It’s BLACKIE by a nose!
Congratulations Brian!
What does a guy do when you have one GT-E, already in the restoration process, and you get wind of a nearly rust free, mostly original, Black over Black XR-7 GTE? You buy it and you never look back. Or at least that is my version of the story…LOL!
Brian will have to fill us in on all the details, but until then: res ipsa loquitur the thing speaks for itself
Nice! 
VERY nice!!
Yup…cool photo location, too.
(EDIT: The magic picture guy dropped in a few of Brian’s pics in for effect.)
Wow, thanks a lot, Gang! I’m honored…
Blackie has been well documented online over the years, but it has been a pretty quiet last couple of years for her…I am just glad now that I “bit the bullet” and was able to snag this car when the opportunity came up. Times were different back in those days. Financing was free and easy, home equity ruled, and Brian was selling a lot of Meat back then. Things just fell into place. But Bill’s right in that the circumstances in owning this car gave me the opportunity to pursue the dream of getting a Cougar GT-E out into the “open market” and see what would happen. Barrett Jackson Scottsdale was the target. That went well and I’m proud to have been able to see that Saga unfold. We now have some idea of that a GT-E can do at auction, and we have been able to proudly see a rare Cougar, one that we have all known exists, finally get some of the public notariety that these special cars deserve. But I digress…
Blackie lived her entire life here in the Northwest. She was built in Dearborn but sold originally in Gladstone, Oregon at Monarch Lincoln-Mercury. The car was resold in 1969 and lived in the garage of Mr. Bruce Thomas of Battleground, Washington until June of 2006 (wow, has it been that long!?). A funny story Bruce told me involves the first trip that he and his family took once having bought the car…they put a hitch on the rear end, hooked up a fairly large travel-trailer, and immediately took a vacation to Montana and back! He said “she pulled like a freight train!” I have books that Mr. Thomas kept documenting every single gas fill-up and the mileage and fuel purchased and mileage caluclated every time, all the way up to the Mid '80s. It is a remarkeable set of records. For your next question-it ranged from about 8.5 all the way up to 12.5mpg. I got all the service records, repairs and replacement parts documented over all these years. Blackie had been running on-and-off till the Mid 1980s, when a pushrod was bent and the car was pushed back into her heated garage space.
Upon seeing the car for the first time, it was in a very warm, dry garage with piles of blankets, paperwork, and boxes piled on top of her. Things were very cramped in there! It was easy to see just why the owner wanted to sell. They had simply lost interest and had been frustrated with a car that they just couldn’t seem to get running reliably. It had undergone an engine rebuild only a few months before the last days of having been run. I saw a car whose intake Manifold was removed and a tri-power 406 intake and carb setup had been installed years ago. She had been casually drag raced, as many GT-Es had been, throughout the 70s and early 80s. The engine had been rebuilt at least two times prior. Luckily, though, these folks knew the value and rarity of a car with a 427 Sideoiler in it. They did a very good job of keeping all of the original components, even if they tinkered with the car, somewhat. Even the original exhaust tips were saved! (unfortunately they cut them off a bit too short to show the original Ford Part #s on them, but they are still a very cool artifact) The paint was not original, and had unfortunately been blistered in many places, as the finish was not quite done correctly in earlier years. The interior was very nice, although the front seats showed some wear and tear, sporting numerous tears where the leather cracked badly. Carpet and headliner and dash pad, instrument cluster and guages, doors and console, however, were VERY nice and still are original. Just some cleaning and moisturizing really brought it back to life. The rear seat surface is all still original too. The windows and windsheild are all original.
The engine, transmission and rear end are all original. The car underwent a complete engine and transmission during a mild body restoration that became a pretty major restoration. I’ve kept the underbody all untouched, though, as it still sports a very clean well undercoated surface throughout. I agonized over what steps to take with the body, because I really wanted this car to remain a driver’s car yet was not happy with the paint in it’s poorly-redone condition. Luckily for me, I was able to get body repair (although minimally needed) and paint work done at minimal cost. The Man who did the work is the same fellow who did “Gunner”, the now somewhat famous Red GT-E sold at Barrett Jackson. All of the bumpers, anodized trim and GT-E side trim was refinished. The GT-E trim is the original. The bumpers are of course re-chromed exchanged pieces provided by West Coast Classic Cougar. The “cougar” and “Mercury” emblems, GT-E emblems and front and rear GT-E pieces are all still the originals, fortunately. I did replace the Front turn signal fixtures and front and rear side-marker lights and reflectors with nice reproductions.
Upon getting the body mostly re-done, the attention then turned to the Drivetrain. The original engine block was in very good shape but did require an overbore of 20 thousandths and the original crank was used. New Diamond Pistons and a new Cam were installed, with a Hydraulic Roller Setup. I decided to go with the advice of Royce Peterson and get a Harland Sharp Roller Rocker Setup. The engine with this setup is allowed to run at a bit of a lower compression rating and produce awesome horsepower. The cam will be bullet proof and the hydraulic lifters require no valve adjustments over time. Finished CI displacement is about 410, if I recall correctly. I have had some issues with the original and rare GT-E carburetor, so I have installed a modern Holley 725 CFM carb on her. The original sits carefully on a shelf for the day that it is needed again. Again, as a driver, it seemed to be the right thing to do.
While building the engine locally I was able to learn a LOT more about engine mechanics and actually participate and watch the build. It was a weekly trip to my mechanic-friends shop on Tuesday nights and then some. This process took about a year. We then concentrated on detailing the engine bay while I accomplished tasks such as refinishing the original aluminum intake manifold and purchasing the PCV components and Air cleaner assembly, Brake Booster, power steering pump and lines and all of the other engine components necessary to make the car go. It was a very very educational (and expensive!) process, but it also coincidentally trained me in knowing the right steps and procedures in having these components properly done for “Gunner”. The cars were running neck-and-neck for their build processes for a while there. The $ I was hemorraging, though, took me by suprise. So the process for Gunner often took a back seat to “Blackie”, as it was important that I get her going and the process was not going to be quite as time consuming and detailed as it was for Gunner.
Believe it or not, a lot of the suspension, steering and brake components for Blackie are stil those used way back in the 1980s. I still have not removed the “traction bars” that she came with. There are a host of projects ahead of me with the car, but there has always been some other project that has taken my time and attention away from her. As all of these years have passed, though, I continually look forward to these projects. As a driver, she’s allowed to get out and have some fun on occasion. That is what makes this hobby so fun. That and the people…
Recently, I have taken the plunge on having the front Grille assembly completely restored by “Mr. Vaccum” on Blackie. Those grilles patiently wait as we speak, still in their boxes back in the bowels of the shop. I can’t wait. Actually, it is time to get busy with Blackie again…thanks to you guys for giving me a little nudge in that direction 
Best Regards, thanks again!
Brian Aust
Congrats Brian!!!
Beautiful car congrats Brian.
Steven
Congrats Brian, Great looking GTE !!!
You know… I’ll be the first to admit that I was never a fan of GTEs regardless of their value. I always just felt that they were too gaudy looking. But that black and silver is really making me start to think the other way. Congrats on ROTM. The month of November is in good hands.
Congratulations, Brian. Thanks for taking the time to write out the story. I’d heard most of it before but you filled in some blanks. To those of you who may think this car leads an easy life, Brian willingly tosses the keys to people and allows them to “enjoy” the car on the country roads around his house.
Brian, you’ve got a beautiful car and I appreciate the fact that you let me spend some quality time in the drivers seat a few years back.
Thanks to you too, Jeff. Guys like you who have been through the rigors of restoration and detailing and “know their stuff” have made this such a fun and rewarding hobby. You guys help us all learn so much…It’s too bad it is difficul to achieve all the “friend time” we’d like to have, but we’ve built some memories… I can’t think of a better way to do that than to experience the cars together. Till next time, Cheers!
B
Congratulations
Congratulations Brian for ROTM, Blackie is a beaut! John
Congrats Brian!
Great pics, great story, GREAT car! Congrats Brian.
Congrats Brian 
very nice cat indeed, they look just awsome in black/black
This is a beautiful car.
Congratulations!
Brian,
I certainly enjoy reading the story as much as hearing from you all of the unexpected $ that seems to go into the complete restoration. It really is a labor of love, to give the cats what they deserve. It is hard to know how far is too far with a restoration, it certainly depends on time patience & funds.
I look forward to another West Coast Cougar Nationals some day where we all can get to bring the cars together. Maybe 2016…