself: I'm 23, from California, and I have a 72 Maverick. My father-in-law gave it to me because we are in need of a second car, but the car isn't in the best shape. It's nothing a little money and effort won't fix however. I also currently have a 1995 Civic which I use as a primary driver and I considered fixing that car up but 1) too many people fix up imports nowadays and 2) Civics are 1.5L FWD cars and aren't necessarily designed to go fast. Once I stepped into the meaty Maverick with RWD and pretty decent torque and old-school column shifter, I was hooked. My engine is currently 200ci inline six with a stock 1BBL carb and stock everything. I am wondering if I could get feedback on how to make my car into a muscle machine. I've heard the best way to go is to swap in a Ford Racing 302 (225 hp I believe) and go from there. Others told me that the inline six I currently have is actually pretty good and I should get it bored, throw in a bigger carb, mess around with the internals and add a better exhaust system. I'm looking at a price range of 3-4k to spend on the engine. Also, wouldn't I also have to swap out tranny? They say you can't have fastest, cheapest, and most reliable at the same time, so I'm looking at more of the cheapest/reliable side. I don't plan on making my car perform at drag races, I just want something with good hp/torque that can make me forget entirely about my Civic. Thanks.
welcome aboard sky! as far as making the car scoot....can you say 302? stop in here often... you'll find out everything you need to know!
Money is directly proportional to speed, so how much money ya got? The 6 can be made to run quite nicely but the same money in a 302 will wip ya ever time. But then, you have to consider the cost of the swap. Only you can say if its worth it. Welcome anyway, keep the updates and pictures comming.
cool antoher maverick owner in cali yo sky.. welcome to the boards!!!! you should get pleanty of info here! but you should try to make it out with us to the knotts berry all ford round up! its on the 18th of this month. i'm trying to get a bunch of people to caravan down together! if you want more info e-mail me! or PM me we had a good turn out last year. whos going this year? check out this info you can get info at www.fordcarclubs.org call 562-862-9311 or e-mail info@fordcarclubs.orf its a 25 buck entry fee. you should mail it in quick since it must be postmaked by the 2nd of april which is tomorrow! they run out of room every year! if you just want to go down there together and you can park out side and then go to the show you can do that too let me know maverick man
Welcome sky; glad to have you aboard. Now, time to join the MCCI, another good source of everything you need. Earl
Hey thanks for the nice welcome, guys. This seems like one of the cooler forums I've been on to on the web... About my Mav, I have different reasons with building up the current engine vs. an engine swap. I like the idea of keeping the original engine because it would keep the car more original and more of its era, as well, I could build up the car in smaller steps (carb here, headers a month later, etc). It's also cool to have somewhat of an underdog car and it'd make me feel better to smoke a V8 with it. However, swapping over to a modern V8 is tempting. The 302 is fuel injected, plus it has a huge aftermarket following. It's also a simple way to gain a huge increase in hp/tq. Both types of engines have good reputations for reliability, even though many people down Fords, they're known to make good straight sixes and 302s. I believe my current engine develops something along the lines of hp in the 90s and tq in the 150s. Could these numbers be easily shot up with engine mods? I'm thinking that my engine has huge potential and that it puts out such low power because of what Ford did to it (gas crisis era) but I could be wrong. Is it a weak engine or not? The Knott's thing sounds awesome but I'll have to pass until next year. My Mav isn't even running right now, I have to get a new starter for it. It's a real fixer-upper, but nothing in the car is in deplorable shape. Just faded paint and rust, no major dents. The interior is worn and torn but that can be replaced. The engine, for being an original and never rebuilt with god-knows-how-many-damn-miles-are-on-it is surprisingly robust and sounds healthy. Last question...is there a way to keep my transmission set-up on the column but switch out the tranny itself? Like have a 5-speed but still use the column and not have to create a floor shifter? Thanks, -Cory
What's up Cory??? How funny, I have a brother named Corey, I have also a 1972 sky blue (grabber blue) maverick also (with a 302) and I live in Corona, or about ten minutes from you. Hello!!! Got pictures??? I'm curious to see if I've found my car twin. I've begun on swapping in a 225 horse 302 into my maverick, but I won't be done by knotts. Glad to see another So cal person! Cruise to knotts, even if your car won't be done.
