Jo-Han Maverick-Dyno Don's Ride

[mustang1989]

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 want to know what it goes for these days....WOW!!) 




The Subject:

 

[Snake45]

Very cool project! At some point I'm gonna have to build one of DD's Mavericks. I might chicken out and do the car that was briefly in overall red with little lettering. 

[Mark]

Don't quote me on this, but I'm pretty sure the Jo-Han decal sheet (unused ones can be found on eBay) has the white area around the side panels.  There might be a Slixx sheet for this car too, if so it will probably have everything.

[magicmustang]

Yep, Slixx decals, built 12 years ago. Yeah, I know this is a Johan Comet, but I wouldn't pay the price for a Maverick. 

Edited December 18, 2019 by magicmustang

[cobraman]

I sure would love to see that kit back on the shelves.

[mustang1989]

I actually found a sheet on ebay. Gonna give these a go....

[mustang1989]

7 hours ago, Snake45 said:

Very cool project! At some point I'm gonna have to build one of DD's Mavericks. I might chicken out and do the car that was briefly in overall red with little lettering. 

Thanks Rich. I was on the fence about which one I wanted to build as there are a few different options out there but this one looked pretty "safe" to me. 

 

4 hours ago, Mark said:

Don't quote me on this, but I'm pretty sure the Jo-Han decal sheet (unused ones can be found on eBay) has the white area around the side panels.  There might be a Slixx sheet for this car too, if so it will probably have everything.

I've gotta get the name of the fella that I ordered the set that I do have from . I didn't see this set on Slixx the other day when I looked. Thanks for your help though Mark. 

[mustang1989]

3 hours ago, magicmustang said:

Yep, Slixx decals, built 12 years ago. Yeah, I know this is a Johan Comet, but I wouldn't pay the price for a Maverick. 

 

That Maverick looks pretty dang good Gerald! 

1 hour ago, cobraman said:

I sure would love to see that kit back on the shelves.

You and me both Ray.

[W-409]

I've been drooling these Jo-Han Mavericks for years, you're correct about the prices, they are really high... Glad to see one that's going to be built rather than just sitting on the stash collecting dust. Can't wait to see how it turns out.

[mustang1989]

18 minutes ago, W-409 said:

I've been drooling these Jo-Han Mavericks for years, you're correct about the prices, they are really high... Glad to see one that's going to be built rather than just sitting on the stash collecting dust. Can't wait to see how it turns out.

Thanks Niko!! There's no way that I can let this one just sit there. I guess I could always get the money for it but I couldn't charge as much as what I've seen 'em go for. I've got more of a conscience than that. 

[Snake45]

Somebody does the Maverick in resin, I forget who. But I just saw it online a couple or three weeks ago. IIRC they also have a 4-door version. 

[Khils]

12 minutes ago, Snake45 said:

Somebody does the Maverick in resin, I forget who. But I just saw it online a couple or three weeks ago. IIRC they also have a 4-door version. 

I gotcha covered Snake.....Southernmotor sports......Ronnie Setzers....user name on the bay .....raceminded.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/SMH-Resins-1971-Maverick-Grabber-resin/202652976445?hash=item2f2f0f053d:g:eCAAAOSwj61csg3F

Edited December 19, 2019 by Khils

[tbusch]

They also have a website with lots of other resins. Here is their page with the 4 door Maverick. Purchased the Colt a couple of months ago, for future project.  http://stores.smhracing.com/smh-resins/?sort=featured&page=11

[mustang1989]

1 hour ago, Snake45 said:

Somebody does the Maverick in resin, I forget who. But I just saw it online a couple or three weeks ago. IIRC they also have a 4-door version. 

 

1 hour ago, Khils said:

I gotcha covered Snake.....Southernmotor sports......Ronnie Setzers....user name on the bay .....raceminded.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/SMH-Resins-1971-Maverick-Grabber-resin/202652976445?hash=item2f2f0f053d:g:eCAAAOSwj61csg3F

Very cool. I ran across that once but had forgotten about it.

[mustang1989]

Welp…..about all I've got left to do on the General Lee build is to paint the hood. So...….while I'm waiting on the paint to dry to start wet sanding that.....I've started on the Maverick. Chopped up the Mustang chassis and will have to shorten it around 5/16" to get the length right and to move the front tires where I'll want 'em at. I've cut up the back end of the chassis and removed the transmission "hump" to allow the OOB Maverick interior to slide into place alright. Test fit of where I'm at right now. Still gotta move the rear tires inwards a little bit and re-attach the shortened front subrame back to the chassis.

 

Edited December 26, 2019 by mustang1989

[mustang1989]

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.

Edited January 4, 2020 by mustang1989

[Codi]

Joe, I KNEW there was a reason I started on the engine first on my build.  This is a great tutorial on the areas that need addressed on this kit and I really like the way you're addressing them.  Thanks and I look forward to your progress, you're off to a flying start.  cheers, tim

[mustang1989]

Thanks Tim. Wait'll you get to the chassis. There's LOTS of work to do there. Hopefully I can get back on this one tomorrow morning.

[Brudda]

On 12/18/2019 at 5:21 AM, mustang1989 said:

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 want to know what it goes for these days....WOW!!) 




The Subject:

 

Oh YEAH!!!! Great subject!!!

[mustang1989]

Thanks Bruce. Been working on the chassis/ suspension and have got the rear tires positioned inwards a bit to look more the part. Will post pictures in the coming days.

[slusher]

Great. Start and subject, Joe!

[mustang1989]

On 1/8/2020 at 11:52 PM, slusher said:

Great. Start and subject, Joe!

Thanks Carl.

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. Just gotta work on getting a better set of wheels and a little bit smaller tires up front. I think I've got the tires in the stash somewhere though.

[Brutalform]

What a big improvement your work on the frame rails did for the rear tires. 
 

Looking real good so far. 

[mustang1989]

5 hours ago, Brutalform said:

What a big improvement your work on the frame rails did for the rear tires. 
 

Looking real good so far. 

Thanks Tom! I appreciate you droppin' in man. Still working on a lot of the suspension over the next few days.

[Roadrunner]

This is going to look sweet, Joe, about that I have no doubt.