losing the faith......

Ok, I just moved to houston from auburn alabama. I took the maverick because my truck had worse gas terrible gas millage. Well the trip was good. I dont have an ac so i kept my window down and my arm out the window the whole ride here. I burned the ever living crap out of my arm. At high speeds the car cools down a lot so the heat wasnt to much of a problem. Well here in houston my mpg has dropped ALOT. This stop and go trafic is killing my wallet. What is worse though is the heat here. I moved to hell. Sitting at a redlight for 20 min when its 98 outside sucks. I can handle the heat but im tired of having to handle the heat... Now the only hope i have is that out of some miracle it actually gets cold during the winter and doesnt stay at 90..... I love old cars, mostly i think because of the looks i get as i drive down the road. Today i took a ride in the new 350z and i have to say it was fun. It wasnt a convertable because i think those are ugly but do u know what i could do that i couldnt do in the maverick! Push a button and my windows go down............ Turn the ac on and get blown through the back of my seat. The stereo system wasnt as good as mine by far though. The seats i could scoot back and i actually had legroom. How do u people stand this? I love my car... I have put ALOT of work into it but i really do think im going to die if i get stuck in traffic again for 3 hours at 98........ I have a 75 with a straight 6 by the way so i have huge amounts of smog crap on here. So its already slow enough as it is. Since it has 8000 original miles on it im not going to change out the motor. I got offered 4500 for it a few days ago. Ill keep it unless i got a lot better offer than that. The memories behind fixing up the car is worth more than that.. To tell u the truth really all i want is to be able to say "o look its about to rain i should roll my windows up and TURN ON THE AC! -_-." Ok that was a lot of ranting, im sorry. Question though how much does an ac cost and if the ac isnt on do i still lose hp.

 

All I can say is when I'm ready to buy another Maverick as a commuter/daily driver sort of car it must have A/C .... I live in GA where all summer long it is 90/90 .... 90 degrees with 90 humidity ....

 

WELCOME TO TEXAS! Not sure how much an AC will cost but, I know you want lose much if any HP when it is not on. I'm up here in Temple, TX and just wanted to give you a Howdy!

Tomm

 

look into vintage air, my stepfather just put it in his 56 F100. Personally, I can't stand AC, dries my eyes out and robs power

 

You would be a big A/C fan, if you lived in the Midwest or South like these guys. I am in St. Louis and we have been blessed with one of the coolest summers I can remember. Normally we are like Dan said 90/90.

 

Last year was the first year I ever felt AC in a car when my mother got her grand am , I`ll take the heat over working on that car any day .

 

maybe, but I wouldn't be able to see to drive if that were the case

 

talked to a guy last month, must be new around here. said he couldn't wait for september to get here so it would cool off. got news for him. septembers here and it was 112 out today.

 

90* you guys are lucky. Around here it's been 115* in the shade (S. California high desert) and in the Valley about 105* (hot and humid). Anyway A/C is nice but like the others said it robs power and you think the milage is bad now, wait till you get the A/C. Just my two cents. It will get cooler, trust me.

 

I live in auburn for 18 years so i understand perfectly what ga climate is like.... As for the 115 in the desert, its not humid there (being the desert). The prob with the humidity is the inability for someone to sweat as much as they normally do, so you body cant cool itself as good. Which makes 95 with 100% humidity a lot worse that normal 95. This place wouldnt be so bad if not for the damn redlights every 10 feet -_-

 

To be able to adapt to the enviroment is difficult for all of us. Moving from Nebr. and nearly five months of brutal cold and snow(has improved up there since then) to Arkansas and the oppressive heat and humidity, I did plenty of bitchen too. But nothing says I can't move somewhere else, except the fact that this is now my home and can kind of get used to all the nasty's. Would not even think about going back north to shovel snow and in 1980, spend 29 days where it never got above 0 degree's. Traffic is bad everywhere, just store the Mav and get a AC car. The good days will come and then take it out for a cruise. Insurance is very cheap in situations like that, mine is 39.00 for a year of limited driving(2000 miles) on the 73 Mav. Mean time get some 10.00 six inch fans that run off twelve volts and it will help. Use them in my race car that is 200 deg engine temp and at 90deg. outside temp, with about 125 in the cockpit and no roll down windows, work great on the return road to at least move some air around. One thing for sure, if you open your eyes in the morning and are able to breathe and walk, things are not that bad. Know what I mean. Hang tough, this too shall come to pass.

 

Elliot-
How old are you? Last year was the first time that you ever felt A/C in a car?
For christ's sakes it came out in the 50's in cars for the first time. How many
years do you live from today?

If I am driving a 6 banger Maverick, to hell with being concerned about HP to
begin with, there ain't nothing there from the start. Before you get your
panties in a wad, read on. As mentioned by a previous poster,
Vintage Air or Classic Auto Air (do a Google search) sells modern style A/C kits
for Mustangs and all other kinds of cars that are much more efficient and use
less power to operate. They are also easier to install than trying to retrofit a
unit from an A/C car to your non A/C car since that is the foundation from which
they are designed.

Want my .02? Spend the $400-$1000 for A/C for your Maverick on a beater with
A/C. An old small 4 cyl. truck or car. It will be better on gas, keep you cool, and
if you have a Mav with 8000 original miles on it, you won't be killing the value of
it by driving it to work every day. I don't know about TX, but in NC if it's paid for,
you ony need liability insurance in case you knock someone in the ditch. And for
an old beater it should be cheap unless you have tickets. You can pay for the insurance with the gas money saved.

You can drive the Maverick on 'good' days when it's below 92!

Good luck in TX.

Seth

 

I`m 17 my mother used to be very poor , she never knew if her car would make it to work and back (there is alot more to the story but this isn`t the forum for it) . It has taken a long time, she has had to work very hard but now we are doing great she owns the home we live in, all the cars, and two little boats .

 

Give mom a big hugg, and tell her you love her everyday. You and her are to be congratulated for your accomplishments. I love to hear of these kind of stories, a lot of people are to quick to judge, without the facts, then end up with foot in mouth and very lonely. You got a long life ahead of you and I'll bet money you'll do ok. By the way, how far are you from Peavley Mo? Have a daughter lives there and works in St. Louis.

 

There is a dirt track named I-55 Raceway in Pevely. Quite a history behind it with names like Wallace and Schrader running there. Actually Schrader is a co-sponsor of the track and makes several appearances there each year. They used to have an 1/8 mile dragstrip but closed after one of the big floods.