Words: Tommy Parry Images: Glenn
There are some outlandish platforms chosen to make unique road course cars in the Pro Touring community, but the Maverick seems more appropriate for the purposes than most. It has the proportions and the aftermarket support, and it can trace a tidy line. It’s a fairly unconventional car, too, and so it can turn heads with its rarity and its elegant lines.
This particular Maverick spent most of its life in Alabama before its second owner relocated to Connecticut and wisely protected it in storage. With minimal exposure to the harsh Northeastern elements, Glenn was able to grab this Maverick - for free, mind you - in largely rust-free condition; only a bit of the quarter panels were rotted.
The budget theme of this build continued with an ‘89 Mustang II donor car with a flawless 5.0-liter engine and an AOD gearbox. The V8’s grunt was then sent via a Ford Motorsports aluminum driveshaft to a Maverick 8” rear end with axles, adorned by a set of of Cal-Trac bars and rear disc brakes. The rear end was supplied pro-bono by a buddy; thus far, Glenn hadn’t spent much on his new toy. In fact, the only dough Glenn dropped during the fledgling steps of this build was on a Mustang II-style front coilover setup from Rod & Custom Motorsports. Where handling is concerned, a wise builder shouldn’t skimp; it pays to spend on a Pro Tourer’s suspension setup.
The engine was in relatively decent shape, but after a closer inspection, Glenn’s machinist determined that all the cylinder walls needed a honing. He cut the crank by ten thousandths, installed new bearings and tacked on a set of freeze plugs. Glenn then installed GT40P heads, a Ford Racing E cam and a cheaply-obtained GT40 intake.
Once the car was up and mounted on the rotisserie, Glenn scraped, primered and painted the underside before he installed the Rod & Custom front end. Suddenly, it dawned on him that the big front crossmember wasn’t really necessary anymore. In the name of efficiency and light weight, Glenn fabbed up his own crossmember made of 2x2” square tubing - which he had vetted by his friend, a structural engineer.
He purchased a new steel reproduction tail panel to accommodate Shelby taillights from a ‘67-‘68 Mustang, which required a bit of tailoring to fit. Because the stock Mustang tail panel is concave where the Maverick is flat, Glenn had to cut, trim and slit the metal before hammering and dollying everything to make the transitions look near-factory.
Not content with the look of the factory Maverick front end, Glenn ordered a repro lower valance from a ‘69 Camaro and made the necessary tweaks. A chin spoiler underneath complements the car’s aggressive styling, controls airflow underneath the body, and adds some downforce for a little more turn-in speed.
Not happy with the stock dash, Glenn fabbed up new stainless gauge bezels and a custom indicator panel in his new dash. From left to right, the indicator reads: left turn signal, electric fan, driving light, gear indicators, engine light, high beam and right turn signal.
Then Glenn stripped the body, grinded down some of the welds and cleaned up the door jambs. With a Grabber ducktail spoiler in place, Glenn and his father prepped the body for primer and applied five coats.
At each of the four corners, a set of Engineering Components 13” disc brakes rest. The upside of these pieces is that they all use GM parts, but the downside is that they’re a little rough and not exactly show-ready from the factory. Therefore, Glenn had his work cut out sanding and painting the calipers, but they looked the business once sitting pretty underneath a pair of 17” wheels in front and 18” wheels at the rear.
Then he sprayed the dash in the same striking color and added a woodgrained Juliano’s billet wheel, which acts as the centerpiece in this busy cabin. For a more comfortable driving experience, Glenn added a layer of insulation before his upholsterer added black carpeting and houndstooth seats and door inserts.
Glenn’s finishing touches included an Edelbrock air cleaner, a Champion radiator and a coat of electric blue paint on both valve covers. A Flowmaster exhaust provides a fitting soundtrack.
Glenn started this with the intent of building a simple daily driver, adhering to a $5,000 budget, applying an eye-catching coat of paint and swapping in punchy-but-modest engine and transmission package. That all went sideways within the first thirty days when he ordered the custom front suspension. Planning a strict build for a passion project like this is a fool’s errand, anyway.
Over the course of this build, Glenn quintupled his budget and spent over 1,500 hours tweaking this ol’ Maverick to make an impact both at the car show and at the local autocross. However, with the quality of the finished product, those seem like mild hiccups that any builder would be thankful to endure.