Photography by John Jackson ILLUSTRATIONS Eric Brockmeyer Designhere was a time when I would hear the word “Maverick” and immediately think of James Garner. He was an old west hero who was good with a gun, a deck of cards, and very popular with the ladies. In later years he played the part of an oddball detective with a propensity to find people who didn’t want to be found while somewhat staying out of trouble himself. He moved about in a gold Pontiac Firebird and then came a collection of GMC pickup trucks. Nowadays when I hear “Maverick” I think of a twin-turbo–equipped ’71 Ford Maverick owned by Jimmy Shaw of Mississippi and built by Jesse Greening and his staff at Greening Auto Company (GAC) in Cullman, Alabama. This most recent Maverick memory is one that’s triple-digit blindingly fast and is the 2021 Triple Crown of Rodding Street Machine of the Year winner and has earned many other deserving awards.
If you are wondering just how fast “blindingly fast” is … how about Jimmy’s ’71 Maverick covering the standing mile at 202.74 mph at the East Coast Timing Association event run at Blytheville, Arkansas. There’s a memorable line from the movie Maverick where Jodie Foster speaks: “You thought that was fast? I thought it was fast!” We couldn’t agree more but, in our case, we are referring to Jimmy’s ’71 Maverick running 200-plus mph, which is fast for any race car, especially a street car.
Now, we all know it takes massive amounts of horsepower to move a hot rod through the air at speeds exceeding 200 mph. The powerplant is based on small-block Ford specifications by Dart as a 427-inch iron block with aluminum heads meticulously put together at Bennett Racing Engines. The Bennett motor outputs nearly 1,000 hp and nearly 900 lb-ft of torque to the rear wheels. Of note are the valve covers that carry the “Maverick” logo custom machined by GAC. More GAC machinework comes in the form of the intake manifold that serves as a base for the FAST EFI with ECU and coil, an Aeroquip fuel pump, and a K&N air filter. Taylor plug wires are also part of the “spark advancement” program that also enlists help from an XS battery. It also takes a great deal of boost to make the ’71 Maverick top 200 mph, so a pair of Precision Turbo and Engine units are used. A Vintage Air Front Runner is also employed as well as a C&R engine cooler. Backed up to the twin-turbo V-8 is a Bowler Transmission–prepped 4L80E that utilizes a Lokar shifter. Moving all this power rearward it goes through an Inland Empire Driveline carbon-fiber driveshaft.
Inside the stock dash was modified by GAC with a carbon-fiber dashpad and then the Racepak IQ3 display is mounted for easy driver viewing behind the MOMO steering wheel, which is attached to the ididit steering column. Behind the dash is a copious amount of wiring by GAC utilizing an American Autowire kit. You will see a Lokar shifter in the GAC-fabricated center console, which is also home for the Kicker stereo controls, power window switches, and the Vintage Air controls. The interior is filled with custom front buckets (with Stroud race harness) stitched in leather and carpeted rear floor space all by M&M Interiors. The rollbar and trunk-mounted 32-gallon gas tank are more GAC items.
The ’71 Maverick, as we have mentioned, is no stranger to others appreciating it and passing along deserving awards, such as the Glasurit Best Paint, Ford Design Award, and the Gran Turismo Award all while on display at SEMA several years ago. Another especially prestigious award was the Goodguys Street Machine of the Year. Now that’s fast company.
