ok, new to this forum, so bare with me!!
i have restored about a dozen mustangs over the years and thought this time, i would try my hand at a cougar. well, the other day, i stumbled across a 69 ragtop, been parked and covered for 21 years!!! got into a fender bender (well, maybe a bit more than that) back in 91, and hasnt moved since. 67k org miles too!!! i thought i paid too much for it, but i liked the car. baby blue/ white top and interior. after tearing into it over the weekend, i was amazed how good shape it was in, hell, the floor pans still have paint on them. the interior is kinda shot, but the seat frames and foam are like new. carpet was extreemely faded, so, that went into the trash and being in colorado, any weatherstripping was toast as well. pretty much rust free body, just the usual silver dollar size holes in the rear qrt’s. but, thats all i found.
now this cougar sat for over 20 yrs, and really thought the engine was a gonner, but pulling the plugs, shooting some good amount of wd40, down the holes, letting it sit overnight, she did fire, lol, we did have to evict the “mouse condo” from the driver exhaust pipe and the 20 year old plugs and wires do need to be replaced, it looked like a christmas tree, with all the plug wire arc’kin got on, but didnt smoke a drop after the wd40 burn off. didnt let it run long, but feel confident its just fine.
my plans are for a driver resoration on this one, new carpet, seats, engine compartment resto, good paint, and nice tires and wheels. i couldnt believe how hard parts are to find, but managing to get some good deals. i am one of those ppl who get lost in projects and dont waste time , i got the cash now to buy all the parts i need, already ordered the interior, got most of the body parts, and pullin the engine this weekend.
will keep ya posted on how its going
is it an XR7 ? Hope it goes well for you, I did a vert over the last couple of years but find it is never really done. One thing I did not do was replace the top cylinders, bad idea, paying for it now!
Welcome! It’s good to hear that your doing a “cool” car restoration for a change. 
Keep us updated and post some pictures of your car. Good luck with your project. 
Steven
Welcome to CCC, if you have any pictures please send them.