Finding A Mercury Cougar On The Internet

One of my favorite sites in the past few months has been Bring-A-Trailer.  The site features cars for sale around the United States and even the world.  Readers will write in and suggest cars that are posted for sale on sites like ebay, craigslist, and other auction sites. Other cars are offered as exclusives to the Bring-A-Trailer site.  They are not for sale anywhere else at the moment.

This week the site put up a 1968 Mercury Cougar XR7 for sale. Check it out for yourself.  This is a car has plenty of originality, but also includes engine and suspension upgrades to make the driving experience much better. With a reasonable price of $13,500 this car seems like a pretty good buy.

You can check my links to the right of the page for places to find more Mercury Cougars for sale on the internet.

Going On A Hunt For Cougar VIN numbers!

Earlier this week I went to Country Classic Cars on a hunt for VIN numbers for
the Cougar database and submitted to the Classic Cougars group on yahoo.com. 
I found seven cars from the 1960's and 1970's. All of these cars are currently for sale. 
Pictures can be found on their website. As a disclaimer, I have no affiliation with 
this place of business. Please ask on current condition of vehicles if interested.

Country Classic Cars
2149 E. Frontage Rd.
Staunton, IL 62088
Phone: 618-635-7056
Fax: 618-635-6287
Store Hours: Mon - Fri: 9:00 - 5:00, Sat: 9:00 - 3:00
http://www.countryclassiccars.com/

1967 Mercury Cougar Standard - $9450
Blue paint (not original)
gray interior (not original)
VIN: 7F91C581345
Body: 65A Color: Z Trim: 2G Date: 30C DSO: 26 Axle: 0 Trans: W
PS, Automatic Trans, Console, Drum brakes

1968 Mercury Cougar Standard - $10,850
Maroon paint
Maroon interior
VIN: 8F91F573951
Body: 65A Color: B Trim: 2D Date: 06F DSO:23 Axle: 5 Trans: W
PS, PB, A/C, Automatic Trans,

1968 Mercury Cougar XR7 - $8950
White paint (repaint) - light blue top
White interior (not original)
VIN: 8R93F510742(?)
Body: 65B Color: O (Q?) Trim: xx? Date: 24A DSO:53 Axle: 5 Trans: ?
Numbers on door hard to read per painted over
Dash pad covering VIN number on dash
Automatic Trans, A/C, PS, PB, Console, XR7 dash

1972 Mercury Cougar Convertible - $10,950
Light Yellow paint
White Comfortweave interior w/ black
VIN: 2F92H541795
Date: 4/72 Body: 76D Color: 6E Trim: CW Trans: X Axle: 2 DSO:31
Automatic Trans, power top, power brakes,

1975 Mercury Cougar XR7 - $8450
Light Yellow paint w/ Green Landau top
Green Interior
VIN: 5A93H532968
No Data plate available
87,xxx miles
351, C-4 Automatic, 3.00 Axle
A/C, Remote mirrors, Cruise, Tilt, PS, PB

1978 Mercury XR7 - $4950
White Paint w/ Brown Landau top
Brown interior
VIN: 8H93F607195
No Data plate available
80,xxx miles
Remote mirrors, Automatic Trans, Power windows, power doorlocks, A/C

1979 Mercury Cougar XR7 - $7850
Light Blue paint w/ White Landau top
Blue interior
9H93H670905
28,xxx miles
Power Windows, Power Doorlocks, Automatic Trans, PS, PB, A/C, Tach

Ford Unveils The 2011 Mercury Cougar

Dearborn, MI -- April 1, 2010

Lincoln-Mercury has unveiled plans for a new vehicle for Fall 2011.  A new vehicle with name recognition among consumers and a performance and luxury heritage - The Mercury Cougar.

Ford Motor Company, not to be outdone by the popularity of the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro plans to ramp up the Pony Car wars once again and assume full dominance on the segment by releasing the all-new Mercury Cougar. The Cougar chassis is based on the S197 Ford Mustang D2C platform that began with the 2005 model. The car will be manufactured at the AutoAlliance International plant in Flat Rock, Michigan alongside the Ford Mustang.

2011 Mercury Cougar XR7

Originally, the Mercury Cougar was introduced ton consumers in 1967 as an upscale Ford Mustang. The Cougar shared the same platform as the Mustang from 1967 to 1973 when the Cougar was shifted over to the Ford Torino platform in 1974.  In 1977, the Cougar and Thunderbird were redesigned and shared the same platforms from 1977 to 1997.  Finally, in 1999, the Cougar was redesigned again and downsized to the CDW27 platform and which ran until 2002.

The all-new 2011 Mercury Cougar will come with three engine choices and two powertrain choices currently offered. The base engine for the Cougar is Ford's new Duratec 3.7-liter dual-overhead cam V6 engine that will deliver around 305 horsepower and supposed to get 19 and 30 mpg on city and the highway respectively.

Consumers looking for the more power from Mercury while still saving money at the pump will opt for the 3.5-liter twin-turbocharged and direct-injected EcoBoost V-6 with 365 horsepower and 350 pound-feet of torque. This is the same engine that Ford is putting into the new 2011 Ford Taurus Police Interceptor. Both engines send power to a six-speed automatic transmission, though from there the EcoBoost sends power to all four wheels while the base engine powers only the front wheels.
 
Finally, the Cougar will be fitted with the new 5.0 liter V-8 that is also going into the 2011 Ford Mustang. The 5.0 puts out 412hp of power, 390 ft.-lb. of torque and a projected highway fuel economy of 25 mpg. The new engine gets a 32-Valve, Twin Independent Variable Camshaft Timing (Ti-VCT) system that works as a critical part and makes it possible for the engine to return those power and efficiency figures.

“This all-new 5.0-liter engine is the next chapter in the development of the world-class Mustang powertrain portfolio,” said Derrick Kuzak, group vice president, Global Product Development. “It’s a thoroughly modern engine for the times, delivering the performance and fun-to-drive factor that enthusiasts want, while improving fuel economy.”

Behind the 5.0 liter V-8 the six-speed automatic transmission the 2011 Mercury Cougar XR7 will deliver up to an estimated 25 mpg highway and 17 in the city.  The Six-speed manual transmission Cougar XR7 models for 2011 are projected to deliver 24 mpg highway and 16 city. As a comparison the manual transmission will deliver significantly more horsepower and performance feel.

Just like in 1967, the 2011 Cougar steals technology from its cousin, the Ford Mustang.  The Cougar XR7 features an enhanced rear lower control arm to add stiffness, improve powertrain NVH control and sharpen handling. A stiffened rear stabilizer bar for better on-center steering is also included. Stabilizer bar diameters, spring rates and dampers all have been tuned for improved dynamics.

A Brembo brake package upgrade will be available for serious enthusiasts. This package includes 14-inch vented front discs from the GT500 Mustang, unique 19-inch alloy wheels and summer performance tires.

As with the 2011 Mustang, Ford is continuing to use new technology on the Cougar.  The Cougar will share the new Electric Power Assist Steering system, modified underbody shields, taller air dam, larger four-wheel ABS disc brakes and its front fascia is also getting facelift for improved aerodynamics. The Cougar will come with a similar version of new Mustang instrument cluster graphics, including a speedometer that reads to 160 mph and a tachometer that goes up to 8,000 rpm.

The tradition of style, luxury, European elegance paired with American muscle will continue on the new Mercury Cougar by adding the traditional burled walnut accents to the interior of the XR7. Options will include 17-inch aluminum wheels; rear spoiler, fog lamps, leather-wrapped steering wheel with tilt and telescoping column, AM/FM stereo with six-disc CD changer and MP3 capability and 6 speakers, SYNC® voice-activated communications and entertainment system, Dual-zone electronic automatic temperature control (DEATC), driver's seat lumbar support, premium Verona-grain Imola leather seating surfaces in two-tone parchment. Other options will include both cooling and heating systems in the seats, heated mirrors, heated cupholders, remote start, navigation, blue tooth technology, Reverse Sensing System, chrome doorhandles, pinstripe kit, and much more. 

Standard equipment includes some of these features: 16-inch aluminum wheels, a tire pressure monitoring system, cloth front bucket seats, power windows, power doorlocks, keyless entry, power mirrors, air conditioning, AM/FM Stereo with single CD and MP3 player, body color doorhandles, carpeted floor mats, ambient temperature sensor and ambient lighting placed in the front and rear footwells and the cup holders. 

The Cougar will be made in three different price points and six models.

V6 Coupe (MSRP: $24,395)
V6 Premium (MSRP: $26,395)

V6 XR7 Coupe (MSRP: $29,395)
V6 XR7 Premium (MSRP: $31,395)

XR7 GT: (MSRP: $33,395)
XR7 GT Premium (MSRP: $36,395)

Ford has announced that no convertible will be offered at this time harkening back to the first two years of the Mercury Cougar in 1967 and 1968.  No word yet on if Ford will introduce a performance package like the GT500 or Shelby, but if they do expect the word Eliminator to be involved.

--------------------

If you've read this far and are excited and ready to make a trip to your local Lincoln-Mercury dealer then I have some bad news...

APRIL FOOLS!

Information for this post came from the Ford press release for the new 2011 Ford Mustang 5.0, the Ford Mustang Wikipedia  page, the Mercury Milan features page and a couple of other sources.

Photos were found at http://www.irmaododecio.blogspot.com/. I must say that if that vehicle were released I would trade in my 2010 Honda Accord and buy a new Cougar.

Please advise if I need to take down this content and I will be happy to remove.

Happy April Fools Day!

Why Are There Not More Cougars On The Prowl?

I was doing a little reconnaissance (er...research) today on 1967 and 1968 Cougars on eBay. I do this from time to time just to check what's out there for sale and see if there's any interesting ideas on other rides that I could steal. The thing that caught my attention was that there were a lot of Classic Cougars for sale on the site today. Of the 50 total Cougars listed for sale (1967-2002), almost half of them (24 to be exact) were 1967-1970 models. Wow! There is a lot of classic Dearborn iron and steel out there for sale.

There could be a few reasons for that upsurge in old metal for sale. First, Spring is here and it starts the classic car selling season.  Second, tax time is less than a month away and people need to pay some taxes or pay off some debt.  Third, Spring cleaning season is here and the wife wants one of the "project cars" to go. Finally, the seller has gotten the itch for another car and the current one has to go to fund the new car.

So, that got me to thinking...with all of those Cougars for sale to make viable car show vehicles why are there not more Cougars on the prowl?

According to The Classic Cougar Network site Mercury produced over 150,000 cars in the first year 1967 and over one-hundred-thousand units the next two years in a row.

1967 Cougar – 150,893
1968 Cougar – 113,741
1969 Cougar – 100,085
Total – 364,719

If you throw in the 1970 Cougar, which shares much of the same characteristics as the 1969 model, there another 72,365 Cougars produced during a 4 year span bringing the total number to 437,084. Many consider the 1970 Cougars to be the end of the muscle car era for Mercury and the 1971-73 were just the beginning of the bloated, luxury models of the 1970's.

Most Cougars that I see for sale are still mostly in original condition with at most only the engine, paint or interior modified from stock. If modified, these Cougars usually have at least one of those areas still mostly original.

Further, the buyer can pick up a Cougar in very good condition for under $10,000 and almost anything over that threshold is either rare (i.e. GTE, XR7-G, or Eliminator) or in great or perfect condition. This is one of the reasons why I chose to buy a classic Cougar in the first place. The Cougar is a reasonably priced muscle car that usually came with more options than the Mustangs. So why would the Cougar popularity wane unlike the other 60's pony cars?

Another reason that I chose to buy a Cougar is that every car that rolled off the assembly line in the classic period (1967-1973) has a V-8!  That fact should be a huge incentive for car guys. There are no 6 cylinder engine swaps to figure out here like the Mustang or Camaro.  There is either a V-8 engine in the bay or the empty motor mounts are ready for one to be dropped into place.  The Cougar also came with motors that are both desirable and easy to find parts to rebuild or find more torque and horsepower. According to research done by the The Classic Cougar Network site, the 1967 came standard with the 289 and the buyer could also have opted to buy the big block 390.  In 1968, the engine options got even better - buyers could check the box for a 289, 302, 390, 427, and the 428 Cobra Jet. The zenith came in 1969 with the addition of the standard 351 Windsor engine, the Boss 302 and the 428 Cobra Jet/Ram Air to the line up, and in 1970 the 351 Cleveland was added too. The 289 was dropped in 1969 and the 390 was dropped in 1970, but you get the picture.

Cougars have the same issues as other muscle cars from the era. Rust can be prevalent in the floorboards, cowl, shock towers, rocker panels, lower doors, lower quarter panels, and behind the rear window. Other issues tend to happen with the vacuum operated flip up headlamp doors and the electronic sequential turn signals. Both of these issues can be remedied rather easily if most of the stock components still survive. The only issue that I see keeping Cougars from prowling the streets is the lack of new sheet metal to fix rust. There are companies that sell floors and patch panels, but no one sells full doors, hoods, trunk lids or fenders.

So what makes the other Pony cars more desirable? Let's start with the Mustang. For many classic car enthusiasts the Mustang is an affordable entry car to get into the hobby.  This can certainly be said for the Mustang Coupes. Due to their production numbers Mustangs are ubiquitous at car shows and in the print media. Over 2.25 million cars were produced from 1964-1969 and Ford was the clear leader with almost 2.6 million Pony cars (Mustang + Cougars) produced from 1964-1969. The popularity of the Mustang means that parts are available from a wide number of sources giving the owner easy access to restore one of these cars or even clone their favorite example. The Mustang prices start to go up when rarity enters the picture (i.e. Shelby, or GT cars) or when the words Fastback or Convertible come behind Mustang. Furthermore, Dynacorn makes shells for 1967-70 Mustang Fastbacks and you can build a completely new classic car from scratch. The 1967 or 1968 will set you back $15,500 and the 1969 or 1970 is $16,500.

Production Numbers
1964 Mustang – 126,538
1965 Mustang – 409,260
1966 Mustang – 607,568
1967 Mustang – 472,121
1968 Mustang – 317,148
1969 Mustang – 299,824
Total – 2,232,459

Similarly, the Chevrolet Camaro has been pre-eminent through the car show circuits and gracing the covers of car magazines for years as well. However, in recent years, prices for Camaros have skyrocketed along with other popular GM models. A buyer can hardly afford a rustbucket or a shell for under $7,500. The popularity has also led to negativity too. The First Generation Camaro has received scorn from some dyed-in-the-wool car guys because it seems as if a magazine like Hot Rod, Car Craft, or Popular Hot Rodding can’t go to print without having a First Generation Camaro on the cover or as a featured car inside the magazine. Furthering the popularity meter, Dynacorn is even making complete replica shells of this icon in both hardtop and convertible platforms for 1967 and 1969.

1967 Camaro – 220,906
1968 Camaro – 235,147
1969 Camaro – 243,085
Total – 698,138

The Pontiac Firebird seems to fall somewhere in-between the Camaro and the Cougar. A buyer can still buy a decent Firebird hardtop for under $10k and they aren’t as many at the car shows around town. According to Trans Am World site, Pontiac made only 276,683 of the First Generation Firebirds, which is 88,036 less than the Cougar production numbers from the same time period. That’s like another year of production numbers for one of those cars in that era. Nevertheless, Dynacorn still produces both a hardtop and convertible shell of the 1969 Pontiac Firebird. Where’s the love for other Ford models from Dynacorn?

1967 Firebird – 82,560
1968 Firebird – 107,112
1969 Firebird – 87,011
Total – 276,683

Finally, the Plymouth Barracuda is a different beast altogether. Plymouth never did sell too many Barracudas in the first place.  From 1964 to 1969 they sold less Barracuda's than Pontiac dealers sold from 1967-69. This could partly be from the fact that the Barracuda didn't receive a big block until 1969 and never received a Hemi between the front fenders. The Second Generation Barracudas are popular among the drag racing guys, but the money really goes up when the year on the title shifts to 1970's. Mopar parts are easier to come by generally, but due to low production numbers these cars are rare in general and the passing of 40 years has sent plenty of these cars to the crusher.

1964 Barracuda – 22,443
1965 Barracuda – 64,596
1966 Barracuda – 38,029
1967 Barracuda – 62,534
1968 Barracuda – 45,412
1969 Barracuda – 31,987
Total – 265,001

So, if you're looking for a muscle car to get into the hobby why not choose a Cougar?  There are many surviving vehicles with a combination of options including power steering, power brakes, automatic transmission and even air conditioning.  Further, 1967-1973 Cougars share the same platform as Ford Mustangs and so parts for floors and shock towers are easy to obtain. Finally, Ford crate engines and transmissions can be dropped in with ease. Get out there and start looking or get in touch I know where a few are right now!

Chauncey & Me

In the mid 1970's my parents took me to Piasa Lincoln-Mercury dealership in downtown Alton, IL to see a real live Cougar!  Originally the spokescat for the Mercury Cougar in print and television advertising, Chauncey the Cougar became the spokescat for all Lincoln-Mercury dealers products not just the Mercury Cougar. The Cougar was so recognizable in advertisement that the Lincoln-Mercury slogan became "At The Sign Of The Cat." The Cougars from the advertising campaign would tour the country and visit dealers to promote Lincoln-Mercury. In 1975, Chauncey died and his replacement became Christopher. At Piasa Lincoln-Mercury my parents dealt with a salesman named Harold Sackalarus and he likely told them about this special event at his dealership.  How often would a real live Cougar visit a car dealership?!?  This visit by Christopher made such an impression on me that I started to refer to the dealership as "Harold's Cat House."

To learn more about the Lincoln-Mercury spokescats see the following articles from The Classic Cougar Network site

For an overall history see this article

These next three links are from a speech done by the Cougar's handler Pat Derby on July 14, 2001 at an event for the Stray Cats Cougar Club of Northern CA

Part One: Tanya

Part Two: Chauncey & Christopher

Part Three: Q & A

Here's a video I found of a similar event from a Lincoln Mercury dealer in the early 1980's

In 1976, my mom was driving a 1973 Buick Riviera and my dad was driving a 1972 GMC Sprint (read: GMC version of the El Camino).  That year my parents traded their 1973 Buick Riviera and bought a Lincoln Continental Mark IV as a third car.  At the time this was the most expensive American made vehicle.  As you can see from the picture above the vehicle was dove gray with a matching dove gray landau vinyl roof, and light gray leather interior. Lincoln-Mercury sold this as a Cartier edition, a part of their line designer editions which also included Bill Blass, Givenchy, and Pucci. My name for this car was the "Foo Foo Car." I remember riding around in this car as a toddler on summer evenings in the late 1970's making my parents drive around to find the source of spotlights flooding the night sky. The spotlights with their bright light would be advertising a car dealership, a movie, or some other promotion. My parents also remember my devastation after losing a balloon through the sunroof one evening while riding in that car.

In 1976, my mom's office had moved from downtown St. Louis to a renovated IGA grocery store located in a parking lot at a suburban mall.  At the time she was driving a 1975 MGB roadster. She felt nervous driving this little British sports car on the interstate with all of the 18 wheel tractor trailers.  However, they let me ride in the area where the top folded up when it was down or on my mom's lap when the top was up. Go figure.

Since they had just bought the Lincoln, my parents decided to stick with Lincoln-Mercury to replace this car. They put the MGB on consignment with Piasa Lincoln Mercury and they bought a 1977 Mercury Cougar. This was the newly redesigned fourth generation Cougar. The classic Cougar era ended with the 1973 model year and in 1974 the Cougar began an association with the Ford Torino.  This ended the Cougar's seven year association with the Ford Mustang platform. Then in 1977 the Cougar began a long run of being based on the Ford Thunderbird chassis. These changes made the car longer, less sporty, and even more luxurious than before. Here's a description from the wikipedia article on Mercury Cougars:

Customers to Lincoln-Mercury showrooms were surprised by the all-new Cougar this year [1977]. New sharper and straighter styling that mimicked the Ford Thunderbird and Lincoln Continental Mark V replaced the "fuselage look" of earlier Cougars. The Cougar now shared its body with the Thunderbird, which was downsized to the intermediate bodyshell this year from that of the Continental Mark IV and shared the Cougar's 114-inch (2,896 mm) wheelbase, putting the T-Bird squarely in the intermediate personal-luxury car market as opposed to its previous higher-priced segment of that market shared with the Buick Riviera and Oldsmobile Toronado.

My hunch is that my dad probably just remembered this advertisement with the late Farrah Fawcett (pre-Charlie's Angels) from a couple of years earlier and wanted to get one.

Since my mom was driving a lot farther to work she noticed that the V-8 engine in the Cougar was a lot less fuel efficient that the four cylinder in the MGB.  She figured that she would just drive the Lincoln to work and my parents got rid of the Cougar.  They had the car for such a short time that I have yet to find a picture of the car. The Cougar would be the last Blue Oval product they would ever buy.

My parents kept the Lincoln Continental car as a third car for a few more years and ended up selling it in December 1983 to a daughter of one of my dad's friends.  I have always wondered what happened to that car.

If you look closely you can see my dad's 1972 GMC Sprint in the background.

In this picture you can barely see the end of the Orange MGB parked in the garage.

Junkyard Crawl II

In the mid 1980's I went to a salvage yard in Mascoutah, IL with my friend Rob and his older brother Bill.  With a freshly issued Illinois driver's license, Bill had started driving a 1964 Chevrolet 4 door sedan with a 283 cubic inch V-8 that his parents had received as a wedding present about 15 years prior. The car, white with a blue interior, had seen better days, but had been parked in the garage for the last few years.  We used to play in the car for fun and actually used it as the Batmobile in a Batman movie we made around 1989.  Bill had started to "fix up" the car with no real prior knowledge about cars.  Somehow, he found out about this salvage yard and thought he could find some parts.  The salvage yard was overgrown with trees, but had many cars from the 1950's, 1960's, and 1970's. I remember that the guys working there were all rough and tumble with attitudes to match. There were hubcaps hanging all over the office.  We asked about parts for a 1964 Chevrolet and they directed us to where they were. We bought a replacement rear door and maybe some other parts and headed home.

A while back, after some research, I finally tracked down this salvage yard again and decided to stop in for a look.  I came across the owner, Dan. He told me that he had been here since the early 1950's.  He said that they had a fire a few years ago and lost a building and some of the cars.  He had parts stored to restore some older cars and lost much of those parts in the fire. Finally, he asked if he could help me and I asked if he had any late 1960's Mercury Cougars around the yard. He said that he did have one left, but that most everyone had gone for the day and I would have to come back another time if I wanted to see the car.

Today, I went back to the salvage yard in search of that Cougar. I walked in and found one of Dan's sons behind the desk.  I told him that I had been here before and asked if I could see the Cougar.  He talked to his dad and they started asking what I wanted.  I told them nothing specific, but just wanted to see if there was anything on or around the car that I could use. Finally, they relented and had one of the old guys that worked there take me back to the car.  This guy was dressed in a dark blue automotive type work outfit with a scraggly beard and hair and horned rimmed glasses.  He unlocked the gate to the back part of the yard and he got in the car and we drove back down a slightly rocked road.  On either side of the road still buried in the trees were cars from the past.  I saw a 1967 Thunderbird, some old Chevy and Ford trucks, a 1964 Chevrolet wagon, a late 1950's Ford, a whole row of Corvairs, and many more classics. I always find these trips fun and sad at the same time. All of these cars have stories and reasons why they are there. These hulks just rotting out there could either be put back on the road or save other cars that need to be saved. They just need the right person to come along.

All the way in the back of the yard next to a mid 1950's Cadillac sat a 1968 Mercury Cougar (VIN# 8F91F507828). This car is red in color and is basically a shell. There is no engine or transmission, no interior, no dash, no driver side front fender, no front end in front of the radiator support, and no trunk lid.  I could not get the data off the door tag since that was long gone. The windshield was still intact, but the back glass had been broken out. There were many miscellaneous parts lying around inside the car. I found blue parts, yellow parts but the car I was looking at was red. There was a white passenger side front fender on the car as well as a blue hood sitting over the empty engine compartment. Later, Dan told me that at one time had several early Cougars, but most were sent to the crusher or bought. He said that they have always piled miscellaneous pieces of the cars inside the same make and model car.

I did find some salvageable parts to buy lying around inside the car and the trunk. I found a bumper guard, headlight trim ring, driver side quarter glass assembly, headlight panel (2), and passenger side dash panel. I asked the old guy if they would sell me these parts and he said yes.  We loaded up what I had found and headed back to the front of the yard.  I asked the old guy how long he had been working there and he replied, "Since 1971."  He's been working there longer than I've been alive! 

We got back to the front and I talked to Dan.  I showed him the parts that I found and asked him how much he would charge.  He told me that I could have everything for $50 + tax. I could have had a rear bumper for $35 too, but figured that I didn't really need it at this point.  I asked if they would sell the entire shell as well. He said that it depended on if I needed a title. He said that they had lost many titles in the fire and it was a hassle to apply for a burned title. They would sell it if I didn't need a title. He also mentioned that another guy would come by periodically to look at the car and scavenge some parts. He had asked them not to crush it just in case. I noted this and I paid, we said our goodbyes and I went on my way.

Maybe you can find some hard to find parts for your classic vehicle at:

Dan's Auto Body & Towing
10201 State Route 177
Mascoutah, IL 62258
618-566-2161

Junkyard Crawl

Back on September 4th, I went to lunch with my friend Tim.  I was driving my Cougar and along the way I thought I spotted a Cougar at an auto sales place between my work and the restaurant.  I didn't have enough time that day to stop and so I told myself that I should stop and check it out when I had time. I belong to a Classic Cougars group on yahoo.com

Today, over lunch, I went down to see if the car was still sitting there. As I pulled up to Wilson Towing 2605 South Old Highway 141, Fenton, MO - (636) 349-3228 corner of Route 21 (Tesson Ferry Rd) and Hwy 141 in St. Louis County I didn't see the car, but as I pulled into the lot I finally saw it. A 1969 Cougar convertible.

This is an auto sales/salvage yard place and I talked to the owner. I asked him how he was and he told me terrible. He said he had been robbed. I thought he was joking, but then he went into a story about how his lot had been broken into and thieves had stolen some parts from some cars.  Then, he mistook me for someone that had called earlier and was coming to look at a car. I advised that was not me and I proceeded to explain my intentions of looking at this 1969 Mercury Cougar and just getting the VIN, but he said that he got the car from a school and should have been scrapped years ago. He didn't want to get into any trouble.

The Cougar was in pretty sad shape, but still had some salvagable parts. This auto sales place was really "down by the river" and the owner told me the lot had been flooded in the spring. The convertible top was almost gone, but I did notice that it had a University of Kansas sticker on the back window. The guy told me he had sold the console & the rear axle. He said that thieves had stolen some XR7 emblems off the car. We raised the hood and the engine and transmission (automatic) was still in the car and looked like a 2 bbl. Door on passenger side was crumpled in. I think this was originally a St. Louis car because there was a sticker from Sunset Ford (Since 1912) on the rear decklid and that dealer is still in business and only a few miles away. Car was painted medium lime metallic and looked like it had a black interior. This one will likely end up as scrap one of these days.

After talking about the Cougar I thought that I would stall after I spotted some late 1960's and early 1970's Chevrolet trucks across the lot. I have a soft spot for these because my first vehicle was a 1971 Chevrolet Cheyenne pick up truck. I went to look at these trucks and he followed me over.  He said that one of the trucks was bought by his father new, but all three trucks were now in pretty bad shape. I was hoping he would leave me alone so I could get the VIN off the Cougar, but he kept talking to me. 

After looking at an old late 1960's Chrysler I told him I had to get back to work. We parted ways and he went back to work on something behind some large trucks he had parked there. I quickly went over to the Cougar and I was able to see the VIN number plate on the partially cracked driver door. I was able to get this VIN off the door, but I could not get the door open to get the data plate info. I also could not see a VIN on the passenger side dash. The VIN on the door was 9F91H585255. I came back to the office and after I looked up what I had on the Classic Cougar Network site, I posted the information that I had to the group.

I received a post in reply from Jim Pinkerton who said, "Something rotten in Denmark here. In May, 2003, from Kansas City, MO someone has reported 9F91H585255 / 65A-S-1A-25F-42-6-X Somehow or other I suspect you may have made a mistake somewhere in the vin number."

I replied that I did write down 9F91H585255 on my piece of paper without thinking about what the 91 meant (Standard Hardtop) until I looked it up back at the office. When I got back I questioned myself and thought I had made a mistake and it was 9F94H585255. The code was hard to see through the crack in the door, I checked it a couple of times, but didn't want the guy to see me and left. However,  the car was with out a doubt a convertible. Now it has me thinking that the door has been changed sometime over the years. The data plate should read 76A or 76B if the car was a convertible instead of 65A.

Damn!

Really?!? A 2010 Mercury Cougar?

I stumbled upon an entry for a 2010 Mercury Cougar here and I got really excited. The only text was the options and features listed below.  I didn't know if this was real or not so I did some quick searching and found that the image above is likely a prototype from the Detroit International Auto Show or something similar and the pictures below are photoshopped. The nail in the coffin was that I didn't find anything at the Mercury website. I don't know why I got excited in the first place because my first gut instinct was skepticism. In this day and age of new car debuts I would have heard about this development already. Nothing is secret any more. Grrrrr - (no pun intended) - I really liked the car pictured above too...

Engine

2.0L displacement double overhead cam (DOHC)
inline 4 cylinder configuration gas engine
16 valves 125 hp @ 5500 rpm
130 ft-lbs. @ 4000 rpm regular unleaded fuel

DriveTrain
5-speed manual transmission front wheel drive, four-wheel independent suspension front and rear stabilizer bar

Exterior Features
alloy rims 15 in. rims, P205/60R15 tires all season tires, spacesaver spare tire steel spare wheel, variable intermittent wipers rear defogger, rear window wiper

Safety Features and Ratings
ventilated front disc / rear drum brakes child seat anchors
2 front headrests engine immobilizer

Comfort and Convenience Features
Front Seats
4 person total seating capacity bucket front seats
cloth upholstery height adjustable driver seat
Rear Seats
bucket rear seat split-folding, rear heating ducts

Power Features
power door locks power windows, 1 one-touch power windows power mirrors, heated mirrors

Convenience
cruise control power steering, tilt-adjustable steering wheel remote trunk release, front door pockets front console with storage

Comfort
air conditioning interior air filtration, dual vanity mirrors front floor mats, cargo area light

In Car Entertainment
AM/FM in-dash single CD player stereo 4 total speakers
mast antenna

Mercury Cougar in the Obscure Muscle Car parking lot?

Check out the blog at Car Domain for an entry for their regular feature about cars that fall outside the normal notions of what constitutes a muscle car.

Now that's one fine looking Cougar!

By the title of this post and the picture above, I could be talking about two things - the 1967 Mercury Cougar or Neko Case perched on top of the hood ready to pounce. Case is just a few years older than me and she is very pretty, but I promise I was talking about the car. I digress...

On March 3, 2009, Case released her new album titled Middle Cyclone on Anti Records. While the album makes no reference to a Mercury Cougar in the lyrics or the album title, the cover artwork for the album (above) features Neko Case perched prominently on top of her own personal 1967 Mercury Cougar while the car sits front and center. (In case you're interested Case does mention a 1969 Ford Falcon in her song "Star Witness" from her previous album Fox Confessor Brings The Flood.) I found my Cougar on Craigslist and Neko Case found a bunch of old pianos on that same website to record parts of this new album. For a sampling of the album here's some of the songs from a live performance on Mountain Stage posted today on the NPR website.

While shopping at Borders, my wife and I had seen a promotional poster for the new album taken from the photo session for the album cover, but the poster featured a real life background rather than the white/gray background pictured above. We asked the people at Borders if we could have the poster, but they seemed wishy-washy on the subject. They said they would put our name on it if none of the store employees wanted the poster.

However, my wife had something else up her sleeve though. Prior to Father's Day, she wrote an e-mail to Anti Records, Neko Case's record label, asking them if they had any promotional posters that she could buy me for Father's Day. She explained that not only did I love Neko Case's music, but that I also had a 1967 Mercury Cougar. The nice people at Anti Records came through in a big way! Not only did they send her a copy of the poster for free, they sent her four copies of the poster!

Later, my wanted to have a photo session with our daughter to send to the people at Anti Records as a thank you. We got the little one up on the hood of my 1967 Cougar and I became staff photographer as my daughter pranced around and made funny faces on the hood of the car. Very cute!

Next up: I intend to frame a copy of the poster to add to our other music posters in the back hall including BR-549, Bob Dylan, Not Quite Nashville, and Uncle Tupelo. I also want to frame a copy to place in the garage!

Thanks sweetie! I love you!

http://www.nekocase.com/

http://www.anti.com

Inspiration

I started faithfully reading Car Craft magazine a few years ago when my father-in-law got a subscription and started giving me his copies after I would pour over them at his house while we would be there for dinner, visits, etc. I loved the fact that the writers weren't talking down to you and ran articles that appealed to the car enthusiast and weekend drag racer alike. I also liked the comments, jabs and bits of humor (read: sarcasm) thrown in the margins for fun.

Back in May 2006, Car Craft ran an article about buying a car for under $3,500. This was the issue that they introduced the Car Craft AMC Rambler, a bone stock 1967 Rambler that has now become a race car and a staple project car of the magazine. The headline on that issue of the magazine was "Build A $3,500 Street Machine." At the time that a perfect story to be bringing to me. I loved old cars, had used them as daily drivers in the past, and I wanted one of my own again badly! This article only made it worse.

In that issue they also profiled a 1969 Mercury Cougar and a 1986 Ford Mustang. These two vehicles and the CC/Rambler have been in my top five favorite cars that Car Craft has profiled in the magazine in the last few years. The Cougar was also just a slightly modified stock car that someone found locally and started making it their own while using it as a daily driver. The suspension had been upgraded and the top end of the engine updated: carb, intake, distributor, and air cleaner. While I did not like the 1969 Cougar as much as the 1967 or 1968 models this one had a certain something that I really liked. The Mustang that was profiled ran elapsed times in the 12's with a later model 5.0L engine picked out of a salvage yard and other parts cherry picked off some donor cars. Both cars rolled around on good looking Mustang Bullitt wheels. Yeah...that's what I'm talking about!

What I appreciated was these cars were being worked on by normal guys that had to work within their budget and didn't have a stack of cash to throw at a car thereby putting it into the stratosphere so the normal car enthusiast could never afford to buy it. Ahhh…a dose of reality.

Rust Removal Starring a 1968 Mercury Cougar

The January 2009 issue of Hot Rod Magazine includes a technical article about the effectiveness and use of rust removal products on automotive sheet metal. These type of products can be important to Mercury Cougar owners because of the lack of new sheet metal for these vehicles. Classic Cougar owners can buy a variety of structural sheet metal floor pans, inner fenders, shock towers, radiator supports, and some small exterior sheet metal pieces quarter panel patches and front and rear valances from various retailers. However, no companies are currently making replacement hoods, decklids, doors, front fenders, or full rear fenders for the Classic Cougar owner. There are places to find used sheet metal parts in good shape, such as West Coast Classic Cougar, but those parts are getting increasingly expensive. If not we are left to scour message boards, Craigslist, and salvage yards like Sunman Ford for sheet metal parts to restore these vehicles. However, each Cougar that is parted out leaves one less vehicle on the the road and one more vehicle that gets crushed - lost forever! Sure, plenty of Mustangs and Camaro's have been crushed over the years, but many have also been rescued from the crusher by having easily available replacement parts to bring the vehicle back from the dead.


I'm not sure if the editors chose a Mercury Cougar as their test subject due to the fact of finding a relatively inexpensive 1960's muscle car to work on, or if they knew the plight of those restoring Cougars, but here is some insight provided as to why they chose the car.

Tucked away in a SoCal beach city, we found our inexpensive candidate: a stone-stock, unrestored, unrepainted, and clearly unloved '68 XR7 Cougar sitting under a tree just a scant few blocks from the shore. While our Mercury score was complete, fully functional right down to the hideaway headlights and sequential turn signals, and a gem mechanically, years of neglect in a coastal environment had left more surface rust than paint on the sheetmetal. We negotiated and drove it away for $300. Hate us?

Let us clarify; when we say it had surface rust, we're not talking about that common, lightweight, simple-to-sand-off layer of corrosion-that would be too easy. No, what we had was that deep-seated, thick, metal-pitting stuff that scoffs at any grade of sandpaper. We even attacked a spot on the roof with a DA and an aggressive sanding disc that did little more than create shiny rust. This one will be a real test for any rust remover.

If you were wondering, yes I do hate them. But no one likes a hater and I do like the magazine. Check out the article for more pictures and details on the products.