I've lurked a bit and posted some lately. My next "toy" car I'm looking at getting is a 69 XR7. For those of you that are on here frequently, you may have read some of my posts about trying to find my dad's old one. No such luck yet. I decided that I'd still like to have a Cougar even if I can't find his old one.
A little about my experience in wrenching on cars. I have not done any body work unfortunately, but I do own both an 89 and a 95 Taurus SHO that are my "fun" cars, which I plan to keep awhile. I've done the basics (brakes, alternator, hoses, etc.), and I've done water pumps, timing belts, rod bearings, misc. interior work etc. I'm still an amateur mechanic/hobbyist with a compressor and a decent amount of tools, but I have 0 experience in older classics.
I'd be looking for a Cougar that would be a nice, fixed up driver. One that doesn't look like crap to just take to the drag strip, nice enough to take to local car shows, but not a $20k+ museum piece. I want to be able to enjoy the car without rather than let it be a garage queen. Any possibility of finding one in ok shape for the $5k range when I'm ready to buy? Also, in relation to these "newer" cars I have, I'm assuming these classics are easier to work on? I would be somewhat picky in the fact that I'd like to find one in the original color combo that I want. I would like to keep it as true to the original VIN as possible (don't want to do a paint color change; but a repaint of the original color is ok).
Looking specifically for a 69 XR7 Dark Aqua with a white vinyl top (or will install that myself), Aqua interior, 351W 4V.
A little about my experience in wrenching on cars. I have not done any body work unfortunately, but I do own both an 89 and a 95 Taurus SHO that are my "fun" cars, which I plan to keep awhile. I've done the basics (brakes, alternator, hoses, etc.), and I've done water pumps, timing belts, rod bearings, misc. interior work etc. I'm still an amateur mechanic/hobbyist with a compressor and a decent amount of tools, but I have 0 experience in older classics.
I'd be looking for a Cougar that would be a nice, fixed up driver. One that doesn't look like crap to just take to the drag strip, nice enough to take to local car shows, but not a $20k+ museum piece. I want to be able to enjoy the car without rather than let it be a garage queen. Any possibility of finding one in ok shape for the $5k range when I'm ready to buy? Also, in relation to these "newer" cars I have, I'm assuming these classics are easier to work on? I would be somewhat picky in the fact that I'd like to find one in the original color combo that I want. I would like to keep it as true to the original VIN as possible (don't want to do a paint color change; but a repaint of the original color is ok).
Looking specifically for a 69 XR7 Dark Aqua with a white vinyl top (or will install that myself), Aqua interior, 351W 4V.
