Does a v8 maverick have a crossmember?

I have a 70' maverick with the 120 engine and three speed transmission, and wanted to know when i get my frame mounts do I need a crossmember that goes under the oil pan from frame mount to frame mount for the v8 conversion? Also when I get a c-4 trans, will the crossmember one from the three speed manual work? Thanks Robert

 

You will need the cross member for under the motor it helps keep the frame from spreading, the tranny cross member will work but one from a v8 car will help with the installation of dual exhaust.

 

If I"m not mistaken, the 70 will not have the threaded holes for the frame brace because the 302 was not available in 70.

 

I have a 73 that is factory v-8 w/ no crossmember.
The crossmember is up to the owner, personnally I have never ran one on my car and I have had it for 24years

 

even 69.5 & 70 model cars have the threaded holes.... dunny why but they do

 

I like to share some trivia about Ford and the unitibody platform. The early Falcon came only with a 6 cyl and they also came with a crossmember to tie the frame rails together. The crossmember bolted to the engine frame mounts instead of the frame rail. When Ford decided to have the V8 option in 1963.5 the toque box were introduce and the crossmember was eliminated. But, here's the weird thing, the V8 cars didn’t get the crossmembers but the 6 cyl cars got them although the frame still had toque boxes. Another interesting thing is the shock tower braces were welded in and not removable.

 

My 70 has the threaded holes. Crossmember bolted right up.

I ran my car for almost 25 years with v8 power and no crossmember. Still has the 6 cylinder trans crossmember though.

 

My 72 was a six cyl car factory but no threaded holes.

 

Yep, my 70 has the bar as well

 

speakin of why... why would they have the holes for the v8 tranny crossmember if it wasnt available also? just thinkin ahead i guess

 

yeah, that always kept me confused to. but like you said, thinking ahead maybe. or... they was going to offer the 302 as an option but backed out because they wasnt for sure if the Mav would make it in the ecomony situation of the early 70's

 

My 69.5 has a 5.0, and the crossbar fit right in, no problem. The holes were threaded and the bar from the '75 Comet went right in. If you have one, use it. Just good insurance to keep the frame from moving on you.

 

Well there you go, you can teach an old dog new tricks. Only problem is I'll forget soon and probably post bogus info in the future.

 

Dennis you have more than made up for an occasional mistake.

 

They planned to put a V8 in but were afraid of stealing sales from the Mustang. That's why when the Mav finally got a 302 it a 2 bbl base engine and no 4-speed option.

Oh yeah, 35+ years of running a V8 in my Mav without a belly bar and no problems. I've had one sitting on the shelf for a few years, though. Maybe this year I'll install it.