Ooops - here we go again

I'm back - remember me? My son and I had the wicked little silver 72 w/ the 331 stroker last year. After only having the car a few months, I lost my job and had to sell the car to pay bills.

Now my son is a month away from turning 16, and I did something I really should NOT have done...cry:

cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130600219332

Now what???

 

Nothing wrong with that!

 

fix what ever needs to be fixed. put some seat covers on that front seat and let your son drive it. make it safe. the first and only modification i would do is to put disk brakes on the front end.

 

Just spoke with the guy - he said the car is the 5 lug version:bananaman

Only question now is how to get it back to Dallas. Seller said he'd bring it to me for $375. Or I can hit NAPA for a complete set of brake rebuild kits, make it a weekend trip with my son, and try to drive it back to Dallas.

 

And so it begins...

Here's my list of questions, please jump in and answer whatever you can!

1. Car is 100% original "barn find" and I know there just aren't many original cars left. We want to old school hot rod it, plain and simple. Your thoughts?
2. Brakes are bad - where's my best source (good+cheap) for a complete set of brake rebuild kits?
3. Car is a 6-cly / auto - what's required to drop in a 302?
4. I know someone will shoot me for this, but I have a fresh +.060 350 Chevy sitting on a stand in my garage - can a 350/350 combo go in these cars easily?
5. Seats are completely trashed - I was going to grab some Craigslist buckets for the front - will seats from any other car fit the back?
6. Beyond that, what would you recommend for first steps on this car?

Thanks!!!

 

The first inclination would be to "Hot Rod" it. It looks great already, just needs some TLC and elbow grease. Since your son is 16 I would get it in good running shape with the motor that's in it and let him decide what will be the best upgades for the budget. You have a good canvas to start with if it is truely rust free. Nice buy!

 

Looks like you made a good buy. A car that solid is worth that amount without a drivetrain. :Handshake

 

Brake parts are cheap and readlily available at all parts stores, no need to order them.

Since your kid is only a month away from driving i say you resist the Hot Rod urge and just get it on the road and safe. I bet he'd have more fun driving it the way it is then having it torn apart for a rebuild. Then take your time researching and collecting parts for future upgrades. Take it a step at a time to reduce downtime. Do a disc brake swap one weekend. save up and collect parts and do some interior work. then when you are ready you can do the 302 swap in a weekend.

 

looks like the back tire is bald ? might be something to think about if going to drive it back

good luck

 

Rent a tow dolly if you have something to pull it with, put the best tires on the back, drop the driveshaft, and tow it home. I'd rebuild all the brakes, and put some seat covers over the seats until you find some nicer ones. Rick over in Forney {rwbrooks50} has a lot of parts, he might have some decent seats. Looks like a great Father /Son project!

 

Well put. That's what I was thinking as well.

 

Thanks everyone - I genuinely appreciate your suggestions and will definitely take your advice.

I'll post again when we get it home.

 

I have a tow dolly I will loan to you. I am in Forney. Towed many a Mav with it. Let me know if I can help. You should see my parts stock pile. I have most everything in you list. I even have a built 302.

Rick

 

The answer is yes but there is a catch..... you have to do a mustang II front suspension, this way you can remove the shock towers so you can fit the engine, exhaust everything just in the bay. Then firewall modification to clear the chebby distributor being in the back of the engine and possibly transmission tunnel modifications.
Once you do that, make custom engine and transmission mounts, modified the wiring to match all the accesories on the engine, (things like oil pressure sending unit, and temp guages being different and in different places) have a new driveshaft made up, and possibly have to have not only a custom oil pan made but possibly custom headders too.

So yes once you do all that it should be pretty easy to fit the 350/350 combo in there.

Admittidly the hardest part about putting a chebby in an old ford like this is paying for all the extra modifications just to get it to fit in there.

My suggestion would be get the stuff from RWBrooks to do a v8 swap, put a plane jane 302/C4 in it for awhile and let him drive it around(everyones suggestion to leave the 6 in for a bit does have some merit). Even a mild 302/C4 in these cars makes a potent combination for a new driver. And while he is driving it around getting use to an almost 40 year old car you two can be building up a nice 331 or even go a bit bigger and get something based off of the 351 block like a 427.

 

Sad to say the deal is off. Talking about it with my wife over the weekend, she insisted our son be involved in the decision process. He wanted nothing to do with another "project" since our other projects, and previous Maverick, have all come to nothing but trouble and disappointment. Seller was very understanding, and I paid his eBay fees to even things out. I'm sad about it, but want to respect his decision. Guess we'll just see what the Lord brings our way...