My 68 Cougar Pro-Touring / Resto-Mod Project

[David Sloan]

One of the best looking Cougars around!



Andrew

Yes sir!

[Richness]

Alright, you've convinced me to get the 67-68 camaro front spoiler after looking at those pictures. I also love the timeless silver paint with black trim. I must have missed it in the thread, but what rear view mirror did you put on the passenger door?

[langleylad]

Alright, you've convinced me to get the 67-68 camaro front spoiler after looking at those pictures. I also love the timeless silver paint with black trim. I must have missed it in the thread, but what rear view mirror did you put on the passenger door?

The mirrors are 1964-66 Mustang. These mirrors are intended to sit on an angled surface , such as a 1964-66 Mustang. The mounting area on the Cougar is vertical and these mirrors on this surface "tuck" in. I don't hate the way they "tuck" in but I would prefer if they angled out a bit. They work fine as is , I would actually prefer no mirrors at all but that's not too practical. If I ever find a mirror that would work as I would like then "maybe" I'll swap them out.

Ya , I love the way the spoiler worked out. I felt that the front valance needed a little something and I feel that this spoiler was just the ticket. Plus for less than $50 , how can you go wrong ?.

[lxg44]

The car came out fantastic! Anxious to hear how it drives.

[langleylad]

Modified B&M Quicksilver Shifter

I didn't want to just bolt in an off the shelf shifter as is. I wanted something that looked like it belonged. The Quicksilver had the features that I wanted , it just didn't have the look I was after. I had to cut it apart and remove the main stick. This piece is unmodifiable. So I had to fabricate a new stick . The trim cover was shaved, body worked, painted and I added a vinyl carbon fiber wrap piece to tie it together with the Momo carbon fiber shifter handle as well as the Autometer Ultra-lite gauges that also have carbon fiber faces. The shifter boot is a cheap piece that I found on Amazon , that worked out perfect. Gear selector display is handled by Lokar. It's a cool piece that I installed in a little panel that I whipped up and is mounted under the dash between the Ididit column and the center console.

[David Sloan]

Nicely done ! looks very clean!

[OLDFLM]

Killer result as always!! And another mod I may adopt to the console of my Firebird to tie in with my carbon dash...

[langleylad]

Hahahaha you’re to kind , thanks

[langleylad]

I've been busy finishing off little bits and pieces. The package tray is almost complete . I cut a new one out of some fiber board I had laying around and covered it in a piece of the first headliner that I installed and wasn't happy with. So that was a win. I order some fine mess stainless off of Amazon to make some speaker grills , I want a flush look to the package tray and didn't want to use the grills that came with the speakers. I ordered some interior pieces today from CJ Pony parts. I'm waiting on the seat belts that i ordered , probably a couple of weeks before they show up. I took the car for a quick trip around the block , I don't have any insurance on the car at the moment so it was short and sweet. It felt good , no strange noises . I can throw a temporary permit on it for a few days but I need those belts to be legal. The interior is coming together nicely.

[andrewb70]

You're driving it to LSFest next week, right?

Andrew

[langleylad]

You're driving it to LSFest next week, right?

Andrew

Ya , that's only 2,500 miles each way. That would make a great shake down run ! lol

I take it that you'll be attending again this year. I look forward to your reports , here and on Instagram.

Mike

[andrewb70]

I am attending, but don't have my Cougar entered in anything. I have a bunch of buddies bringing their cars, so I am socializing, taking pictures, and grilling.

Andrew

[langleylad]

I am attending, but don't have my Cougar entered in anything. I have a bunch of buddies bringing their cars, so I am socializing, taking pictures, and grilling.

Andrew

Sounds like a great time to me !

[Proeliator]

Andrew, you're my hero! What an awesome build. I've owned Cougars since the 80's, and used to race a '67 from '88 to 2002. I still have two, and am finally building one of my '68's into a pro touring ride. I've sort of felt like I've been recreating the wheel and everybody has been telling me "nobody does this to Cougars". Its been driving me friggin nuts. And then, I found your build thread. I am super impressed with your execution. I also went with the TCI suspension, and am very happy with it. Currently figuring out the best way to mini tub it, as since you pointed out; the mini tubs out there don't actually fit Cougars even though they are advertised too. I was ready to hate your grill treatment as I'm a little old school, but I have to say you killed it, I'm a big fan. Just wanted to say thank you for such an amazing build thread, and keep up the good work. For my money, you have one of the sweetest Cougars on the planet. So happy to see somebody else going this direction with an old cat. Mine is kind of a retro pro touring build, as I'm using a roots blown 427, but boy is it nice to have the newer technology.

[langleylad]

Andrew, you're my hero! What an awesome build. I've owned Cougars since the 80's, and used to race a '67 from '88 to 2002. I still have two, and am finally building one of my '68's into a pro touring ride. I've sort of felt like I've been recreating the wheel and everybody has been telling me "nobody does this to Cougars". Its been driving me friggin nuts. And then, I found your build thread. I am super impressed with your execution. I also went with the TCI suspension, and am very happy with it. Currently figuring out the best way to mini tub it, as since you pointed out; the mini tubs out there don't actually fit Cougars even though they are advertised too. I was ready to hate your grill treatment as I'm a little old school, but I have to say you killed it, I'm a big fan. Just wanted to say thank you for such an amazing build thread, and keep up the good work. For my money, you have one of the sweetest Cougars on the planet. So happy to see somebody else going this direction with an old cat. Mine is kind of a retro pro touring build, as I'm using a roots blown 427, but boy is it nice to have the newer technology.

Hahahaha ! Thanks my friend but this isn't Andrew's build . But thanks for the kind words anyhow ! hahaha

Mike

[Proeliator]

Hahahaha ! Thanks my friend but this isn't Andrew's build . But thanks for the kind words anyhow ! hahaha

Mike

My bad Mike! I must have gotten your name confused with somebody else posting in this thread. Keep up the good work :thumbsup:

[langleylad]

Andrew also has a cool patina style Cougar build on here and he’s shared his knowledge with us all. He’s commented and encouraged me throughout this experience.

[langleylad]

Lately I've been working on the interior. A week ago I installed new sun visors and windshield pillar trim. Yesterday I started in on the carpeting. The rear passenger footwells have the subframe connectors running down the centre which makes installing carpet a bit of a PITA. I picked up some 1" dense foam from the local building centre and glued some 3/8" plywood to the back of each piece to bring the floor up level with the connectors. I was watching a video on carpet install and picked up a low dollar trick . When your carpet is in place and you need to insert trip screws through it. It's very easy for the screws to grab the carpet material and pull out a row. So the thing to do is to use a pick of some sort to find your holes then use a cheap wood burning tool to melt the material around the hole. I picked up one on Amazon for $15 and if worked like a charm.

[langleylad]

I gotta say that the TCI front suspension package with the Detroit Speed pieces that I've installed have really tightened up this machine. Today I jacked up the front passenger side corner 6" and the back passenger tire was off the ground by a good 4". Not much flex ... nice.

[langleylad]

Update , Took the Cougar for a quick trip around the block and without getting into details I managed to bust up the front spoiler. Lets just say it was a stupid mistake on my part. Haven't decided if I'll replace it. A couple of days ago I gave it a good wash while it was raining . Once it was clean I pulled it into the shop , dried it and put a cover over it until the spring. Hopefully by then I'll have the $$$ together to have the interior done , if not I'll insure it and work out the bugs. There are no bugs at the moment but I'm sure there will be .