That’s awesome…keep up the good work!
Lost 1969 XR7 Convertible R code car
I bought this car a friends uncle, the original owner. I took the car on a
road test, slowly up to MPH then stomped the throttle, it downshifted into
first breaking loose the tires and when it shifted into 2nd laid down another
30 feet of rubber. it did have E70-14 bias ply tires so that was fairly easy
and I had to have the car. laid down $1500.00 without haggling, I’m sure all
will understand. Basically poured every paycheck in to the car, had to make it
faster of course. I replaced every removable panel over a 10 year ownership
period. I worked in parts at a Ford dealer. All ford metal including the last 2
oem quarter panels located in California. Added a factory rear wing and front
spoiler to personalize it. This car was block sanded for hours and hours to get
it perfectly flat. I built a non functional roll bar trying to get the Shelby
look, trying to achieve a look as though Shelby had his hands in it. There were
428 cobra jet emblems on the fenders and snakes above the rear side markers.
The last motor I built was a 13:1 monster and ran a 11.96 with the car. I also
took out the police C6 and put in a large input shaft top loader and added a
Detroit locker with 4.56 gears in the nodular housing. Got tired of shifting
when I ran across a reverse shift C6, that made the car fun again. Only problem
was finding fuel for it to run decently. After 10 years of ownership I tired of
the car and decided to sell and buy a washer and drier to stop going to
laundromats. Sold it to a kid for $6500.00. He blew up the engine within a few
months and it sat. It was bought by a guy in Milwaukee and he put a milder 428
back in. He no longer owns it and the caris no longer registered in WI. I would like to try to
find it again even if just to lay eyes on it again. In the meantime I am building
a Factory Five AC Cobra replica. You can follow the progress at
That is a good looking car, Lew…(the vert)…hope you find it again.
Will have to look at the FF Cobra when I get a chance…
I did find the convertible a few months ago. It had not been on the road since 1991. I went over and helped him get it running, got to take it for a ride, the car is exactly as I sold it in 1984. He is not ready to sell but he remembered I have first crack at it.
Given that the first car I drove before the Cougar was a 1984 Toyota Camry (faded poop brown paint, bent antenna, etc) this question is a no-brainier. I started driving the Cougar my senior year of high school, and felt like I was WAY cooler. However, the first couple times I drove the Cougar were kind of scary, especially not being used to the manual drum brakes. Also, looking out over that long hood was a little intimidating at first, still being somewhat of a novice driver. But it was destiny. What a great car.
my first car i got fro free from a farm cause they werent using it, a 1994 ford ranger that was beat to hell hahaha then i got my 1968 standard 3 speed that my uncle had started restoring, nothing fancy by anymeans but damn it is a sweet car i love it so much 
still a work in progress so if you want to see “Kate” {like her name??} from start to finish keep up on my thread and ill keep you posted
My first Cougar was my second car, and yea, it was a lot cooler than the first one even though it was a rusty 67 STD that could leave 4 tire tracks on a wet road (dog tracking). It didn’t have much competition for being cooler though because my first car was a 4 door 65 Fairlane, the ugliest Fairlane made for decades. If you can’t picture a 65 Fairlane don’t feel bad. There is no resemblance to either the 64 or the 66. There actually was a 65 Sport Coupe that didn’t look too bad for a square box with wheels.
No. My second car was a used !966 Mercury Cyclone GT. That was my first cool car. I traded the Cyclone in on the only new car I ever bought and that is my 1970 Cougar Eliminator. The Eliminator is still the coolest car I’ve ever owned. The fourth car I purchased a used was a 1957 Chevrolet Nomad. That was a cool car also, but not as cool as the Eliminator.
My First car was a 73 frog pond green Pinto! So Yes My Cougar is much cooler than that!
My R code was my first “cool” car - bought it at age 20 and have owned it ever since. My early days of driving were mostly “junkyard specials” that were bought cheap & fixed cheaper.
My ONLY Cougar was the COOLEST Cougar EVER. My first car was a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Convertible which I bought used in 1965 for $900 (pretty cool car), I traded that in for a brand new 1966 GTO Convertible which I ordered new in September 1965 (4 speed, even cooler car for 1966). However, I traded that cool car for a 1968 Mercury Cougar XR-7 GT-E 428 Cobra Jet, Auto, Cardinal Red, Dark Red Leather seats (1 of 23 428CT XR-7 GT-Es). It’s alive and very much well and in the GT-E registry. I only had it for two years and I never had as cool of a car since. But I enjoy getting photos of my old Cool Cougar from the C/O (current owner). Oh, I traded the Cougar for a 1970 Chevy Monte Carlo with A/C (and that was cool in it’s own way when you live in the Atlanta area in the summer).
My first car was a very cool 1970 Cougar XR-7 in deep gold with brown vinyl roof and brown houndstooth interior. The 351W 2V provided more power than the manual drum brakes could slow down again without locking up a wheel. It had 77k miles on it when I got it in 1977. I spent over 3 times what the car cost in parts to keep it going the next 4 years. My sister was excited to have it as her first car for another 4 years, and then it went to storage at 120k miles needing a valve job/hydraulic lifters, with tranny slipping, and rust in the usual places, I finally sold it in 1986 to another kid who was also very excited to have that Cougar for his first car! I wish I still had the VIN to see if it has survived the crusher.
Since Calicat resurrected the thread, figured I resurrect this prophetic post.
Mo actually did pop for a Fox Cougar this year. He finally woke up, and I was sick of sending him worthy candidates. It’s still not as swoopy as the T-Bird, but I can only help so much. 
I remember wanting the new Fox body Mustang real bad back in ‘79. But it was a bit pricey for a high school kid. I hated the looks of the Fox body Cougars back in the 80’s, but they have a unique look that I can now appreciate.
That’s the one, LOL. I hear Mo’s been working on it some.
That’s a real nice one! Congratulations!
My first car, in 1972, might sound cool until you see what the 1965 Fairlane actually looks like with 4 doors, 6 cylinders and 3 on the tree. So my second car in 1972, a beat up, rusty, air-shocked, dog-tracking 67 Standard with a V8 and 4 speed was really cool. It was even cooler on the rare occasions when it would start up and run.
Hmmmmm, that looks REALLY familiar! 
That’s the one. I have been working on it some, and even daily’d it for a couple weeks while my truck was down. Nice car. It’s presently up on the KwikLift for the winter…underbelly projects await!
Many thanks to Mark for finding it, Dave for checking it out for me(and storing for quite some time…darn Covid). And even more thanks to Mr. Gauch conveniently selling a car to another Okie, and swindling Dave(maybe swindle isn’t the right word?? Thanks again, Dave!!!) into trailering his AND mine to Oklahoma…just in time for the Mid-America Shelby Meet.