I am wondering if anyone has ever totally removed the rain gutters on a their Mav/Comet. Not the trim but the entire metal lip. I am going to smooth my maverick out kinda street rod style w/shaved handles and stuff and I thought since it won't see rain anymore that removing the gutters might be kind of slick looking. Comments are welcome.
Have`nt seen it done on a Mav ,but I know a guy with a `68 mustang drag car, and he cut off the rain gutters and had all of the glass flush mounted with no chrome trim around the edges (just a thin rubber seal like the new cars are) Then he filled all of the body seams and painted it black....It looks awesome ...and slippery! :bananaman
Cool idea! That'll look great! I think I'd use a cut off wheel and at least a six pack of beer to properly lubricate the operator.
Wonder if removing the gutters will help reduce my aerodynamic drag? Haha. I've been contemplating this for some time now. I am going to my shop to work on the Mav this Sunday, maybe I'll be brave and cut them off. I know, I know, take pictures, you guys like pictures don't ya. Yah, me too.
Somebody did do that to a Maverick many years ago. I believe it was someone on the West coast. It defiantly looked different.
That would be interesting .... I drove an 84 Z-28 for several years and i always cussed when i opened the window while it was raining, The water would just pour in ... Has anyone ever wondered why they did away with some of the good ideas they had on older cars... Like the dimmer switch on the floor, Or vent windows or even the drip rails ...
yeah i remember someone on the west coast doing that several years back as well dennis, I also recall them saying its was more work than they thought, created some other issues that that wernt readily noticable at the start. cant remember who is was? oops, almost forgot, did them to mine as well (figured i better confess before thack calls me out)...no way to post pic, so I dont have pics , and yes its a fair amount of work to make them look right. cutting the rails opens up the roof seam that is pinched together, once you get past that, removing the rail makes the window frame look off, opens up a huge gap towards the front, makes the weatherstripping which is of questionable use to begin with that much more exposed. thats for starters. yes looks different, lot of work, that creates more work to make right. should you do it?....your car? do what you like.
Thanks for the response guys. I know it won't be easy, heck it may not even look good. I think I will have to take some pictures and then have my wife use her photoshop program to see what it looks like with/without them for sure. What I am worried about is losing the "hooded" effect that the rails give the side windows, but I really want a smoothy look. I think if I did cut them that I will weld the seam from the inside in several places before I cut. :confused:
Hey Chris, was that your burgandy Mav you did that to? I have a couple of pictures from the 2002 Roundup and it looks like they are still on it. Unfortunately, i cant blow them up enough to tell for sure. Man, thats still one of the sharpest Mav's I've seen.
no, I've done it to the currant project (a 72). the candy one(77) still has them. if you do decide to go thru with it, only cut a few inches at a time then weld it up and so on... your concerns about the look of the side windows is valid, the cutting off isnt so much the work, as much as making it look right after you do, thats where the majority of the work will come in. you will have to rework the window frames extensively in order for it to look right(in my opinion) this isnt something you want to do unless you enjoy body work also the window frames arent the only area that will need a lot of help, the new edge you will have after cutting requires imense amounts of work to shape , regardless of the method you use to cut them. (once again, my opinion)
You will have to cut the drip rails off and weld the cut area closed and grind to finish. I have an idea on this same theme. Only with a Shelby KR idea. Leave the drip rail on until the point of the rear of the door window frame. Lose the qtr glass and fill with a qtr scoop of a 69 stang. Then take the drip rail down the rear portion of the window frame and have it exit at the bottom of the window frame. Reason this does not work like a stang is the fact that stangs are coupes and Mav/Comets are sedans. This is something I want to do to Mav/Comet in the idea of creating a KR Mav/Comet Dan ps the area where the drip rail is removed needs to be welded together and ground to finish.
A Mav/Comet Shelby KR would be kinda sweet. Eleanor from gone in 60 seconds would be a neat effort. A strong retro theme with a hint of high-tech. I feel as long as the essence of Maverick is there, you can do just about anything. As long as it's done well it will always look good too.
