I haven’t done a race car in I don’t know how long but I’ve had this Jo-Han Maverick in my stash for a couple of years and wanted to build it but didn’t know what theme I was going with until I saw Don Nicholson’s ride. I knew right away that I HAD to build it…and so…along with my re-intro here I’ll give this my best shot.
The kit (I bought this kit a couple of years back for $50…you don’t EVEN want to know what it goes for these days…WOW!!)
The Subject:
I am thrilled that you are getting back to this one my friend. That is a totally boss build subject. I’m in attendance with a front row seat.
[dto:]
T e d
Way, way-cool subject!
I actually had the chance to meet and shake hands with ‘Dyno Don’ at an event at Oswego Drag Raceway (“Where the Great Ones run-n-n-n…”) in Illinois in the early 1970s. Had always been one of my favorite drivers, so for me it was like getting to meet one of the Beatles. [:D] Seemed a very intense but approachable and down-to-earth guy. A great memory!
Needless to say, I look forward to following your project!
wow that brings me way back… some tough pastic, I miss those kits. Im getting back in to the swing of things I’ll be watching this one.
Ha! Me too. [:)]
Looking forward to it. I triple dog dare you to do something factory stock next time lol.
Hey Bro, I forgot to ask what size engine are you dropping in this beauty?
Thanks for following along and commenting fellas.
Joe: It’ll be a Boss 429. Funny you should ask as I just got the engine in the mail Friday.
Oh, now that is pure sweetness. That will be…well…BOSS!!!
Thanks Joe!
The chassis has undergone extensive modification in the last couple of weeks. Initially I was headed in a direction with the rear suspension that just wasn’t looking right but have since made some changes. First off the front subframe area was shortened by 5/16 of an inch which looked ok but I had to acquire another Mustang kit in order to cut the rear frame rails from it to use in bringing both frame rails further inside to allow those rear slicks to further UNDER the car like the reference shot.
Before:
And after repositioning the rear frame rails:
Before the chassis mods the rear tires were just hanging out there waaaay too far:
This will be alot better. Gotta get the ride height correct for the rear as well as in the front but that shouldn’t be much of a problem. I’ve also got some better wheels inbound which should help this build out ALOT.
That is some excellent modification you have pulled off there my friend. I really do marvel at your talent for altering chassis’ and suspension for achieving a stance you want.
Thanks Joe!! I may have located the wheels that I want. We’ll see.
I didn’t like the interior much on this kit. For one…I cannot STAND molded in foot pedals and I don’t care for the ejector pin marks in all four corners of the flooring either. And they are like in painfully obvious and highly visible places. It’s not “correct” but I had to modify the rear of the interior to move those slicks further inboard so they don’t protrude outside of the rear fenders all crazy looking. I also had to modify the rear of the chassis alot (which I am still working on) for the same reason. Secondly, this kit is severely lacking in detail so I’m hoping to improve on that as time goes along here.
A shot showing the OOB molded in pedals and flooring.
another shot showing the interior mods a little clearer:(as well as those nasty ejector pin marks):
We start the mod process by sawing off the foot board/ lower firewall area of the interior:
and then after the new Evergreen floor and lower firewall area were cut to fit and moved into place. There…much better.
Tremendous scratch work Joe. You will definitely have yourself a much nicer looking interior when all is said and done.
Mustang,
That is some good work going on there and you’re going to do that classic kit justice. However, the engine you have is incorrect for this car. When you posted pics of the 429, the old gray matter got jarred and started thinking that the early pro-stock Fords used 351’s rather than big blocks. Turns out, this car was powered by a 427 SOHC with a rudimentary high rise/tunnel ram style manifold. It survives today in a relatively unmolested form. Here is link to a couple of period pics
https://www.hotrod.com/articles/vintage-dyno-don-nicholson-pix-1972-pro-stock-maverick/
and here is a link to the Mecum auction site from when it was up for auction in 2012
https://www.mecum.com/lots/FL0112-121252/1970-ford-maverick/
Hope this helps and look forward to watching it come together.
A SOHC motor. OOF, that’s gonna take some looking to find a kit that has one of those. Very cool info there. A hundred years ago when I worked for Ford dealers in the parts dept, we had a set of NOS SOHC valve covers come through, this was in the 90s, those were huge money.
BK
Brandon-a good source for a SOHC Ford are the AMT Willys kits and the AMT Ohio George Montgomery Ohio Gasser Mustang-will need to make/find a tunnel ram & carbs but then you’ve got everything you need for a gasser!
Also a source are some of the Model King reissues. The loong oop IMC/Testors 48 Ford Convertible is also a source as well (but not cheap). Bob has provided the easiest sources though.
How did I miss this? HOW DID I MISS THIS???
Watching this one for sure! Brilliant surgery on the frame rails.