New To Me 1967 Cougar

Cougar Community The Project Forum
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Hi guys,

I picked up this project last weekend after selling my 73 Mustang that has been sitting since college. Mustang was yellow, rusted to hell, and a 6 cylinder 3 speed car. The drive train is unique and rare to find these days, but I’m not one to get it going with the amount of rust, so it’s onto a new, enthusiastic owner, who is ready for the challenge.

Bringing it home, we towed it because the registration is out by a few months and the tires are dry rotted. It was also overheating and had a ton of vacuum leaks and wouldn’t stay running.

Here you can see it squaring off with its predecessor the 73 banana Mustang, which looks much nicer and cleaner than it actually is.

I ended up with a Cougar because unlike most of my other cars, it’s one that my wife and I BOTH think is really cool. It’s even got a bench seat for her to scoot up next to me on cruises. I haven’t checked the casting #s yet, but it doesn’t seem too messed with. Original saddle/tan interior appears to have been dyed/changed over to black, and the paint is flaking off in some spots, but it’s all there and passable for a driver for the time being. Gauges are toast. So far, though, we both LOVE the car. Where can I find some replacement gauges for these cars?

Solid trunk (needs repaint) with new tank.

Motor seems to be mostly stock. Still has points/condenser, but I picked up a pertronix for it, so that’s going in soon. I plan to swap in a 4 core radiator and a fan shroud, as I live in the Central Valley of California and there are many 100+ days in the summer. Also seems like a new water pump could do it some good.

I also made a couple quick videos, and more are on the way.

https://youtu.be/9GTn11-hduY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCR2pavHDqo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp8TyjmLdYE

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Onto some of the details.

Here is the original color: Cinnamon Mist Poly. Wifey and I both like the original color, and eventually it will be repainted that way. Not for a while though. It’ll probably get a nice coat of primer for the next while.

As soon as I went to dig in and find out what she had, I found an unwelcome guest…

As you can see, a previous owner took great pride in their work. Note not only the wire-tied overflow tank, but also the two thin pieces of wood holding the Tranny cooler sort of in place. Any ideas on how to permanently mount the cooler?

Tired, rusty old racing wheels that need to go. Tires are dry and cracked too.

Pulled back the trim below the rear window and was pleased to find it as solid as can be. My mustang was ROTTEN here, so it was a huge sigh of relief.

Does appear to have a cracked motor mount. Is there a favored source/brand around here for these?

At one time the car had a working alarm. I’m guessing that’s what this is?? It’s mounted under the radio on the dash. Why screw it into the dash here?? ugh. I have to figure out how to remove this without messing up my wiring. Any suggestions?

The busted gauges.

And this cable is hanging down from the transmission area. What does this hook to?

And the only slightly saggy part of the headliner

This car is apparently equipped with air shocks. Not sure if that’s good or bad… but they seem to work which is nice.

And a parting clip

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That brings us to today. I couldn’t drive it, because it wouldn’t idle. Headlight covers don’t work. I may change over to an electric actuator system. Today I found one of the hoses was completely melted through, so I capped it off at the vacuum port. Still wouldn’t idle, so I crawled underneath and found the vacuum hose disconnected from the transmission. Had to replace the elbow, and VOILA! It stays running! I’m really excited about these two easy fixes. But wait, that’s not all.

It had overheated on me during the test drive, too. Previous owner had changed the plugs and thermostat the day I bought it. I looked around, and noticed that the water outlet was leaking. Tightened that down, along with the radiator hose, and it stopped leaking. Topped it off, and seems better, but not great. So it runs, drives, and didn’t overheat on the 20 minute city test drive i took today. Plenty of power, doesn’t bog if I blip the throttle from idle, and it revs happily. I still plan to upgrade the cooling system (radiator, water pump) to keep up with the California heat.

Power steering pump is leaking. How hard are these to find and replace?

And I found a set of hubcaps that I’m gonna use once I can find the right wheels to put them on. There are some scratches around the edges, but the chrome is in beautiful shape, and the center caps are completely intact. Probably going with a thin whitewall tire. They’re not showroom condition, but definitely worth using.

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Nice upgrade from the 73, looks solid so nice score! Welcome to the forums and you will get all of the answers you need right here on this forum!

Post up what you need in the Parts Wanted section.

Looking forward to seeing you bring this one back to the streets!

I’ll let the more qualified answer your current questions but I wouldn’t give up on the headlight system, it may just be that hose.

Chris

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Welcome. Looks like a good, solid car. Great find.

And this cable is hanging down from the transmission area. What does this hook to?

That looks like the kick down cable that goes from the transmission to lower part of the accelerator linkage.

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Welcome aboard.
Looks like a solid car to start with.
Try Rocketman for gauges. http://rccinnovations.com/index.php

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+1 for the Rocketman…he also sells a mini-tach to swap into the clock/delete location. :thumbup:

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That color is very unique and crisp looking when fresh. Look forward to seeing the end result, congrats!

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Thanks guys. I picked up a pertronix 1281 that I’m trying to figure out how to wire it up. Never been one for electrical, although I hear it’s pretty easy, I just need to find which of these wires is the 12+ from the ignition while it’s in the ON position, and not ACC. There is some extra wiring down there though, and someone added an alarm that is not hooked up. I’d like to eventually remove it, but I’m afraid to start pulling stuff out.

I also picked up a Fomoco 4 barrel intake and a Holley 600 CFM carb, used for a couple hundred bucks. I know I need to do the intake and carb gaskets anyway, and I’m debating swapping carbs and intake at that time. It currently has a 2 barrel, seems OK, not sure if it needs a rebuild or not… Then again, I’m not sure if the holley needs a rebuild either. Still, I want to get the pertronix working first, and see how that helps the rough idle.

I think it needs to be timed/tuned, and I need to find someone who can help with that. I don’t have a ton of experience with old Carbureted stuff.

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My brother came over and we shined up the chrome and trim yesterday. It came out better than it was, but there’s a fair amount of pitting on the bumpers and some of the trim. A bit underwhelming, but maybe there are some better products out there? the window/drip rail and similar trim isn’t actually chrome, right? Can it be really shined/polished up?

My wife is pushing to paint it soon, I was thinking I’d wait a while as it’s so expensive and I want to get the motor running 100% first.

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Couple more pictures, because we all love pictures!

Anyone have any ideas what wheels these are? They are 14s and a little rusty, not really my taste, but I may try to bring them back for the time being.

What’s the best way to bring a wheel like this back?

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The front and rear window trim and wheel lip moldings are stainless steel. The trim around the hood, front fender extensions and center grill as well as the deck lid and rear extension trim is all anodized aluminum. the front side window surround trim is stainless steel and the rear 1/4 has both chrome and stainless.
Stainless can be easily polished. Anodized aluminum must either be stripped then polished or replated in order to shine.

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Welcome from one new cougar owner to another. Have the pertronix all in one dizzy on my 289 and like it.Although the only concern I have with a completely self contained unit is if it goes bad, I’m a little scared of being stranded. Time will tell, but it did seem to wake up my 289 a bit.

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I’ve used the Pertronix in a number of different cars for 20 years and never had a problem. However, I always have a set of points in the trunk just in case.

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Thanks for the pointers guys. I’ll keep the points in the trunk just in case.

Well I tore into it yesterday. Work’s been so busy I haven’t had much time to do anything yet. It’s not pretty. I cleaned it up a bit after this picture. Needs some deep cleaning though, for sure.

I’m ordering some parts today, and the plan right now is to replace:

  1. Water pump (pulley/fan wobbled when running)
  2. ditch the mech Fan in favor of a 17" elec. fan and shroud
  3. All cooling system hoses and belts
  4. Water outlet (corroded)
  5. Power Steering Pump (leaking from back, makes noise)
  6. Pertronix + new coil (Already have parts)
  7. Intake gaskets (Already have parts)
  8. Carb Gasket (Already have parts)

I also have a Holley 600 that I bought for $100 that came off another 67 cougar, and I have a FoMoCo 4 barrel intake, but I’m apprehensive to start swapping those parts until I get the stock stuff working. It needs a tune, and I want to see how well it runs after the above parts are all back together. It’s been 8 years since I worked on any carbureted stuff, and all that was inline 6 stuff - I’ve never wrenched on a small block Ford. (I still don’t even know if what I have is the original 289!)

Thoughts on this carb?

I have a couple questions:

  1. With all this extra car alarm wiring how can I tell which wire to tap into at the ignition key for the pertronix? I know it needs to be constant 12v, and not accessory, but I’m having trouble determining which wire to use. On a related note, how can I safely remove all this alarm crap?

  2. The water pump pulley and mech fan spacer appear to be pressed together? Since I’m swapping over to an electrical fan, should I just get an aftermarket pulley that doesn’t have the fan spacer?

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I also did clean up the outside a bit. Polished trim, gave it a wash, and attacked those rusty old wheels!

Before:

After:


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It looks like you have a great starting point with your Cougar as it runs and drives. Test the wiring with a test light or meter for your 12 volts. I’d also recommend purchasing an Electrical Wiring Diagram Manual from West Coast Classic Cougars to help sort out the wiring on the alarm.
Steven

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OK, update time.

Swapped the 2 barrel intake for a 4bbl FoMoCo that a friend gave me, along with an Edelbrock 1406. Decided I couldn’t look at the state of the engine bay any longer and did a light refresh on it by scraping off the crud, cleaning everything, and painting it flat black. The valve covers took a lot of elbow grease to polish, and they aren’t perfect but they’re way better than they were. Didn’t replace them yet, trying to control costs at least a little bit.

Also changed the water pump (had slight bearing noise), and decided to do the rest of the cooling system while I was at it. (Funny how that phrase “while I was at it” comes up so often these days).

So it has new:
-water pump, water outlet, 4 core aluminum radiator, 16" electric fan
-4 bbl intake and Edelbrock carb with electric choke
-Pertronix Ignitor
-Power Steering Pump

I also bent a new fuel line, as the old one was rusty and very poorly bent.

Had to get a different water pump pulley, and could only find a chrome one. Would’ve preferred black, but I think this is OK.

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You will probably need to upgrade the alternator to generate enough current to run the electric cooling fan. Check the rating on the fan and see how much current it requires.

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You Definitely Traded Up !