'89 Ford Maverick - to one day be referred to as BarraMav

G'day Guys,

I am new to the forum and have been browsing around at most of your rigs and thought I would start my own build thread.

Bought it around November 2019 from a German couple who needed to sell it quite quickly to fund their trip to their next destination around the globe so I got it for quite a steal at $2750. The couple had used it for a trip through the red centre from WA and so it was filthy when they sold it to me.

Its a 1989 Ford Maverick with the TB42S in Auto. Done 318k and waa at one stage on dual fuel, but at some stage had the tank ripped out, but everything else remained.

Here is a pic right after I purchased it:
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This is how the previous owners lived in it whilst travelling:
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And this is after an initial clean:
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Intent is to make a fun camping/weekend warrior/mild tourer with a NA 4.0 Barra in it. I have one which I picked up for $50 which I am in the middle of rebuilding and learning lots along the way. Not sure if this will be the engine I use, but it will definately be used to mock up the engine mount placement etc.

Awesome mate, welcome aboard and good luck, sounds like fun!

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After emptying everything out and giving it a bit of a clean, I decided that the first thing I was going to modify was the bulbar, I don't know why, I just really didn't like the state of it and decided I could modify it a little and make it better.

It appears to have once been a TJM alloy bar, but been very poorly painted.

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First, I went about removing the little guard at the base of it as it wasn't very aesthetically pleasing.

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I then got rid of all the crappy paint with a wire wheel and got it ready for polishing and painting.

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I used an etch primer and then used a gunmetal grey hammer textured paint which was quite close to the grey on the base of the vehicle.

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I am actually quite pleased with it!

Next job I decided to tackle was the flooring which was covered in dirt, mouldy food, and random things. It took a few cans of degreaser and much soap, but finally got it to a state where I was ready to sand, rust proof and then prime and paint.

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This is the drivers footwell, thankfully it was all just dirt and surface rust in the end.

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I used a rust converter and sealer on the worse bits of surface rust.

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I then coated everything in a couple cans of Wattyl Kill Rust Heavy Duty Primer.

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And finished with a couple cans of Wattyl Kill Rust White which happened to be quite close to the white tint of the car.

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It was then ready for sound deadening.

Went with the Ping Jing Butyl sound deadening and the Jing Ping closed cell foam over the top. Got it from Southside Car Audio online, bloke was very reasonable.

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Then purchased a set of vinyl flooring from trufit which was quite a pain in the arse to fit, but it looks much better. You'll also see I found some rear seats.

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Decided I would next move onto creating a second battery tray for under the bonnet. I could not justify spending any more than $50 for this, so I made it myself and to be honest I am pretty happy with the result. I didn't need to drill any new holes, just used mounting holes already there.

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Next I decided to sort out the suspension. I know I should have waiting to do this last after I had a better understanding of how much load I would be carrying, but the shocks were shot and I had a pretty good idea of what I would be carrying so I went with the Ironman Foam Cell Pro kit and had to get King Springs as Ironman switched to the heinous new green springs. I also opted for adjustable sway bar links and offset radius arm bushes.

Went for some 285/75r 16 Hankook Dynapro MTs
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Spring comparison
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Shock comparison
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All installed
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Found these at the Canberra 4x4 and camping show earlier on in the year and just had to have them. Fan Boi much?

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Looking great Bojordan!
I like the way you’re going about your build.
I also like the way you’re embracing the Ford badge 👍🏻
I’ve had many people refer to my Mav as a “Pat-rick” or just a “Fraud” (as opposed to Ford). I celebrate the history and Australian story of our Patrols wearing Ford badges.

Yes apologies, I have been quite slack. Still doing many things and taking plenty of photos, just haven't written it up. Since my last post, I modified a Ford Territory cargo barrier that I picked up for free and turned it into a half barrier for the Mav. Don't look too closely at the welds. Used some old awning mounts for the mounts and added some weight lightening speed holes haha. Still needs painting and bottom mounts fabricated.

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Also did some more with the drawers including creating dividers and designing the kitchen side which fortunately just opens with the left barn door open as I had hoped.

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Finally, think I have found a solid donor for the barra swap. Picked it up for $600 ($950 after fees and delivery) from a pickles auction. It is meant to be delivered tomorrow so I will give it a once over and see if she has a good brain (ECU) and heart (motor) suitable for the Mav.

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