Yeah that´s a weird description, normally engines without turbo or compressor is described as a NA engine, Naturally Aspirated, also very amusing that he list it both as a convertible and as a coupe
Simply amazing! The conversion for swapping From left hand to right hand drive, wow! I really like the touches of the extra wood grain on the a/c vents. It adds some extra flare to the overall job. The photos of the reverse light threw me off till I read the article. Cool Cougar Leon! 
Steven
He started out by asking $A69,000 for it. It certainly is STILL overpriced. About a year and a half ago a very nice Gold '70 XR7 convertible sold here for 30. As for what it’s worth, I guess it’s worth what you are prepared to pay for it… The Eliminator on the other hand,
Cheers!
Peter Lynn
Up until a few years ago, American cars had to be converted to RHD in order to be fully registered on Australian roads.
My 59 Caddy was imported under the old rules and is RHD. This meant that owning and fully registering a US made vehicle was very expensive.
However, a few years back (for reasons I don’t understand but don’t complain about either) the rules changed and we can now have full registration for a LHD car that is over 30 years old.
As a result of that and the increased value of the Australian dollar compared to the greenback, American car ownership has become a lot more affordable in Oz and the hobby has expanded dramatically.
The unexpected consequence is now that converted cars are considered by many people to be less original, and therefore less valuable, than ones that have been converted. They are also considered more risky as a buyer never really knows the quality of the conversion.
Peter Lynn - are you based in Australia? I bought my '70 XR7 convertible in Melbourne in April 2010. It is orange, but looked mustard in the advertisements and I paid about $30K for it. Could you be thinking of my car?
Thank for that information. The link that Mo posted was a interesting read. For a car lover to take they time to do a conversion is amazing. I am glad the law changed for the “land down under” and it makes it easier to keep and drive US cars the way they rolled off the assembly lines.
Steven
It is now easier to convert a car to RHD now that RRS rack and pinion is available and you don’t have to cut and reweld the drag link to use a RHD Falcon steering box
When I did the 68 in 1995 it was one of about 50 Cougars in the country. Now they are like noses. The value of American cars in Oz has also been diminished because of the crap that is being imported and the importers flipping them for $5-$10K profit
Four of my cars have been converted to RHD and I have had them reconverted them to get rid of the original crap engineering. None of the RHD cars is stock including the 428, which has a trick suspension with Koni’s painted to look like the original shocks
I’m in the process of redoing the black 68 in the TCCN article some more with electric light doors, electric engine fans, sanden compressor, relay pack for all of the stuff. I’m going to redo the instrument panel facia with some burr wallnut like the 69 below and replace the toggle switches with some more modern rockers (they look better than the ones I used in the 69)
In the works is a mould that will replace the instrument panel on RHD cars with a 6 gauge set up that bolts in and a switch panel for the console ash tray, to mount an a/c switch, remote trunk release switch and engine fan switches
If I decide to keep the 428 it will be getting RRS rack so I can run the CJ manifolds, some big 330mm front disc brakes, rear discs and g/v o/d. I figure it might be rare but it is already RHD so I may as well mod the crap out of the mechanicals and enjoy the ride.
This is the 428 soon after I purchased it in 1999. There are many errors in the conversion that you can see in the interior and the bump steer was horrible - vents not at the end of the dash, glovebox was only the door, power window loom hadn’t been switched, park brake in the wrong position, brake pedal wrong, wiper and washer switches in the wrong position, tilt not working …
This is the 428 interior after I reconverted it to fix the dash and switch issues and the bump steer, but before I pulled the seats to have the upholstery done and put in new carpet (It looks a lot better now)
This is the Eliminator interior, which comes out next week for new carpet and re-upholstery in black vinyl with black cloth inserts so my bum doesn’t get burnt when I drive it in summer
One thing that bugs me about the RHD conversions is where the clock ends up. One day I’ll make up a mould for a fibreglass panel that puts the clock back where is should be
The clock?? Man, my brain gets tangled up just thinking about left-hand shifting! …I can just see myself left hand on the wheel… grabbing the “gear shift” and opening the door as I whip around a corner!
At least the 3rd pedal is in the right spot.
Hi Whitepink! I’m from WA. My wheels is a '69 H Code coupe in Light Ivy Green with decor trim.The car I saw was a gold metallic with saddle interior and Cragar wheels and over here! I saw the pix of your car parked next to a current Falcon in the same colour (!?) a short time ago on the other forum. Looked really close anyway. Is your colour Competition Gold? Your car looks excellent, by the way. Have to done much to it, or was is good to start with?
Cheers
Peter Lynn
Peter,
Good to meet another Aussie in the forum. You should put a pin in your location on the map (see earlier in this thread).
My car was originally competition gold. However, it is now orange. I don’t know whether it is the factory colour or not because I haven’t seen a factory orange car to compare it to and the lighting of a photo affects the colour so dramatically. In fact, Leon posted this ad earlier - http://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/ford-torino-1972-11646026 Compare colour of the car in the last photo - it looks fully red. Extraordinary. That’s why I thought you may have been thinking of my car.
Are there any photos of your car around?
Leon, I agree that Cougars are becoming very popular in Australia. I saw a guy in Tassie with two for sale on his front lawn (I think it was a '68 and a '71, but I can’t be sure).
Sam
Do yall over in Aussie land have any place to buy NOS parts for those cars or do you have to get most of your parts from the U.S.??
Mike B…Left hand shifting…I was thinking the same thing! That’s gotta take some getting used to!
Brings back memories of some kinda Toyota Lo-Ace I was driving in Okinawa for a few months back in the mid-80’s. Three-on-the-tree and sitting on the wrong side of the vehicle, actually got used to it quite quickly!
Currently stuck on the side of a freeway with no petrol. Just had the gauge fixed and it seems that E really does mean empty now. There are times when I love this hobby…and then there is right now…
From what I’ve heard from people I trust, with cars this old it’s not a good idea to let the tank get very low in the first place because there’s lotsa junk down at the bottom. Not sure if it’s correct or not. But I try and keep my tank above 1/4 at all times, at least until I replace the tank and lines in the next couple/few months.
Good luck getting out of your current predicament!!!
Hi Sam,
I own the Eliminator and the Torino.
The last photo in my Torino add is Red, It was a photo taken of the car before it was repainted, I had put in the description that the last photo was prior to painting just to show people that it was a loved car and not a rust bucket that had been sitting in a paddock.
I only have both cars up for sale due to the inlaws leasing out there farm which meant I lost storage for 2 cars. At the moment the Eliminator is costing me $350 a month to garage and the Torino is kept at a mates place.
I do also have a 69 Mustang Sportsroof which has been a 5 year project, I can only keep 1 toy and have decided to keep this due to the amount of work and $$$ I have put into it.
I really do not want to get rid of the Eliminator being as rare as they are as I know the chances of me ever getting another 1 is very slim, I just wish I had purchased it first and put the $$$ and work into that rather than the Mustang.
Cheers Rodney
Hi ClassyCat,
I tend to buy most of my materials from WCCC. There are no real COUGAR specialists in Western Australia. There are a number of Mustang and other vintage Ford parts sellers here for the common stuff, but WCCC really look after their customers, as does Rocketman and Classic Auto Aire. Apart from the availability issue there is the cost factor as well, e.g. I was quoted 2500 Australian dollars for a set of 4 Torque Thrust Rs locally. I was able to get a set flown from the states for $1100 or thereabouts.
Cheers,
Peter Lynn
There seem to be more and more for sale here:
http://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/Mercury-Cougar-1971/SSE-AD-1140694/?Cr=2
http://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/Mercury-Cougar-1968/SSE-AD-976900/?Cr=1
When I bought my Cougar, I really thought I was special, now all these Johnny come latelies are making me look normal!