[modifiedmark]

Yesterday, I took my Cougar to a local show and run into a guy I met at a prior show. I had my camera this time and took a couple pics of his super nice small block 68. The car belongs to Doug Humphrey from Kankakee Ill. Doug says he did all the work on the car himself and let me tell you he did a fine job and I thought everyone would enjoy seeing it. mm

 

[modifiedmark]

An under hood pic of his really hot 302.

 

[modifiedmark]

A pic of the other side next to my cougar.mm

 

[ChadInman]

Thanks for the truly inspiring pics MM - The guy at the paint shop where my cougar is getting done says I should paint it white. And well if i knew it would look that good, I probably would too. I think I'm going to go with the Navy Blue Metallic from a corvette though. - Chad

 

[evilmess]

That 68 looks great and like ChadInman says, "inspiring."

One thing about that 68 really cought my eye though, the passenger side mirror.

Was that a factory option or would that have been added by the owner from a later model Cougar or perhaps a Mustang? I want one for my Cougar!

 

[modifiedmark]

I'm not for sure about the pass mirror, but I assume it was a factory option for 68.

Chad, I always liked white cars, as they dont really look as dirty when they actually are. They also lend themselves to paint touchups eaiser than most colors. I myself dont care for vinyl tops on Cougars but I do belive that they go with white better than any other color, as wittnessed by this fine 68. I should have taken a picture of the hood as it has the same graphics on it that are on the quarters, which I think are tastfully done.mm

 

[Steve Eitzen]

White or not to white?

As far as I can see, there's only one drawback to a white car...they don't win trophies at people's choice shows. Now, I don't give a flying fig about trophies. I attend shows to see friends and enjoy Cougars.

There are, however, some folks who get a kick out of the recognition that goes with winning an award. There's nothing wrong with that, but if you want to win at people's choice shows, don't paint your car white.

Let me give you a case in point. Up in the Seattle area there's a fellow named Jim Compton who own's a very clean, very nice white '69 XR-7. He's put a lot of work into that car and it shows. At the 2000 Cascade C/C Prowl, they had a formally judged show and Jim and I were in the same class. He took first and I took second. Based on the merits of the two cars, that is exactly how I would have judged it.

Now, at the 2001 Prowl, they had a people's choice show and, once again, Jim and I were in the same class. But this time I took the first place trophy and Jim took second. Based on just about any criteria you can name, Jim deserved that first place trophy. Why did I win it? Simple. Jim's car is white with a black vinyl top and mine is dark aqua with a white vinyl top. Even though we were parked next to each other, people would walk right past his car to look at mine.

Moral of the story: If you want to win people's choice shows, paint it any color but white! (Except maybe lime frost green.)

Keep on Cattin'!

Steve

 

[modifiedmark]

Steve I tend to agree with you but not just because of that story. I dont have any use for spectator judged shows anyhow because the best cars usually never get picked for 1st anyway. If you have a nice 64 Galaxy, Impala, fury or any other sedan you dont stand a chance against a even so, so Chevelle, Mustang or Cuda. Its what the folks think is a cool car not so much its condition. I belive there is even a built in G.M. bias at some judged shows. Dougs car that I posted above won first place in the all Ford show that I first met him at and last week at the judged show he didnt win anything at all and two of the top three cars werent as nice as his. I dont even try to figure it out anymore but I dont care about awards ( 20 years of stock car racing throphies for the wife to complain about dusting)either so it only bothers me when I see a really nice car that someone has really invested alot of time and money not get recognized no matter what make or model.mm

 

[ChadInman]

Final word on the paint that will be sprayed on my car.... You're hearing it here first.... Ok It's going to be -GM Navy Blue Metallic- Oh yeah that's not a stock color. - Chad

 

[evilmess]

What do you guys think about black cougars?
If and when I get around to painting mine thats the color I have in mind.

 

[modifiedmark]

I'll tell you what I think about black, the people flock to them. Its just the oppisite of what Steve said about not painting white.
My brothers Mach 1 is raven black and you should see the people run to it in a line of other Mustangs. We take our cars to shows together quite a bit so I've seen it very often. It takes a pretty straight car for black though and it will make some bad trim stand out also. I also think its the best color for a cougar with a vinyl top. mm

 

[texrep]

My two cents.......

If your in it for the trophy.... you are spinning your wheels. Do it for you.... For the love of the breed. I've seen truely inspiring cougars passed up for a mediocre mustang or (god forbid) a metropoliton or whatever it's called. If your in a stock class or even a modified class, money is what wins how can you compete with the chevelle with the chrome engine or the 20,000 resto chevy 2. I go to see other cars and shoot the Sh_t with other folks. Where I'm at I'm luckly to have 1 or 2 other Cats there.
Sour Grapes .....No, Just the ways I sees it.....


BTW Black is good... But flammin' Red is better... JMHO.

Don

 

[Steve Eitzen]

Two Thoughts...

In my never humble opinion, Mark is right about black Cats. From a design point of view, darker colors make a car look lower and longer, and black is about as dark as you can get. I think the more bulbous '69/'70 Cougars especially benefit from darker paint jobs.

There is one drawback to black, however, that Mark didn't mention. On a bright day, black paint jobs show every flaw, especially swirls from waxing and buffing. Tiny scratches you'd never see in a lighter color are much more noticeable on a black car. So you end up spending a lot more time on finish work when you prepare the car for a show. But it's worth it!

In his posting, Don reminded me of something I tend to forget. I'm fortunate in that I live in an area where there are three classic Cat clubs within about a two hour drive. If I'm willing to travel greater distances, there are four more active clubs within a day's drive.

My point is this: I very seldom take my Cat to anything but Cougar events, and I forget the kind of treatment we get at other types of shows. So I salute those of you who carry the Cougar banner into Mustang country and other automotive regions. This is also a heck of a good argument for starting more classic Cat clubs!

Keep on Cattin'!

Steve

 

[Logan]

Did you just call my car bulbous?!

hehehe

 

[Steve Eitzen]

Bulbousity

Logan...

Actually, I said, "more bulbous." And, I said it about my car, as well as your car. Why? You got something against Buicks?

Keep on Cattin'!

Steve

 

[Logan]

hahahah

 

[modifiedmark]

Steve is absolutly right about black showing everthing!!! Thats part of what I was thinking about when I said a car needs to be really straight for a black paint job. I'm sorry. I just realized I counterdicted myself when I said white and then black were best for vinyl tops!!! Black best, then white second best in my opinion, and you all know what they say about opinions. There just like ***holes, everbody has one and most stink. mm

 

[ChadInman]

a thing about black cars..

I was going to paint my car black, but the guy who is painting my car said to go and look at black cars, because like you've said they show everything So when the goodguys show rolled into town I went and looked at the black cars. They were all dirty - it was an outdoor show, and being summer and all they were covered in dust. The really deep black that had about a million coats on them looked real good. A black car with orange peel is about the ugliest thing in the world also. Now look at a white car - even a not so good paint job still looks sharp. As for me - I went with a dark blue, so it's almost the same as with black, but it's what I wanted. Last thing about black cars - they're so hot after being parked in the sun for awhile - they become ovens. You must have AC with a black car. That's all - Chad