Just let it go. You’ll regret buying that car. A much better one will come along, be patient.
I would pass as well. With the extent of front end repairs done sloppily, it wouldn’t matter to me how much he had put into the engine. To put it in perspective. My '68 was bought for $4,000 usd and the car was solid underneath, a couple of rust repairs needed, and the rear a, freshly rebuilt original 289, but in need of some tlc although the interior is great for a car that was actually driven and still original. The trans did need rebuilt, but aside from paint, two rust repairs although the one surrounding the tail lights was extensive, the total on this car from start to finish was about $9,500. I do have a few detail items, but they are cheap and easy, but as far as the car goes 95% was done for the costs listed.
If you start with a better car you might or may not pay more (although you usually do), you will pay less on the tail end and be happier in the end. I agree w/ Mr. Bundy (always wanted to say that), be patient.
There is a '70 convertible around the corner from me that has sat for about 5 yrs. (used to see it driven all the time so don’t know, and haven’t taken a close look so it may be the same situation), If I get brave I might go up and ask (looks like the kind of family that would answer the door w/ a shotgun). Let me know and I’ll go take a look. Kind of a teal green color, white top. At least here in Georgia, the cars tend to stay pretty nice thanks to almost no real winter weather, salt, or snow. And everything shuts down when we actually do get precipitation in the winter months.
Hi Sean, I was in your shoes three years ago. I was looking to buy my first classic Cougar as well. Always loved them as a teenager and vowed I would have one some day. Saved up for one on two occasions but life happened and needed the money to purchase a house and then 9 years later for renovations etc… But the third time I wasn’t going to be denied, so I started my casual search in early 2013 knowing and thinking that it could take a year or two to find “the one”. I was looking for something a little more specific though. A 1970 XR7 convertible. I live in Ontario, Canada so there are slim pickings here as well but definitely not as bad as in Nova Scotia. I started my search online first and as you’re finding out many of the available cars are miles away and usually in the states. I joined the Cougar Community in August that year and that’s when things began moving a lot quicker. I looked at 3 or 4 Cougars in my area (within a 2 hour drive) and posted some info on the forum as you have done for advice from the experienced folks on this site (and the other site). Some were '70’s and a couple were '69’s. Here is a link from the thread on my experiences.
https://cccforum.discoursehosting.net/t/comparing-car-values/2979/1
Also, read Mike’s “Cat Bites Man” story. Here is the thread on that one. Very enlightening too:
https://cccforum.discoursehosting.net/t/cat-bites-man-a-novice-and-his-scj-eliminator/2074/1
To make a long story short; I was excited and anxious too because it was summer and wanted to have some fun but found that seeing is believing. What may look good in pictures may not be true in reality. I was hooked up with a potential seller in Sacramento and was planning a cheap flight to go see it myself before purchasing but I was new to Cougars and ultimately my procrastination and spending more time researching and learning as much as possible about these cars cost me the purchase because the seller sold the car a week before I was scheduled to fly down to see it. I believe everything happens for a reason! Also looked at a real overpriced not very well redone one in Carolina. Looked good but the restoration was suspect.
Also, trusting the seller is very important too. I ended up buying my Cat on eBay but it was a little different because I had been in contact with Don Rush previously about some other cars and he posted the ad including a 14 minute video of the car. If not for the video I may not have bid high enough to win the auction. Also Don has 100% positive feedback. It wasn’t exactly what I was looking for as I was looking for a more stock vehicle with an automatic transmission but overall it’s great, I love it and I get thumbs up wherever I go. I had West Coast Classic Cougar “fix up” some of the issues it had before I had it picked up to ship to me here in January 2014 in the middle of the winter so I had to wait another few months before I could begin enjoying it. Ultimately having a solid foundation (frame, torque boxes, little to no rust…stuff like that) is what’s important. Mechanical stuff can usually be fixed but rust can be very expensive to fix and then your Cougar experience becomes unpleasant!
Here is a link to Don’s video of the car I bought:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TMr6r8_Pqw
There’s a nice '70 convertible that I believe is still for sale near Toronto (may be out of your price range) that I looked at. At least your shipping, duties, exchange rate etc would be less compared to buying from the states as I did purchasing my Cat.
My advice is to walk away from this one and BE PATIENT!!! Your “the one” will come along in due time as well. Good luck with your search and enjoy the ride. The search becomes part of the fun believe it or not!
And “Happy Canada Day!”
Diego