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June 1, 2011 10:48 a.m. rebelgtp SuperDork

If you have checked out the 80 Cutlass build thread you know I found another car to throw in the mix to be the base car for the build.

Well the guy that has the new 80 Cutlass I will be dragging home this week also has two Ford Mavericks. The funny thing is the fiance and myself have seen the cars driving around town before and she has commented on liking the little Fords. Well I got to talking to the guy about his Mavericks and he said he has a buddy selling him a Grabber for the massive sum $35 . This got me thinking about trying to find one of these for the girl for her first project car.

Well then in true GRM fashion I started thinking about "What motor?" which led me to the idea of dropping in one of the Thunderbird turbo motors into the car. Which of course then means working on handling and brakes. I told her the idea and she loved it. I did a quick search online and it seems to be a fairly popular build. Anyone here do it? Any other interesting engine swaps into a small Ford like these?
June 1, 2011 11:07 a.m. RossD SuperDork

I've been looking for something in which to swap a 2.0 Zetec and a pinto 4 speed. My thought is with a good header, individual throttle bodies and some megasquirt, 170 hp should be easily obtainable without doing anything else. A turbo on the other hand...

Add in this faux BDA valve cover for classic styling:

http://www.retro-ford.co.uk/shop/

Wiki says the curb weight is around 2900~3000 lbs for the Mav. Might be a litte porky for a naturally aspirated zetec.
June 1, 2011 11:28 a.m. rebelgtp SuperDork

Hmmm I like the way you are thinking

I wonder how much of that 3K weight is the engine and the like and how much difference there would be in putting in a more modern piece? You could also put the car on a diet finding some lighter weight seats and the like. So many ideas and I really like the whole turbo Zetec idea. I was originally thinking the motor from a Turbo Coupe or something but now....
June 1, 2011 11:35 a.m. egnorant Dork

If it can be placed in a Mustang, it can be placed in a Maverick. And someone has probably done it!!

I'm kinda looking for an early Cobra kit car (slab side) for my hot rodded 2.3 turbo motor.

Bruce
June 1, 2011 12:59 p.m. Xceler8x SuperDork

If it's a grabber..save yourself some trouble and stick with the 302. I'd pull the original motor, store it, and then pop in a fresh roller 5.0. You'll have a blast in that thing. Also, keeping the OEM motor will mean you can put it back to stock once all other muscley cars are over priced in 10 years. Then you'll have a car that's appreciated in value all while you've enjoyed it.

Hell, I might not even go 5 spd on it. A Ford AOD would make it a nice cruiser with some fun built in via that mildly built V8. I'll bet you even get halfway decent mileage if the rear gears are a reasonable ratio.

Wild swaps are fun to talk about but if you go the easy route you'll have a better chance of enjoying the car.

Hemmings article on Grabbers.
June 1, 2011 1:03 p.m. stuart in mn SuperDork

I saw a Maverick at a car show last summer with a turbo 4 cylinder engine out of a Thunderbird, it was a neat little car.

On the other hand, you could get a 302 in a Maverick (were they standard in a Grabber?) so it would be easy to make some horsepower with modern bolt on parts.
June 1, 2011 1:09 p.m. RossD SuperDork

I weighed the zetec that I have at about 250lbs, IIRC. That had the automatic flywheel, exhaust and intake manifold, throttle body, waterpump, coil and wires, and some asorted brackets. Probably has some oil in it too...

Here is a picture after I started to take some of the parts off, but still fairly complete:

The zetec rear wheel drive swap is common in Lotus Seven type cars and other rwd british Ford cars (Ford Capri, Sierra, Cortina, Anglia...). Basically if a British Ford car came with a 1950s or newer Ford four cylinder, a Zetec has probably been swapped into it, at least in Europe/UK.

I like looking at www.passionford.com for ideas. Here's one in a Capri
June 1, 2011 2:15 p.m. rebelgtp SuperDork

Nah I wouldn't do it to a factory grabber unless I found one as an empty shell. The fiance liked the idea of having a turbo Mav as her fun car (same girl likes old Dusters sadly that deal fell through). She torn however between leaving it stock looking outside or fixing it up. I think it would confuse a few ricers hearing a turbo spool up from a Mav .

Once we get the Olds at least up and moving under its own power I think we might try and find her a Mav.
June 1, 2011 2:16 p.m. Xceler8x SuperDork

If you have an I6 Grabber...here's some motor porn for you.

That's from a 12 sec 1/4 mile Falcon. Here's the article.