Posted by Old Guy (216.152.14.113) on March 30, 2001 at 11:58:11:
In Reply to: I am restoring a 73 maverick, how do I get started??? posted by Ruthie on March 29, 2001 at 18:47:58:
: Hi
: I have a baby blue maverick 1973, 6 cylinder 250, air-conditioning. I want to restore and rebuild the engine. Any suggestions????????
: I'm am about to:
: *paint the outside
: *get new seats, headliner, carpet
: *stereo system
I'll give you my two cents worth, first before anything is done to the body, interior or sound system, do all the mechanical work. If you do it later you will probably damage the paint and or interior that you spent all that money on. Remove the engine and transmission to rebuild BOTH of them. Next is to check suspension parts and repair or replace what it needs. Do the brakes and lines etc. Clean and paint engine compartment, trunk and anything else you see fit in those areas. After you are satisfied with these areas, reinstall engine, trans, rebuilt drive shaft etc. Be sure and install a new torque converter with the transmission and also have the radiator cleaned or get a new one. If you try to get by using old or questionable parts, they WILL fail eventually and you will have to do the job all over. After the car is mechanically sound, then you can do the body and interior work. By all means start with a written schedule and check off each project as it is completed. A good restoration job will not be cheap, but will show your pride and sense of accomplishment, in the long run. Take your time and yes, you will make mistakes, believe me I've made plenty in 50yrs of working on cars. But don't get discouraged, think rationally and begin again. I think the best advise is to make it a fun project, not a monkey on your back type thing. Good luck and keep us informed on your progress.