Greetings,
My name is Eric and I have a 15 yo daughter named Jenny. We’re former members of the MercuryCougar.Net community, and we’re looking for a place to post an occassional post about our restoration project. I’m not going to say why we left MC.net because that would be sour grapes and it is a heck of alot more fun to talk about projects or to try and help someone out on an issue that they have. To that end, if you don’t mind an occasional post (which is the way I like to do it) that speaks to our latest progress … I would love to be a member here.
So who are we, where did we come from and what are we working on. It’s a long story, but here’s the reader digest version. I have two adopted daughters and the yougest (Jenny) loves to help me on my restoration projects. The oldest raises her nose at the thought of lending a hand on a greasy 'ol car, but she does like to ride in them. I was working on a pro-street '67 Mustang fastback with a 427 medium riser that had been tricked out. At that point, the wife suggested adopting a second child and my pro street dream (total black '67, shaved door handles, 6 speed tranny, vette killer) evaporated. Well, a guy at the shop I was doing the car with offered me a trade. The engine for either a completely restore '69 M code Mach 1 in grabber orange or a 70% complete '69 GT Convertible Mustang in Royal Maroon. Well never having owned a convertible … I chose the latter. After the swap, the Mustang goes into my side of the garge and under a car cover. The baby comes home and time slips by.
After about 8 - 9 years, the little girl grows up a bunch and becomes a sweet heart. Jenny takes an interest in what’s under the car cover and together, we finish the car over the next couple of years. As we work, she asks me about my first car and what other ones I have restored. Well, my first was a '69 Cougar Sports Special and I loved that car. Unfortunately, I offered it to my younger brother when he was going to college and it was totalled. Good news was the brother was ok. A car can always be replaced. I had also worked on several other '69 Cougars with one of the most recent being a '69 XR7 we did in black jade. I even had two hoods. One with an Eliminator scoop and the other without. I’d tell Jenny about the hidden headlights, the sequential taillights and the graceful lines of the body. Jenny said that was the car we needed to do for her. But now she’s a few years older and her wish list has grown larger. She now wants a '69 Cougar, an Eliminator (because they came in orange … her favorite color), she wanted it with a white stripe, a white interior, power steering, power disc brakes, AC, an automatic (she’s afraid of the toploader in the convertible), a console, and any other option I can find would be great. “Yeah Right!”
Well, about a year and a half ago I figured I should at least try and see what I can find. So I place a want ad on WCCC bulletin board and we get a hit. A gentleman has got a '69 Eliminator in Indianapolis. It’s exactly what Jenny wants and it has an extrat option … a window defroster. Although it is a basket case, it comes with a parts car. After some extended negotiations which started in January … Jenny and I ship “her” project car home to Dallas in April of 2011. Jenny is now 14 and I am hoping it will be 2 to 2.5 years to do this car. Well that’s how we got started.
I then found MC.net and started posting occasional updates to their discussion forum. Unfortunately, when my posts were changed without prior communication with me … someone suggested that Jen and I could come over here. So that’s why you see us at the midpoint of the project and not starting our posts at an earlier point in time. If you want to see some photos, I load them to a photobucket site. Since I like alot of photos and I don’t want to blow the size limit of these posts, I’ll offer this link instead:
http://s1181.photobucket.com/albums/x431/mzqj6r/
Please note that they are sequenced from the most current to the oldest. So if you go to the last page, you can see what we started with in the snow of Indianapolis and then work forward to where we’re at today. I will say this … to me, it’s the journey I am taking with my daughter more than the car. It’s also a tribute to my Dad who taught me to not be afraid to try it yourself. Although we’ll likely spend more on the car than it will ever be worth … it is the investment in my daughter that is most important to me.
Since I like to post every week or two (or more frequently if something cool happens) here are our accomplishments for this weekend:
- The body of the car is in primer. We’re still pending the valances, the gravel pan under the front bumper, the wing and it’s pedastals, and the sport mirrors. I am doing left and right.
- I got some cash for my B’day this last Friday, so I bought the power steering cylinder, lower radiator brackets and insulators, and a new seal for the air cleaner. I hope to clean, paint and decal the lid, the air cleaner & shorkle and the heat riser soon.
- Jenny and I finished the HVAC boxes and we installed them this last Saturday
- Finally, I have been painting the L & R headlight assemplies. Although I rechromed them, every piece has issues and they all needed to be repaired. I have been using a product called POR-15 on them and the steering wheel. It’s a two part clay epoxy that you can manipulate with your fingers and smooth with a wet finger while still pliable. Once set, they say it can be drilled and even tapped. When I used it on our steering wheel restoration, it worked great. When I used it on the grill … tough as nails. Although the grill wasn’t perfect … it looks good now and is starting to come together. I have to clean and paint the headlight adjuster and the buckets next … but that’s what the evenings are for.
Last bit, I am really proud of how our gas tank door came out … look at the photos of the rusted POS that I got to start with and the way it looks now that it’s done. The medalion was too cool and we used a clear casting resin to finish it off. If anyone wants to know how we achieved this … shoot me a PM and I will spill the beans.
That’s about it, thanks for letting me post here and have a great day. Remember your kids …
…) 
