2022 Ford Maverick Goes Under the Knife as Owner Makes It a True Mini-Truck
This 2022 Ford Maverick is being chopped up – literally speaking – ahead of a reveal at this year’s SEMA Show.
Just a few months ago, we brought you the story of what is believed to be the very first slammed Ford Maverick on earth, built by Adam Edwards at his shop – Tedder’s Body Shop in Searcy, Arkansas. At that time, however, we noted that Edwards wasn’t finished modifying his Maverick and that he had grand plans for the compact pickup ahead of the 2022 SEMA Show, where the completed build will be revealed to the masses. As it turns out, Edwards has been hard at work chopping up his brand new Ford Maverick, which comes as a shock to some.
“I have people come up saying, ‘I’ve been waiting for mine for six months and you’re cutting yours to pieces? It’s not even good anymore!’ And I just laugh,” Edwards told The Drive in a recent interview. “Another guy was like, ‘Why would you do this?’ And I said, ‘For the simple fact that people like you asking me why I’m doing it!'”
In all fairness, it’s hard for some people to understand why we do the things we do, especially when you’re talking about a brand new vehicle that’s in high demand at the moment, to the point where most are selling for over MSRP. Edwards is more interested in showing off what his shop can offer than flipping the pickup for a few bucks in profit, however. Regardless, the images of him cutting the Maverick right down the middle to split the bed and cab are a bit eye-opening, at the very least.
“Basically, I just made the line I wanted and cut it out,” Edwards said. “I split it, just cut it down the center. Then I put it where I thought I wanted it, but I didn’t like it, so I shaved some more off. It was basically the outside skin – there was nothing to make it go in toward the unibody. I used cardboard templates and once I got the division where I wanted, I started plating the backside so it wouldn’t just end and be a single layer. It wraps around like you’d normally see on a bed.”
In addition to separating the cab and the bed, Edwards also cut the inner fenders to get his Maverick lower to the ground and modified the hub mounted to the rear end. Instead of resorting to airbags, he’s using some old school methods here – albeit modified a bit for the unibody pickup – to get it on the ground, like a proper mini-truck. There’s still plenty of hard work ahead to make all of that happen, but we’re certainly intrigued by this old-school build, which has the potential to be truly unique when it’s finished later this year.
Photos: Adam Edwards
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