What's the deal with Ford Mavericks?

Feedyurhed wrote:

Flight Service wrote: In reply to nicksta43: I would take a Festiva over any Nova ever made

Really?? I am no GM guy either but a Festiva over a 66 Chevy Nova with a 396 or a Yenko Nova or a..............you must really like Fords......or hate Chevys. A Festiva?? Wow.

Of course the true irony here is that a Festiva is really a Mazda.

I find it interesting that few enthusiasts will criticize the handling of early Mustangs, but they will bash the Maverick. The handle very much the same. The good news is that Mustang improvements work on Mavericks.

Does this hate make Mavericks super cheap to buy?

I'm having visions of buying a clean one for $1500 then throwing a Mustang parts catalog at it over time.

Junkyard_Dog wrote:

Feedyurhed wrote:

Flight Service wrote: In reply to nicksta43: I would take a Festiva over any Nova ever made

Really?? I am no GM guy either but a Festiva over a 66 Chevy Nova with a 396 or a Yenko Nova or a..............you must really like Fords......or hate Chevys. A Festiva?? Wow.

Of course the true irony here is that a Festiva is really a Mazda.

And I would take a Maverick over any Mazda

Actually crappy American cars are my favorite. I imagine I could have fun with any of them.

My Dad had a 74 2 door Maverick. I had a 78 Fairmont wagon. I found the Maverick's replacement a much better car in every aspect.

If my wife would let me, I'd love to see what I could do to a 78-79 Fairmont Futura.

This build would be just as cool-if not cooler-with a 2 door Maverick instead of a four door Falcon. Same car underneath, and judging from the feedback hardly anyone doesn't think this build is cool as hell.

Nice Maverick in the original post.

Junkyard_Dog wrote:

Feedyurhed wrote:

Flight Service wrote: In reply to nicksta43: I would take a Festiva over any Nova ever made

Really?? I am no GM guy either but a Festiva over a 66 Chevy Nova with a 396 or a Yenko Nova or a..............you must really like Fords......or hate Chevys. A Festiva?? Wow.

Of course the true irony here is that a Festiva is really a Kia.

FTFY

I used to not like Chevys, but after actually being in the automotive industry and learning that there isn't huge differences in any of the domestically produced ones, it is more to the fact I dislike most Nova owners. They are a more idiotic arrogant version of mullet wearing Camaro owners.

"Designed by Mazda using the DA platform and B series inline-four engines, the Festiva continued the trend of Fords built and designed by Mazda for the Asia-Pacific market such as the Laser and Telstar.

South Korean first generation sales began in 1986 under the name Kia Pride..."

A neighbor of mine growing up had a Mav. 4 door, silver with a black vinyl roof treatment. When the black vinyl began to crack, he sealed it with asphalt tar. Every year, when he got finished re-tarring his driveway, he put the leftovers onto the Mav's roof. The car must have weighed 200 pounds more when he finally got rid of it, which was sometime in the mid to late 90's IIRC. That car was as reliable as Chicago voting demographics.

In reply to Flyin Mikey J:

Agreed. Fox bodies handle better than Falcon-derived Fords.

We are not Chip Foose or Troy Trepanier. If we built cars to make money we'd never build cars. We build cars for fun.

I've dug them ever since CarCraft featured this rendering in the late 90's.

Do it.

Nitroracer wrote: Do it.

OOH! that is NICE!

Junkyard_Dog wrote: "Designed by Mazda using the DA platform and B series inline-four engines, the Festiva continued the trend of Fords built and designed by Mazda for the Asia-Pacific market such as the Laser and Telstar. South Korean first generation sales began in 1986 under the name Kia Pride..."

"In mid-1986, another Ford partner, Kia Motors in South Korea began production of the Festiva under license as the "Kia Pride".[8] Starting from mid-1987 for the 1988 model year, Kia began exports to Canada under the "Ford Festiva" name, with United States sales commencing by the end of 1987."

Just keep reading, reading, reading...

I always liked the Maverick. I thought it much better looking than the Pinto and prettier than the Mustang (as the stang was getting macho looking at that point)

In reply to Appleseed:

Ha! I'm not the only one who really liked that issue.

Flight Service wrote: I dislike most Nova owners. They are a more idiotic arrogant version of mullet wearing Camaro owners.

Have you met any Corvette owners yet?

bluej wrote: Oh my..

Ok. The rear I get. A mini tub kit and narrowed axle makes it easy to fit lots of tire out back but the front?

I am guessing a M2 setup. You would need at least 19 or 20 inch wheels to clear the ball joint on falcon/mustang/mav/granada spindles to get enough backspace for that much tire.

Feedyurhed wrote:

That is very true. But the problem with that is even if you can do all the work yourself, the cost just doesn't make sense. You would have the initial cost of the car and the better the car the higher the cost. Also, in order to do it right you would need to upgrade virtually every aspect and system of the car including paint, suspension, motor, interior, brakes, wheels/tires etc. What might that cost? I don't know but you would probably have more into the car than it's worth. SNIP

I realize that the results are more "Hot Rod"ish or "Car Craft"ish when done to this extreme. But with some of the cars being built by GRMers a set of tires exceeds the purchase price of the car...

Maverick Grabbers had 302s in them by '71, not "by that time the writing was on the wall" as they lasted until '77. There's a LOT you can do to thee cars cheaply, as they cost so much less than Mustangs to buy in to start with.

Trans_Maro wrote:

Flight Service wrote: I dislike most Nova owners. They are a more idiotic arrogant version of mullet wearing Camaro owners.

Have you met any Corvette owners yet?

See above, minus hair, add more gut, gold and 30 years. Usually with some sort of mobile accessory that is annoying once the audio is engaged.

Flight Service wrote:

Trans_Maro wrote:

Flight Service wrote: I dislike most Nova owners. They are a more idiotic arrogant version of mullet wearing Camaro owners.

Have you met any Corvette owners yet?

See above, minus hair, add more gut, gold and 30 years. Usually with some sort of mobile accessory that is annoying once the audio is engaged.

I had my 1st Vette at 25, the second at 28. Nearly got plates that said "under40".

Ditchdigger wrote:

bluej wrote: Oh my..

Ok. The rear I get. A mini tub kit and narrowed axle makes it easy to fit lots of tire out back but the front? I am guessing a M2 setup. You would need at least 19 or 20 inch wheels to clear the ball joint on falcon/mustang/mav/granada spindles to get enough backspace for that much tire.

He said it had a huge roll up front, and those are only 255s in front, 275s in back. Looks like pretty minimal modifications according to the feature.

http://www.jdmeuro.com/enkei-rpf1-ford-maverick-jdmusdm/

Fatman Fabrication has some bolt-on front suspension that seems to fix a lot that isn't desirable on the front of these cars, including ball joint clearance. Not sure what the setup costs.