This past weekend I logged my longest trip yet in my faithful 68. My daughter’s college in Kansas holds a mother-son/father-daughter Valentine’s Day banquet each year and I decided to make the 1300 mile round trip in my Cougar.
Leaving Wisconsin
… on the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe… Some guys were working on these diesels and flagged me to drive over to them to check out the car. I really wish I had had a better camera. The car was actually a lot closer to that Union Pacific engine than it looks in this picture.
Made it! Home of the Ravens in Atchison, KS!
Overall, the trip was comfortable, except for my right leg, which suffered from a lack of room to stretch on the long, 70 mph lengths of I-80 and I-35. Time to start thinking about adding a cruise control to give my foot a rest.
As for the stiff right leg syndrome, I used to have the same problem on long trips. So on several of the Hot Rod Power Tours, I got good at driving with my left foot on the gas and my right leg over the trans tunnel and in the passenger side footwell. I could go like that for a half hour at a time and it really gave my right leg a break. It helps that I don’t have a console.
I have a Zemco after market cruise control system in two of my classics. One is a Zemco ZT-11 and the other is one generation earlier. They are easy to install and relatively easy to find on eBay or at swap meets. I don’t use it around town but it is a lifesaver on long trips.
The last 200 miles coming home were following a snowstorm, so entire car was quite literally caked with salt and brine. I spent nearly $15.00 at the car wash scrubbing it all off, top to bottom and underneath.
I commend you for taking the trip and enjoying the cruise. I always worry about all the places salt residue can hide and cause damage a year or two later(behind rocker panels, front fenders, inside doors) just like it did when these cars were brand new.
Anyway Yorgle I’m glad someone in the Midwest is enjoying their Cougar.
Mines not ready for any long trips yet. Hell, I probably shouldn’t even be driving it now. But all my cars have been drivers. I’d bet you’d suffer the pain of a stiff leg for the feel of an open road trip again soon. I found an old still in the box sears cruise control for my last car (72 maverick) and made a couple few trips like that. The last one being from Detroit to Atlanta to bring home the extra parts that came with my 67 xr7.
I just finished installing an old Audiovox cruise control system this weekend. I picked it up last week on ebay for cheap because the kit was missing the throttle linkage parts and some to the electrical connectors, but I figured I could cobble something together to make it work. I’m happy to report that my first test drive with it was this morning and it worked perfectly, even going up long steep hills. I can’t believe I didn’t check into this years ago!
I saw your installation write up. Mine has the pick up on the drive shaft and the switch on the turn signal. Got it on ebay also, never installed and all parts. I pulled it and every usable part out of the maverick when I scrapped it. I’m slowly getting it all put in my cougar. Remote door locks, power trunk, power windows, cruise control. And anything else I can find to make me feel lazy in my old age.
