Pile_driver,
That car cleaned up really nice. Even the custom interior looks a lot nicer than you described it. When you said velour I thought it was going to look awful. That’s actually tastefully done! Those seats will be more comfortable to sit on than leather or vinyl. And your son won’t slide on them during a hard turn.
That car looks like just minor stuff, mostly cosmetic. Great find!
I am grossly behind updating the status the 1970 Cougar. Standby for an onslaught of catch up posts!
In July of 2022, we entered the Cougar in two events The first was the Cougar Prowl and the second was a car show the Bremerton Elks Lodge. We did well at both of them (3rd and 1st place) and had lots of fun. The Prowl was our first event with the Cascade Cougar Club here in the PNW. We went for a cruise and had a big dinner on Saturday, then had the car show on Sunday. I had never seen that many Cougars in one place before.
In August 2022, Nathanael started taking the initiative to tackle little projects on the Cougar. He slowly removed all the junky radio/stereo parts (that included an alarming amount of wire-nuts for house wiring). He replaced the rear 6x9’s with a set of old Alpine’s that I had new-in-the-box. As he considered what he might do for front speakers, he asked me to order one of the new head units that fit classic dual-knob radio dashes, but include modern features like Bluetooth. Since he was doing the work himself and taking his time to do things properly, I decided he would get one soon.
One afternoon, he removed the side marker assembly to figure out why the bulb assembly wouldn’t stay installed. It ended up having typical embrittlement damage. It had the Ford part number on it, so we Googled it, and found reproductions for $23. Boom! Ordered it immediately.
I love this picture. 
A 16 year-old kid with his own tools laying on the ground working on his car with the dog keeping company. Is it 1982 or 2022? There isn’t an electronic device to be seen (except of course the phone I pulled out of my pocket to snap the photo).
And the new side maker being installed…
Little maintenance items continued here and there. The oil pressure sensor went kaput and needed replaced. We reinstalled some missing PCV items. …little things like that.
In March 2023, we took the Cougar on a ferry ride over to the Shoreline Cars & Coffee to meet some other Cascade Cougar Club members. The weather was terrible, so we didn’t hang out long before heading indoors to a warm restaurant.
The last Saturday of April, several folks from the Cascade Cougar Club came to Kitsap County where we led a waterfront cruise followed by lunch. The weather was PERFECT. Not everyone brought out their big cats - one brought a super cool Mercury wagon, and someone who drove a long ways brought their newer Mustang. We stopped mid-trip to take in the Seattle skyline and views of Mt. Rainier, and the cars received a lot of attention (expected of course). Lots of people who were also taking advantage of the waterfront on a beautiful Saturday took a moment to take pictures of the cars and ask questions.
On a whim, we decided take a road trip over Memorial Weekend.
We moved to Kitsap County in 2001 and we’ve been the the coast several time - both north and south in WA, but we’ve never connected the north and south by doing the US Route 101 Loop. We decided to remedy that. Now, a person can just plow through the Loop in one day to say they’ve done it. You could also spend a week or more traveling the Loop and not see everything it has to offer. Lakes, mountains, rain forests, drive-on beaches, seafood restaurants, hot springs, sea stacks, wildlife, and much more are easy stops on this peculiar loop around the Olympic Mountain range.
Being as this was kind of a last minute idea, we were much closer to the plow through it strategy - but we took lots of notes for places we want to go back and visit later. As an added bonus, we elected to take the boys’ rides - the 70 Cougar and the 73 big block Corvette.
After church on Sunday morning, we headed home to get ready for our trip. Since it was just an overnight venture, we all packed light except for Nathanel who managed to sneak the Nintendo into his bag because the new Zelda game recently came out. 
We headed south to travel the Loop in a clockwise fashion. (Note: counter-clockwise would be better because ALL the scenic pull-offs are on the outside lane of the loop. You have been warned.)
First thing of note we passed was the cooling towers for WNP-3 and WNP-5 which stand as a monument on how WA state LOVES to start projects and never finish them (Monorail expansion anyone?). Nathanael opted to drive on this leg of trip and the dog was happy to ride shotgun with me.
Nathanael led our little convoy all the way to Ocean Shores where we stayed for the night. Dinner was plentiful and tasty at a little seafood shack (which welcomed dogs to join on their porch dining area). The line to order food was long, but totally worth the wait. While we dined, a very clean Porsche 914 decided to nestle in next to the big cat. The Corvette was further up the parking row.
After supper,our oldest just wanted to crash in the hotel. We left the dog with him and went exploring the nearby beaches. Being a holiday weekend, we expected crowds, but the beach was nearly empty. We didn’t mind having a section all to ourselves.
There’s an old-timey service station near Lake Quinault. It has one pump, so we stopped for fuel. While we there, a gentlemen pulled over in a truck and asked if we wanted to sell one of the cars. We politely said, No.
Next scenic stopped involved another little hike on Kalaloch Beach (pronounced clay-lock) to the so-called Tree of Life. There is a tree on the bluff which has had the ground beneath it eroded away. It just hangs on for dear life with only a fraction of its roots still embedded in the bluff. Erosion has significantly increased over the last few years and the tree won’t be around much longer for people to inspect and enjoy.
Traffic was predictably high returning on Monday afternoon. Despite our efforts to stay together, a truck/camper veered dangerously into the passing lane on a stretch of road causing us to get slightly separated. I would think it was obvious the two classic cars were traveling together and their was no reason for the driver to veer into us while passing in a designated area other than for spiteful motive. As a result, none of the photos along beautiful Lake Crescent had both vehicles because of the big RV separating us.
There was the usual holiday stop-and-go backup at the Hood Canal Bridge (backs up for several miles). The Cougar got a little hot in the bridge traffic (heater on full blast to manage!), but the 454 big block barely registered any increase in temp. All in all, a very successful trip.
July of 2023 saw the next action with the Cougar with Prowl weekend.
It was summer vacation, so Nathanael spent all week preparing the car. First he detailed the engine compartment. Then he did a machine polish and wax all by himself, and the paint came out really nice. I don’t have any aggressive wool pads, so he wasn’t able to make the paint perfect, but it was a huge improvement.
these two pictures are taken at the same spot about 20 minutest apart - you can see an improvement in the paint condition and color
The car looked REALLY good when he was done and it paid off with a nice award at the Prowl.
Not much else to report in 2023. In January 2024, the Cougar made a brief appearance the LeMay Museum in Tacoma, WA.
As Nathanael finished his last year of highschool, he and his friends took it Griot’s a few times and to school banquets.
Nathanael graduated high school the first weekend of June. As he pulled into the parking lot for the graduation ceremony, the “custom” shifter for the Cougar broke off in his hand. It looked like it had been poorly repaired before. The existing welds had basically no penetration.
The following morning, we removed the lower portion of the shift lever and discovered it was a fabricated, not previously repaired. We ground down both pieces and quickly welded them together. After a quick reinstallation, everything worked again and we drove it home.
As summer started, Nathanael removed some trim from the front of the Cougar and did some light restoration. I have to say, it came out pretty good, and I wasn’t even around to help him.
In July, was the annual Cougar Prowl event here in the PNW. On Saturday we took a cruise into the Cascade foothills and Sunday was the car show at Griot’s Garage in Tacoma. Both boys won 2nd place in their respective categories.
I know it’s not a Cougar, but I thought I would share this photo of our oldest’s C2 StingRay driving back home from the Prowl.
As summer continued, the Cougar had a leak at the thermostat housing. We ordered a new one (and a new thermostat for good measure). When Nathanael went to install it, he discovered the bolts weren’t very tight. He replaced it anyway since it was a gaudy chrome unit. So far, so good!
In August, we had a chance to catch a local air/car show over the weekend. The air show was spectacular with lots of WW2 Warbirds making passes. An acrobatic team put on a display complete with smoke trails. The highlight was demonstrations of modern jets by the Canadian Air Force and US Navy.
Unfortunately we didn’t any awards at the car show. The Mustang club had shown up and joined forces (it was all participants judging) and made a clean sweep of almost all the awards. Only things like best custom, ladies choice, etc was left to the rest of us.
In September, Nathanael married his high school sweetheart and they left the reception in the Cougar.
The Cougar didn’t get much attention as the worked on getting their life started together. In January 2025, he joined the Air Force and left for Basic Training. The Cougar had began to have brake issues. It would initially give you pedal, but then gradually go soft. I diagnosed the issue as a master cylinder, but wanted to wait until warmer weather to address it.
In March, I took it out for a quick drive to Griot’s to see Derek from Vice Grip Garage. Derek signed the air cleaner lid.
Now we are finally caught up to present day. Nathanael is still in school and won’t be taking possession of the Cougar for some time. It looks like he may end up in New Mexico after school, so hopefully he can find some local Cougar support there when the time comes to take it down there.
Earlier this month, I started changing the master cylinder - something I thought would be a quick job, but everything fought me. It took lots cycling between penetrating oil and the torch just to break the old fittings loose. By the time I had everything loose, it was time for bed.
it shouldn’t be this difficult
smoky goodness
I ran over to a buddy’s house after work on the 14th and did some wiring repairs on his car hauler winch. That was the best part of the evening.
Then I came home to put in the new master cylinder in the Cougar. After 4 hours of battle, my oldest and I called it quits. No photos because I was in no mood.
We discovered one of the mounting bolts actually had a washer and nut on the inside of the firewall because the threaded boss on the firewall has been broken loose in the past. BUT, weirdly is still captured against the inside of the firewall, but it just spins. That means you have to have someone take off the added nut and then hold the spinning boss with pliers so you can remove the bolt in the engine bay. And of course reverse the process for installation. What a pain.
Then, the whole brake push rod assembly is essentially captured in the master cylinder, so I used the included push rod with the new master cylinder (after trying to verifying it was all the same length as the old unit). We ended up having to loosen up the steering column just to get to the brake pedal linkage. The brake switch slips over linkage interface between the push rod and brake pedal arm with . After getting everything put back together which took hours, we realized the new push rod didn’t have the correct tolerance and was constantly putting pressure on the brake switch. We admitted defeat, unplugged the wires from the switch and headed inside without even cleaning up any tools. Before turning the lights off in the garage, I vented some anger on the old master cylinder and was able to extract the old push rod. At least I know it can be removed now.
I’ll try to explain the fitment issue. Looking the below picture, you see the push rod has a large hole that slips over a short post that extends off the side of the brake pedal arm and gets held together with a cotter pin. The brake switch slips over that hole on the push rod and the post on the brake pedal arm is supposed to drag the switch forward and into the flat spot on the push rod before moving the push rod. The new push rod must be oversized and just pushes the switch with no pedal movement. AGGRAVATING!
No matter what correction I can come up with in my mind, we have to go through the entire kluge of removing the new master cylinder to either modify or replace the push rod.
(these images show power brakes which have a different push rod, but the switch concept is the same)
Thursday the 15th, I did something a little different. I bought myself a Cougar from a fellow club member. I’m very happy with it. A Lime Frost 68 base model with a 302 and automatic. It was pouring rain when I brought it home.
On Friday, I had to get ready for two clubs to be in the Bremerton Armed Forces Day Parade, so I didn’t have anytime to work on the 70. That was disappointing because I was hoping to have it in the parade.
On Memorial Day Weekend, the oldest and I rolled up our sleeves and went to battle with 70 Cougar master cylinder again. I don’t have any cool pictures, but it was a five hour thrash of removing and reinstalling and removing and reinstalling to get a combination of parts that would work properly together.
First, we removed the new master cylinder and damaged the brake switch in the process (luckily, I had ordered a new one along with all the other bushings after the results of the previous attempt - thanks Don Rush / WCCC). The push rod would not come out, so we ground down the end to make it match the contour of the old one as best as possible. After going through the process of reinstalling everything we had the opposite problem as before - instead of the switch being activated all the time, it wouldn’t activate at all. Great. So we do a quick dummy test and yes, the brake lights are still working if you short across the plug. So we do a half removal of the new brake switch and do a poor repair of the old switch (it’s sheet metal construction and had been bent badly) and reinstall the old switch. No change - no brake lights.
So we pull out everything again. I clamp the push rod in the bench vise with master cylinder hanging down and begin to wail on the mounting flanges of the master cylinder with a dead blow to drive it off the the push rod. It eventually comes out, but left some ugly scoring inside the master cylinder. Now we have a chance to compare just each push rod side by side. The old one is way shorter overall, so we install in the master cylinder and reinstall the whole mess again in the car reusing the poorly repaired brake switch. Sill no dice.
Remember, we don’t even know if the new master cylinder is actually the only fix needed to correct or braking issue with pedal going to the floor and losing brakes.
So as a final hail Mary before resorting to a custom microswitch solution, we did a half removal again and installed the new brake switch. Voilà!!! The brake lights finally worked correctly! I had removed the driver seat and shift lever before today’s battle to give us the maximum of work space. The shift lever was never quite right (remember the weld repair I had to do last year?). It was too short and you had to reach awkwardly to shift into reverse, 1st, and 3rd. Also, the jam nut on the bottom of the shift knob had really sharp edges and was very uncomfortable - especially when having to fight to get to the shift lever. Since I knew I was removing everything again, I ordered a new Hurst lever and Hurst shift knob. The new lever is longer and has an almost 4 inch setback.
old vs new
The new shifter was an easy install and initially felt great. It was finally time to see if the brake problem was fixed with a test drive. I grabbed my wallet and the oldest jumped in the passenger seat and we hit road. The brakes worked great (I could lock them up if I wanted) and the shifter was a HUGE improvement. No having to lean way forward with every shift. I think it looks better too.
here’s an old pic with the old shift lever
After a quick, successful ride up and down the street, we parked the Cougar and I started working on my friend’s car while I knew I had some guaranteed daylight left.
When I finished that task, I jumped back in the Cougar to drive it into town and stress test it just a little more. Everything continued to work great and the shifter totally changes the driving experience. The actual shifting mechanism on the transmission is worn out and clunky, but this made it much more manageable and the new shifter knob felt good in the hand with no discomfort all. There is an empty lot behind one of the church buildings in town that is completely overgrown with Scotch Broom (a noxious weed we deal with in the PNW). It has lovely, yellow blossoms before turning into scrappy little trees that won’t ever die. It made a nice backdrop for the Cougar before cruising home and putting it under cover.
Probably the next project to tackle is the fuel guage. Maybe 3 or 4 times it year it works fine, the rest of the time it reads really high - beyond the ‘F’ mark. I also need to do some sort of preservation on the air cleaner signature.
