New guy From AL

[Dee T]

Hey guys, Just droppin in to say hi. I think you have a great forum. Been here a time or two and thought I'd register. I have a 69 Mercury Cougar XR7 . I got it back in Feb. and really just have been piddling w/it here and there. It's a solid California car with a cheap paint job thrown on it (it's a 10 footer) It has a 351W 4bbl (Not origional to the car but is C9 Date coded) and a mild cam. Since I've got it I Cleaned it up a good bit, replaced the timing chain and gears and put in an MSD ignition system Digital 6, Pro Billet distributor, and Ig coil. I also repainted the vinyl top black W/ SEM Landau Black. I have also swapped the old alternator regulator setup with a 3G alternator. I also just got a set of 18 in wheels and tires from Ebay. Front is 18x9 w/245/40/18 I had to modify the Upper control arms to get them to fit but they'll work fine. I plan to drop the front with 1 in coil springs and will also do the Shelby mod to Correct the outdated steering Geometry. The rear has 18/10/18 w/ 265/35/18. I plan to update the tires to 285/40 in a month or so but for now it will ride. I haven't really decided which way I will go with the rear suspension just yet. Engine wise I plan to do a 408 that will hopefully get about 500 hp (maybe) and a 6 speed trans. turning 456 screws in back. It'll take a while but we'll get it done. I have a wife that works long hours and has just decided to go back to school, and 2 small kids a 4yr old and a 9month old. That's about it for now, here's some pics.

[Mr.VENGEANCE]

oooh it looks nice on them new wheels!!

i wish there were more cougars here.. welcome!

[454bug]

Very unique wheels...

Welcome aboard!!

A lot of cool cars and helpful, nice people here.

[fastback]

I loooooove those early Cougars. Think I'll get one one day. The FR500s look perfect on it.

[Dee T]

Thanks guys. I'm pretty happy with the car so far. I think I've come out pretty good on it. I got a good deal on it and with every thing so far I'm still under $5500. And with the paint being not the greatest I'm not going to be afraid flog it when I want to. I'll be much happier when I get the car down a little more, I want the tires to fill the wheel wells. Thats my next project. Or maybe i'll pull the engine to do some detail work. Oh well all in good time.

[parneli70]

I've always had a thing for Cougars and eventually I'll get one. Definitely get that thing lower on the new wheels will give it a mean look.

[bamadale]

very nice cougar! what area of AL are you from? i live in n. AL

[Dee T]

very nice cougar! what area of AL are you from? i live in n. AL

I'm in Alexander City. Thats about 50 miles North East of Montgomery, And 70 miles South East of Birmingham. Hwy 280 runs right through Here.

[Dee T]

I've always had a thing for Cougars and eventually I'll get one. Definitely get that thing lower on the new wheels will give it a mean look.

I've still got the one I had in high school but its all in pieces right now. I was intending on restomoding that one but it needs so much more work than I could afford to do at this point in time, and my wife got pregnant w/ our second child so she thought it would be better if I just got one to drive and tinker with until we can better afford to do it the way I want. Judging by your sig me and you both are in the same boat.

[bnickel]

good to see another 69 cougar here, i've got one that will be my new projet once i get my 69 Mustang GT sold. i posted a new car thread a few weeks ago about the cougar.

for the rear suspension you should check out the TCP G-Bar, as far as i know it's the only bolt in system made for the cougars, since the rear suspension is a little longer than the mustangs you can't use the stang stuff. Tim McCain at TCP also owns a 69 cougar too. there are a few other cougar guys here too.

another place you should check out is www.mercurycougar.net pretty good bunch of folks there, though most are more into stock type restos there are still quite a few modified guys there

[Dee T]

good to see another 69 cougar here, i've got one that will be my new projet once i get my 69 Mustang GT sold. i posted a new car thread a few weeks ago about the cougar.

for the rear suspension you should check out the TCP G-Bar, as far as i know it's the only bolt in system made for the cougars, since the rear suspension is a little longer than the mustangs you can't use the stang stuff. Tim McCain at TCP also owns a 69 cougar too. there are a few other cougar guys here too.

another place you should check out is www.mercurycougar.net pretty good bunch of folks there, though most are more into stock type restos there are still quite a few modified guys there

I'm a member over there too. I am the one that had the problem w' the oil blowing out of the dipstick tube. So far (knock on wood) since I've sealed the tube it has not blown oil any more and still no leaks. I drove it a little over 100 miles this past weekend. Still keeping an eye on it to see if anything will happen.

[bnickel]

I'm a member over there too. I am the one that had the problem w' the oil blowing out of the dipstick tube. So far (knock on wood) since I've sealed the tube it has not blown oil any more and still no leaks. I drove it a little over 100 miles this past weekend. Still keeping an eye on it to see if anything will happen.

ok, i remember that. glad to hear it's working better, however i'd still be concerned about a stuck ring just keep an eye out for other signs

[Dee T]

Well, I did get to do a cylinder leak test on fathersday and all seems to be in good shape the highest leakage was 31% . Ive put off pulling the engine on hold to detail it better. I'm going to drive it a while to see if anything happens to it as far as leaks developing and whatnot. But so far with all the testing that I have done nothing seems to be out of line. Maybe the sealing of the tube is creating a better potential for vacuum in the crankcase, or maybe not. Any ways thanks for your concern! Nice stang BTW you shouldn't have too much trouble with the sale of that one!

[bnickel]

ok cool, well glad it's all holding for you. i'm hoping it won't take long to sell the stang, the main reason i'm selling it is so that we can finally buy a house of our own instead of renting. since i'm not able to work any more due to my disbaility (long story) the stang is the only thing we have worth enough to sell to make a good down payment. after the down payment anything that's left will go into building my cougar up. i really hat to sell it because it was my first car and i've owned it for 24 years but having the cougar will help take some of the sting out of it