1970 Father-Son Project

Hello CCC!

We are brand new to the Cougar family. We have enjoyed many classic cars and trucks over the years. The love of their charm and character is something I want to pass down to my children. Also, I have a rule in my home - my children must learn to drive with a manual transmission.

My youngest has liked Camaros since he was very young. When he was around 3 or 4, I had picked up a rough 78 Camaro with no title. I tried for several months to make headway on getting a title for the vehicle, but never had any luck. I eventually decided to part it out. Whenever I was in the garage working on other cars or taking parts of the Camaro, he would play in that car without ever getting bored. When the time came to sell the rolling shell, he stood in the garage with his arms crossed and a serious scowl on his face as the new owner winched it up on the trailer and hauled it off. He has been a Camaro guy ever since. But… as he has matured, his tastes have matured with him. We had been looking for a good project car candidate for a while. When he discovered a running driving 1970 Cougar nearby, we went to look at it. He was sold. The problem was the price tag. I have a little GMC pickup with a manual that we’ve been using for teaching driving skills (because so many affordable classic cars are automatics). The argument was made we could sell the little truck to help for the Merc since it too was manual. I couldn’t really mount a defense against said argument. We moved a little money around and got a small loan to pay for the Cougar and the truck is listed for sale. The money from it’s sale will pay back the loan. I had to leave town on a work trip, so I wanted to close the deal before we lost the opportunity to pick it up.

Enough back story…

We went back this past weekend. The seller stated he had turned down offers that were $2k under his asking price. With the little loan and my collected savings, we were exactly $1k under the asking price. (I had already asked if he was interested doing a partial trade for the GMC …he wasn’t). So we scheduled an appointment to go check it out in earnest, took our little stack of cash, and jumped in the big truck for the 40 mile drive over to the east side of the Puget Sound. The car had been in storage for a quite a while, but was started and ran semi-regularly. Even so, the battery was dead as a doornail. With a battery charger on boost, it fired right and purred along smoothly. The owner backed it out of the garage and I noticed the front drivers tire was very low. He stated he hadn’t checked tire pressure in 4 years. He turned on the air compressor and I began to check the other tires. They were all low - right around 20 psi. We topped them all off then backed it out farther to the road. Even though the car had a pretty decent layer of dust, the paint still looked pretty good in the sun. We jumped in and took it for a ride. The engine ran very smooth, but the 4-speed was super clumsy. When it had been upgraded from a 3-speed to 4-speed, it must not have had all the kinks worked out. Other than that, it was great. Engine never coughed or sputtered. The manual brakes were strong and the power steering made zero noise.

We went back to the house and as the seller showed me all the spare parts coming with the project, I was sure to check the garage floor where it had been parked. Not a speck of a fluid anywhere. And being an old dusty shop with several old cars, there wasn’t any evidence any of them had moved recently. I chocked that up as a win. I made the offer and he accepted.

It is sort of an Eliminator Clone. I’d say a good-ish restoration was done in the late 80s or early 90s based on the crushed blue velour interior. The fabric is dusty and and little soiled, so I didn’t snag any decent photos of it. We haven’t really had a chance to find out how nice the repaint is yet. The color shows up very blue in the photos, but in person it has a tinge of teal in it. As near as I can tell in the few hours I have had to play with it, the body is completely solid except for a bit rust showing up on the lower corners of each door. I believe the Eliminator scoop, spoiler, and mirrors were added much later after the restoration. Two owners prior swapped out the 351c 2v and 3 speed manual for a 351c 4v and 4 speed. I’ve checked for the “cannonball” cast on the head (it’s there), so I believe they are open chamber heads. Bummer. All gauges appear to work correctly. All lights (including the sequential rear turn signals) are working, but the windshield wipers don’t do anything. I think there may be an electronic upgrade hidden somewhere for the sequential turn signals because there is a naked vacuum manifold thing in the trunk with nothing attached. (I’ll learn as I go along with this car.)

The price included the original engine and transmission, most of the pieces to turn the interior to black vinyl, and a bunch of miscellaneous spare parts in varying condition. After completing the necessary paperwork, we loaded up all the goodies, jumped the car on the battery charger again, and took off.

The seller never kept much fuel in it, so I need to get to a gas station quickly. I opted to turn the car off at the pump due to the filler neck being between the tailpipes. I figured the Duramax with dual batteries would be enough to jump it again. I was wrong. So then I had to run up the road and get a battery at the parts store before it closed. After installing the new battery, it jumped to life immediately, and we hit the road for the 40 mile trip back home. The car ran great, but it needs a tune-up. It must be running rich because it belches out some black smoke at WOT. It pulls to the left slightly, but everything else was fine. We were almost blind at one point driving into the sunset with all the dust on windshield. The rear end gearing for the original 3-speed makes it a good highway cruiser with the 4 speed. At 66 mph (according to GPS) the speedo only indicated 50 mph and the engine loped along at a comfortable pace. Temps and oil pressure stayed good the entire time. I was comfortable enough with the car to take a quick detour for some sunset pics. By all accounts, this will be a good father & son project. It’s plenty nice enough to enjoy as-is, but still has opportunity for wrenching and teaching and learning.

My son is very excited. And I’m very anxious to get the little gray truck sold. I’m sure it’s killing him to wait for me to get home from my work trip.

you can kinda see some of the dust on the car in this first photo
the car is still just as dirty in the other photos, but I’m trying to hide it with the light/angle of the photos
















I welcome any and all critiques, feedback, suggestions. This is my first blue oval classic vehicle that isn’t a truck, so I’m sure I’ll have lots of questions.

Most immediate things we need to address is the shifter linkage, a tune-up, and the windshield wipers don’t do anything when actuated.

I think uou did well. I like the Blue and it’s has a 4 speed. There are a lot of Cougar people here in the Puget Sound area.

Great looking car. I was never as lucky as him.

The “naked vacuum manifold” part you refer to in your 1970 Cougar ( trunk ) is actually part of the ( evaporative ) emissions system. Here is a good summary of what the system involves / entails ( from Motortrend by Marcus Anghel / Editor Sep 23, 2019 ) :

https://www.motortrend.com/how-to/big-brothers-emissions-1970-mustangs/

The sequential turn signal system was entirely electronic with a set relays attached on the top of the solid state circuit box, so there is no vacuum involved in its function. But that doesn’t mean your sequential system hasn’t had an upgrade. Something I’m sure you’'ll find out as you investigate and appreciate your Cougar more in the coming months and years.

Looks like you’ve got a great platform to work with. You picked it up just in time to tinker with it and get it presentable for the Cascade Cougar Club annual Prowl in July.

Looks nice.
Congrats.
Take a good look at the tires before too much driving, see how old they are.

badcatt, I’m glad to hear the Puget area his Cougar people. I’m sure I will need help. Will be looking for some events to attend this summer and meeting the locals. My wife probably won’t be thrilled because I’m already pretty involved with other car clubs.

Royce, We are pretty lucky as parents. Both my boys are really good kids, hard working, and enjoy cars as much was I do. My oldest and I have made a lot of headway on his car, which started off in way worse condition than this Cougar. He actually paid for his car all by himself, but it helps he’s old enough to have a job. My youngest will put plenty of sweat equity into preserving this car. He’s already called me on my trip to tell me he began cleaning the interior.

gah, I read through the article - you are absolutely on the money. And the seller told me his investigation into the car was that it started life in California. All the numbers add up with what you shared.

Here is the manifold I had mistaken for a magical piece of the sequential light assembly

Thanks so much for the education!!!

jcbingcougar, that sounds like a great event to attend! How big (attendance) is this event? Do we need to make sure we’re registered early in order to secure a spot? Do we need to join the club?

zman, thanks! Yes, checking out the date code was part of my inspection when I was checking tire pressures at the seller’s house (wanted to know if it would even be safe to take up to highway speeds). They are 2015, so I will begin tire shopping pretty soon. I couldn’t find any splitting or rot, so I feel fine driving around to the local in-town cruise in events until we can get the swapped out for new tires. 15 inch tires are becoming more a pain to find, but not impossible.

Thank you everyone for the feedback. I will continue to monitor this thread for suggestions and post specific questions as they pop up.

Looks very nice great find! I too just picked up a 70 last month. I have the ford shop manual so if you ever need help feel free to send me a message and I will try to help you out more of a librarian I guess as I am learning like you. The folks in this community are awesome at identifying things as you learned in this thread.

The wheels look really nice (I don’t say that often regarding aftermarket wheels) but also look like they have a lot of offset. That may create problems with rubbing. Also excessive offset really messes up handling and destroys the outer wheel bearing life. Look up “scrub radius” and “bump steer” to see what I mean about the handling impact.

Otherwise that is a really nice looking car!

Your son will come to realize his first lesson already. Buy the best car you can afford. It’s less expensive in the long run.

2nd lesson…I shouldve had an automatic and a bench seat…. :laughing:

My first car had an automatic and a bench seat. It didn’t help…

PonyCarMan, I agree with you on the aesthetics of the wheels. They definitely match the “period correct” feel of the car. I’ll get interior pics next week which will be better than trying to explain it. I never heard/felt any rubbing when driving it. The rears are definitely fatter than the fronts. I think the fronts are close to stock size/spacing. But the rears are definitely wider. I’ll do the research you recommend and keep on eye it! Thanks for the insight!




I’m not stepping in that!


Billy, thanks for commenting. Very generous to offer your library services. I will keep that in mind as we begin diving into this new and exciting project. Best of luck with your 70!!


Okay, you’ve twisted my arm. We joined the club via the online option. I’ve sent Nadine an email asking if she needs any further info. I still need to complete registration for the show, but looking forward to coming to the event in July.

You ask, I provide…





My first car was a 70 Cougar too. Wonder if 0F93H510369 is still down there in Florida with the epoxy repaired cracked console?

That’s a great looking blue cat - congratulations!

Well, that wasn’t too hard. Welcome to the club! Look forward to meeting you and seeing your car.

Other than potential for rubbing, the rears aren’t as sensitive to offset as the fronts.

Thanks, badcatt! I’ll get registered soon.


Thank you, Calicat. Don’t the photos fool you too much; the car has a lot of flaws. The lower clarity of cellphone pics helps hide the blemishes and layer of dirt you’ll say below. But I agree it is a really good start!


Likewise, jcbingcougar! We are looking forward to meeting all the local Cougar folks and soaking up as much knowledge as possible.


That’s good to know, PonyCarMan. We’ll continue to keep an eye out for any rubbing. We went for a nice cruise this weekend and the only unpleasant noise we heard was some parts sliding around in the trunk.



I finally got home from my work trip just before midnight on Friday night. I woke up promptly at sunrise on Saturday morning to prepare for a day full of events with another car group. The weather was beautiful and the crowds at the two parades we participated in were huge. It was still warm when we got home, so after a little relaxing, my son and I moved the Cougar to the driveway for a much needed washing. That’s not pollen on the car - that’s dust/dirt. Even being parked in a shop under a car cover, it had collected quite a layer of filth.











The wash made a great improvement. It was still a warm evening when we finished, so we dried it quickly and jumped in for a cruise along the local waterfront with lots of spots for great sunset photos. The car still looks blue as can be in these photos, but I promise it has more than a little hint of teal in person. I had a buddy snap a photo with phone when we stopped on the cruise, but it looks blue on his camera phone too. Weird.

The weather was perfect, the local waterfront scenery is always gorgeous, and golden rays of sunset all made for some fantastic photo opportunities.















I took the opportunity to snag a few pics inside the car. My son did a good job of cleaning the interior while I was on travel last week. The cleanliness was similar to exterior. Judging by the wheels and interior, I’m guessing a restoration was completed in the 80’s. But if anyone thinks the clues point to something else, please let me know.











…and a few of the engine bay. I’m guessing the 351 4v and 4 speed were upgrades during the restoration. The original 351 2v and 3 speed were included with car and are currently covered in the back of my truck. It looks like a newer radiator and hood springs have been installed. Also, maybe something is missing on the passenger valve cover - some sort of PCV/breather maybe?







Any and all questions, comments, critiques, cautions, are welcome. This is my first classic/vintage Ford car, so I have no qualms about soliciting advice.

Thanks!

Beautiful pictures and the car cleaned up nice!

Yes, that looks like an early 1980’s interior from the days when velour ruled. Too bad they didn’t hang onto the original door panels and rear trim panels, but I bet you can find them. Meantime, interior looks clean and very usable as is.

Oh, and there should be a positive crankcase ventilation (PCV) valve in that passenger valve cover grommet. Then a hose connecting that to the base of the carburetor to draw in the crankcase vapors to get burned.

My son took his first drive in our Cougar yesterday at his high school graduation party. Proud Dad moment for sure!

Calicat,
The really proud moment is realizing they are responsible and sensible enough that you can allow them to look cool to their friends. My moment was when I surprised my son by tossing him the keys as he was going to prom.