"Mess to Modern" A 67 Cougar Project

[jstanard]

Greetings, Pro-Touring!
I've been a long time lurker on these forums and finally got the nerve to start my own build thread.

My current project is a 67 Cougar that I bought 11 months ago as a rusted out roller. For my goals, this is a perfect candidate. I'm building a daily driver that has all the “cool” of a classic but all the convenience of a contemporary. Since I intend to replace just about every major system, I found a bargain in a non-running, low option car. No sense in paying extra for that “like new” cheap paint job or “freshly rebuilt” drum brakes. For the purists, I'm not hacking up a rare Boss Eliminator in survivor condition. This is just a basic 302 coupe that needed resurrecting.

I've made a lot of progress up to now but I've documented and photographed along the way so I'll attempt to quickly catch up.

Here's the car on the day I picked it up.

[68Formula]

Nice. I'm a big fan of Cougars. If I had Jay Leno money, it would be on my short list. Should be a great project.

[jstanard]

I should mention that I'm a frugal person by nature. I enjoy getting the best "bang for the buck". I often spend more time shopping for a part than time spent installing it. I consider this a budget build - with no specific budget.

I found an ad in a neighboring city for a Ford Cobra 5.0 motor and T5 transmission…”runs and shifts perfect”. Included with the motor were computer and wiring harness, alternator and power steering pump, radiator with electric fan, new clutch cable, BBK throttle body and BBK long tube headers. Seemed like a deal to me so I took it all home.

Once I got the engine on a stand and started looking it over, I noticed the injectors were not right. 1993 Cobra 5.0 motors should have blue 24# injectors. These were orange 19# injectors. My first thought, “Why would someone switch to smaller injectors?” was quickly followed by “Wait a minute…these aren’t GT40 heads either!” It seems I bought an older engine with a Cobra intake manifold and BBK throttle body bolted on. I found a partial VIN on the back of the block and determined that the engine was originally in a 1988 Mustang. This explained the missing mass air flow meter since most Mustangs were speed density in ’88. The transmission tag indicated year 1991. Of course this was disappointing but with all the upgrades, this 5.0 HO is only a head swap away from the Cobra equivalent.

[jstanard]

I was a little worried that the seller had also misrepresented the running condition of the engine. He had sent me a video of it running in a black '93 Cobra (apparently a tribute) before it was pulled.
First order of business: see if the engine runs. This meant sorting out the wiring harness and figuring out how to connect the computer so it would work outside of a Fox body chassis.

[wfo guy]

Tell us about the black 67.

[jstanard]

I hoped someone would notice. :-)
That's my first project, a 69 Mustang I restored for my son. It's a restomod but more "resto" than "mod". That build is documented pretty well here: http://69mustangrestomod.irunthisblog.com/

It was a good experience and gave me confidence to take on this much more extensive project.

[jstanard]

Not sure if this will work but I'm going to attempt to link a facebook video of the engine first start. Well, not exactly FIRST start but shortly after...

[jstanard]

Does anyone have an idea what that whistle is when I shut off the engine? I'm guessing maybe fuel pressure or vacuum relief. I've heard other EFI 5.0s make the same sound so I assume it's normal.

[jstanard]

Since the engine seemed to be running great with no smoke or bad noises, I decided to wait on a rebuild. I did replace the timing set, clean the injectors and replace injector o-rings and pintle caps, clean and paint the engine, replace all gaskets except for heads and install new main seal.

[andrewb70]

In for updates.

Andrew

[wfo guy]

The whistle may be the air still passing through the inlet and mass air meter. I had a noise on my 32 that was not what I was used to hearing. It all seemed to be efi related with the air inlet.

[jstanard]

While I waited for floor pans and torque boxes to ship, I started piddling with the trunk lid to see if I could salvage it. I had almost no welding experience and, needless to say, i struggled with burning through everywhere. Persistence paid off and I was eventually able to get some patches done. Now that I've had more practice with a MIG, I can go back and clean up some of the uglier parts.

[jstanard]

Discovering the mouse nest is an obligatory part of every car build. Along with the other trash in the nest, I found the deceased former owner of the nest.

[jstanard]

It's a complex shape but I managed by working on small sections at a time.

[jstanard]

Moving on to the floor pans...

The floor pans were a real mess. Large rusting holes had been covered with fiberglass and latex caulk. The front torque box was rusted through and the floor supports were crushed. The transmission tunnel was still good so I decided to replace full L&R sections instead of trying to manage a full one piece pan by myself. I replaced the left torque box and added one on the right side. I replaced the floor supports as well.

[jstanard]

Torque box and floor support installed.
I bought one piece torque boxes but found there wasn't any way to install them as one piece. It was much easier after separating into two pieces.
I finally figured out that the four holes in the panel above the torque box was where a roll bar had previously been mounted. It would have been a sad day if it were ever needed to save someone's life. It was only bolted to thin sheet metal in six places.

[jstanard]

The Goodmark floor to firewall extension piece did not fit without modification. I was able to get a good fit by cuttting away the parts that didn't match.

[jstanard]

In addition to cutting away the parts around the steering column, there is a flange on the left side of the toeboard that is bent in the wrong direction. It can't be installed without first bending the flange 180 degrees so that it goes up from the toeboard instead of down toward the torque box. This is Goodmark part number: GMK302051564L

[jstanard]

I rebuilt the front suspension and power steering of my 69 mustang with stock style replacement parts along with an Arning drop. I still find it pretty underwhelming. This is an area that I really wanted to improve in this project. It's also an area that I agonized over quite a bit. There are a lot of options - roller bearing upgrades of stock components, strut conversions, and many flavors of Mustang II style. In the end, I went with the Mustang II style for several reasons.

• The Cougar's shock towers had been badly hacked up to gain access to the UCA grease zerks.
• Mustang II packages are cost effective if you are already planning to upgrade steering and brake systems.
• Extra room in the engine bay looks good and opens up options for fun things like turbos in the future.

[jstanard]

Before he switched routes, Stan (the UPS driver) and I were on a first name basis. He knew all the "car guys" in my neighborhood. He had to see what I was working on after making this delivery.