Replaced the alternator, harness, and belt today. Discovered a charging issue last week and bought an alternator. In the process of removing the old one, I noticed the old harness was in a sad state. Not only were the connections barely hanging on (two of them by one lonely strand of wire), but the previous owner had wire nutted parts of it together. The harness showed up from WCCC yesterday, and I got it all back together with a new belt as well at lunch today. Seeing those wire nuts, I’m quite scared of looking under the dash and seeing what he managed to do under there. He installed a cheap stereo, 3 pod gauge kit, and a cheapie tach. So enough wires back there to really mess something up, I’m sure. All 3 will eventually be coming out.
One fear I have of project cars is once it becomes a non-runner, it stays a non-runner for some time. Thankfully, this was a cheap, quick fix. The Cougar is my neighborhood pool commuter car. We went to the pool earlier this week and my son asked if the Cougar was fixed yet. When I told him no, he asked “Well, how are we going to get to the pool?”. Haha. Today is his first day of school. If it wasn’t walking distance, I’d drive the car up to get him and surprise him.
Not much to report project wise. The starter bit the dust, so i replaced that with a PA Performance mini starter. I also replaced the battery and starter cables while i was at it. Today was a nice 60 degree day, so I took it out for a little cruise. I’m planning my order for the front end and brakes this week. Hopefully some warm weather stays around so I can play around comfortably in the garage. A couple of shots from my drive today.
It’s good to see you’re not just fixing it, but driving and enjoying it. The wire nuts would give me a moment of pause too. For your sake, I hope they didn’t get too creative installing the stereo and gauges.
I’ve ordered my first big batch of mechanical parts for the car since I’ve owned it, other than directly repairing things that broke. I’m hoping that I can get started either this weekend, pending parts arrivals and weather. My list is all for the front end of the car.
Wilwood Classic Series front disc conversion. New master cylinder, proportioning valve.
Opentracker Street Performance Upper and Lower control arms, Roller Perches.
Grab A Trak 1" Sway bar kit and 1" drop springs.
Moog steering components and bushings (tie rods, etc, etc).
Export brace, shock tower bracing (weld in metal braces…I’m lucky here, for all of the other crap the previous owner did, no holes drilled for greasing, no rust, no cracks on my towers).
Anything else to do “while I’m in there”? I’ve already replaced the shocks a while back. I’m in no hurry. Although I don’t like down time on the car, I want to make sure everything gets done correctly. A radical departure for me, I’m usually not terribly patient.
Since you’re going with the roller upper and lower control arms and perches, you may as well use their adjustable strut rods too. They are made by Street or Track racing but are the same quality as the parts made directly by Open Tracker.
I have the classic Series kit on mine and can tell you that this has been the best thing I have done for this car so far. They install easy, and will DEFINITELY give you more confidence in traffic. Just remember to bleed both sides of the caliper (ask me how I know this-lol).
Sounds like you have the suspension addressed. My next moves are rear sway bar, export brace, and Borgeson box.
That’s good to hear. I appreciated the Wilwood kit I had on my Miata, but that was just going from disc to disc. I imagine a bigger difference going drum to disc. I’ll start working on it next Monday. I just need to pick up some fluids, a short line for the proportioning valve, and I’ll be all set.
Once I get this stuff installed, I have floor issues to deal with, and the rear suspension/brakes to address. Other than maintenance and break/fix, that’ll probably wrap up the significant mechanical work this year. Engine build and transmission will come next year, unless I find a smokin’ deal that I just can’t refuse.
I mentioned this was a slow build, right? I have the front end taken apart. Only broke one bolt and had two rounded hard brake line nuts. I went ahead and ordered a new hard line kit for the car. Cheap enough for the kit since I want it to look decent and my skills may be slightly less than precision when it comes to bending. I will make my own little short line to add the proportioning valve, so at least I can say I fabricated something.
It’s been a tale of two sides. The driver’s side has been slathered in years of oil and gunk. Every bolt, nut, connection has been easy to break free. The passenger side is dry dry dry, and I had the most difficulty on that side. That’s where the aforementioned broke bolt (LCA bolt snapped, but thankfully at the nut end. I was eventually able to get it out without any further damage. I ordered a set of Global West bolts/camber plates to replace the stock pieces. Of course which side did I start on? The passenger side. At least I was prepared for the worst on the driver’s side and everything was easy-peasy there.
While I wait for the hardlines to ship and arrive, I can take a break and figure out if I want to strip off the crusty old undercoat and paint or not. I’m only going for a driver car, and nothing “show” or “resto”. Still, the old stuff in there looks pretty ratty. I am, however, in a simple attached garage, so to keep my wife happy, I need to keep the dust/dirt/odor to a reasonable level.
It’s getting there. I hope to have the front end back together and the brakes bled by Saturday. A few incorrect parts delayed me a bit, as did ordering other bits I simply forgot about. Here’s how it sits right now. I installed the strut rods this evening, All I have left is the sway, master cylinder, and that should do it for this little project. I can’t have new suspension and brakes and 50 year old parts on the rear, so that will be next. I also need seats, just something for this summer that aren’t in the bad shape mine are in. I’d like to be a little comfier cruising around.
My car was built 50 years ago today. For its birthday, I’m treating it to alignment. The front end rebuild is (hopefully) complete. The drive to the shop was nice. No rubbing over bumps, the brake pedal stayed firm the entire trip. I was telling a buddy that since I didn’t even think about the brakes until I pulled into the shop, that means they work well. Even then, my thought was, wow, my pedal stayed perfect the entire trip here.
I’m pretty happy with how it sits right now. I’ll take a look at the project car budget to see what I can afford to take a stab at next.
Love the brakes. Probably the best money I’ve spent on mine thus far. And you’re right about not noticing when they work like they should. When I hit the brakes un mine it’s like hitting the brakes in our '13 Fiesta. That wasn’t the case when I first got it. If it weren’t for the pedal fade, I really wouldn’t know my Galaxie had drums. It actually bites in that well and stops that quick. It’s the follow up that isn’t so great.
I really like this car. I took it out for a few errands today. The brakes are great. I need to make the interior comfy, and would love a 5 speed swap. Alignment is really good, the car tracks perfectly straight, easy to turn, maneuver. Mechanically, I’d say I’m happy to cruise as is for this spring/summer, although I’m sure I’ll take up other small projects during the year.
It’s great to see someone enjoying their cat as much as you are. I am back in the saddle on mine now that I have the new door latch and striker installed. The door was getting so hard to unlock/open that I would be frustrated before I ever got in the car.
Not much to report on the Cougar front. I’m not a fan of how much higher the front end is after installing the Grab a trak 1" drop springs. I know the old springs were, well, old, but I’m probably 2" or so higher up in the nose. I’d like to get the rear springs, still. I’m also starting to research what my drivetrain plans will be. I have a buddy with a '97 Explorer engine in good running shape that I can play around with. My current 289 is bored .060 over. It’s running fine, but I would like to go to fuel injection, and just a kit for EFI runs more than a fully dressed '90s 302.
I got a chuckle out of this yesterday…my nephew was over and looking at the front of the Cougar. He comments on how small the headlights are. I was a bit confused, as the headlight doors were down. He thought the small turn indicators below the bumper were the headlights. I lifted the doors, and he was awed by that.
Funny about the GAT springs. With the Shelby drop, my front end was too low using (what I assume are) the same springs. I used the 1" urethane spacers Mootangs Plus sells and the damned things deformed/walked out, wore a hole through one of my shocks too (I therefore DO NOT recommend them!). MP was no help with the damage their crap caused. I went to 1" aluminum spacers I got from Summit, I forget the make. Now, I have a very pleasing height.
Anyway, strange how different our results are. Maybe since I run a Cleveland and factory AC, Shelby drop, etc. makes the difference.
Hmm, I have the same urethane spacers. Maybe I’ll swap those out and see if that makes a difference. I expected maybe a bit of a raise from the new springs. I should’ve measured center to fender prior to the install to have a measurable comparison. That said, I don’t want to raise the front end any more than it already is!
Slow build is still slow. I’m feeling the need to make some repairs on something a little more visible. I’m getting an estimate on a repair of the collision damage on the front passenger side. I have all of the parts required to repair, just not know how (mainly, paint and matching the existing). I have some rust in the rear quarters, too. I’d also like to start working on the interior. While I’m happy with the difference the mechanical updates have made, the ripped seats, nasty dash pad, etc, etc are getting a little annoying to look at (and sit on) day in and day out. As mentioned in a different thread, I’m hoping to stay with the parchment/comfortweave fabric. My budget may say otherwise.
My hopeful completion for 2017: new rear leaf springs, floor patched, accident damage repaired. Once that’s done, I’ll probably move towards interior, and start on the drivetrain. The completion of bodywork will be last, which ultimately includes a color change. The laundry list of what it needs is long, but I’m still enjoying the car.
