yeah it can be done.Like a High School Science Fair project., Get a piece of crap body that is basically off a disposable car or { Maverick,Pinto },forget about anything other that sheer straight line pull and voila.You'll have a car that if asked to take a lap or two at speed around an easy race course will fall apart or rattle like a baby toy.
You are clearly more mechanically inclined than I am. I started out as a race tech for motorcycle engines, and my friends built insane things out of monzas etc... not me. Bikes are different. Easier. However I know what it takes through witness to get UNDER 10 seconds. I am paying attention... but... I think we are moving the goalposts a bit. Under ten is voodoo... and expensive in my experience. I have never seen a sub 10k 9 second car. Not saying it doesn't exist, I am saying you have not produced it... just "I probably could" conjecture. One of those reasons people ask for time slips.
Actually, that Mav is a solid car, a 47,000 mile survivor, and regularly driven. Of course, I have seen peeople drive similar cars on the Power Tour, a 1500+ mile trip that often includes pouring rain and blazing heat. I recall a few years ago a guy with a primered Chevy pickup...he ran the entire Tour without a hiccup, and his drivetrain consisted of a 454 from a U-Haul truck, a cheap (Jasper) rebuild with about 75,000 miles on it...he swapped the cam, changed the oil pump, added a Holley NASCAR mechanical fuel pump, and bolted on a (used) 6-71 blower. The trans was an unrebuilt TH475 from a Stepvan. He put more than 550HP down on the chassis dyno, and drove it over 3500 miles without a hiccup. He wanted to run the drags, but they wouldn't let him because he didn't have a rear-mounted kill switch. (It failed, he had to bypass it.)
Maverick are and will always be a wonder of cheapness.They looked good but were disposable cars.Chalk it up to Detroit going with thinner gauge sheet metal or just totally untreated metal. The cars were very light.I don't think their tranny's are worth even talking about.Again,they were disposable cars.Ten years after they stopped making them they almost as fast disappeared from the scene.Again, they were disposbale cars.Were never intended to last past 10O,ooo miles. Very few ever did.They met a niche.A car that was totally within the budget of most any schmuck.I couldn't say what parts off a Maverick besides that very sleek and sporty body were of any use.They were a Looker of a car.
Actually, the Maverick was on the exact same running gear as the 1965-70 Mustang. They used the same engines (302 V8, 200 & 250ci six), same automatic transmissions (C4), and same rear axles (8" and 9"). In fact, many Mustangs have been converted to front disc brakes using parts from a Maverick...I recall the entire front suspension interchanges, the rear axles interchange, I think they actually use the same rear springs. Mechanically, there isn't a dime's worth of difference between a 1970 Mustang and a 1971 Maverick.
It's a guy named Paul Stender over in Indianapolis (The Indy Boys) who made that car. He also has a jet-powered school bus. And in case you really have the urge to go while you go... [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZbbfUYvjxg]Jet Powered Porta-Potty[/ame]
Even if it's true I was around in the hay day of those mavericks. There wasn't a single thing about them that wasn't firstrate downright cheap to the core.No one who had them could expect much but trouble.They started yeah,but not with any great success. Most people kinda just drove them silly because they dint expect much. Like mise well enjoy the ride while I can. Mustangs were always tough and lasted well into their years.I remember a neighbor in early 80's who had a mid 60's white Mustang.They were beginning to disappear,but I hardly ever saw a maverick at that time.
Bee 4 Real.Mavericks dint even have a glove compartment. The rear windows had no runner { no way to roll down,they were pop-outs }.
What I love about the Maverick, is someone put some thought into naming the colors you could buy one in. Looking back on it from 40+ years, it seems like it's a little kitschy, they're trying to be too "hip" - but it's funny nonetheless. The original colors were -- Anti-Establish Mint Hula Blue Freudian Gilt Thanks Vermillion Original Cinnamon
So? A Plymouth Road Runner also didn't have roll-down rear windows...for that matter, cars started moving to fixed quarter windows around that time. Many VW's have no glove box...and I'm talking about modern cars, less than ten years ago.
Not just Ford! Chrysler had: Vitamin C Orange GoManGo Curious Yellow Citronyella Top Banana Lemon Twist Panther Pink Moulin Rouge Tor-red Plum Crazy In-Violet SubLime LimeLight Sassy Grass GreenGo
ok im getting kinda bored. i only got a lil bit until the M3 is paid off but im bored with "ordinary" and trying to think of something fun and unique to build into a daily driver. never had much fun with a V8 so im thinking about an LS swap into something. for some reason im thinking Astro-Van or something of the like. and along with power id also redo the interior, not show car quality but nice and comfortable inside. i dunno, im just bored and want something different. was thinking first about a 302 swap into a E30 325 but i dont really want another car. so im thinking an olver suv or van. either that or i just get the GMC Typhoon i always wanted but then there is that issue of not being V8 powered lol. i dont know, lets discuss some ideas.
lol oh lord, not a bad idea actually considering i can style the body to look just like a Typhoon. but god (*)(*)(*)(*) how am i gonna keep her on the ground lol? great idea, i will take into consideration. for awhile i was thinking about doing an LS swap into my M3, but with the low miles it has ima keep it the way it is as im not gonna get rid of it.
Car Craft's old Real Street Eliminator had something not far off...it was a 1995-ish Bravada, powered by a fire-breathing 434ci SMALL-block, a 4L80E trans, and a bunch of homemade suspension parts. It ran mid-11's, matched a Grand Sport Corvette through a slalom & a SOLO course, and was a daily driven truck. You know, I was half-joking, but this could work. Bravadas are cheap, aluminum 5.3's aren't that pricey (of course, to go totally nuts, you want an aluminum Corvette 6.0 or Denali/Escalade 6.2). I'd keep the Bravada styling...in fact, I wouldn't even repaint it! 4WD is tougher to lower...maybe something from Ridetech, adjustable air suspension? Get larger torsion bars, possibly replace the rear with a 4-link & coilovers (or go full air ride)...yeah, this can work! This could easily be a 9-second truck.
lol well i dont really want a 9 second truck, would be fun but i have other plans for a drag car as id like to build a Bel Air for that, but thats way down the line. thats why i was thinking about a van with an LS swap, either an astro or express because i do have kids to tote around lol. and for some reason Astro vans just catch my eye for some reason, must be the mexican in me lol. with my plans id probably be better off with an express as i would use it for travel and its got alot more room. gas will suck but cant have your cake and eat it too. i dunno, i got alot of time to think about it, just looking for more ideas.
If you wanna go really cheap... Drop the 4.9L engine originally used in 91-95 Cadillac sedans into a Pontiac Fiero. It bolts up to a 4T60 transmission, and you don't have to change the ECM. It's also easy to drop a 3800 GM engine into a Fiero, and if you're mechanically inclined, you can stuff a 4.6L Northstar engine in a Fiero. You can pickup a Fiero for less than $3000, the 4.9L engine is about $500, and so is a 4T60 transmission (I just checked prices on eBay). So instead of the 90hp the Tech IV engine put out, or the 140hp the L44 2.8 supplied, you've increased the horsepower to 200 using the L26 4.9 Cadillac engine - and maybe added 50 extra pounds of weight! Having owned a Fiero, trust me when I say if you were to double the horsepower from the original "Iron Duke" 4-cylinder engine - the Fiero would scoot down the highway!
