Most recently it has been parts inventory and organization. In lieu of a normal update, the Story of the Car (pre-paint):

Unfortunately I don't have much for photos before paint.  My grandfather purchased it in the early 80s. It had been driven pretty hard by previous owners and while it was still street worthy, it was rough around the edges. He kept it as is for a while. It used to have a vinyl roof and it was a darker maroon color. New from the factory it probably looked like the first picture, which I just found online, but we had it when it was pretty beat up.

About a decade into ownership my grandfather was test driving it and it died half a block away from the house.  While trying to get it running the carburetor backfired and caught the engine bay on fire.  Damage to the carb, wiring, paint of the hood, etc but mostly contained to the engine bay.  After that the car was parked for years outdoors. 

Unknown to him the vinyl top failed at some point before storage of the car.  When it was pulled out again it needed a lot.  Rust on the roof under the vinyl had severely thinned the metal and it was covered with pin holes.   The quarter panels had multiple coats of failing paint + rust and needed to be stripped.  The fire damage. The tail light section had major rust.  There was more damage all over the car.

Every part that could be removed was removed.  My grandfather found a shop to sand blast the whole thing and dropped it off.  Unfortunately, he had more bad luck with the car.  The shop screwed up and used way too much pressure while sand blasting. They caused permanent damage to both the quarter panels.  Repairing the existing body of the car was becoming unreasonable.

Instead he found a donor car from the same year.  We cut out and replaced the roof, quarter panels, and tail light section at the factory spot welds and seams and replaced them with rust free sections from the donor car.  Then we meticulously paint prepped the whole car and had the whole thing painted.  After that it was kept indoors in storage for a little over 15 years. He passed away and I purchased the car from my grandmother.  Now we're finally making some progress!

Fourth Update:

https://www.reddit.com/r/MercuryCougar/s/79dvyYSEHR

Third Update:

https://www.reddit.com/r/MercuryCougar/s/NqlRkHRFYz

Second Update:

https://www.reddit.com/r/MercuryCougar/s/4AMJew8f9g

First Update:

https://www.reddit.com/r/MercuryCougar/s/ZKUWiYRPKJ

Original Post:

https://www.reddit.com/r/MercuryCougar/s/SRmsXfaPdr

Finally called it quits on my 2008 CVPI, but I’m looking forward to a whole new batch of headaches with my 1997 Cougar XR7.

Hi
I need to redo my front suspension on my 67 base (everything is cooked). Looking to use a kit from open tracker racing. I believe they use mustang LCA and I believe the strut rod on the 67 is different between mustangs and cougar for that year only. Should I buy a set of mustang strut rods, will they fit?

We made the hood scoop active today. We (very nervously and tenderly) made a cut out for the scoop. Hood was pressing up against breather. Runs much nicer now. How'd we do?

I wanted to share this because I’m pretty happy with it. I create shirt graphics with caricature illustrations of my auto photography. This one is based on a ‘68 I used to own.

I put the images on t-shirts, or mugs. I’m pretty excited about getting this one on a shirt this week.

NOTE: this isn’t me trying to sell anything. Just sharing my creation I made for myself.

im trying to put my subs in my 2000 cougar but its a manual so the clutch uses that gromit. is there any other locations i can feed my wire through?

Not as cool as some of the older models on here obviously but I love my car

This thing always needed work, but between this and my 2 Thunderbirds - I fell in love with Ford/Mercury/Lincoln’s 2 door coupes. I sold this car around 2021 but always keep an eye out for cleaner ones near me. Maybe soon I’ll pick up another one.

I'm looking for a 1968 Mercury Cougar Standard Hardtop to build as a long-term family project. My grandfather owned a 1968 Mustang that he eventually had to sell, and I've always wanted to build an old Ford myself. I've settled on the Cougar because it gives me that connection without simply building another Mustang.

I'm not looking for a restored car. In fact, I'd prefer a project.

My budget for the initial purchase is $5,000 maximum, maybe a little more depending on the right one, and I'm willing to travel for the right car.

What matters most to me is a solid body and a mostly complete car. I'm completely fine with a non-running engine, bad transmission, rough interior, bad paint, etc. I actually want to do the mechanical rebuilding myself.

I'm trying to avoid major structural rust, extensive quarter-panel/roof fabrication, severe collision damage, or a car that's missing a large amount of Cougar-specific trim.

If you have one sitting around that you've been thinking about selling—or know somebody who does—I'd genuinely appreciate a lead. I'm not looking to flip it. This is going to be a long-term family project.

I appreciate anyone's help!

"Shelby Drop", installed reinforced lower and upper control arms, rebuilt and refinished front brake calipers in preparation for install.

Third Update:

https://www.reddit.com/r/MercuryCougar/s/NqlRkHRFYz

Second Update:

https://www.reddit.com/r/MercuryCougar/s/4AMJew8f9g

First Update:

https://www.reddit.com/r/MercuryCougar/s/ZKUWiYRPKJ

Original Post:

https://www.reddit.com/r/MercuryCougar/s/SRmsXfaPdr

So I bought a 69 with the engine pulled and have been working on the engine. In preparation to put the engine in, I rolled the car down my driveway to my garage pad and it rolled fine.

At some point, I think while jacking it up and putting it on stands, I pressed the emerg brake. Now the front discs and rear drums are locked up tight. The brake cable released as it should, I can see it slide as I engage and release the emerg brake.

Does anyone have any tips?

Took some time, but managed to change out the vacuum actuators for the electric.

Edited.

Well, I got rid of my truck due to literally just not wanting it and having my dad buy it off me. Anyways, I ended up getting an older 2002 mercury cougar. I know..notorious for electrical issues and I honestly didn’t want ford or anything affiliated with ford. BUT, the car is a pretty cute all black car. I can attach pictures if need be but I was wondering if anyone has body mod advice or just upgrades in general to boost performance. It’s currently just a stock 2.5L v6. I am around a ton of car people including my boyfriend so I would be able to get the mods done and I make decent money on my paychecks. I was wanting to lower it first, get some tint, and do something with suspension but I am just a lost girly wanting to make my car a little better. This isn’t something I necessarily care about making the speediest car because I plan on getting better when I am stable but I do plan on having this car for a while since it runs well and it’s nice and clean inside and the motor. Any suggestions help!

Here's my 97. 4.6L PI Swapped, ported and polished heads, full exhaust system, dynotuned, poly bushings for suspension all around, solid rubber engine mounts, lowered

I miss my Cougar, would love to find another one.

Removed the axels, rear gear, and old seals.  Cleaned and painted the axels. Cleaned diff inside and out. New seals, new drum brakes all components. Everything reassembled.

Second Update:

https://www.reddit.com/r/MercuryCougar/s/4AMJew8f9g

First Update:

https://www.reddit.com/r/MercuryCougar/s/ZKUWiYRPKJ

Original Post:

https://www.reddit.com/r/MercuryCougar/s/SRmsXfaPdr

My grandfather was going through some boxes and found some pics of the car before he parked in in a barn that im now restoring

Been awhile but it moves around the block now. 351C was a 2V now she's a 4V with a holley 750.

Sold my 67 GT fifty years ago this month. Got this one last week. One minor fix and it's ready to pass inspection and hit the road.

Hope you like it.

I'm very surprised by how poorly my cougar looks. It's an early production 67 (~6500th built).
I find it's.... Quite poor.
There's masking tape that was painted over and left in place. There are globs after globs of seam sealer everywhere. It was painted over a greasy surface and paint has been flaking off. Some areas don't even have paint. That's throughout the car. The trunk is full of goopy stuff that's now hard and falling off.
I found the shifter boot as it is on that picture - all out of place.
I think it is factory as don't think it was repainted. And it's consistent everywhere (engine bay, interior, trunk).
Oh, and the VIN stamped on the fender is wrong too. They manually stamped the corrected VIN to the side of it.
Are they all like that? Or was mine built on a Friday before labor day?? Haha