To do list - Making the Cougar better, stronger, faster

With any older car like this there will inevitably be a to-do list. This car is no different and by no means perfect. My intention is to be like the 1970's series "The Six Million Dollar Man." In the opening sequence of the show, a narrator identifies the protagonist, "Steve Austin, astronaut; a man barely alive." Richard Anderson (in character as Oscar Goldman) then intones off-camera, "Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to build the world's first bionic man. Steve Austin will be that man. Better than he was before. Better, stronger, faster."

While the Cougar is very much alive, here's what I will need to accomplish my goal -
(WCCC) = West Coast Classic Cougar

Parts Needed
Replace Idler Arm - $69.95 (Mustang Corral) $64.85 (WCCC)
Replace Export Brace (one piece) - $49.95 (Mustang Corral) $57.85 (WCCC)
Replace exterior door handles - $24.95/pair (Mustangs Unlimited) $22.85 (WCCC)

Concours exterior door handles - $59.85/pair (WCCC)
Replace driver side exterior mirror - $124.95 (Mustangs Unlimited) - $122.85 (WCCC)
Replace front sway bar - ?
Replace front dash speaker - $46.95 (Mustangs Unlimited) - Pioneer $99.85 (WCCC)
Replace tinted windshield - $199.95 (Mustangs Unlimited)
Replace turn signal switch in steering column - $79.95 (Mustangs Unlimited) $84.75 (WCCC)
Replace rear seat divider - $12.95 (Mustangs Unlimited)
Replace headlight vacuum actuators - $369.85 (WCCC)
Replace windshield wiper blades - $9.95 each (Mustangs Unlimited) $17.00 each (WCCC)

Replace scissors jack - $135.00 (WCCC)

Replace Lug wrench - $ ?
Install rear sway bar - $ ?
Install KYB gas shocks - $128.88 full set (Mustangs Unlimited) $1xx.xx full set (Mustang Corral)
Install Door Jamb courtesy light switch passenger side door - $4.85 (WCCC)
Install windshield wiper motor - $104.96 (Mustangs Unlimited)
Install windshield wiper reservoir - $34.95 (Mustangs Unlimited) $23.85 (WCCC)
Install windshield wiper lines - $5.95 (Mustangs Unlimited) $6.85 (WCCC)
Install taillight wiring protectors - $29.95/pair (Mustangs Unlimited) $23.85 (WCCC)
Install fan shroud - $49.95 (Mustangs Unlimited) $48.85 (WCCC)
Install Deck Lid lock cover - $47.50 (WCCC)
Install horn - $99.00 (Year One) - $27.85 (WCCC)
Install Complete Trunk Kit - $89.88 (Mustangs Unlimited)

Install Trunk Mat - $57.85 (WCCC)

Install Trunk Filler Boards - $19.85 (WCCC)
Install Motor Trend Car of The Year sticker - $35.00 (WCCC)
Install front bumper guards - $145.00 (WCCC)
Install rear bumper guards - $145.00 (WCCC)
Install rear bumper guard mounting brackets and related hardware - used - $82.00 (WCCC)
Install Headlight door insert background - $28.85 (WCCC)

Install Headlight door walking cat emblem - $32.00 (WCCC)

Install Battery Hold-down Clamp Kit - $11.00 (WCCC)

Install radiator overflow - $ ?

Have second set of keys made - blanks - $1.85 each (WCCC)
1967 Cougar Shop Manual - $39.75 (WCCC)

1967 Cougar Assembly Manuals (Set of 5) - $71.40 (WCCC)

TOTAL - $1906.32

Free (No parts needed)
Buff and wax car
Shine wheels

Flush radiator
Hook up vacuum lines for headlight doors
Paint leaf springs
Paint traction bars

Fix or Repair
Running lights front and rear
Gas Gauge
Back up lights
Vacuum system for front headlights

Possible Future projects
New tires and wheels - Approximately $1,000 - $1,200
Replace original kick panels with kick panels w/ speakers - Pioneer $149.85 (WCCC)
Replace tachometer w/ clock size tachometer in dash - $169.85 (West Coast Classic Cougar)
Bumpers re-chromed - front & rear - $325 each (West Coast Classic Cougar)
Replace "Moroso" valve covers w/ Chrome "Powered by Ford" valve covers - ?

Replace mufflers - $ ?

Install Right Hand Side View Mirror - $119.85 (West Coast Classic Cougar)
Install new heat and A/C system - $ ? (more research)
Install Power Steering system - $ ? (more research)
Install retractable antenna - $91.00 (Year One)
Install console - $ 800 - $1,000 (West Coast Classic Cougar) or parts car
Install fuel lines - $ ? (more research)
Install fuel tank - $125.00 (West Coast Classic Cougar)

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.