hey all, i’m new to this forum as well as Cougars, and even classic cars altogether (always wanted to own one, and i LOVE restoration projects/DIY’s)
i did a little research on the car i’m buying (1968 Cougar), and based on the steering wheel and the fact that it has an overhead console, i’ve determined that it’s a XR7??? it has no motor or transmission, so i’m trying to track down what it would have had in it. possibly even the exact motor if i can.
i can’t confirm just yet that the steering wheel has woodgrain on the handgrip, but the center of the steering wheel has that big black pad with the woodgrain in the center (missing the walking cat emblem)… and then from what i’ve been reading, the only cars that had the overhead console were the XR7’s???
another thing i’m trying to confirm is that it’s an EARLY 68? i read on a restoration parts site that the EARLY XR7’s had a stainless steel or chrome framed gas pedal? does this have any relevance? i’m going to try and get the VIN, but would it be safe to say, if it’s an EARLY 68, that it had a 302 motor? (Wikipedia says that the early ones came standard with the 302, so i can only assume that’s probably the most common motor to be found if it’s an EARLY '68… if it’s a LATE '68…only the VIN will tell?)
i’ll try to get pictures as soon as possible.
it needs some TLC, but this thing has all the pieces to put it back together, i didn’t poke around too much in the emblems to find out whether it was an XR or not, but i should be heading over to this guy’s place again sometime soon to check it out. it has just about everything to put it back together, it’s like someone parked it, removed the engine and transmission, and put everything in boxes. all for $900
Pretty sure that in '68 Cougars were made with 289, 302, 390, 427, and 428 engines. There isn’t really any way to say that because it was made in the beginning or end of the year that it would have come with one specific engine type, as far as I know.
Get the VIN. It’s got the engine code right in it. That’ll tell you what engine it was built with.
Welcome to the CCC forum, it great to have you. The questions about early 68 and 302 can be found in the vin number. Use the vin decoder link below. If I’m not mistaken early 68’s can have 289’s carried over from 67. Yes the overhead console was specific to the XR-7. Good luck with your purchase and project. Post some pictures when you get your Cougar.
Steven
I present a hearty handshake and welcome. I will take a privilege,…and do some dreaming for you. Sounds like the perfect car to install a 302 FI with a T5 from a late 80’s foxbody. Post some pic before you buy,…if you wouldn’t object to some pre-purchase assessment opinions. $900 can turn into $9000 real fast.
Welcome, A project for only 900 $ That is really cool. I have an early 68 and it came with the 390 2V. Just about any engine tranny comb could have came in the car. The vin will tell ya. Think real hard about caring about the exact or correct engine. Are you considering taking the car all the way back to factory? If not don’t worry what it had dream of what it could have!! Will be a lot easier to go that route also. Let’s see some pictures!!!
yeah all those motors are 68 motors.
well i’m not saying that at the beginning of the year that’s the ONLY engine that came in it, i’m saying is what Wikipedia states true? that the 302 came STANDARD in an early 68 XR7?
and yeah i’ll be going back to get the car soon, no rush for an engine, the car’s not even close to ready, lol.
hahaha, well, funny that you mention it, my dad passed away about a year and a half ago, and left to my brothers and i a 302 Procharged motor out of a Foxbody. 650+ hp on pump gas, 11psi boost, and we even have the underdrive kit to make it 22psi. the guy that traded it to my dad for some engine work said it dyno’d out at 600hp to the rear wheels.
the only problem with wanting to use this motor is my brother doesn’t like Cougars…and whatever we put this motor in has to be something we ALL agree on. so unfortunately i may have to do my own motor.
and i’ve already paid some money for it. i understand the responsibilities and cost involved with a restore project. i imagine it will cost me a pretty penny by the time i’m done, if i want to do it right. but i’m going to do as much work as i can do by myself and with the help of friends (friends that know what they’re doing) to keep costs down.
yeah that’s what i thought haha, i borrowed the money from a family friend and my aunt to get it, i thought it was a pretty good buy, even if it needed a bit of work. i’ve estimated that it will take 600-700 hours to get it close to finalized on body work/paint and ready to put the interior back in it…based on what a guy at this body shop said about his Camaro (which is where the car is sitting, the guy i’m buying it off of works there, got it in trade for some work… just has no interest in doing it up himself) he said his Camaro took 500 hours to get it the way it is now, and he said the Cougar is in a little worse shape, so i figured a tad more. i’m pretty diligent with things, so i’m up for the challenge.
i definitely am curious to know what it had in it at least.
what i would like to do, is take the car back to ALMOST factory, but do some not-so-noticeable engine mods.
basically i want it to look like a stock XR7 on the outside, even when you open up the hood, but has some “get up and go”.
i may change my mind and just go as wild as my budget will allow, or until i get tired of buying the motor piece by piece, LOL.
well… i was going to post the pictures of it off of Craigslist, but the fella deleted the ad, must’ve got my text about having the money by the end of the month, haha.
when i go look at it again or go to pick it up i’ll have lots more pictures.
it definitely needs some work, but the most expensive pieces are intact, it has all the glass, all the emblems, all the lenses intact, bumpers aren’t dented in and the chrome still looks good, the front Mercury medalion could probably use some TLC, chrome doesn’t look the greatest…
front fenders are straight, hood’s straight…rear quarters need some attention, as one of the P/O’s tried a lot of Bondo on the lower part on the driver’s side… then performed a Fiberglass special on the passenger side, lol. it looks good from the outside but i’m going to just redo it in metal and do it right. i don’t like using glass or bondo. it just makes me think i’m cutting corners. and with something like this i just can’t bring myself to cutting corners.
as for the motor… i’m brainstorming. i’m thinking about some 4v Cleveland heads on a 302 or 289 block. i found some 4v heads for $250… screw in studs installed, guide plates installed, all the rockers, springs, and valves are in them. possibly a 10 or 11:1 CR motor, mild cam. etc. P&P and 5 angle valve seats. don’t know what carb. someone tell me if i’m off in la-la land? lol.
In what neck of the woods do you live? I would be real concerned about undercarriage rust damage and any previous accident which could have affected the unitbody structure. Everything else is restomod potential.
i live in Ohio.
and yeah i was too when i looked at it, but:
the core support is solid
strut towers are solid
shackle mounts are great
all the frame pieces that i noticed seemed to be solid
torque boxes if i remember correctly were doing well
firewall is pretty good
all the suspension mounts are solid
the things i saw that were in need of some TLC were:
beside the battery tray on the apron
tops of the aprons where the fenders mount
front half of the floor pans (drivers side needs it where it is slanted, firewall/floorpan combined)
passenger side trunk floor beside the gas tank
driver’s side and passenger side lower quarter panels
sizeable dent in one of the doors
the little flaps that stick out and meet the fenders right in front of the firewall on the sides of the car may need some attention, but i don’t think they’re completely rusted out.
all the body parts are in great rust free shape that i noticed (hood is solid, no rust holes or sign of major repairs)
and i would about bet that anything other than OE would depreciate value but i plan on reinforcing what i can so that i don’t end up with a twisted Cougar.
the door isn’t KILLED like someone smashed it with a car… more like someone kicked the side in or something. i’m sure i’ll find more problems when i go to sandblast or sand the car down, but it looks like i have a decent start with this thing. if not the solid body parts and pieces that i have will more than cover my purchase price. i would just hate to see that happen though. i don’t think ill have that issue, though.
as for the motor… i’m brainstorming. i’m thinking about some 4v Cleveland heads on a 302 or 289 block. i found some 4v heads for $250… screw in studs installed, guide plates installed, all the rockers, springs, and valves are in them. possibly a 10 or 11:1 CR motor, mild cam. etc. P&P and 5 angle valve seats. don’t know what carb. someone tell me if i’m off in la-la land? lol.
It’s a bit more expensive to do C heads on a windsor block, but makes for an interesting build that isn’t just another 5 liter/5 speed combination. Good way to be different and have an engine that breathes deeply. I like homebrewed boss 302 setups.
If you buy those heads, you’ll need to change the springs (probably) to match whatever cam you use. So figure that in. But 250 is a smoking deal for 4v Cleveland heads with all that work done.
well, something i’m looking into…is just buying 69 Mustang Boss 302 pistons. i can get Sealed Power forged ones for around $62ea (i work at O’Reilly Auto Parts), half the price of JE or what have you, plus they have a .068" recess in them, so i may even be able to put some boost or power adders to it. Rods would probably be the same deal.
yep, already planned on that, i work at a machine shop part time, probably going to get all new valves as well, just for good measure. if the seats look good i’ll just grind them out 5 angle. my guess is with the size of Cleveland valves though, that’s gonna be a pain. but worth it. haha.
does anyone know if there were specific colors that they painted the XR7’s?
if so, what are they?
if not, can someone point me to a color chart specific to Cougars?
i found some that include other Mercury’s but i want to know what colors i have to choose from for the 68 Cougar only.
ah, okay, yeah i saw that but i thought it was for alllll those cars listed and not just Cougar, because i saw another chart that made it seem like only certain colors on THAT chart you’re showing me were available for Cougar.
is Onyx just black? metallic black? or just a really dark grey or something?
so you could get whatever color you wanted for an extra charge then is another option they had?
i didn’t see what you were talking about before (the link) but i found it.
what i didn’t quite understand though is i thought there were these versions: XR7, XR7 GT, XR7 GT-E and XR7-G…am i mistaken?
