Im currently restoring a 1972 Maverick, originally a 200 ci 6 banger. Im installing a 5.0 out of a 88 T-bird sport coupe into the maverick. Ive ran into a few questions that have occured and looking for some insight. I am wanting to install the AOD tranny, will the AOD work with the stock C-4 crossmember with out customizing the bracket or mount? I do have a C4, but have heard that the flywheel torque converter bolt patterns are different on the 88 engine. I still have the 5.0 in the T-bird, so I cannot get an accurate measurement on the mounts,,, So I have used a mock up engine and C4 tranny to do the initial conversion to the V8. Its looking very well so far,,,, My intentions for this car is to be a daily driver and the occasional drag racer,,, kinda throw off the kids that cruise the streets with their rice burners,,, My maverick originaly had AC, but the condensor has been removed and long gone,,, So I have the AC off the t-bird, but Im thinking Ill have to go with the Old V belt setup,,, No power steering, no AC, and have to go with the older style drive belt setup for the accesories, Alternator, water pump,,, anyways,, Its a solid ol ford,,, Ive owned and stored it for about 12 years now, still solid as a rock! So, now its on to putting the maverick back on the streets with a little kick to it. I currently have a 4 barrel intake with a 750 Holley mechanical secondary, and a 303 roller cam, ported cast heads, and stock cast exhaust manifolds off the T-bird. I think I will have to grind a little material off the side of the manifolds to clear the towers, but not too much trouble with the steering box, they dump at the very back and pass the gear box with about 3/4 of an inch between the manifold and the box. As for the rear end,, it still has the stock 6 cyl rear end, which I do have a 8.8 out of a 89 ranger to swap out. a 4.11 gear ratio with posi. I have an Echlin dual pint distributor with a MSD 6AL box to lite the fires and I fully intend on running E85 for fuel. The body is still very very solid, it has a few dings in the front fenders but no rust,, I have rebuilt the front suspension and stock front drum brakes, maybe later down the road Ill try to convert the front brakes to disk, are there any other models that will interchange to get disk brakes on my maverick? ChadS From Northern Indiana
If you needs some parts...come down my way and I can help you out. Craig Selvey East Central Indiana Craig(a)MaverickCorral.com
I haven't put the AOD in a Maverick yet,but I have replaced a 4-popper with a C-3 in a fox bodied Mustang with a 255 V-8 and the AOD. I didn't have to change the motor mount perches or the tranny crossmember.....
cross member I am getting ready to do the swap to an AOD and have been reading posts here. I read that the trans crossmember will need to be modified 1 inch to the rear. The trans is the same length and the drive shaft will work but the cross member needs to be moved back 1 inch. Just do a search in the forum for " AOD "
Ive had a few fox body mustangs,, But have always wanted an older ford to work with. Ive had this Maverick for going on 12 years now. My Uncle had owned it since it was new, and had given it to me. He rarely drove it, kept it inside all the time. Ive always liked that car, to me, if I look at it just right, it looks like a miniature Mach 1,,,, I had sold my last Mustang that I built up and now Im on to the next one to fix up and drive. Ill keep this one though,,, Its like a family member. My cousin always hounds me about when I would do something with the maverick, (he has a 66 Dodge Coronet 500 with a 440) and says that car is the fastest thing on 4 wheels. I laughed,, said,, you aint seen nothing yet cousin!
Do you carry interior kits? My 72 origianlly had a bench seat and I have a set of bucket seats and intending on retrofitting the console out of my 88 t-bird into the maverick to have the 4 speed AOD shifter. the carpet is shot, and the head liner is rough. So, Always looking for something,,,
Other than suspension kits, there are no kits for these cars. Nothing in the interior is reproduced and only a quarter skin is made for the outside. Mostly its making something else work. I'm a manual guy so I cant help you with the automatics. Just curious why anyone would run points these days. Free is not always a good deal.
For 2 reasons, One is to have a good mechanical advance, and 2 is Ill never burn the points up in it ever, the MSD allows me to run the spark current thru the MSD instead of the point contacts. With this setup, the points acts as a signal to the MSD to tell the coil when to fire. Ive never had great luck with the Duraspark systems,,,Seems like when the dog looks funny at a tire the box goes out! I have ran the newer distributors EEIV distributors without the computer before,, it works well, but there is no advance at all, just the base timing. With what I have now for the ingition, it shoots a lightning bolt to the plugs. Im also added the MSD timing control to get the best I can for gas milage, and power at driving rpms. It works great in my 88 t-bird till I do the swap in the Maverick. Ive got the body of the 72 back into good shape, It was a solid ol car still, Ive been over every inch of it looking for something, but I was shocked to see it was in such good shape, I had a small spot in the passenger side front floor board where the seat bolted to the floor, I cut a piece out of another car, and welded it into place to repair, other than that, the floor had the factory paint and was undercoated way back when.
