
Turbocharged Maverick Made for Desert Runs
Words: Tommy Parry Images: Big Wig Race Cars The Ford Maverick doesn’t get much attention, but like that one slightly-awkward looking relative we all have gets a new wig, loses forty pounds, or gets a nose job, everyone takes notice. This is what happened when Lance Peltier took a rather Plain Jane Maverick and, while keeping with the straight-six theme, threw a controversial powerplant in the bay. Everyone familiar with modern imports knows the 2JZ-GTE out of the Toyota Supra. Capable of making 1,000 horsepower with some modification, the three-liter six is a favorite among dragsters and road racers alike. In this case, Peltier built this Maverick to attack the famous Highway 341 outside of Virginia City, Nevada. The daunting course has claimed some massively expensive Ferraris in a bold man’s quest to see who’s quickest over a stretch of closed, public highway. Before Peltier could ship his car off to Nevada, he received the bare frame back in Austin and went to work on the suspension. With help from Hi Tech Motorsports, he threw a Mustang II front end on, to which he mated QA1 coilovers. In the rear, a custom four-link setup with QA1 coilovers and a Ford 9” Positrack with 3.89 gears and 31-spline axles from Mark Williams try to put the immense torque of the turbocharged motor down to the ground cleanly. Of course, that power would go to waste if it weren’t for some quality rubber underneath. For strong traction and front-end bite, Peltier took a set of Forgeline S03 wheels measuring 18X10.5” in front and 18X12” in the rear, and wrapped them in pricey, super-sticky Toyo Proxes R888. That combo ought to be enough to harness the brutal delivery of the 67mm turbocharger.
There’s a Ford 6 cylinder capable of making that power, I’d rather have seen him use that engine and it’s probably less expensive to boot.
P.S. He couldn’t have “received a bare frame back”, the Maverick doesn’t have a frame it’s a unibody car.
That’s NOT a liquid/air intercooler.
My first car was a Mercury Comet, which shares the Maverick platform. It’s hard to imagine a WORSE-HANDLING car to start a build from. LOL
I also think the Ford Ecoboost V6 would’ve been a much more interesting, and equally capable powerplant for this project.