2022 Ford Maverick – An Old-School Inspired Modern Mini Truck

The thinkers and doers at Ford knew exactly what they were doing when they introduced their new Maverick compact pickup. 

I wanted to create a modern day mini-truck with the spirit of the old days.  

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter

First off, this truck is affordable—which is a huge bonus when compared to the high cost of trucks in both the new and used segments right now. For all intents and purposes, we will consider the Maverick to be the lone mini-truck in the new vehicle marketplace. It is smartly targeted toward a new, youthful audience in a refreshing way, and rightly so. While the true mini-trucks of the past proved to be a valuable tool of the working class, they also presented adventure-seeking young folks a decently priced vehicle that could keep up with their active lifestyles.

Little did Ford realize, however, that with the release of a smaller-sized pickup would come truck customizers looking to be the first on the block to cut into their new Maverick. With some hesitation, we think this pint-sized pickup could help rekindle a mini-truck revolution. That’s exactly how Kenneth McCay of Terrrell, Texas, looked at the Maverick, anyway. He saw not only the value and utility Ford’s latest pickup to hit the streets, but he also envisioned a golden opportunity to build something that nobody had yet to see.

“I wanted to create a modern day mini-truck with the spirit of the old days,” Kenneth says. “I figured I could fully customize it in six weeks or so while only spending a total of $40K, which is includes the price of the Maverick itself.”

Now, that’s that kind of math we can get on board with. Kenneth broke down the new elements he was looking to add to the truck, and he figured that there was no way to beat that price for a brand new, built-to-order pickup anywhere else. All he had to do was figure out which talented local shops he could trust to help get the job done.

Phase 1: More Pep

The first phase of the Maverick’s modification process was geared to get a little more pep out of its 2.0L EcoBoost engine. To promote better breathing abilities, the truck travelled to BC Raceworks in Houston where a cold air intake was installed as well as a stainless cat-back exhaust system. While the additions won’t give the Maverick huge power gains, every extra pony counts!

Phase 2: How Low?

Next, Kenneth wanted to lower his new Ford truck. NTX All-Terrain from Forney, Texas, came to assist him. The crew was ready and excited to work on their very first Maverick. To achieve a much more aggressive stance, the upper strut towers were cut and raised by 3 inches, and Chassis Tech front air struts and rear 2500 ‘bags were brought in to give the Maverick the gift of adjustable suspension height. This was clutch in making for a lasting impression with a first-year model truck in the show field.

To complete the look of the chassis alteration, a set of 20-inch MSR wheels complement the truck’s suspension drop with a dramatically sportier appearance.

Phase 3: Aesthetic Upgrades

With the Ford Maverick performing better and sitting lower, it was high time to improve the overall looks of Kenneth’s new truck. To make this happen, a Legacy sliding ragtop was added for a truly nostalgic custom feature to the roof. Since the truck didn’t require much in the way of bodywork, Kenneth sought out Charles Buster Jr. of Buster’s Automotive in Forney, Texas, to focus on cooking up a commanding paint scheme for the Maverick.

The factory Iconic Silver color was nice enough to leave as-is, but Kenneth figured it was a good idea to double down on it by color matching the bumpers, bed caps, mirrors, door handles, and Air Design fender flares in the same hue—keep in mind, this wasn’t the exciting portion of the paint process.

The multi-color tribal graphics lined up for both sides of the truck, as well as some lettering work on the rear section proved to be the attention grabbing part of the paintjob. Utilizing various House of Kolor paints, Charles masked off and laid down an incredible layering of shapes and color selections that really pops off the muted silver background. To give the truck an extra degree of show worthiness, LED Glow under carriage lights were wired up to draw even more attention to the Maverick’s flashy new façade.

Phase 4: Diamond Details

To bring the similar element of flash to the interior, Kenneth reached out to Texas Seats of Seagoville, Texas, to recover the factory seats in blue and gray leather upholstery with an eye-grabbing diamond stitch pattern.

There may be some more modifications made to the Maverick before too long, but Kenneth can claim to be one of, if not the very first to build to build a modern mini truck that stays true to the approach of the good old days.  

Knowing that he had to keep up with the tradition of a booming sound system worthy of a real OG mini-truck, Kenneth asked NTX Audio Innovations to wire up a full sound system comprising of nothing but Alpine components. A total of four 12-inch subs were planted in the bed, two 10-inch subs were placed under the rear seats, and an entire network of upgraded speakers as well as two amps, three batteries and a Hertz processor were assembled for an unforgettable audio experience when cruising from show to show.

Before he knew it, Kenneth was rolling hard in a customized brand new truck for a lot less than a low-end, basic mid- or full-size truck model on the market. “Don’t ever be scared to cut up a new truck”, he says. “Just make sure that if you can’t do the job right, find someone you can trust to help out.”

There may be some more modifications made to the Maverick before too long, but Kenneth can claim to be one of, if not the very first to build to build a modern mini truck that stays true to the approach of the good old days.

TRUCK SPECS

 Owner 

Kenneth McCay 

• 2022 Ford Maverick 
• Terrell, TX 
• Acrophobia 

Engine

• Factory 2022 Ford 2.0L EcoBoost
• BC Raceworks cold air intake and 3-inch stainless cat-back exhaust system
• Steeda blow-off valve adaptor

Chassis

• Shop: NTX All-Terrain, Forney, TX
• Cut and raised upper strut towers by 3 inches
• Chassis Tech front air struts and rear 2500 ‘bags
• Bilstein stainless shocks

Wheels, Tires & Brakes 

• 20×8 MSR wheels
• 225/35/20 tires
• Painted stock calipers

Exterior 

• House of Kolor tribal graphics by Charles Buster Jr @ Buster’s Automotive, Forney, TX
• Color-matched bumpers, bed caps, mirrors, handles and fender flares
• Air Designs fender flares
• LED Glow under carriage lights
• Retrax retractable bed cover
• 35×35” Legacy sliding ragtop
• Interior 
• Shop: Texas Seats, Seagoville, TX
• Seats reupholstered in blue and grey leather w/ diamond stitch pattern
• Alpine stereo system installed by NXT Audio Innovations
• Four 12-inch subs in bed, two 10-inch subs under rear seats, three sets of 6.5-inch components in custom door panels, four 1,000-watt amps, two 5-channel amps, three batteries, Hertz processor