OK, I'm going to layout my plan of attack and I'd love any comments, thoughts, etc. 1) Pull 302 and give it a visual inspection. Seller said that the car only has 38,000 original miles on it. Engine seemed to run lethargic on the way home but after adjusting the choke (forgot these things had manual chokes), she took off like a jet. Gotta replace choke cable though, it snapped off the carb. 2) Transmission, don't know what I have at the moment. It is a 3 speed manual with column shifter. Can I go 5 speed? Definitely want to put the shifter on the floor. Any favorite brands? 3) Rear End. Again, don't know what I have but want to make sure that there are no power bottlenecks. 4) Replace front suspension. Feels like I'm driving a boat. Suggestions there? 5) Brakes, want to put disk brakes on the front. Am I stuck with the drum brakes on the rear? 6) Steering Column. Is the stock column ok? Need to repair the turn signal switch. Only left turn signal works. 7) Interior, is amazing! Would like to put in a jamming stereo system. I would also like to put in bucket seats. The seats are spotless but I just like bucket seats. 8) Put on some nice wheels 9) Remove rust spots, bumper has surface rust, and then give her a sharp paint job. 10) Go on a nice cruise around Texas! Yeah, I'm looking at a few years here. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
If it is stock the rear end is an 8". Use the search feature and you can find any past threads about any subject.
The easy way to go on the transmission would be to find a good toploader 4 speed. It's a direct bolt in. Mount it with a good Hurst shifter and you're ready to go. The old 3 speeds are good transmissions (usually called toploader 3 speed). They just aren't as much fun as shifting a 4 or 5 speed. You can usually pick up a good 4 speed from swap meets for $400-$600.
The rear end will do okay like it is until you get ready for a little performance. It likely has 2.79 or 3.00 gears in it. A good street gear for you would be 3.50. You can sometimes get lucky at the swap meets on these. I picked up one for $60 a while back. Would be worth a couple hundred easy.
Nice clean car. I'd make sure all the safety stuff like brakes and shocks and steering work good and drive it for a while as is. The figure out what mods I'd like to make. Always nicer to be able to enjoy the car as you're working on it.
Yeah, I was thinking of replacing the brakes and front suspension first but wasn't sure if it would be easier with the engine out. I do want to drive it a bit too. Anyone know how to fix the gas gauge?
What's it doing? Mine used to read erratically but I cured it by replacing the little voltage regulator in the cluster. Parts stores actually carry that, surprisingly enough. Could also be the in-tank sender or the gauge itself, but the voltage regulator is a good place to start. You asked about disc brakes... For the front, '75-'77 Maverick/Comet or '75-'80 Granada/Monarch will bolt in directly, just swap the spindles. For the rear, '96-2000ish Explorer brakes will bolt onto your 8" rear with some minor mods. See the Tech Articles section... I have Crown Vic disc brakes on mine which are a little bigger and install similarly. Be sure to use a master cylinder that was intended for 4 discs; mine is an Explorer one and it bolts right on, just have to switch to metric flare fittings. If you keep drums in the rear, use a Maverick disc+drum MC.
The transmission issue bothers me for some reason. A 3 speed just seems wrong. Then I found this in my searches, Tremec TKO 500 , 3550 with Pro 5.0 shifter http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Trem...Accessories&hash=item2c5d5a6e56#ht_500wt_1136 Has anyone put a 5 speed tran into a Maverick?
Yes, it's just not a bolt-in-like-stock type deal like the toploader 4-speed is. You generally have to go with a custom clutch linkage, either cable or hydraulic. At least that's the case with a T5.
