well i'll give alittle back round on this car. we have owned it since the late 70s. my grandparents bought it for my uncle when he turned 16...smart idea! its had 4 new front ends on it its a 390, XR7 with 77k orig miles.

its been sitting since 1997, that was the year my grandpa bought his '56 chevy bel-air. so its been in storage being started every few years and getting moved a few feet..thats about it.

i've been pushing for the last few years to get her back on the road again, its such a awesome can it cant just sit and rot.

so, this year we did it! so far we have a few grand into getting it back road worthy. all new brakes, all new fluids, new plugs,wires, timing set, new alt/voltage regulator and a few other odds and ends.

anyhow this weekend i've been driving the wheels off it! getting that old gas burnt out and holy crap that 390/C6 is a great combo! what a fast car!

thought i'd share a few pics for ya'll to enjoy!


where it has sat for the last 14 years



the day we got her out, 2 1/2 months ago



taking it down to the shop, since it wasnt road worthy i towed her.







pics from the weekend





the cougar and the reason it sat for so long...the '56 bel-air

 

the cougar, only a face a mother could love.

 

really? to me it looks so bad ***...like "get the hell out of my way" idk seems aggressive to me.

either way she screams! lol

 

That's your opinion. My opinion is that the pre-1970 Cougars are the best looking classic car ever built. I love these cars and I wish Ford had re-invented the Cougar when the Mustang body was redone last.

 

Nice lookin car! Love seein a cougar around. Thats awesome that you got a car from your family back on the road like that. I saw a real nice cougar for sale when I was in Hawaii, if its still for sale out there when I go back, I may buy the thing after seein this car!

 

Doncha mean pre 1971? 1970's are very similar to 1969's. Body style changed in 1971, again in 1974, ditto 1980, 1983, 1989.

These are nice cars, but the "flip/flop" headlamps and the sequential turn signals were problematic from day one.

Owned a '70 XR7 ragtop in 1978/79. Only 1,977 were assembled.

 

That would have been a real winner........A updated retro-stablemate to the Mustang, would have taken a bite out of Challenger and Camaro sales.

 

X 2 on the looks.

That thing got air shocks?

Serving suggestion: Get rid of the air shocks and put some performance shocks all the way around. If it's sagging in the back, find an add-a-leaf, or just add another stock leaf to it.

If the wheels are the problem and it won't clear the tires without being jacked up--a common problem in the late '60s--find some wheels that will fit.

My neighbor found some AR Torquethrusts in 17 x 7 or 17 x 9 that fit in his '64 1/2 Mustang without any lift or cutting. They look "right" on the car also.

Nice rig, congrats on saving it.

 

no air shocks. my uncle had the rear lifted 3" in 1982 for looks. the tires clear just fine no issues. stock style shocks with extensions in the rear to make them reach. the photos of it on the trailer has the 17x8s i want to run on it....need new tires(low pros) so we will run the 14s this season. personally i like the rake it has.

the headlights and turn signals work perfect and are pretty cool!

thanks guys i'm so glad to have her back on the road...sure gets lots of looks!

 

i have a 73 waiting for $ to restore, kind of partial to my year for some reason the last cougar they built had nothing in common with old ones but the name and was D### ugly

 

Which last real Cougar would that be?

1967/73 Cougars were based off Mustang's / 1974/76's off Torino's / 1977/79's off LTD II's, FoMoCo's idiotic name that replaced Torino.

1980/82's were based based off Thunderbirds/Continental Mark VI's. 1983/88 were based off Thunderbird's as were 1989/97's.

Then there's the newer imported from Cologne Germany version that didn't sell worth a hoot.

 

Then there's the newer imported from Cologne Germany version that didn't sell worth a hoot.

thats what i'm talking about UUUUUUGGGGGGLLLLYYYYYYY

 

real draggers are high in the front not the back!

 

some new pics, man this car is fun!!