At the ripe, old age of 18, Mike Copeland walked into his local Ford dealership on a mission. His goal was to buy the lightest Ford that came with a V8, and for that model year the Maverick was what fulfilled that criterion. "I bought it new in 1974," Mike recalls. At that point in time, anything with a V8 was a former shadow of itself when it came to performance. The oil crisis of 1973, stricter government regulations, and rising insurance rates had put the last nail in the coffin of the muscle-car era. That didn't really bother the die-hard racers, and Mike certainly fell into that category. He explains, "I picked up the Maverick on a Thursday afternoon and drove it home from the dealer and installed wheels and tires on it. I took it to Milan Dragway that Sunday and ran 16.50s." The Maverick wasn't his first rodeo when it came to racing. Behind him was a 1970 big-block Torino and a 1973 Mach I Mustang that he regularly drag-raced. He was accustomed to running respectable times, so a 16.50 didn't set his world on fire. In one swift, warranty-killing move, he pulled the driveline out of the car and installed a four-speed, 9-inch rear with 4.44 gears and a 289 hi-po from a donor 1965 Mustang. Delays in getting engine parts and a set of headers for the 289 forced him to pull it out and drop the stock 302 back in. With the four-speed and a new rear, it ran 15.50s. Once the parts showed up, no time was wasted in putting the 289 back together. It had a big cam and a Paxton supercharger off of a Shelby—a combination that dropped his times down into the 11.70 range. That configuration lasted a few weeks until the engine swallowed a valve at eight grand and was destroyed.

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A few grenaded small-blocks later, Mike decided to install a 351 Cleveland with a set of homemade headers. With a four-barrel carburetor and a set of 9-inch slicks, it clocked consistent 13.50 passes. That lasted for about a month until it, too, began to get hopped up. Part of that involved the installation of a set of JR Headers, which meant that some surgery was needed on the shock towers. Mike's family was extremely supportive of his endeavors—they were all diehard Ford fans—so when some welding was needed, Mike's dad, Bobby, came to the rescue with a blowtorch and a wire coat hanger and performed the welding duties. Wrenching and racing was a family affair.

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At the end of 1975, Mike tied the knot and reality quickly set in when he realized that the monthly car payment was unsustainable. The end result was that it was sent to a new home. He sold it to a close friend who kept it for about 10 years, but never did anything with it. When he sold the Maverick, Mike lost track of it. "I looked for it for a long time, but never found it." In 2011, while surfing on Craigslist, he spotted an ad for a 1973 Maverick with a 351 Cleveland and a four-speed. There was a small photo with the listing and he was sure that was his car. "I called, but no one answered," he says. "I called back the next night and his wife told me that the car had been sold. I told her that I was the original owner, and asked if she could have her husband call me. He called the next night and we talked about the car. It sounded almost exactly the same as when I sold it 35 years earlier." He eventually spoke to the new owner, and after numerous back-and-forth negotiations, an agreement was reached to sell the car back to him. When it returned, it only had 4,900 miles on the odometer and was almost in the same condition as the day he sold it. It was still wearing the original tires that came with it at the rear.

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Back home after all those years, it was immediately parked and fully disassembled. It sat for the next five years while he gathered up the parts to rebuild and restore it. Mechanically, much of what came on the car was retained, right down to the 351 Cleveland block, scattershield, and four-speed. His goal was to put it back together like he would have done in 1974 if he had the necessary skills and money at the time. At one point, he came across a Boss 429 that he toyed with the idea of dropping into the Maverick's engine bay, but it would have meant cutting out the shock towers—they had to stay. They were part of the car's history, and a direct link to his father. One thing that did change was the removal of the federally mandated front and rear safety bumpers, which were replaced with the thinner units found on the 19701972 models.

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In December 2015, after months of work on the car, a fresh coat of Grabber Blue was finally laid down with the goal to debut it at the 2016 Detroit Autorama. Mike fondly remembers, "I drove it into Autorama in March. It had been over 35 years since I had driven it. As soon as I shifted to Second gear, I was 18 again." Those kinds of memories are priceless, even if they are decades in the making.

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Tech Notes

Who: Mike Copeland

What: 1974 Ford Maverick

Where: Brighton, MI

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Engine:

The foundation for the engine in the Maverick originates with the original 351 that Mike installed back in 1974, but with the rebuild, he decided to up the horsepower by stroking it to 408 ci. On the bottom end, a Scat forged-steel crankshaft was installed along with Scat 6.200 H-beam connecting rods and Scat 12:1 forged pistons. On the top-end, Mike added a set of Trick Flow PowerPort 225 cylinder heads and a solid-roller camshaft.

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Induction:

Fuel delivery was kept straightforward with a Trick Flow Track Heat intake manifold and a Holley 950-cfm Ultra HP carburetor. An Aeromotive Phantom fuel pump does the feeding.

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Electronics:

Sparking the engine to life comes from an MSD Pro Billet distributor and an MSD 6AL ignition box with analog circuitry. This is a limited-edition box to mark the company's 40th anniversary. Each box is individually numbered and limited to only 4,000 units.

Fuel:

In the mid-1970s, Mike was using aviation fuel that he would buy at the local airport. It was rated at 105 octane. With the restoration of the car, he now uses Sunoco Standard leaded with a 110-octane rating, which is sold at his business.

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Transmission:

Keepings things as original as possible, the Ford Top Loader close-ratio four-speed is still the same one Mike installed out of the Mustang back in 1974, along with the original scattershield. Over the years, it was refreshed a number of times and, as part of the restoration, it was again given a full rebuild at his shop, Diversified Creations. They installed a Centerforce Dual Friction clutch, but kept it old school with the original vintage Mr. Gasket vertical gate shifter.

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Rearend:

The rearend was a deviation from the car's previous life. When he got it back, it still had the 289 Ford hi-po housing in place. Mike knew he was going to be producing more power, so he had Moser build him a new rear for the car. They put together a narrowed Ford 9-inch 35-spline posi rear with 4.10:1 gears.

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Chassis/Suspension:

The front suspension consists of Moroso front springs and Competition Engineering adjustable shocks. The rear also uses Competition Engineering adjustable shocks and Eaton rear springs. Mike also added frame connectors early on in the Maverick's life and a set of Lakewood traction bars that were a gift from his mother back in 1974.

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Brakes:

When Mike purchased the Maverick, it had drum brakes at all four corners. That was the same drum setup that was on it when he got it back 35 years later. With the rebuild, he decided not to live on the edge, so he installed Baer dual-piston calipers with 12-inch rotors at the front and Baer dual-piston calipers with 11-inch rotors at the rear.

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Wheels/Tires:

The wheels on the Maverick are a throwback to the early 1970s: magnesium Motor Wheels "Flys." The company got out of the racing business in the mid-1970s, so finding a complete set in decent shape today is quite difficult—and expensive. Mike found the rear set locally on Craigslist within a week of getting the car back. They measure 15x10 inches and have been wrapped in 28x11.50 15LT Mickey Thompson ET Street tires. The front set took him more than three years to locate and were an eBay purchase. They measure 15x3.5 inches and wear Coker Pro-Trac 15x5.60 tires.

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Paint/Body:

The body was placed on a rotisserie for the restoration. It still retains all of its original sheetmetal, with only minor dents and dings needing to be repaired. The rear fenderwells were rolled to accommodate larger rubber, a Boss 429 hoodscoop was added, and a small-bumper conversion was executed. Kiefer Automotive in Howell, MI, laid down the Grabber Blue PPG paint.

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Interior:

The interior is mostly stock. Mike spent a fair amount of time tracking down new-old-stock material to recover the 1972 Cougar seats and headliner. CNS Stitch Works in Brighton, MI, did all the upholstery work, while the six-point rollbar and five-point RaceQuip belts were installed at Mike's shop. An AutoMeter dash-mounted tach and Stewart Warner water temperature and oil pressure gauges round out the interior modifications.