One thing I have noticed is that people didn’t seem to believe in contrast back in the late ‘60s. My ‘68 was ordered green with green interior. Seen lots of the same thing around: red with red, blue with blue, etc. Kinda wish it were otherwise.
I understand Ford’s name for it. Light Ivy yellow is pale green in color. W code yellow is pale yellow in color, not to be confused with the competition yellow you would see on an Eliminator.
My former R Code convertible was built 11/15/68 in W code yellow w/black leather. 1 of 1 when sorted for bodystyle, powertrain & color combo. More info & pics in the thread linked below.
My '67 is Nordic Blue w/blue interior. Built 5/23/67
I have to say a very impressive restoration! I will be first to admit my car will never be be that nice but that is 2 different people with 2 different approaches to restorations. There is neighbor who is the original owner of a 73 Cuda who keeps talking about restoring his car but hasn’t done anything in 20 years to it. I do want to thank you for your input on how many survive after 50 years. I have always been curious how many survived. I remember knowing of a 'Cuda, 2 Challengers and a GTX going to the crusher (yes, if you haven’t figured out yet I lean towards the Mopar camp). Likely I bet 95% of those cars were personal commuter cars. How we forget they handled horribly, rusted quickly and broke down frequently. At a point they got rarely seen and then became collector cars starting in the early 90’s. I’m surprised as many made it as they did between the issues listed earlier and teenage crashing (again for me a Mopar). I sign off with this: It is up to us to try and save the remaining muscle cars whether they be Ford, Mopar, or GM for our children will just sell them off to the scrappers!
Your car IS that nice. With so many restored cars running around, mechanically sound survivors are often far more enjoyable than a killer restoration/restomod. After all, you can’t buy street cred, and we earned that patina. 
Plus they really bring you back, which is why we fool with these cars to begin with.
Sure, they all drive like crap compared to a modern car, but there are plenty of tricks to make them drive very well for relatively short $.
If you haven’t done so already, reach out to the CCOA’s CJ Registrar (Scott Taylor) w/your car’s info. Ask him how many Light Ivy Yellow '69s he’s got in the registry. At one point, there were only 2 known CJ Light Ivy cars, both R code XR-7 hardtops, and one of those was in a junkyard.
Best of luck w/your project. Looking forward to following the journey.
Let us know how that panel turns out! Im sure others what to see how it looks as well.
As was mentioned you would be surprised how many guys like their cars as close to stock as possible, even if it was some clashing color combo. Not everyone’s desire but alot of guys do prefer that. I personally like to put my own touch on it and have made several changes on my car to accommodate my taste. Its all amount building what you wanna drive and enjoy! Its great just to have another cougar on the road being driven rather then collecting rust in someone’s forgotten back yard!
So week 2 that I have had the car back and starting to go thru stuff. The mechanic said the car needed the sway bar bushings replaced and it was something I could do. I haven’t work on anything underneath in about 5 years- and now I know why. I realized that my mini jack and the bottle jack I have had for oh 35 years are at the end of their life. Off to Harbor Freight for aluminum trolley jack and 2 ton bottle jack ($100 for all). I get everything together and the thing won’t bolt at the top. Mechanic will figure that out. The PS system is leaking and much as I would have done 10 years ago, another one for the mechanic, I took the hood scoop off to get it ready to cut the opening for the Ram Air. Yes my car was a ram air / hood pin car but at some point the hood was replaced (don’t know why). It must have been relatively early in the car’s life since it matches underneath and the top is faded to match. I got the electronic sequential signal kit for WCCC today and decided I would do that. Mine has an accessory line (don’t know why), so that is on hold. I put it out on the forum so hopefully somebody can help. Again this site is a God send! More on Monday.
So another weekend has passed and got a few more things done. Took off the hood scoop to get ready to cut out the circle for the ram air. I’m thinking I will do the cut out with a jig saw and keep the hood mounted with plastic sheet underneath to catch the small metal bits. Keeping the hood on would be easier. Anybody have experience cutting a hole in a perfectly good hood?
I have also marked out the space for the Mach 1 tips to exit the rear valance in preparation of cutting that with a Dremel.
Got the sway bar links replaced. My parking brake ratchet was not working and it turned out to be surface rust from not being used in 50 years. The power steering leaked out all the fluid so it’ it off to the mechanic to get what ever is leaking fixed, hopefully this week.
I went to 2 local “car’s and coffee” events this weekend and I do have to say they are worth going to. You meet fellow gearheads who likely live near you and can offer advice. It also acts as a motivator to keep working on your car even when you are getting bogged down in little stuff.
Glad you’re getting out with the car. Once you get it dialed in, hopefully it becomes more fun than work.
Do you have a functioning Ram Air air cleaner assembly? If not, I would delay cutting a hole in an expensive hood until you do. All the risks, none of the benefit.
Power steering: the Ford system is notorious for leaks. Your best bet at beating leaks is to have all your components restored @ the same time by the “right” guy. Link below. Get ready: correct big block PS hoses are expensive, and you owe it to yourself to buy the good ones.
Thank you for the comment on the leaky steering components. I am having the mechanic look it over and tell me what I need. One of the nice things about being older is having somebody tell you what to need and they do the work. Yea we all want to work on our cars but laying on the cold floor and getting the oil all over me no longer has an appeal! So an update with the stuff that has been done since the last entry. Got the passenger mirror mounted. Guy’s I would recommend going with the WCCC mirror and their mount kit. It seems like a lot of mirrors will fit (they do seem to look the same), and finding the right one takes a while. The mounting kit took me all of 5 minutes and fits like Dearborn might have intended it. Got the rear view mirror mounted on the windshield (original was broken and in the trunk). I’m still marking the rear valance for the cut out for the 69 Mach one tips. I got my Marti report and it turns out my car is 1 of 1 (based on XR 7, 428 Auto, green int. with with the pale yellow and brace yourself the AM-FM is what makes it one of one! It did give me a pause for thought regarding changing it to the green and each side will weigh in but I fall under the side of I hate that color and it is my car and I think the green on green has a better look. Still for you originalists I did give it some thought. I did start it up and back it out, mostly so I could put stuff up in the rafters but it did start up and move on it own power! More updates to follow…
So it’s a month later and what has gone on? Well I started cutting in the dark green and I do like the way it looks! I finally got my Marti report and it is a lot rarer than I expected. I knew it was one of 504 Ram Air cars made that year (and yet Hemi Cuda’s are more desirable!) Out of the 100K production in 1969 it was 1 of 3 that had the 428 Automatic, Light Ivy Yellow with the Dark Ivy Gold interior. Yes, I do hate the pale yellow color however some of my Cougar neighbors (you know who you are) have convinced me that the heinous color is not as bad as I feel it is and that it’s rarity makes it worth keeping that awful color. As I stated earlier, how many of the 3 built are still left, so on that I will keep the original color. If nothing else painting will be a lot easier! Next time I will post updates on what mechanically I have been doing over the last month besides vacillating over the color.
Remember that line from American Graffiti? Harrison Ford’s character (in the '55 Chevy) to Milner: (something like) “Say, I like the color of your car there man, what’s that? Kind of a cross between piss yella & puke green, ain’t it?” My friends said that to me for years. Usually right before/right after they lost a drag race. 
Have you looked for pics of nicely painted cars in Light Ivy? It looks better than you’d think. If you keep the original color, practice this line (delivered w/a shrug): “Meh, it was the 60’s. That’s why people don’t drop acid anymore”.
I dreamed for years of making my old R Code triple black. Maybe red pinstripes done per factory spec. I chickened out & painted it the original yellow, but often wonder if I had gone a different route…
You have the same interior / exterior color combo my car was. I actually liked the interior but the pale yellow exterior never appealed to me. I changed the color and have no regrets. Of course, my car is just a standard with no special options.
Can’t say enough how I would NEVER have picked that color combo. None the less other “Cougar Aficionados” have pointed out it is most likely the last of that combo left and I should keep it the way it was especially considering that I have the build sheet, buck tag and Marti report. Believe me it is not a decision I have made lightly. I will keep everyone posted as to my progress, It’s a long winter and I need to keep occupied!
So it’s after Christmas and I have been changing back to to original color. Mounted a passenger side mirror from WCCC, thanks Don for the you tube video! Replaced the rear air shocks (bye bye 80’s), and replaced the sway bar links. Also replaced all the PS hoses which I had hoped would stop the leaking, well it did reduce it but I realize that it turns 52 (1/23/69) and so I will need a new PS distribution valve. Also the starter sometimes makes some strange sounds and the mechanic has informed me I will need a new flywheel-glad that is a job he will be doing! I think I will send out chrome and brightwork to WCCC for redoing while the car is getting painted. After painting, then I will get the vinyl roof installed and get the seats redone.
Yes we have all made plans like this hopefully, I will actually get it done!
So here at least it seems as if winter is on it’s way out finally! My mechanic rebuilt the steering distribution valve. I decided against getting one of the reman units that are generally produced overseas since you are never too sure of the quality of it. Best news now it doesn’t leave a stain on the garage floor! The grinding sound with the starter seemed like it was the flywheel but fortunately turned out to be the starter bendix. I had pulled the chrome trim off earlier and decided to send it to WCCC figuring it would take a month for it to get done. Kudos to Don Rush as he had everything in stock and I got it back in a week. At this point I can take it to the paint shop and get their suggestions, hopefully to get it painted before May. I still have the little? items: Headlight doors don’t work, the turn signals don’t work, still have to get the drivers seat done… Oh well something to keep me busy this summer!
Wow! Well written!
Well it’s now the middle of June and much as I would like to say I have been working on it furiously, I think we know the answer. My mechanic, who was getting his '69 428 Torino painted got tired of the “no progress” that had been happening on his car decided to pick it up. The bodywork had been done and it was in primer with boxes of pieces. As we were going over what was needed we noticed that the dash VIN tag and door tag were missing, uh-oh.
I have not found the status of them since I have not been by lately. The point is he had trusted these people to do a correct restoration and unfortunately had not kept a keen eye on things and they made things even worse than the were before. Like they said on Hill Street Blues: “Let’s be careful out there.” My car runs but I don’t quite trust it to make it the 10 miles without some issue possibly leaving me stranded so I am going to get it towed there. I have removed some of the trim but since it is not getting a color change and it will never be a Mecum car I am not being a fanatic. They say it should take around a week or 2 to do everything and then I will let the paint cure to put on the vinyl roof and headliner two months afterwards. While it is curing I will hopefully get the mechanic fix the non-working temp gauge and the so sloppy steering and then onto the wheels and tires.
That is the plan, keep tuned in!
Well now it’s the middle of August and the car has been at the paint shop for the last 2 weeks, not that I mind since I figured it would take around a month. My mechanic’s car was 3 years and not much got done so I appreciate what I have. I notice I haven’t gotten much response fromt my posting, maybe it’s just the summer and everybody is at the beach or fighting forest fires?
So I got the car back from the painter and it looks great. Now it’s at the mechanic for; steering issues, an exhaust leak and a few other minor issues (yea 30 years ago I would have done it all myself). As I understand the paint has to cure for 6 weeks and then I can get the vinyl top installed, should have some pics soon!