I’m planning on going to look over a '70 Cougar in a week or so, and while I think I’m prepared it is always good to get more info.
Does anyone have any tips for what I should look for / look out for when looking over a classic Cougar?
I know the basic stuff ~ engine, paint, body, interior. So i’m more looking for details or specific things to be aware of. Like “check if the hornswaggler is missing, those are impossible to find”, or “look inside the woggle-vent, they can rust out.”
Mike I know areas on the 67/68 Cougars. I would think these transfer to the 69/70 Cougar. Torque boxes (rust), shock towers (cracks), floor pans (rust). Hope this helps. Good luck with your purchase.
Steven
Mike, if the car is a vinyl top car, watch the lower corners around the front and rear windows. I’d make sure the grill is a very decent one, nice ones are hard to come by for the '69/'70’s and anyone WITH a nice grill for sale is NOT shy about asking for “stoopit money AND your spleen” for it.
A nice rim blow wheel is a bonus. Last I looked, a restored one was upwards of 800 bones. Other than that, the basics you know of. No obvious damage from old wrecks and rust. Watch the trunk drop offs and the inner fender wells of the qtr. panels.
Dont “settle”. We tend to buy these cars and hang onto them. If youre not thrilled with the car, walk away.
It is a desert car (no vinyl roof), so I don’t expect alot of rust, and the pics of the torque boxes and floor pans look great - just a touch of what appears to be surface rust and that “rust speckle” that they get.
I don’t have any good pics of the shock towers. Where do they start to crack? I believe it is down low, where they put the factory bracing / reinforcing, but I’m not exactly sure.
The tops of the shock towers look good ~ no bubble of rust at the top where they meet up with the firewall & fender, like you see on alot of older cars.
What is the easiest way to inspect for a rusty cowl area? I’m thinking I could just shine a flashlight into the kick panel vents, and down the cowl vent, but what do you guys think?
What about rust around the battery tray? I expect to find some and I know they make repro panels for that, but how difficult / expensive is this to repair?
I know the heater core has a problem too, and the dash is split, so kinda a “two-birds-with-one-stone” repair I’m thinkin’.
Oh yeah! What manuals / books are recommened for guidance on repairs? Chilton / Haynes?
“What is the easiest way to inspect for a rusty cowl area? I’m thinking I could just shine a flashlight into the kick panel vents, and down the cowl vent, but what do you guys think?”
Pour a half gallon of water down into each side of the cowl. Look for water on floor of car.
I always take a 2-liter bottle of water with me and pour half down each side of the cowl, then check both front floors.
Look under the battery tray specifically. If that’s rusted you may need to do a fender apron repair. It’s not that significant a repair, but it’s just one more thing that will add to the time and cost of the project. Replacing the tray itself is pretty easy.
I recommend the Ford Shop Manual. It should be available from any of the Mustang vendors. My '69 set is four volumes, so I’d expect the 1970 manual to be the same.
I also always take a refrigerator magnet with me to check for bondo. Anything more than a skim coat and the magnet won’t stick. It’s also a type that even the most anal owner won’t typically object to since there’s virtually zero chance of scratching the car with it.
A desert car? Oh then this might be of special interest to you…
Check the tires for dry rot. Little cracks in the rubber. I’ve been reading a ton about it lately. Desert car should be especially susceptible because of hash conditions and lotsa sun.
From what I’ve read, any amount of dry rot means the vehicle is unsafe for highway use and is dangerous for normal road use, and the tires should be replaced immediately.
That’s not a deal breaker, as tires are easily changed and are part of routine maintenance already. But it might be worth knowing, going into it, if you’re gonna have to spend several hundred dollars immediately just to make it safe to drive.
If the cowl leaks 8/10 the floorpans will need replacing or vice-versa.
Same with the rear window corners. If there is a leak in the rear window, trunk, trunk dropoff and/or quarter panel rust.
Hopefully your desert car will be sound.
AC cars eventually leaked condensate into the passenger floorpan. Look for rust there.
Shock towers crack around the holes for the upper control arms, not so much on 69’s and 70’s with the reinforcement.
Cars with a lot of hard use will have cracks at the top of the “A” pillar, if so check the pans and inner rockers.
Schrader valves (or drilled holes) in the rear bumper or trunk mean air shocks, check the upper and lower shock mounts.
Sorry to high jack this thread, but I have a quick question. Art, what would you recommend to prevent this? To stiffen my Cougar up, I’ve installed Maier subframe connectors, Monte Carlo bar and export brace with welded in reinforcement plate. Barring a full roll cage, is there anything else you would do?
If I wanted to eliminate more of the unibody flex, install convertible rockers, torque boxes, and seat platform from a similar year mustang convertible.
Cheap and stealth. I love it. I found this tech article about a formerly offered “Chassis Strengthening Kit” from Mustangs Plus that looks similar to what you described. Even though I’ve already installed my dynamat, I’m basically at that stage in my build right now. I’ll have think about this a little bit more. Okay, enough thread jacking. Thanks for your help, Art.