[Ydna]

Photos: http://s161.photobucket.com/albums/t210/sk8nkill/1969 Cougar xr7/

1969 xr7. I just bought it this past Saturday. I had posted these pictures up asking for opinions a few months ago, finally decided to buy it.

I'm getting it registered and insured this week. Then towing it home. She runs like a champ, and the 4 speed feels good.

The ambitious plan this coming weekend is to get new tires on her, go through the brakes, replace what needs to be replaced, put in a new voltage regulator and starter solenoid, spark plugs, new distributor cap and rotor, put the driver side rear glass in, and reattach the brake booster. I'm going to put two fuel filters in, one before the carb, and one before the fuel pump, so if I see any chunks of rust, I know I need to do fuel lines and clean or replace the gas tank. I'm going to take an air compressor and blow out all the brake lines, bleed the system, and replace everything that needs to be replaced.

Best case scenario: I get it ugly and driveable.

Worst case scenario: It gets tires and maybe brakes.

Then wait for the next paycheck, put some good exhaust on it. The floors are good, but the driver side floor pan has a few small holes in it, so I'm going to replace that. I'm also going to tear out that old carpet, and put some cheap new stuff in there till I really clean up the interior.

Then I'm going to start searching craigslist for a driver side door and fender, and rebuild the hinges. Then I'm going to rattle can primer it to make it look a bit better.
Then just chip away at stuff as I best I can.

Any advice, tips, tricks, etc are welcome.

 

[cj750]

Sounds like you have a pretty good plan.
If its a factory 4V/4-speed car, its a great candidate for restoration.
Just curious, what are the numbers on the choke airhorn? The pics aren't terribly clear, but that looks like a factory carb from either a 428CJ or a 390GT, which would be kind of cool.

 

[Ydna]

It's not a factory 4 speed, otherwise, I would restore it. Its a spare Holley 650 he had. The original carb wasn't working too well.

 

[kal]

looks like a nice project

 

[Bad69cat]

Looks fairly solid - just missing stuff, and a bit neglected. You may fnd another parts car locally that has the majority of things you want, cheaper than buying it by the piece usually....good luck and keep us posted.

 

[Ydna]

Yea. I'm just going to keep working on it, my goal is to have it looking sharp in 2 years.

Would 69 mustang seats fit in a 69 cougar?

 

[badcatt]

Yea. I'm just going to keep working on it, my goal is to have it looking sharp in 2 years.

Would 69 mustang seats fit in a 69 cougar?

Yes, They have the same frames and tracks as the Cougar seats. It looks like it was a sharp color combo when new. Dark Green with Sadle? is that correct?

 

[Ydna]

It was black with a black vinyl top and tan interior. Pretty sharp. The roof managed to get practically no rust on it even with a vinyl top.

 

[Bad69cat]

It was black with a black vinyl top and tan interior. Pretty sharp. The roof managed to get practically no rust on it even with a vinyl top.

That's a rarity! Count your blessings there!

 

[Ydna]

That's a rarity! Count your blessings there!

Just got her home tonight. Tomorrow I'm going to get some tires on her, and though the brake booster is disconnected, the brakes are rock solid and work well. So I have a feeling the brakes won't need much.

Yea, I'm quite happy about that. I was surprised how clean the roof was when the guy told me it had a vinyl top. Well, the starter solenoid and voltage regulator are actually good, a cable was just shorting. So that saves me some dough.

 

[lbesq]

As you have so far discovered, it is sometimes just little things that need done to get to the running/driving stage. Just do a good inspection and fix all the small things that are loose, Check all grounds, give it a good cleaning inside. Eastwood has a good product to fill in/rebuild that steering wheel. Know that the temptation is to replace door and fender on drivers side, how about just taking down to solid and refilling the "bondo" If door works good, that is a good, quick fix till better comes along. Lots of low cost temp cosmetics to get on the road and have fun while putting together a solid car. Think you did alright, and as others have said, if you can find a non runner parts car, might have lots of the things you want/need at a lower cost than buying "one at a time" Look forward to more progression pictures.
Lloyd

 

[Ydna]

Got it home last night. Cleaned it out decently. The plastic nozzle on the brake booster is broken, so I think I'm going to have to buy a new one. It was having a hard time getting going when driving, so we replaced the vacuum advance, but we dropped the little e clip into the distributor...

Had to take it out, screwed up the timing. So now I'm getting up nice and early to take the belts off, get cylinder 1 at top dead center, then adjust distributor, adjust the timing, then put it all together, then probably adjust the points too.

After that, she should run better. Once it got going, it would cruise fine, but it would want to quit coming from a stop. Which I believe is the vacuum advance. Wasn't able to try it because of that stupid c clip. Other then that today was a good day spent on it. The sequential box was out, and the guy had it jerry rigged with alligator clips, we hooked it back up, replaced two bulbs, works great. Head lights work great.

The worst part is the power windows. On the driver side, the guy just chopped ALL of the wires going to the door. Thank god they're all color coded, though it won't be any fun connecting them. I have to figure out how to mount the glass and regulator on the driver side quarter. And none of the windows work right now. I may end up switching to manual, to be honest.

 

[Ydna]

Got the timing all done, new spark plugs. Runs even better. The battery isn't charging right now, so I'm taking it to kragen and they have a little computer that can tell me what is wrong.

Then wheels. Then power booster and master cylinder, then it should be driveable for a while. Does anybody have any tips on power windows? I'm heavily considering switching to manual.

 

[Bad69cat]

I think the way the power windows are switched - if any of the switches are bad/disconnected - non of them will work. You have to have good switches/connections to even begin troubleshooting them. I'd try to get them going personally, but they are prone to failures. If you do the conversion - go to '70 for parts since the glass bolts in rather than glues in like the '69's - which are known to be problematic.

 

[67.5xr7]

See you found yourself a 4-speed after all. That's great Andy! Good to see you held out,...put a little more cash together and came out with a nice classic ride. Knew you would find a one in the Bay area,....CONGRATULATIONS !!!!!

 

[Ydna]

See you found yourself a 4-speed after all. That's great Andy! Good to see you held out,...put a little more cash together and came out with a nice classic ride. Knew you would find a one in the Bay area,....CONGRATULATIONS !!!!!

Thanks very much! Yea, I'll get her fixed up.

And man, those power windows sound like they'll be troublesome.