P.S.I.Clone - The ST We Wish Ford Had Built

[WannabeST]

Reserving this space for my build thread. Much more to come when I pick up the truck in a few weeks.

UPDATE: I picked up the truck on 1/27/24. Now the fun begins!

UPDATE: 2/4/24 - Installed some interior upgrades.

UPDATE: 3/3/24 - Installed Truxedo roll up tonneau cover and DIY bed rails.

UPDATE: 3/31/24 - Picked up a set of Jaguar F Pace wheels and tires; still need to install them.

UPDATE: 5/4/24 - Jaguar F Pace Wheels installed (255/55/19)

UPDATE: 5/11/24 - Goodwin Racing/Progress lowering springs installed

UPDATE: 5/23/24 -ST badges, center caps, and steering wheel

UPDATE: 1/6/25 - "Clean side" catch can installed

UPDATE: 1/12/25 - Installed Nilight LED bed lights

UPDATE: 4/13/26 - Installed Konig Aeris wheels & Continental DWS06 tires

UPDATE: 4/29/30 - Installed SPC camber arms, Massive toe arms, and Goodwin rear sway bar.

UPDATE: 5/2/26 - Wired up the paddle shifters and installed an eBay "AD Style" lip.

UPDATE: 5/12/26 - Programmed paddle shifters, splash screen, and few other items with Forscan.

UPDATE: 5/16/26 -Added color matched door handles.

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[WannabeST]

If the name of this thread grabbed your attention you're probably a car enthusiast. More than likely, you're also more than 40. For those that don't follow, the name of my build is an homage to the most badass sport truck ever built; the GMC Syclone. Back in 1991 it was faster than a Ferrari 348 in the quarter mile.

I know, I know, paying tribute to a GM product with a Ford is sacreligious. What can I say, I prefer to swim against the current. It makes getting to the finish first that much more rewarding.

I'll be starting with an Atlas Blue 2024 Ford Maverick 2.0L Turbo AWD in XL trim. The only options I chose are the 4K towing package, a spray in bed liner, and paint proctetion film for the hood and fenders. This build will be my daily; I have another toy for track days, autocross, and twisty mountain roads. Though that may be the case, my truck will not be boring, sedate, or tame. It needs be comfortable enough for road trips, strong enough to haul kayaks and DIY supplies, and fast enough to suprise schmucks who spent too much on expensive sportscars. I'm going to build the Maverick ST that Ford should have given us.

In the next installment I'll provide some background on my sources of inspiration for this build, my experience building other fun cars, and my plans/parts list for the Maverick. This is going to be fun.

 

[Vtec87pr1]

Soon ?

 

[OleFordGuy]

Look forward to it all

 

[WannabeST]

Vtec87pr1 - I hope so! Your build is AWESOME and has definitely given me some ideas for mine. I already ordered the Mk8 Fiesta ST steering wheel from Fast Mavericks and will be doing your paddle shifter installation as soon as I get the truck (latest update is 1/29 - 2/5).

 

[Hot Runr Guy]

If the name of this thread grabbed your attention you're probably a car enthusiast. More than likely, you're also more than 40. For those that don't follow, the name of my build is an homage to the most badass sport truck ever built; the GMC Syclone. Back in 1991 it was faster than a Ferrari 348 in the quarter mile.

Is the "P" supposed to be silent, like the pee in swimming? I'm a gray hair, so I certainly remember the Syclone.

HRG

 

[WannabeST]

Is the "P" supposed to be silent, like the pee in swimming? I'm a gray hair, so I certainly remember the Syclone.

HRG

I was planning to cover this in my next update, but yes. Pronounce it like "Syclone", but I substituted "P.S.I." for "Sy". It's a play on words since we measure boost in P.S.I. I used "Clone" for the second part since (IMO) it will be a clone or copy of the original. The original Syclone and the Eco Maverick are pretty similar; more on that in the next update.

I might change it from "P.S.I.Clone" to "PSIClone" or "PsiClone" so it's more obvious.

 

[Vtec87pr1]

Vtec87pr1 - I hope so! Your build is AWESOME and has definitely given me some ideas for mine. I already ordered the Mk8 Fiesta ST steering wheel from Fast Mavericks and will be doing your paddle shifter installation as soon as I get the truck (latest update is 1/29 - 2/5).

any questions let me know happy to help

 

[Automan21]

If the name of this thread grabbed your attention you're probably a car enthusiast. More than likely, you're also more than 40. For those that don't follow, the name of my build is an homage to the most badass sport truck ever built; the GMC Syclone. Back in 1991 it was faster than a Ferrari 348 in the quarter mile.

I know, I know, paying tribute to a GM product with a Ford is sacreligious. What can I say, I prefer to swim against the current. It makes getting to the finish first that much more rewarding.

I'll be starting with an Atlas Blue 2024 Ford Maverick 2.0L Turbo AWD in XL trim. The only options I chose are the 4K towing package, a spray in bed liner, and paint proctetion film for the hood and fenders. This build will be my daily; I have another toy for track days, autocross, and twisty mountain roads. Though that may be the case, my truck will not be boring, sedate, or tame. It needs be comfortable enough for road trips, strong enough to haul kayaks and DIY supplies, and fast enough to suprise schmucks who spent too much on expensive sportscars. I'm going to build the Maverick ST that Ford should have given us.

In the next installment I'll provide some background on my sources of inspiration for this build, my experience building other fun cars, and my plans/parts list for the Maverick. This is going to be fun.

can't wait to see what the outcome is.
And wasnt the Typhoon the other side of that coin, heard it was faster than the mustang.

 

[WannabeST]

Alright, time for another update...

Before I go any further I want to clear up a few things:

1. I'm far from the first person to take on building a Maverick ST. There are several here that have done an awesome job. What I'm doing in this thread is not unique or groundbreaking, but it will be fun. If my build even comes to close to what some of you have already accomplshed I'll be absolutely thrilled.​

2. Some folks will ask why I would modify a perfectly good new truck. The answer is that there are two types of people that buy cars; "owners" and "ethusiasts". An "owner" just needs a way to get from A to B. An enthusiat has a passion for cars and seeks to set his/hers apart from the crowd. Whether it be for performance or asthetic reasons, only an "ethusiast" can understand why other "ethusiasts" modify thier cars. I'm an "ethusiast"; I don't expect "owners" to understand or appreciate what I'm doing here, but I welcome them to join the conversation nonetheless.​

3. My truck hasn't been delivered yet, but I started this thread to amuse myself while I await delivery. I hope that it amuses at least a few of you. I'm going to pass the time with a few "history lessons" on other production vehicles (like the Syclone) as well as some notes on a few of previous builds.​

Alright, disclaimers and other B.S. are out of the way. Let's get back to the fun.

 

[WannabeST]

What's in a name? Well in this case it's just a corny pun that references a legendary sport truck.

I'm calling this build the P.S.I.Clone. It's a reference to the 1991 GMC Syclone of which only 3,000 were made.

The "P.S.I." portion should be pronounced "sy or psi". This copies the first half of the Syclone's name. My spelling references P.S.I. or pounds per square inch, which is how we measure boost on turbo engines like the one in the Maverick. The Greek "psi" means life, heart, or soul. I'm hoping my build will have at least one of those three.

The "Clone" portion of the same referenes the second half of the Syclone's name, but in this case clone means copy or replica. In this case, an homage to an awesome predecessor. I don't intend to build something that copies the original Syclone (or even looks like it), it's simply an acknowledgement that a similar sport truck with very similar specifications existed before our beloved Maverick did.

And...

I think it sounds cool. So there...

 

[WannabeST]

The 1991 GMC Cyclone, A History Lesson...

Kid: "Dad, where do Syclones come from?"

Dad: "Well son, when a Chevy Astro Van and a Chevy S10 love each other very much..."

I'm not here to plagerize what Car and Driver already wrote about the GMC Syclone. I'm going to link that article here. For those who don't care to read it, the Syclone was an AWD S10 with a 4.3L V6 turbo engine. it basically had the AWD components from a Chevy Astro Van (including the V6 engine) with a big turbo slapped on it. Then General Motors stuffed this into a lightweight S10 with some 245 tires. This combo worked so well that it beat a Ferrari 348 in the quarter mile in the test article that I linked above.

The Astro Van/S10 combo is no secret. Tony Angelo (formerly of Hot Rod Garage, and also a former pro drifter) and his team at Stay Tuned built one of these from junkyard parts. It came out awesome and cheap. Don't take my word for it though; watch the video here.

Right now you're asking yourself "Why is this idiot so wound up about a truck from 1991?". The answer is because it bears some striking similarities to our Mavericks. Check this out (test data blatantly plagerized from Car and Driver):

	1991 GMC Syclone	2024 Ford Maverick
Vehicle Type	front-engine, all-wheel-drive, 2-passenger, 2-door pickup	front-engine, all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door pickup
Price As Tested	$26,120	$30,235
Engine Type	turbocharged and intercooled pushrod 12-valve V-6, iron block and heads, port fuel injection	turbocharged and intercooled inline-4, aluminum block and head
Displacement	262 cubi inches, 4300 cubic centimeters	122 cubic inches, 1999 cubic centimeters
Power	280 hp @ 4400 rpm	250 hp @ 5500 rpm
Torque	350 lb-ft @ 3600 rpm	277 lb-ft @ 3000 rpm
Transmission	4-speed automatic	8-speed automatic
Chassis
Suspension F/R	control arms/live axle	struts/multilink
Wheels	16x8	17x7
Tires	Firestone Firehawk SVX, 245/50VR-16 M+S	Falken Wildpeak A/T3W, 235/65R-17 104H M+S 3PMSF
Dimensions
Wheelbase	108.3 inches	121.1 inches
Length	180.5 inches	199.7 inches
Width	64.8 inches	72.6 inches
Height	60.0 inches	68.7 inches
Passenger Volume	52 cubic feet	102 cubic feet
Curb Weight	3,600 lbs	3,800 lbs
Car & Driver Test Results
30 MPH	1.6 seconds
60MPH	5.3 seconds	5.9 seconds
100 MPH	17.8 seconds	16.4 seconds
120 MPH	37.4 seconds
Top Gear, 30-50 MPH	3.0 seconds	3.2 seconds
Top Gear, 50-70 MPH	4.6 seconds	4.2 seconds
1/4 Mile	14.1 @ 93 mph	14.5 @ 95 mph
Top Speed	126 mph	110 mph, governor limited
Braking
70 mph - 0 mph	183 feet	172 feet
Roadholding
300 ft diameter skidpad	0.80 g	0.82 g
Fuel Economy
Combined	15 mpg	25 mpg
City	14 mpg	22 mpg
Highway	17 mpg	29 mpg

Hopefully this little history lesson at least partially explains why I'm doing what I'm doing. Philosopher George Santayana once said "Those who cannot remeber the past are condemned to repeat it." I remeber it; I hope I'm lucky enough to get close to repeating it.

Until next time...

 

[WannabeST]

can't wait to see what the outcome is.
And wasnt the Typhoon the other side of that coin, heard it was faster than the mustang.

It sure was. Based on the S10 Blazer, the Typhoon was a close cousin to the Syclone.

 

[Elderstang]

Alright, time for another update...

Before I go any further I want to clear up a few things:

1. I'm far from the first person to take on building a Maverick ST. There are several here that have done an awesome job. What I'm doing in this thread is not unique or groundbreaking, but it will be fun. If my build even comes to close to what some of you have already accomplshed I'll be absolutely thrilled.​

2. Some folks will ask why I would modified a perfectly good new truck. The answer is that there are two types of people that buy cars; "owners" and "ethusiasts". An "owner" just needs a way to get from A to B. An enthusiat has a passion for cars and seeks to set his/hers apart from the crowd. Whether it be for performance or asthetic reasons, only an "ethusiast" can understand why other "ethusiasts" modified thier cars. I'm an "ethusiast"; I don't expect "owners" to understand or appreciate what I'm doing here, but I welcome them to join the conversation nonetheless.​

3. My truck hasn't been delivered yet, but I started this thread to amuse myself while I await delivery. I hope that it amuses at least a few of you. I'm going to pass the time with a few "history lessons" on other production vehicles (like the Syclone) as well as some notes on a few of previous builds.​

Alright, disclaimers and other B.S. are out of the way. Let's get back to the fun.

The Syclone was not only the fastest production truck ever at the time, it was also the fastest production vehicle that year. I dreamed of that truck many nights.

 

[volksnuts]

The Syclone was not only the fastest production truck ever at the time, it was also the fastest production vehicle that year. I dreamed of that truck many nights.

Off the top of my head I’m thinking the Corvette ZR1 would have been faster and quicker 0-60 and 1/4 mile
Though I do remember it beat the 348 Ferrari in the magazines but so would the ZR1

but I had no idea the Maverick was so close in performance to the Syclone
That’s really cool

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