I thought I would give a quick update on what is happening with the Cougar and a little about what's going on in my life.
The insurance company has been slow to work with, but they have been responsive. We have come to a settlement and I am hoping to receive a check soon. What happens to the Cougar is still up in the air. The damage is very fixable, but I am eager to start another project. On the other hand, it is tempting to fix the Cougar and build it to version 2.0. In the middle of March, right before the COVID-19 thing blew everything up, my wife and I were in Kansas City looking at various areas and houses. We plan to move there sometime in the next 60-90 days. This pandemic is the ultimate test of being able to deal with uncertainty, but we are managing it well.
I enjoy doing little project on the Cougar. It's hard to believe that it is almost five years since she has been on the road. With any car there are always maintenance issues to address. Since I have DBW throttle bodies that live outside the engine back, exposed to the elements, the wiring for the TBs has taken quite a beating. The sun's UV rays beat up the wiring insulation and this ultimately leads to DBW errors that leads to going into "limp mode."
The Holley DBW cables are quite long, so it is just a matter of stripping back the cable insulation and get to some new, fresh wires.
The DBW connectors are Metripack GT150 series. I purchased new connectors and already had the proper terminals and cable seals in my wiring tool box.
This week I finally got a settlement check from the other driver's insurance company. Despite being a little slow to respond and no doubt Covid-19 having something to do with that, I am pleased with the settlement. Given that my wife and I are in the process of relocating, the repairs on the Cougar are put on hold. The car is running and driving and it doesn't make much sense to start any sort of repair process at the moment.
As a follow up to the last update, I had my buddy Blake design some really neat covers for the throttle body connectors. He drew these up in SolidWorks and 3D printed them out of ABS plastic.
I had to de-pin the terminals from the connector body and fish the wires through. The fit is spot on!!!
Here you can see the difference between the 3D printed covers and my old balloon solution. I think these look much better!
Since I have installed these, we have had several really heavy storms with a lot of rain. The next morning I was able to start it up and have had zero issues. I think the combination of the new connectors and these covers should make this a fairly long term solution to keeping the throttle body connectors dry and protected from UV.
These covers would actually also be a great addition to any engine that uses the DBW throttle bodies. If anyone is interested in them, send me a PM and I will see if Blake wants to make some more.
I have had this car since i was 17. It had a 302 in it that I blew up back then and installed a 289. I then upgrade to a 460. It had it's share of floor rot so i decided to install 2 X 3 rear frame rails and a vette rear. Dare to be different. I then decided the front shock towers were a...
Hello All,
I would like to convert my 68 to the wide belt set up.
I do understand I'd need to change the Timing Chain Cvr & Water pump. As well as the obvious pulleys.
What else will I need to do/Gather before starting this conversion??
Gunny
Hi,
My topic about my 377 windsor engine ended up in a general topic about my projects about the car..
So i started a proper topic.
Probably taking the car to a garage this week and start my project.
I'd like something between 400-420 crankshaft HP, and the wildest rear gears i can tolerate...
Any way to lower the rear in a 69 besides lowering leaf springs? I installed HD rear springs during the build but now that it is ready to roll, I want to drop the rear and front an inch. Already installed 620 springs in front. Will lowering blocks work on a non stock, higher horsepower car?
Hi,
I am a new owner of a 69 cougar xr7 with a 351w engine in Austria. I want it to be a daily driver on sunny days with around 400hp.
Does anyone have experience with the edelbrock top end kits?
https://www.edelbrock.com/performer-rpm-top-end-kit-for-s-b-ford-2090.html...
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GrouperTrooper · updated 
