Overall I liked it. I could do without the graphics but liked the color choice. Not sure I approve of the side markers and backup light removal. Nice suspension and interior.
I wouldn’t have gone any wilder either. This was going to be a daily driver so reliability was important.
I probably would have put an XR7-G rear valance on it to tuck the exhaust and allow for chrome tips.
Is the owner a member of the site?
Just finished watching it myself. Lots of pros & cons. The suspension mods were stunning. Engine & tranny choice was right on. Color… perfect. Front wheels waaaaaay to narrow… horrible in fact. Bumper mods good but they didn’t put the rubber fillers back in and there were these huge gaps. Not good at all. Graphics… take it or leave it. I was really looking forward to see what they were going to do with the door panels. I was disappointed. They didn’t even put any arm rests on the panels. Buy installing the painless wiring harness they basically eliminated the XR7 package. I think it will be a great car to drive though. My 2 cents.
I’d drive it - but I agree that the interior was a letdown and the offset racing stripe is too GM. It needed an XR7-G scoop
I am in agreement with the overall sentiment expressed here on this build.
Not surprisingly, they didn’t seem to have basic understanding of what a Mercury Cougar IS and what sets it apart. That was most apparent in the interior and demonstrated when Chris Jacobs tried to give a brief overview of the relationship between the Mustang and the Cougar and said that the dash pad is one of the parts that is interchangeable.
I believe it is a mind set thing. For people that don’t have the addiction it is almost just another car getting redone. Now, if the wife had an understanding of of the addiction and what comes with it, I would think, maybe hope, they would have done things different. When Chip was asking the questions at the drafting table she was like a deer in the headlights.
My wife was given a “list”…you know, just in case…
Nothing like being prepared. Always have a spare parachute, a fire extinguisher and a list of what you’d like done to your car if your wife gets on OverHaulin’. 
Steven
I just watched the show on YouTube. I’ve not seen the show since it left TLC.
I agree with a lot of what’s been said. The suspension is killer. But they missed the mark on the front wheels. I don’t think it’s the width that’s the problem. I don’t think the offset is right and the fronts are pulled in too far. I’m sure it had something to do with the TCI front end.
I don’t mind the color but do NOT like the offset stripe. The stripe down the sides is tolerable.
I agree that it’s missing some details like the front bumper fillers.
Those Procar front seats do not belong in there. Those are for a sportier car such as a ricer or for a Mullet Mobile with air shocks to more easily and quickly take the place of an original bench seat and column shift. How are people supposed to get into the back seat? Those don’t fold and they’re only going to be able to slide forward so much.
Speaking of the shifter… That Lokar shifter doesn’t belong in there either. That is designed more in line for a 20s through 50s Street Rod. The Cougar needed a more muscular shifter. But I’m sure Lokar is a sponsor and they don’t make one like that.
Last, if they wanted a family friendly driver, it needs AC. They’ve installed Vintage Air systems in a lot of builds I’ve seen in the past. This car definitely needed one.
Another thing I’ve seen different from the past… now that the “Marks” are aware that their car is in Foose’s hands vs. getting the impression that it was stolen, they now take several weeks as opposed to just one week to do the make-over. They could have finished up some of the overlooked things.
I noticed they deleted the rear trunk lock. I always liked the lock with it’s cover. No Cougar or Mercury or XR-7 external badges either. I didn’t care for the big wheels, although the blue/gray color scheme looked cool. Didn’t care for the seats myself, but to each his own I guess.
They trashed the interior. The only good things they did were keep the original gauges and give the woodgrain the ‘Hero’ treatment http://www.classiccougargarage.net/Tech/HerosDash.pdf. Anyone notice that they deleted the oil gauge? I’d be willing to bet the tach still doesn’t work either, especially with a ‘Painless’ wiring kit.
No mention of sequentials - they probably scrapped them because Painless doesn’t support them.
The owner is a Cougar guy. Here is one of his posts on the Facebook page
"It Didnt have the center console to begin either. Mirrors were put on after filming as Well as visors etc. Left them off during filming for a cleaner look.
When they first took it I was hoping they would make it look like a Xr7-g but then that would not be adding the foose touch.
I’m Happy with it, eventually I will add some stuff that’s missing. Way ahead of try he curve now. If I wasn’t a cougar lover I would leave it as is, yet I want my emblems, badges, overhead console and opera lights etc. Removal of reverse lights was may shock to me, has been an issue backing out more than once
And I have my original bucket seats, but can’t put b grade products in here anymore. A all the way now, eBay and wccc have everything I need."
^^^ good to hear - James has a great attitude.
At the end of the day, Overhaulin’ isn’t about what’s best for the cars, but what’s best for the show. They are not about to spring for refurbishing an XR-7 interior when you can get a Mustang wiring harness and Caribou or Recaro (or whatever) seats inexpensively or even free.
And I don’t necessarily blame the show for that, that’s just the economics.
This is the first episode of Overhaulin that I have watched in a while. I like the older episodes better. The Cougar looks good but I’ve seen nicer work on cars in the past. What really stood out was the fact they used vinyl graphics. In previous seasons those stripes would have been a “special” paint blend that Chip would mix and paint himself.
Steven
What about that exhaust…they picked it up over the counter, right, was it just a mustang part they modified? I didn’t watch it too close.
I like Stacey David’s Interceptor better
I will add, that I just saw the reveal on the Overhaulin Facebook page and It was ok, but not crazy about the wheels and some other things. I have seen him do better. The best I have seen is the 427 Wild Cat, Stacy David’s was second.
I got a kick out of all the prep and time they had to talk over the exhaust. They had to cut away for a couple minutes to go visit the factory and show us how carefully they crafted this special system.
Exhaust is like the LAST thing you do to a car…but they were carefully working on it with the good folks at Magnaflow before the car got glass, interior, hood, rear end, brakes and suspension all in, haha.
Sponsors be sponsoring…
… and they got it wrong. They must have used Mustang pipes because the car ended up with just a set of turndowns behind the mufflers
Ahhh, they could have just called WCCC for the right stuff. 
I do wonder if the headlights work…I couldn’t see if one of my kits was in it.
I’ve seen Stacey David’s 67 Interceptor in person. The body mods are amazing and subtle. The interior is beautiful and still keeps the original look.
Just watched it last night. Overall they did a pretty good job, and I guess it’s to be expected that they use a bunch of aftermarket stuff (painful wiring harness, racing seats, etc). Brian hit the nail on the head as far as Magnaflow’s extra screen time… kinda silly. Like others, I like what they did with the suspension and drivetrain.
The blue paint looks good, and I’m really glad the graphics are vinyl! I’d probably be pulling those off immediately, followed by the wheels. The style of the wheels is pretty cool, but they’re just too big. It looks kind of “donk” ish. Interior actually looks pretty good despite completely ignoring the original style.
Good questions about the hideaway headlights and sequential turn signals. Kinda disappointed that they didn’t even mention those key elements of the Cougar, but that’s probably because they didn’t have time to sort them out and make them functional. The grille did look pretty straight though, so that’s nice. And I agree that removing the reverse lights was a questionable choice.
Exposure for Cougars is [almost] always a good thing, but they spent more time talking about what rough shape it was in, and about magnaflow exhaust, than any actual background on Cougars. (And of course I’m a little disappointed that WCCC didn’t have a chance to be involved, but oh well.)