June 30, 1972 is a landmark date I will never forget; that day I brought home my first Cougar a maroon 1967 standard Cougar with 72,662 miles on the clock – my “new” car replacing my wrecked '64 Chevelle.
At $900, it was a stretch for a broke law student, but it sure was exciting to own. I learned - by utter necessity- how you keep it up and take care of it, and it was my “daily” all through law school. in SF and Sacramento. Parts? No problem, just go snd get what you need from the junkyards…plenty of Cougars were bring scrapped all the time, back then…if, for example, you needed a rear valance, you could pull it yourself for $10, at the yard and that included the complete backup light assemblies, too!!!
I sold the car in February 1977 for $1,100 gleefully noting at the time it was the first time — and as it turned out, the last! I sold a car for more than I paid for it… (though now, I am really sorry I replaced it with that 1972 Buick Skylark.
Life went on, but I NEVER forgot that faithful old Cougar.
Then - 3 years ago, bored and trolling ebay, I stumbled upon a “barn find” '67 Lime Frost standard that had been discovered in a warehouse with just 38k on the clock, when it had been tucked away by its owners back in 1988!
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Ever seen one with dog dish hubcaps?
I never had. Have * YOU*?
I had to see this surviving Cougar. It was just as described - a near mint, utterly original, unrestored car, not only wearing its original black plates, with the last license sticker from 1991. The original owners manual was right there in the glove box, too, along with the 1968 and 1969 original California registration cards, and when I saw the front and rear dealer license plate frames, from Paps Lincoln/Mercury, the original selling dealer in Sunnyvale, CA, I KNEW right then, I HAD to have that Cougar. It’d just been gone through completely by a reputable Mustang restorer, so it was turnkey, down to the original set of keys! Same owners since June of 1968, the first one, an unmarried female who’d bought it new in late 1967 probably got tired of driving her cheap bargain basement car with manual steering ndf drum brakes around the San Francisco bay area. I was told it was believed the car HAD never been driven over 50 miles away from San Jose, CA, in its whole life. So of course, I bought it immediately!
I added a new set of Goodrich TA tires and a new spare also, as I intended to use the car to drive and enjoy too.
Also, I added a dual exhaust, and after about 6 months, power steering and front disc brakes, as this car was REALLY basic, the only extra being an automatic and AM radio. First sold at the end of the 1967 model year, I suspect it was an “ad special” car, rock bottom price.
Manual steering and drum brakes made it pretty trucklike to drive and park, especially in San Francisco and the bay area, so I gave up the originality for the comfort, safety and ease of power steering and front disc brakes.
In return, I have had enormous fun with the car, and countless compliments and offers to buy it, over the 3 years I have owned it.
On a related note, OTHER cats have entered my life very recently:
With my fiancé, I have ALSO:
purchased a few weeks ago, from Jaguar of Thousand Oaks in Southern California, an ebony black 2013 Jaguar XF all wheel drive with 7k on the clock, a dealer service loaner just out of service, the only AWD one for sale west of the Mississippi, absolutely needed for winter trips between Nevada and California, and she likes Jags, had great luck with 3 so far,
we went to the Humane Society in Pleasanton, CA and adopted “Harrison”, a well loved and cared for beautiful green eyed Russian Blue, a 3 year old cat that had to be given up by his owner who went into a nursing home. This was a HUGE step for me, as my last 4 legged pet, my dog Brownie, died back in 1958! So I guess it was time for a new addition…
So now, as circumstances would have it, we have THREE “cats” in our family!
That’s enough for now.
but… I’ve always loved the ‘70 Houndstooth and Elininatgor, nome sayin’ ? 
