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5 Posts
First, let me give a little background. I'm an offroad/motorcycle 20 year old enthusiast...I have a pretty built Jeep Cherokee (I've been wheeling XJ's pretty seriously for 4 years) and I'm slowly getting more and more into motorcycles after commuting/rebuilding one for the last year and 7k miles. The Mercury Cougar I have was my grandpas originally, he bought it brand new and we've (my dad and I) had it since. He was an auto part store owner for the better part of his life and this car was his baby. It was stored in his garage since he passed for about 15 years, and has spent the last 3-4 years outside (Washington State, so sun for a few months and rain most of the time). It is all original to my knowledge minus the exhaust (grandpa put a custom single outlet exhaust on) beyond that I don't know if anything has changed.
I've always been a forum guy, so I found this forum in hopes that some real enthusiast can tell me a little more about this car. My mom wants it gone, and we don't have any room for it in the garage right now...but I want to make sure this car gets the proper restoration it deserves but I need to know what I'm getting into first - as well as a little ammo to keep it. My long term plan is to fully restore this car to be a weekend driver, and be as close to show quality as possible once I finish my ME bachelors and MST associates. But I would love to have the ability to drive it ASAP.
My knowledge is limited on these vehicles. I want to know what I should look for with problem areas, especially trouble-sum restoration items, or anything that could cause problems/slow down a restoration. Also things about value, what is or isn't more valuable with this car? Is it worth going all the way to pulling the engine/suspension/axles and freshening everything up, or should we just get it running and clean it up a bit and call it good?
Is this car worth the time? Or should I get it running well enough to drive once in awhile and drag race and be happy?

Vehicles_0003 by schmitz516, on Flickr

Vehicles_0001 by schmitz516, on Flickr

Vehicles_0002 by schmitz516, on Flickr
I pulled these pictures off my flickr, I took them awhile ago...but it should give an idea of what kind of car we're talking about.
Details:
1967 Mercury Cougar GT
-Under 70k original miles
-Auto transmission, Ford 9" rear (it looks?), obviously the bigger 390 engine
-Brown/Bronze paint, original but fading on the hood
-Chrome is in decent shape, interior chrome began pitting after sitting outside (inside gets condensation build up on the glass in the mornings, I've noticed)
-Outside chrome/trim appears in good shape, bumper has a fender dents
-Panels/body is all straight minus a couple small dents/shopping cart dings
-Engine hasn't run in 20+ years, looks dirty but by no means a rust bucket
-Engine bay has bubbling paint and such, but doesn't seem to be rusted
So lets hear some feedback. Any tips on what to do is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
Some of my random mechanical questions:
1. What should I do to get the motor running?
2. How much value is it losing by sitting outside, allowing condensation to build up inside and the paint to fade?
3. Any notorious problems with these that need to be checked?
4. What NEEDS to be replaced for sure after sitting for this long to have it running/driving?
5. What SHOULD be pulled a part or rebuilt to have it running driving?
I'd love to have this as a toy to show ricers how it's done, but I don't know where to begin - or if I can even afford just getting it running to drive around on a college budget.
Mods: If this is in the wrong area, please move it to the appropriate one.
I've always been a forum guy, so I found this forum in hopes that some real enthusiast can tell me a little more about this car. My mom wants it gone, and we don't have any room for it in the garage right now...but I want to make sure this car gets the proper restoration it deserves but I need to know what I'm getting into first - as well as a little ammo to keep it. My long term plan is to fully restore this car to be a weekend driver, and be as close to show quality as possible once I finish my ME bachelors and MST associates. But I would love to have the ability to drive it ASAP.
My knowledge is limited on these vehicles. I want to know what I should look for with problem areas, especially trouble-sum restoration items, or anything that could cause problems/slow down a restoration. Also things about value, what is or isn't more valuable with this car? Is it worth going all the way to pulling the engine/suspension/axles and freshening everything up, or should we just get it running and clean it up a bit and call it good?
Is this car worth the time? Or should I get it running well enough to drive once in awhile and drag race and be happy?

Vehicles_0003 by schmitz516, on Flickr

Vehicles_0001 by schmitz516, on Flickr

Vehicles_0002 by schmitz516, on Flickr
I pulled these pictures off my flickr, I took them awhile ago...but it should give an idea of what kind of car we're talking about.
Details:
1967 Mercury Cougar GT
-Under 70k original miles
-Auto transmission, Ford 9" rear (it looks?), obviously the bigger 390 engine
-Brown/Bronze paint, original but fading on the hood
-Chrome is in decent shape, interior chrome began pitting after sitting outside (inside gets condensation build up on the glass in the mornings, I've noticed)
-Outside chrome/trim appears in good shape, bumper has a fender dents
-Panels/body is all straight minus a couple small dents/shopping cart dings
-Engine hasn't run in 20+ years, looks dirty but by no means a rust bucket
-Engine bay has bubbling paint and such, but doesn't seem to be rusted
So lets hear some feedback. Any tips on what to do is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
Some of my random mechanical questions:
1. What should I do to get the motor running?
2. How much value is it losing by sitting outside, allowing condensation to build up inside and the paint to fade?
3. Any notorious problems with these that need to be checked?
4. What NEEDS to be replaced for sure after sitting for this long to have it running/driving?
5. What SHOULD be pulled a part or rebuilt to have it running driving?
I'd love to have this as a toy to show ricers how it's done, but I don't know where to begin - or if I can even afford just getting it running to drive around on a college budget.
Mods: If this is in the wrong area, please move it to the appropriate one.