Maverick

Make
Ford
Segment
Sports Car

It's safe to say the Maverick has been a smash hit for Ford. Not only is it popular amongst ordinary people who want a smaller truck, but it's also turning out to be a working-class hero.

As you'd expect, owners modify their trucks to make them stand out from the thousands Ford has sold. These modifications range from exhaust upgrades to a simple exterior design upgrade to give it that old-school late 1970s to early 80s look.

The Maverick you see here is a good example. It belongs to TestDrivenTV, and they've modified the exterior using Ford's famous but defunct Free Wheelin' Package as inspiration.

As the presenter, Sam Haymart, says, "your either going to love it or hate it." We're on the love side. A light blue Maverick with old-school decals and white steelies just works.

Haymart mentions the Bronco Sport Free Wheelin' Concept as the main inspiration, but even that car was inspired by the graphics upgrade offered on most models during the late '70s and early '90s.

Haymart's shirt inspired the colors chosen for this specific Maverick. It is an old shirt, dating back to the same era. The stripes you see on the car were not custom-made but instead made up of various vinyl rolls. The vinyl itself has a ten-year lifecycle.

Haymart did the design in photoshop and cut the vinyl by hand. As you can imagine, the entire process took a few weeks to complete.

The same graphics are also applied to the hood. Haymart also mentions how the vinyl is cut around the edges of the car and the door handles. He went for an OEM look as if the Free Wheelin' Package is still available straight from the factory. Haymart also applied a white stripe to the grille to break up the black and tie in with the rest of the colors.

While the pieces of vinyl are fantastic, the steelies are ice-cold. We're so happy steelies are making a comeback. The final part of the design is the Maverick name on the back, finished in white.

All in all, the vinyl and white paint for the wheels cost $300. That does not include the time spent on the car, but it's a pretty cheap upgrade you can do if you have the know-how.