OK guys,I have spent the last year and a half collecting the missing parts for my 69 e-cat and now am ready to move in a direction. Here are some pics of the areas I need to address on the car no matter which direction I go. I am thinking about fixing the worst spots, blending the paint, and leaving as much original as I can. The car only has 20k and change on the ticker, floors are as new and the paint would buff out to a respectable shine. Passenger door was hit pretty good at one time, I can make it look decent but never right. Trunk lid needs complete do-over as there is damage and it was repainted once long ago with lacquer. The car is R-code 4-speed non scj. No matter what I decide, the engine bay has to be dealt with and started over. Let me know what you think.
My first attempt at linking photobucket so if it doesn’t work I will try again.
I advocate keeping original, tired looking paint whenever possible like nobody I know but there comes a time when… Kudos for considering it! If you want to enjoy it as a driver I say go for it!
Hmmm… I bet you have had some sleepless nights on this decision. It all depends on how you are going to use the car in the end. I think judging from the picture and your description. By the time you spot fix the body and try to blend new paint to 42 year old original paint. You would be further ahead at the min to do a complete paint job. You already said you are going to do the engine bay, so the only area left is the underside. If you can clean it up and it looks nice. I would keep that part original unless you are looking to show the car and want to place well. Then you woud want to do a full on restore. Of course, all the above depends on your budget as well.
I can do the work so the budget is not that critical. The problem I have is the “only original once” problem. I think I can blend these areas and have a 75 percent original car. Nobody will be able to tell the originality on the engine bay so that is not a huge concern. But the overall question is this: is this an investment or a toy??? I really would like to be able to go out and wring this car out to see what it can do, but is a car of this rarity really the right place for that activity. I have other cats, but none with the big power of a cj car. Like BossElim says, sleepless nights! Maybe I’ll just ponder it another 18 months… naah, after waiting 15 years I am itching to get this thing on the road. Thanks for the input guys, keep it coming.
Let’s see…old, crappy paint or new, bright glossy paint? Hummm, I’ll take bright and glossy competition orange anytime. Your car is not going to ever be considered as an original survivor given all the work you will have to do to it so I see no reason to live with subpar paint. Paint it, get it running and then enjoy the heck out of it. Leaving crap paint and calling it a “survivor” always strikes me as a cop out from someone unwilling or unable to do a proper restoration.
I’m all for original survivor cars if they truely are untouched survivors but replacing half the parts doesn’t make it an original survivor. I love the signs people have for their cars that say “All original…New paint, new brakes, new gas tank, new front seat upholstery, etc.” What, exactly, does “all original” mean to these folks? Surely not the same thing it means to me.
Well if you want to take the words literally for what they actually mean, “all-original” would mean an utterly undriveable car with rotted out rubber providing no seals anywhere. No car is truly all-original if you think about it. Original plugs, points, tires, air filter, oil, etc? A car isn’t like a desk where it’s possible to never change anything. Cars require lots of maintenance, and replacing of parts on the regular.
Personally, I’m a fan of the “make it work great, make it look awesome, and enjoy driving it” school of thought. The more “all-original” a car is, seems like it’s gonna be leaning more towards the museum side of the spectrum rather than the driver side. Unless it’s some crazy 1-of-1 drivetrain/trim combo, I don’t see the point of aiming for a museum build.
But! Hey! Your car, your call, really. Each of us has to make our own decisions about what we want our Cougar to be. Just go with your gut.
[album]302[/album] Sorry to hijack thread and toot our own horn. We decided not to paint ours. We have repaired everything back to working order. We decided to make it a complete car. that was fairly easy as it came with original exhayst manifolds, intake anc carb the only thing missing was ac compressor and hoses. Found used parts, a new drier and put R134a in. After servicein ac screwd the valves closed and removed the R134a retrofit fittings and screwed the brass caps back on. New H-pipe and complete exhaust with the correct looking hangers and tailpipes.Reinstaled the power steering only needing to rebuild the ram. Car starts and runs as though it was new. My wife loves to drive it more than I do. The faded through paint gets more positive comments than negative. We believe if we painted it people would start picking it apart.
Now back to the original thread topic: sidewinder: You realize this is a MERCURY COUGAR you’re talking about, right? Which sounds like more fun… trailering the Cat to a show and collecting yet another trophy to add to the box full of trophies in the attic; or settling down into a comfortable slouch in the seat, feet on the pedals, left hand on the wheel and right hand on the shifter; and DRIVING?
As an unrefined, redneck, wannabe “mid-to-late 1800’s cowboy”; I’d go with the second choice every time! Got trophies and trophy buckles for lots of stuff; the really important ones (to me) are the very few buckles I earned with my right hand full of reins and a bunch of coils of 7/16" inch hard-lay rope and the “business end” (the loop) of the rope in my left, spinning in a circle over my and my horse’s heads; until I threw it at the A**-end of a steer, and caught him.
So what works for you?
Figure out the answer, and then build the car thusly.
You can have it both ways. Make it pretty and then drive it. If something gets damaged, make it pretty again. You did it once, you can do it again. Too many people think if you spend money on the car that you can no longer drive it. I don’t think that way. My car has been restored with plenty of NOS parts, gets driven extensively including in the rain and still holds its own at car shows.
Don’t ask what some others think you should do. Satisfy yourself, it is your car and project! I drilled holes in a perfect hood and trunk lid for spoiler and scoop. Some consider that sacrilege. There is no such thing as wrong if it is what you want!
I hear that. Holes for hood pins going in my hole-free 68 next month. Spoilers next year as well. No hesitation on my part. Not a museum car, so I’m not afraid to do anything I want, if I think it will make her even more incredible to me.
Thanks for all of the input folks. I already know what I WANT to do with it, just a matter of getting some confirmation. The original plan was to restore this car to show room condition with all of the parts and pieces in place to make it perfect. The only problem is that I don’t own a museum and driving my diesel pickup and enclosed trailer to a show really doesn’t do it for me. I like to drive everything I own like I stole it, and a cj car should be no different! I will try to keep you all updated on the progress. Ideally the engine bay will be back to perfect soon, the drivetrain will be back in place and the car will be moving on its own power for the first time in 20 years. I plan to put it all back together in current condition and make sure everything works before tearing it back apart for a fresh coat of comp orange next winter.
Jeff, I just don’t have the time or patience to detail my cars like you do, I am always impressed with how far you go to keep a driven car in primo condition!
I say go the long way and give that cat a well deserved total restoration. I believe the famous words “it is only original once” was first spoken by someone who never had time or interest in getting dirty on his/her hands. And the way I look at it, restoring the car is actually the most satisfying part of the ownership. Driving the car is just a bonus. But that’s me
And the way I look at it, restoring the car is actually the most satisfying part of the ownership. Driving the car is just a bonus. But that’s me 