Hi everyone! I may as well add to all this since it is my car! First of all, I totally appreciate all of the good words. AND, frankly the car really came out nicely and Don Rush has a lot to do with the success. Chris Gauch came through in the clutch and since you all know him, ask him about the car too . . . I think he really likes it! He added to the success of the project.
A black 70 XR7 was my first car at the age of 16. Now you know where all this started. I would like to respond to a few of the ideas that have been presented here. I will go down the list and see if you all like my point of view.
a) The car is nicer than the pictures and better than the write-up. When we write about our cars, we forget details that really can add up to make a super nice car. It's great to share all this as we all truly love these cars or we wouldn't be here writing and reading.
b) I don't know if "staggering" is the right description of what was spent. I once asked John at John's Cougars what he knew of the real cost of some restorations he had knowledge of. At the time he was speaking of a convertible and he said big numbers. I mean really big. Some people can't do all the work themselves and farm it out. I was working 13 hour days since 1990 after the real estate crash of 87 and frankly, I felt that the only way I would ever get my dream Cougar was the route that I chose. I chose Richard Lianna of Troutville, VA as he was a famous Lincoln restorer. He has hundreds of customers and made most of them trophy winners. So, it's a Lincoln Mercury division product and I took a shot with him. Yes, I did a ton a TON of the work on my own. Every vacation I drove to VA and worked 12 hour days to get this the way I wanted. He did the body and paint and well . . . the install of the motor and rear. I did the interior and assembled the drive train and ground down the heads and water pump for clearance for the headers and well . . . I even took every wire apart in the main wire assembly from the battery to the dash and cut all the tape back and soaked and cleaned each with and did a continuity test and taped it back up and secured it to the lower dash that was not only vinyl dyed blue on the front, but hand sanded and two coats of white paint with a flex agent for the back. How about the detail of the little black strip of paint on the two dash areas immediately next to the raised aluminum ridge at the clock and dash gauge areas? Took DAYS to tape off and paint and make factory fresh so when we look at the photo or sit in the car, the feeling is striking. I just never understood when a person would say "totally restored" and then you would get to a car and sit in it and the dash was old and tired . . . you know what I mean? THAT is why I did this! I wanted a new car!
c) Larry! Hello, hope you're doing great. Hmmm, lucky I hope so too. But you know the game with Ebay, it's just a lure. It will never get up in the bids on that forum. It's the phone calls that come in from the advertising that may lead to a real buyer.
d) The color. I know and understand what I am about to say about color will offend some of you and I hope you won't take it the wrong way. I ask for just a minute that you forget we are talking about Cougars, cars that we are stuck on. The first challenge was that I wanted to pick ONLY a Lincoln Mercury color. Eventually we used a 1988 Lincoln color. The next hurdle for me is this, it is that I like when the exterior of a car and interior of a car have a relationship. Again, for the next sentence take a deep breath . . . the medium blue interior of this car did not go well with the original "electric blue" exterior. If the car had been white, well, that could have worked really well too. But, after countless hours and buying paint chips on Ebay and literally fighting with Richard over this . . . yes, fighting (I know, I am the owner right? I think I am!), we landed on this color. The fact is that if you visit the car and do not rely on history, the two simply compliment each other remarkably well. Who would have thought? Again opinion, we even had a colorist look at original fabric samples and sprayed out 6" x 10" sheets showing the exterior color and looking in different lighting. I know I ask all of you to take a leap of faith here, but the color is simply great and that's no bull****.
One more thought about this. On the original write-up on Ebay over a year ago, I wrote that this paint color was more luxurious. Now, many on this forum threw rocks at me. But I ask you this, after all the cars you've seen, dreamed of, admired . . . are we all going to say that we've never seen a paint that was simply deeper, or better or a paint that made a car look more substantial? Actually, one writer above notes a "brown" color or a "green" and we all can agree that some of these off colors have a negative response from nearly all of us. So how is it that it is not possible that maybe I landed on a color that not only I like, but one that in person simply is better? Is it not possible to have colors that work better with an interior? The answer is of course. Traditionalists will think one way and I respect that. But again, I believe if you all visited the car in person, you would all see this a bit differently.
e) The car has special suspension improvements like heavier coils and leafs and needle bearing spring perches and the factory rear sway bar . . . it has a McLeod clutch and pressure plate and cable system. It has a lot of things that I felt needed to be done. When I was 16 and removed the FMX and installed a top-loader, the z-bar would bend and I could never get it right. Now it is a dream; after 800 miles and only one adjustment, the pedal action is simply reliable and consistent. I don't know, the write-up I did speaks to a lot of what you guys have brought up. Even the clutch pedal has a needle bearing like a BMW because again, when I was a kid I would freak out that the pedal with the nylon bushings (a Thompson Industries product that was sold by the millions!) would crack and there would be metal on metal. Ever try to remove that whole pedal assembly on your back without the whole dash when your 16 with a 60 watt drop light bulb burning your head and arms? Well that's the memory that made me want to make improvements like these.
f) For what it is worth, you can see the interior that I did myself in a basement over 3 years came out really well. I found original fabric (vinyl) from a car upholstery place in Roanoke, VA . . . I bought the last 11 yards and still have some. I found this great place to re-do the sides of the front seats and kept the original leather centers. I kept the interior bone stock so when I got in the car, it would take me back to my 16th year. The exterior other than the color is really great. Again yes, the pin stripes are matching the center caps to the wheels. The wheels are special over-sized . . . I dunno, what's not to love?
So anyways, thanks to all of you for commenting. I don't get on this site too much but I figured there might be some interesting comments. Yes, I did spend a lot. But the result is still a good one. Yes, I am selling it for far less than what it cost. But at the right price, I will move on and the next guy will have a bargain and a great car. I will use the money creatively to make up for the financial loss. In the end, the experience of building it has been invaluable. Hey, I know it's a show that means not much to the Cougar community but it won at the 2011 Greenwich Concours . . . that was an unexpected moment.
You all take care! Best wishes. Tony
