70 maverick question???good deal or??? I spotted a 70 2 door maverick while at work one day. the sign says 850 obo. It is in decent shape. The colum shifter has been converted to the floor. Looks like it has the original engine, but didn't open the hood. Body doesn't seem rusty. but looks like a repaint to black because of the front bumper painted. Thoughts on this car. It may be a while before I can buy it. ( tax time) What would be involved in swaping in a V-8 and 5 speed? I would want to add big brakes, upgrade the suspension, Etc. thanks for the info Tim
If the rust is not too bad, then 850 would be a good deal IMO. As for swapping to a V-8, the frame mounts for the engine and the engine X-member would be necessary for doing it right. I know that the tranny tunnel on the 69.5 ( ?? And perhaps the '70 too ??) is slightly narrower than the later models, so the 5 speed swap for this car will take a bit more effort. You will have to have a tranny crossmember fabbed up regardless of what year mav when going with a 5 speed, but yours will have different specs. You may also have to massage your tranny tunnel to even fit the 5 speed. Just take your measurements and recheck to be sure. Just by your description (no rust) I'd say that it is a good buy. Good luck and if you have any more questions, just ask. Hope I helped. Preston
Oh yeah, forgot about the brake question. Sorry about that. I believe that any of the later Mav/Comets equipped with disc brakes will serve as donor cars for the brake swap. Granadas can also be robbed of these parts. (No matter what car you use get ALL brackets, braces, lines, etc.... to insure that you get all of the hardware needed.) And replace all parts that need it. On the rear end issues, I believe that the '70 has the 7.8" axle instead of the 8 inch the other mavs have. This axle is weak. However when you replace the front brakes, you will need to upgrade the rear brakes as well. (since they will still be 4 lug) Just use the rear end out the the same Mav/Comet to remedy this. Swap the whole axle, drum to drum. The gear ratio in a stock 3.00:1 axle so you may want to swap depending on what you want. If you could ever find a Lincoln Versailles (spelling??) it has a 9 inch rear end, and rear disc brakes. It will also bolt in. A mid 90's explorer rear end is also an option. Go here for the info on this swap. http://mmb.maverick.to/showthread.php?t=3105 Here is an article on the I-6 to the V-8 swap. It might help. http://mmb.maverick.to/showthread.php?t=4581 Good luck, and I hope I helped. Preston
Country is correct. As you can see from my signature I've done all that you're inquiring about to my '70. The T5 requires the top of the tranny tunnel is cut open and metal added to make clearance for the T5 shift rail housing. For the crossmember some people have been able to just drill some holes farther back for the T5 mount (the T5's mount is about 1 1/2" rearward of traditional Ford trannys). In my case that didn't work. I modified my original crossmember by cutting out the dropped section and moving it 1 1/2" back and welding. The shifter tower will stick up through the tunnel, I have a large Hurst Super Boot covering mine. I installed front discs from a '76, the 9" of course has larger drums.
