2012 Ride of the Month is: Rocketman’s 460 powered '69
Many people consider 1969 to be the high point of Cougar development. For many the '69 was just right, a little bit bigger inside than the first generation cars, but still definitely not a big car. Engine choices reigned supreme, ranging from the BOSS 302, two versions of the 351 Windsor, the venerable 390, and even two versions of the 428 Cobra Jet. And of course the addition of the Convertible and the Eliminator options added to the appeal. It is no suprise that the 1969 is THE Cougar that sets so many hearts beating a little bit faster.
Of course, good is not always good enough. And that is the story of our Cougar of the month. As wonderful as the '69 Cougar was, it arrived just a little too early for a few things that would have made it even that much better. Thankfully, we have Rocketman to fix that for us. Want brighter headlights? a tach that won’t leave you sitting by the side of the road? Wipers that work when you want them too? Rocketman created the fix for those problems and many others. But he didn’t stop with just a few electrical fixes.
When it comes to torque, there is no substitute for cubic inches. IF the 428 was a 10 then the 460 has to be an 11! And here is the best part while FE prices continue to go through the roof, the newer technology 385 series 429 and 460 are cheap and widely available. More power, less money. Leave it to Rocketman to show us how to do it right.
The April 2012 Ride of the Month:
“The '69”
Rocketman, (Bob) describes the car this way:
1969 XR7, 460/C6 TCI 2500 stall 9" locker 3.25:1 Aluminum heads & intake, Holly 4V, Duraspark with MSD-6AL. Redid the interior with leather seat kit and running cat mats from John’s, carpeting from ACC. The Shelby style traction bars come & go. She launches just fine without them but I can’t decide if they help the handling or not. She is pretty much as you could do it in the early/mid 70s interior & exterior. The drivetrain is a different story.
I bought her Sept 2, 2000 in West Jordan Utah - just outside of Salt Lake City - and drove her back to NH. We (my wife Cheryl & I) left SLC midday Monday and arrived home in NH about 2 PM on Thursday, She ran like a champ the whole way. No cruise control, no AC and an AM - 8 track. It was a blast.
Before…
I drive her wherever she goes - farthest so far is 500+ miles each way to Carlisle All Ford Show in PA. She’s been there twice and of course it poured both times. She likes to cruise Rt 1 along the coast up into Maine and the mountains of Vermont. She handles amazingly well - just don’t tromp the gas in a corner!
In addition to being a fun ride She is the main test bed for my innovations - tach, volt meter, relay kits, headlight motors, programmable wipers… she’s seen it all.
Oh, and she has no name. We refer to her as “The 69”. Always have, I guess we always will.
Very nice job!