Restart at 40 - 1968 XR7

Summer of COVID got me thinking after almost 40 years I’d better get (re)started on putting my project back together…

January 28, 1969 my father traded in a 1960 Ford T-Bird for a 1968 Mercury Cougar XR7 at Bill Farrah Ford Lincoln Mercury Dealership in Mt. Clemens Michigan. (I have the sales paperwork.) This was still the era of one car households and the Cougar was the primary family car. I recall many a family vacations in the car, in the backseat as a kid, traveling for hours north into Canada, south to the Smokeys, or days to Colorado. Mom would pack a picnic lunch to eat at interstate rest stops when on the road. Driving, Dad always had a thermos of coffee and his arm out the open window. Navigation was done with AAA triptiks and hotel guides.

Somewhere around 1979 Dad was finished with the Cougar and I bought it from him to restore knowing it would become a special interest car. It wasn’t long and by 1980 that naive kid had the 302 2bbl engine with 100,000 miles out and dismantled for an eventual rebuild. I was still able to get some NOS parts from dealerships in the mid-80’s and even had a T-shirt made that read “I need 68’ Cougar’ parts” for wearing at various car swap meets. Vendors would yell “Hey, cougar shirt, cougar shirt, over here!”. While I did buy various parts this way, little did I realize I should have bought everything I could have gotten my hands on (hindsight).

With most everything disassembled, but still a roller, parts and boxes were stored in multiple locations wherever I could find someone willing to give up spare space or garage. Sometime in the mid 80’s I had someone reassemble and install the engine. The last time the shell of the car ran on its own power was approximately 1991 (last sticker on license plate) when I drove it across town to park in my home garage. Then, every so often I’d see a Cougar at a show, get a spark, request a parts list, and buy a part or two. Fast forward 21 years to 2012 and the car was flatbedded to my next home. Within the past 5 years-ish I’ve been retrieving back all the various parts and boxes, which leads me up to this year.

I came to the crossroad that I should either sell everything and call it a day or get it reassembled and drive it before I get too old and senile and the family takes my driving privileges away. I would like to thank EVERYONE that has contributed to this forum with questions, answers, or sharing their project. By reading your posts, it truly has provided me with the inspiration to rekindle this journey, a deeper insight of what I am really getting into, and I hope, the help to get it back together.

About the car… It’s a 1968 Cougar XR7 302-2V C4, no AC, power steering with manual drums brakes all around. The rear end is 8” and my guess would be a 28 spline. It was polar white, has a vinyl top, and still has an original beeeeeaauuutifal interior, saddle, with comfort weave vinyl seats, center console, and wood grain dash. The car had been rust proofed by Zeibart when new which helped, but bottom line it’s still a Michigan car (rust). The engine is original and my guess is the trans is too, but I’ll need to confirm that along the way. The car has 110,000 miles on it. The engine that was rebuilt (stock) in 1985-ish can’t have more than 100 miles on it.

The plan now is to reassemble the car and inventory better what I have and figure out what I need along the way. I’ll be staying true where possible but this is not concours. This forum has already taught me that I need to replace the fuel system before I even consider restarting the engine and I’ll replace the brake system, staying with drums for simplicity.

My timeline is still years, but you have to (re)start somewhere.



The 1960 T-Bird in 1965. It was traded-in for the 1968 Cougar XR7




The Cougar in 1980 at Halmich Park Warren MI




The Cougar as it sits in garage today 2020 (Ugh)




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3 Likes

What a great story. Thanks for sharing. We are all our own adventure. Hang in there. My mantra is to try to do something everyday. Even if it’s just looking and thinking about what to do next.

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As Bill said, thanks for taking the time to share.

I have similar memories as you - of trips with the family in our Cougar when I was a kid.

Interesting that you went from white (stock) to green.

Hope you keep it and get it back on the road - I would love to have the Cougar my dad bought brand new in '69 (also white)!

  • Phillip

Very cool! Keep that fire smoldering. That is something worth putting back together for memory sake alone. Not everybody has a family history with their car like that. While NOS parts are much harder to come by now days there are some good repros on stuff out there too. Keep with it and like Bill mentioned keep the project in front of you. By doing even one small thing or acquiring one small part is one more step closer to your goal.

Great mantra. It’s mine as well. I have a list on my office whiteboard of things the car needs and I at least read the list every day. :wink:

I was raised in Warren and just drove by Halmich Park last week. Are you and your car still in the Detroit area?

Wawazat: Yes, still in the Detroit area. That day at Halmich, my still to this day good friend, had his 1970 cougar there also. (His 70 Cougar is long gone.) We got them together for a photo shoot. There are pictures of the cars together, somewhere, but this is the only picture that has endured. I have yet to find the negatives. (I know I’ve got them somewhere.)

Propayne: LOL it does look like the color has been changed. It was a coincidence that the replacement fenders, bought at different times and places, are green. The quarter panels were replaced and are primer. Maybe someday it will be all white again. I’ll need to spend some time reviewing the rust on the doors. They may need to be replaced. DEFINITELY the door hinges on both sides will need to be rebuilt or replaced.

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Gas has been drained and tank removed. I’ve read how much old gasoline smells, and now I know. Its quite a thick toxic chemical odor. Shake the tank and it sounds like marbles are rolling around inside. It’ll get replaced with the same size (as well as the lines). What are the pros and cons of stainless versus steel tank?

The fuel sending unit was sent to FSU maestro Bill Basore for rebuild. Everyone on the forum recommends him, and they are right. Absolutely amazing work!!! Friendly as can be, Bill walked me through the entire process and more. 5 star recommendation. Below are a few pics.

I’ve started researching the brake system for its entire replacement. The car has manual drums all around, and for simplicity it will stay that way. I’m becoming a bit overwhelmed (already). I’ve got a fair understanding of the parts/system on the car, but its more about having too many choices. Which suppliers, for which parts, by what manufacturer, make/model options, part numbers, price… Sheesh.
Any recommendations?


Fuel Sending Unit fresh out of the tank.




FSU on Bill’s test bench.




The refreshed FSU!

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Thanks for the kind words… I am a bit obsessed with these.

That also wins for the nastiest sending unit ever. Thank God they are not all like that. Richard did absolutely the best packing job ever. Good thing he did as the float still had some old stinky gas in it.

A little side note. I have a new updated thermistor that works well with new modern voltage regulators that like to charge your battery at almost 15 volts. The original spec did not like 13.8 volts very well, and that may have been an issue with why no originals survived for very long.

I also got in some cores from Neal J. THANK YOU! If you have been needing a core let me know and I will put you on the list for one.

Bill,
I bet that D1WF unit was a close second to this one. I’m looking forward to having accurate senders in Ginger and the 71.

Richard,
These projects can sometimes be overwhelming. Take it one step at a time.


Be safe everybody.

Looking forward to seeing the progress on this. Don’t give up and let that new found spark go out. You have a great looking car and it’s gonna be a blast to drive again.

Nice work! that fuel sender was a nasty one. Im amazed with the ingenuity of the guys here finding new ways to restore and rebuild old parts or make crappy repro parts better! Im convinced repro fuel senders are only good to plug the hole in the tank of these things! My is garbage.

Keep on the hunt! While searching for the right parts for your car can be a chore it also can be a big part of the enjoyment for some guys. While there are many choices of vendors there may only be a few actual manufactures of the part itself. Be mindful of cougar specific parts and watch out for the stuff that fits both mustang and cougar as they do share parts just not as much as some people or vendors think. There is tons of information hidden here in the forum too. Spend some time searching and reading through particular build topics. Several guys have well documented projects that can give you tons of insight and advise on how they did it.

The best advise I can give for a project like this is stay the course and dont give up. Figure out your overall direction you want to go with it and how to get there. I find it very helpful to work on something in stages. Such as make it your goal to get it started and running again. After that work on getting it in sound mechanical condition so you can give it short rips around the block if you desire. Seeing the car drive under its own power after so long is a huge motivator and a sense of accomplishment. Then choose the next area to attack. interior? body? etc. Whichever you choose make it a point to keep with it and even if you dont have alot of time to work on it find something small to tackle. Simply rebuilding and refinishing the taillights or reworking the trim or brightwork can be a satisfying project and one step closer to your goal.

Happy Labor Day weekend. Please be safe.

Noob question of the day.

The specs required to order the correct replacement rear brake lines is 8” or 9” rear end and number of splines 28 or 31. How does one determine the number of spines (without pulling the axle)? I’ve confirmed the rear end is 8” by its shape and I can easily fit a socket and extension on the bottom bolts. I’m assuming this car would be a 28 spline count as there is nothing beefy under the hood 302-2V C4 requiring a larger power transfer to the wheels, but bottom line it’s not confirmed.

I’m considering purchasing the stainless brake lines, rubber hoses, and stainless transmission lines from Fine Lines in Ohio.

Thank you.
















It looks like new drums will be added to the list of items needed.

For factory axles the way the center of the flange will tell you the spline count. The end of yours with the opening(Depression) with two flat sides indicates 28 spline count. For 31 spline count that area will not have that opening, that are flat and will have 3 small holes in a line with one of them centered.
For the most part any Cougar with an engine up to 390 will have 28 spline axles.

Some how the parts books got corrupted over the years. The different brake lines are as follows:

  1. All 28 spline and 31 spline without staggered shocks.
  2. All 31 spline with staggered shocks.

Since all 8" rears came with 28 spline axles and none of them came with staggered shocks it is easy for you.

Great story and some good inspiration. Seeing the before and after pictures of your sending unit tells me I was way too hasty to throw mine out when I pulled the tank. :wall:

Thank you for the information and education on the splines/rear end. With that, the brake lines and hoses have been ordered.

I was able to get part of the old brake system removed this weekend. Master cylinder, distribution block, front lines, and hoses are out. 3 of the 4 front wheel cylinders bolts are out, but one of the passenger front wheel cylinder wouldn’t budge and has been rounded off. I’ve now got some bolt extractors on order. Let’s see how well those work. My guess is that stubborn, rusted bolts are not very common on a 50 years old car, right? (Yeah, right.)

A big thanks to Don at WCCC for the grease gun tip in his video to remove the piston out of a distribution block. The block was soaked in penetrating oil overnight, connected to a grease gun, then with only a mild constant pressure on the gun, you could feel the POP, and the piston became freed. I gladly placed an order for parts in appreciation.

To those out West, our thoughts and prayers are with you.


1968 manual drum distribution block does not have an opening on both ends of the piston cylinder.
The piston can not be pushed out.
Grease gun attached and opposite side port plugged.

Light constant pressure was applied for a few seconds.
A pop was felt when the piston broke free.

Fittings purchased from Home Depot.
In this case, everything only needed to be finger tight.

Anyone have a source for these Shoe Retracting Assist Springs? I need 2.

Thank you.



Brake work continues. Slowly. Next up is to replace the front line that spans across the firewall. It looks like the heater hoses will need to be disconnected and possibly a shock tower brace removed to get the new one in. The old one is still in place. I’ll use it for practice. If I can get it out nicely in one piece theoretically I should be able to get the new one in.

One a different subject, I was reading recent posts on alternators and that got me thinking (that is never good) about mine. I removed the alternator to inspect it closer. Actually that was a good thing. It turns out the ground to the alternator wire harness was not secured well. This was a failure waiting to happen. Also found an bracket that does not appear to have been assembled correctly.

In reviewing the service records for the car, I didn’t locate a receipt for an alternator repair/rebuild/replace. (Most of the work descriptions are hand written. Some are impossible to read.) I would find it odd, but lucky, if it was never replaced.

Could this be an original alternator or at least a correct alternator (versus an unknown brand replacement)? I see no markings. It looks like the teardrop alternator on the Dead Nuts On site.
If its an original/correct, I’ll strongly consider rebuilding it or having it rebuilt. Is there a model # associated with it to begin my search for rebuild parts. Anyone have a good source for alternator rebuild parts?
If its an aftermarket, possibly I should just go to the local auto store and get a new replacement.
(I know of no issues with this one, but if its original/correct, I’d like to put together a plan for it.)






Where should the alternator harness ground go? The manual diagram is unclear to me.
Possibly is this the bolt for the alternator ground lug?




This alternator bracket assembly does not look correct (below). Is some sort of spacer needed?
The bolt head appears to be broken.
(I cant take credit for breaking this one off. I found it this way.)

Thanks.

Looks like the correct alternator and bracket. Markings would have been stamped on so no surprise they’re long gone.