John Mata Jr. September 29, 2023 Drive Online
While you may have already seen your fair share of customized Ford Mavericks already, we guarantee you haven’t seen one quite like this yet. The Maverick has taken the custom truck scene by storm as it stands as the official return of the mini-truck in the new vehicle market.
As of now, it truly is the lone, new-small-truck out there, and that fact has not gone unnoticed by those who have had a lifelong penchant for minis. Along with its miniature stature among a field of mid- and full-size pickups, the MSRP on the Maverick is quite affordable—something that has not been easy to say about most other pickups at dealerships as of late. With its unibody design, great styling, and fuel-efficient engine options, the Maverick was a masterful addition to the Ford truck lineup in a time when it was needed most.
One facet about the Maverick that is still catching up to the hype among those who have purchased one in hopes to customize it is the aftermarket’s offerings of available parts and accessories. Of course, there are wheels that fit its hubs and some bolt-ons to change up the OEM façade, but to truly make one of these new trucks unique, a great deal of hands-on fabrication work must be done.
Adam Edwards of Bald Knob, Arkansas, understood this assignment, and he was down to put some work into the ’22 Maverick that he had recently purchased. Adam is a veteran in the auto body game and already had some ideas in mind to give his truck the tweaks necessary to stand out from the crowd.
First on the list of things to address was the Maverick’s factory chassis. Adam envisioned this truck absolutely slammed, and to do just that, the front upper frame rails and strut towers were replaced and lifted 4 inches. A problem did arise when trying to get his hands on the left upper frame rail, however. It was placed on backorder at the time when Adam needed it, and it still may be, but to save time and frustration, he created his own by sectioning and splicing a right side rail to mimic a left side. With the addition of Air Lift universal air struts at the front and Slam Specialties ‘bags at the rear, along with Viair compressors and a 3H air management system, Adam’s Mav was soon resting in the weeds.
While you may have already seen your fair share of customized Ford Mavericks already, we guarantee you haven’t seen one quite like this yet.
To get the back end to jibe well with the fresh suspension alterations, the rear hubs had to be modified by raising them 3 inches and moving them 2.5 inches back. This gave Adam just enough space to mount a set of four 22×8.5 Dropstars wheels along with 245/30ZR22 Versatyre rubber. While the wheel/tire combo does fit, Adam reports some rubbing at extreme, full-lock turns that could easily be alleviated by running 7.5-inch wide wheels, which he just may very well do in time. For now, he just allows himself extra space during turning and cornering when he’s out for a joyride.
With the Maverick laying low and rolling smoothly, it was now time to get started on the exterior metalwork. What Adam had in mind would make it unlike any other Mav to date. To do this, he sectioned the unibody bedsides to give them the appearance that the truck is equipped with a separate cab and bed. While some casual onlookers may not even notice or care about a body mod this subtle, it is pretty damn cool to those who pay attention to details of this caliber and those who were on the fence about liking this model pickup because of its unibody design. Adam pretty much reimagined what the Maverick could look like if Ford had manufactured it differently, and that just has to be appreciated.
To push the redesign even further, Adam then added some paintwork to the grille and light lenses, color-matched the bumpers, and recruited Brandon McCoy at Gooch Customs to add some killer graphics to the bottom half of both sides of the truck. The dose of color and styling is sparingly tasteful as to not detract from the overall smooth flow the Mav had going for it up to this point.
The outer appearance was spot on with what Adam wanted, and his plans for the interior were about to be rolled out to meet his standards. Local shops Sew ‘n Sew Upholstery and Audio Envy teamed up complete a full color change inside of the cab while upgrading the vibe of the otherwise boring factory interior space. Roadwire diamond-stitch black leather covers were utilized to dress up the seats, and matching panel inserts and a full headliner were also cooked up for an all-encompassing diamond stitch theme throughout the cabin.
Because Adam was looking forward to increasing the output of the truck’s sound system, a wide array of Db Drive/Euphoria audio components were gathered and a one-off sub box was put together to stash underneath the rear bench seat. While the amps and wiring have also been tucked away behind the seat, Audio Envy created a custom amp rack and displayed the wiring in a clean, attractive fashion just to know that no shortcut was taken—every detail was given proper attention.
Adam pretty much reimagined what the Maverick could look like if Ford had manufactured it differently, and that just has to be appreciated.
You may encounter a custom Maverick or two during your travels to shows this season, but you may want to refer back to this one here to appreciate just how much planning and effort was sunk into making it look so effortlessly cool. Adam was looking to create a prime example of the newest advanced-level customized mini-truck out there. While we’d have to say that this exact truck is at the head of the pack at this point in time, hopefully there will soon be more to follow to challenge this statement. That is not for the sake of direct competition, but in the spirit of pushing the boundaries on a truck that is this fresh to builders, fabricators and fanatics alike.
TRUCK SPECS
OWNER
Adam Edwards
Bald Knob, AR
2022 Ford Maverick
Freaks of Nature
ENGINE & DRIVETRAIN
CHASSIS & SUSPENSION
WHEELS, TIRES, & BRAKES
BODY & PAINT
INTERIOR & STEREO
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