[erkthejerk73]

The back story on this cougar. in 1972 my wife's grandmother on her mothers side purchased this car. Before she passed away my father in law asked if he could buy the car from her, as he had always loved it. Well she decided to give it to him and he has had the car since the mid 90's i believe. My wife always hated this car as she was forced to drive to to school as a kid, but now she is very excited to keep it in the family. My Father in law asked both of his sons and they didnt want to take on this project. The pictures of the car he sent to them all made it look horrible, well I am a risk taker so when he asked us we both agreed to at least take a try at making the car right.

My first impressions of the car when i got it, it was a lot better than I expected, the body is really straight just a few issues on the doors and one quarter panel. I knew the roof would need to be replaced. Here is a quick video of the car when i first got it. That was back in November 2012.

a lot of work has been done on the car since then, it has been at a restoration shop for ~ a month now. here are some updated pictures of what is going on.

Floor patched

Quarter patched and the side marker light to be shaved off

Motor pulled out

and my favorite picture the roof cut off! A new roof has been purchased and shipped to the restoration shop.

More progress pictures will be posted when i take them.

 

[erkthejerk73]

here are 1975 heads on a 70 block, long story short in the 90's my father-in-law had the original heads reworked and they got screwed up, so he threw these on them for the time being.



here is the lifter valley, this is exactly how it looked when i took the intake manifold off


and finally the water pump, im no mechanic, but how does that happen?

 

[1969XR7Vert]

...and finally the water pump, im no mechanic, but how does that happen?

If your water pump has a plate on the back of it and you do not see the impellor (I am not real familiar with Windsors), then the gasket between the pump and the timing cover allowed fluid to leak into the cavity where you see the corrosion. If the water pump has the impellor exposed when you look at the back of it, then the cavity is wet and the corrosion occurred because of running water without antifreeze or the antifreeze was very old.

 

[erkthejerk73]

Back in January when it was 6*F i decided it would be a great time to install a rear 4 link from Rod and Custom! here are some shots of it. I will paint it all and redo the undercoating after body work is done, also clean/paint the entire rear end.

Rear housing top mount

everything all buttoned up



rear is slammed for now, im sure i will raise it up a bunch to get the look right


here is a preview of what is going on the front

a full coilover package, disk brake conversion, and rack

 

[erkthejerk73]

heard from my body guy today, looks like he is ready for a few more parts, new copper door bushings/pins, a hood, and for me to get the front suspension off the car so he can weld in the new K member

 

[erkthejerk73]

I really really need to find a hood if anyone reading this has one please message me! im in cincinnati and will pick up a good hood within a 3-4 hr drive.

 

[1969XR7Vert]

Nice !

 

[erkthejerk73]

hmmm either not much interest in this or everyone is speechless!

went to the shop today after my lunch meeting was pleasantly surprised with the work that they have been doing.

one of the front fenders all primed notice the side marker is shaved


next we have a great view of the doner roof section after it was cut


and then here is the skin getting a coat of rust prevention

 

[CATHOUSE]

I really really need to find a hood if anyone reading this has one please message me! im in cincinnati and will pick up a good hood within a 3-4 hr drive.

I have 6 or 7 70 hoods sitting here but I am a little farther away. It is a 3-4 hour drive to the Ohio-Pa line from where I am. And however more miles to Cincinnati. If nothing comes up closer and you are interested just let me know.

As for interest in your project there is probably a lot more than you will ever know. Many people just read the posts without leaving any comments. Plus your first post really did not tell us much about your plans. Until you posted with the rear 4 link mods we were still in the dark about the direction you are going with the car. It now sounds like you are interested in making the car handle much better than stock. So tell us, what are your plans?

Randy Goodling
CCOA #95

 

[mrecoolgar]

4 Linky.

 

[erkthejerk73]

I have 6 or 7 70 hoods sitting here but I am a little farther away. It is a 3-4 hour drive to the Ohio-Pa line from where I am. And however more miles to Cincinnati. If nothing comes up closer and you are interested just let me know.

As for interest in your project there is probably a lot more than you will ever know. Many people just read the posts without leaving any comments. Plus your first post really did not tell us much about your plans. Until you posted with the rear 4 link mods we were still in the dark about the direction you are going with the car. It now sounds like you are interested in making the car handle much better than stock. So tell us, what are your plans?

Randy Goodling
CCOA #95

My plans are pretty much up in the air still, i like to auto cross so im sure the cougar will see a day or two getting beat on. As for the car its self it will mainly be a weekender. I really enjoy old muscle cars, so i decided to do this one 100% my way, if you are a purest reading this thread you probably will be cringing.

suspension: Front Independent Coilovers
Rear: 4 link

Motor: Rebuild the 351w block, bore/stroke to 408 (but maybe find a crate motor, need assistance here)

Interior: Up for ideas here, the houndstooth pattern is really neat to me, but its severely worn and needs to be refreshed

Rearend: Currently the car has a 3.00 final drive, i will probably spice this up with 3.73's and a LSD

Wheels: Really looking for some assistance here, i have found a few wheel styles i like, but I dont have a clue what will fit on a lowered cougar.

Body: shaving most of the extras on the car, i have asked the body shop to shave the drip rails, side marker lights, emblems, and roll the fenders.

did i miss anything?

 

[Joker13]

Very cool, be watching this thread

 

[1969XR7Vert]

Yes, you missed shaving the door handles!

 

[erkthejerk73]

Yes, you missed shaving the door handles!

yeah i know, just didnt find anything that i liked to replace them with, not a big deal...

 

[mzqj6r]

Just saw your post and I am glad you are keeping the project in the family. I hope Jenny enjoys the Eliminator we're doing for her. What are your plans for the engine? If you watch our father/daughter Eliminator thread ... you can see where we are headed.

 

[slo89stang]

Awesome build. I would be doing the same myself(to a certain point) if my budget allowed.


What front K member are you having welded in? Can you elaborate a little more on your front suspension setup?

 

[erkthejerk73]

Just saw your post and I am glad you are keeping the project in the family. I hope Jenny enjoys the Eliminator we're doing for her. What are your plans for the engine? If you watch our father/daughter Eliminator thread ... you can see where we are headed.

Currently the motor is 100% tore down, i just got a quote to rebuild it last week, but was not happy with some of the parts (Pro Comp heads). I am planning a 408w stroker when it is all said and done, or if i find a crate motor that is worth it. I have looked at most of your thread, and you and your daughter look like you are having a blast!

 

[erkthejerk73]

Awesome build. I would be doing the same myself(to a certain point) if my budget allowed.
What front K member are you having welded in? Can you elaborate a little more on your front suspension setup?

There is another 70 on the other forum with the same K member welded in already, but here is a video of the same setup. I will be updating more about the suspension when i get to it.

here is his picture of it welded up

 

[slo89stang]

ahh okay. I was wondering if you went with a "kit" or just fabbed something up yourself.

 

[erkthejerk73]

ahh okay. I was wondering if you went with a "kit" or just fabbed something up yourself.

not enough time to fab something up myself since i travel 4-5 days a week for work. Although next week i should be able to get away for a bit and work on the front end to get the old stuff out.