Hi Guys ! Just wanted to stop in and say Hi, our small family has just purchased a 68 Cougar XR7 302/ C4. Thanks to this wonderful site, and the great and informative videos by Don and the WCCC guys, I felt like I was armed with enough information to check this out thoroughly enough. I earn my living working on vehicles, and I had built a 65 Mustang a few years back, but I stumbled across this vehicle by accident and decided to take the plunge. She has been finished for a few years now, but hasn’t been driven a whole lot, and she is definitely not perfect, but I’m really happy with the car. Hopefully I will be able to contribute to the forum, If you have any BMW related questions, I’ll be happy to provide information, but otherwise I’ll bow down to superior Cougar knowledge…and believe me, I have lots of questions! 
Great looking car, welcome.
Welcome to the Classic Cougar Community. Your Cougar looks good. What options does it have?
Steven
Very nice car. I like the running cat on the rear quarter.
Welcome!!! Congrats and Enjoy your nice looking new purchase.
Welcome. Nice looking car.
Well ain’t that purty. Welcome!
Thanks guys for the kind words! I’ve done about 150 miles in it over the last few days, just trying to get a feel for the car and its issues. I got the Marti report, here are the details…
- E70X14 Wide Oval White Sidewall Tires - Console - Power Disc Brakes - Power Steering - AM Radio - Tinted Glass - Deluxe Seat Belts - Front and Rear Bumper Guards
The builder or the previous owner had installed an aftermarket stereo and one of the cruiser consoles with the cupholders, so unfortunately the original console and the clock are no longer present. The car does have a new vinyl top, which was not how it was ordered…
Here are the bugs so far;
Fuel gauge always moves, but it is not accurate at all. What size are the tanks, 14 gal? The gun clicked at 7 gal when I filled it today, barely read a quarter of a tank. Later in the day, it read 1/2.
The right side headlight door has stopped working, it has been converted to an electric system
Dash gauge illumination did not work when I switched the lights on for about 10 miles, then started working fine…then all the headlights decided to quit working! Oil pressure gauge illumination does not work.
The headliner droops right above your head if you drive with the windows down. When the car stops, you can push it up and it will stay there, it is ok when the windows are raised.
The right rear window crank handle spins, window does not move but the window can be raised manually.
The car would stumble or stall when trying to accelerate. Cold start operation is terrible. Cruise or light throttle applications the engine is surging or hesitating. Engine has been rebuilt, I think it has stock internals. Edelbrock Performer intake, Pertonix ignition, Holley 4160 carb. My experience with Holley carbs is zero. Ive adjusted the accelerator pump adjustment and the cam position. Its definitely better .
The car has the rear interior lights on the C pillars, and the panel on the roof liner. It also has a tilt column fitted. There is a second push button in the drivers door aperture, but a click cannot be heard when the button is pressed. Should my car have any of this?
I will probably start posting questions in the relevant different forums, any advice that you could provide about posting etiquette or relevant areas that will receive the best answers will be gladly received, I won’t be offended I’m British!
Welcome Robbo, You have a beautiful Jade Green Cat! I hope you plan to share more pics. I’m far from an expert but since a number of issues you listed are electrical of nature, my first suspicion would be the aftermarket stereo installation, it sounds like there’s an intermittent short, possibly a simple, loose ground wire somewhere. This could also explain why the right electrical headlight has failed, there’s a circuit interruption going on somewhere…
If your vehicle’s original equipment included a tilt-wheel it’s technically a tilt & swing away feature. There’s supposed to be an actuator that automatically swings the wheel up and to the right each time the driver’s door is opened. Often the actuator fails, while the manual tilt feature continues to function fine. There’s a technical brochure available that covers all functions of this rare and desirable option.
All 67-68 Cougar XR-7s have four British inspired black Toggle Switches in the center of the Burlwood Dash. I’m going from memory with this but I’m pretty sure from left to right they read L Map, Panel, Courtesy, R Map. Down is Off, Up is On. There are two circular Map Llghts in the Upper Console which are conrtolled by the two outer toggle switches. Two Opera Lights in the rear C Pillars should automatically light when the doors open and can also be lit with the Courtesy Toggle Switch. The Upper Console also has four different colored warning lights at the rear edge with white lettering.
From your description of function of your rear window, it sounds like you have a simple worn window crank handle. A replacement part will most likely correct that issue.
From my memory of owning a 68 XR-7, your Cat may still be equipped with a manual choke feature which might help with cold starts.
From your description as Cgrhj50 stated it sounds like your tilt-away steering is not working. The second door switch operates the actuator for the swing-away feature. The window handle might be as simple as the handle being stripped or it could be the window regulator if you’re able to pull it up manually. I searched WCCC’s site for a wiring diagram (https://secure.cougarpartscatalog.com/19mecocoelsc.html) because it sounds like you’ve got an electric short somewhere. The engine issues mostly sound like they can be taken care of with some adjustments to the timing and the carburetor.
Steven
Sorry I posted the link for the 1967 electric diagram. Here is the link for the 1968 diagram: https://secure.cougarpartscatalog.com/store/p/13496-Manual-Complete-Electrical-Schematic-Free-Download-1968-Mercury-Cougar.html?attribs=76
Steven
Thank you all so much for your detailed replies and suggestions. I did obtain the 68 wiring diagram from WCCC, so I have started to study it with regards to the column issue. The Marti report does not list the car as being equipped with a tilt wheel, do they come standard as part of the XR7 package? If somebody did swap a tilt wheel into the vehicle, do you think that they would go to the trouble of installing the second push button in the door jam? One of the WCCC videos talks about installation of the opera lights, and that they were standard fitment on the XR7, so that question has been answered for me. But the warning light panel in the area of the overhead map lights, is that an XR7 option also?
The vehicle has a Holley 4160 fitted, which I think is a 600 CFM. Did the original carb have a 470 CFM rating? I have carried out the adjustment of the accelerator pump linkage, and re positioned the plastic linkage to the number 1 slot and number 1 on the plastic insert. The linkage insert is orange. The car is definitely more responsive away from a stop light now, and it no longer smells of raw fuel after a hard acceleration burst. I have bought a complete tuning set of Holley jets, and the full set of accelerator pump cams. I will be adjusting the float levels first, and then try and dial in the choke operation first, before I start changing the jets.
There is play present in the steering box rag joint, as seen in the WCCC videos. I plan to adjust the box as per the video. The car drives great to be honest, a lot better than my 65 Mustang did. I also plan to install the export brace and install the shock tower plates. Does anybody have some alignment specs that they have used for the front end for use with radial tires , wider rims and 15 inch wheels? I remember with the Mustang that I changed the original alignment figures, and the car was definately better afterwards.
I am totally smitten with this car! The original color on the report was Madras Blue, with Aqua interior. The interior is now black, but I’m not sure whether this color is Madras Blue or not. Whatever it is, I love it. It will definitely be a wrench to send it to the UK when the time is right. I really wasn’t expecting the amount of people who want to stop and talk about their Cougar story. The Rebel and the Coronet that I have are both rare cars, but the more I think about it, I do not recall actually ever seeing that many of these cars around the Pacific Northwest.
Thanks again for all the information guys, I really appreciate it!