But so were a lot of steaks and some entertaining trips to the trash can. By the time the Spectre/HOT ROD crew was coherent the next day, it seemed totally implausible to make mere backup runs to break into the 14s. Not when you've got a tempting 71 nitrous jet just sitting there bored in the toolbox. We dressed up that sucker for action. Clark tuned like a madman, keyboard smoking.
We were rebuked for our greed. With ambient temps at 110-plus, even the 175hp nitrous spray would not get us into the 14s. The stock bottom end might have had something to do with it, too. After the first 175hp hit, Clark noted that idle vacuum had dropped a bit. If he'd looked away from the computer screen, then the oil dripping from the tailpipe might have hinted at the same thing. Not that a dead ring land ever stopped anyone seeking the path to glory. Nope. More timing. A bit less fuel. The tune was flawless-air/fuel ratios of 11.5-11.7, in fact, right up to the very moment that the air-inlet temp went from 85 degrees, thanks to all the ice in the airbox, and shot to the sensor limit of 250 degrees. That was probably due to the piston fire finding its way out the grille the hard way.
Our little buddy was dead, the last terminal victim of Los Angeles County Raceway. And that, friends, was its single most glorious moment.
With the Big Boy shot in it and fingers crossed, the Mav left hard, then blew away the tire (yes, one). Then it went bang. Big bang. Chad Reynolds coasted to the side of the track and developed a new best friend in track owner Bernie Longjohn. | 
How bad was it? This plug was from the worst cylinder, but four others were nearly as bad. Almost all the pushrods were bent, and a few pistons came apart. HRM | 
Here's the original one-barrel Autolite carb (right) and the K-car throttle body. The K-car flange differs from the Ford's, so an adapter was cut from a scrap of aluminum. An easier route would be to modify an adapter meant for a two-barrel Holley carb. Classic Inlines has them for $45. |
Once bolted on with a custom gasket cut from standard cork material, it's amazing how much at home the Chrysler throttle body looked on the Ford six. | 
The EFI fuel system used an external fuel pump from a '90 Ford E-350 van and a generic $10 filter from Pep Boys. The stock Maverick vapor-canister line was used as fuel return to the tank. The eMS-Pro needs an oxygen sensor, but the Spectre kit doesn't include one, so a wide-band kit from Innovate Motorsports was used. | 
The new dual-collector header was really neat. It's just one goody among a full line of six-cylinder speed parts from Mike Winterboer of Classic Inlines. He may even set the Mavinator up with a turbo stroker six for HOT ROD Drag Week(tm). Maybe. |
Bone stock except for the throttle-body EFI conversion, the '70 Maverick with its 200ci six, C4 trans, and 2.something:1 rear gears ran 19.8-second quarter-mile passes. Weak! | | |
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