I had the opportunity to go take a look at this car for a fellow Cougar enthusiast. The car was being auctioned on eBay and it deserved a closer look.
The current owner is in failing health, and his family is working on helping him sell off much of his automobile related possessions. They are interested in finding not a just a new home for this car, but exactly the right new home. As I am writing this I do not know the status of the car. I will update this thread if I hear more.
The car was built as a replica of the Cougar that Dan Gurney drove in the 1967 Trans Am season. Team Cougar came with in two points of beating the Mustangs, and Ford could not afford to have the pony car devoured by the cats. Come 1968, Team Cougar was disbanded and Dan Gurney, Parnelli Jones, and Ed Leslie would all move on to other rides. Dan Gurney authorized the building of this car and signed the roof.
This car is not for the purest. It is built as a race car first, with some small allowances to make it occasionally street-able. Initially the car ran a 302 bored and stroked to 348 cubic inches. This motor was “blown up” and replaced by a very strong 302. The day I was there to photograph the car, was dark and rainy, the car was in an industrial warehouse lit by only few fluorescent lights at least 20’ above the car. In some cases I was simply pointing the camera and waiting to see what the flash would reveal. We didn’t start the car for fear of monoxide poisoning inside the closed space, but I am sure that it is a screamer.
I guess the answer is … It depends. It was built as a race car. Race cars are not about cosmetic detail as much as really good functional detail. Functionally it was pretty good. The paint was much better than you would expect from a race car. It has a head liner. The dash is functional, but in my opinion it looks like… blah. The door panels are just flat vinyl panels, no arm rests. Functional, but not much to look at. The car is wired with a painless harness, so most Cougar stuff, like sequential signals, is gone. I don’t even think it had a courtesy light inside. Neither of these things makes it go faster though so, take your pick. With more time ti could be better, but you really have to decide what you want to end up with.
Cool Cat! I remember watching the show when they built it. Sorry to hear the current owner is in bad health. Sad situation there. Looks like a blast to drive and hope it finds a good home.
Bill was actually looking at the car for me. Thanks again Bill! It was nice but just too many things that bothered me so I did not bid. As Bill said the interior was blah and the wiring would need to be redone if you want the turn signals to work. The paint also had some flaws, and I did not like the clamps for the front and rear glass being screwed into the body. As of last week the car is still for sale. The EBay buyer was unable to complete the transaction due to some restrictions in their state on using race cars on the street! At this point the seller is willing to take the $23K high bid as they really need to move it.
I think it could be a great car for some one that wanted a restomod type vehicle. You certainly could not build it for what they are asking for it. If any one needs pics or assistance, let me know.
