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Welcome to my web site!
Written in the Winter of 2000...
I created this site as a way to express my love and
appreciation for an automobile that is, in my opinion, much unappreciated by
most classic car enthusiasts. As you can tell by my web heading, I'm
talking about the Cougar. Not just any Cougar - the Classic Cougar.
Those made from 1967 to 1973. Those are the years that Ford showed great
imagination in producing, what I believe was one of their first sexy
styles. They incorporated raw power, sleek design and innovative
technology into a masterpiece. It was built on the same frame as the
beloved Mustang but offered more luxury. It was definitely for the
"upwardly mobile male". A man who wanted a more refined
executive look but still wanted that power under the hood. A Musclecar
with a touch of class. (Sorry ladies,
society wasn't as open-minded back then. Some may say they still
aren't.) In fact, I knew this waitress one time, back in the early 70's
that had a 1968 Cougar GT with a 390 4V and 4-on-the-floor....but that's another
story.
Well I'm here to say that I have been the proud owner of a
1969 Cougar for the past 37 years. Man, just think, my car is now
considered an antique.
My Cat has seen good times and bad. As it stands right now, it has not been
one of the car's better times. As of this moment it sits at an auto shop
in pieces. At first I was going to restore it to its' original
condition. But the more I thought about it the more my teenage dreams
started to re-ignite in me. I started to remember what I wanted to do to
the engine and trany way back when. I wanted to balance and blueprint the engine.
I wanted a Holley 4V on a high rise manifold with a supercharger. I wanted
Hooker Headers. I wanted a 4 speed transmission with a Hurtz
shifter. I wanted a Traction Loc rear-end. I wanted traction
bars. I wanted ... Well you get the picture. There was just
one problem. Well, maybe two problems. Parents and no money.
Need I say more.
Time has a way of changing some things. I still have my
parents (Thank Goodness) but I still don't have any money. I guess maybe
some things don't change. Anyways, call it a mid-life crisis or call it a
recapture of by-gone years. Call it whatever you like. My wife and
family call me crazy. I feel compelled to do this. Maybe the same
way as someone who restores a dilapidated building to its former glory or an
artist who restores a great work of art. I HAVE to do this!
Monetarily it doesn't make since, but I still have to do it.
I don't know how it is in the rest of the country, but around
the Kentuckiana area (that's Louisville and the surrounding Kentucky and Indiana
counties) there aren't very many Cougars. In fact, at the 2000 Carl Casper Auto Show, advertised as one of the largest in the country, which
was held in Louisville in February 2000, there was just one, count them, one
Cougar. It was a 1969 Cougar painted a metallic Forest Green with a black
vinyl top. It sported Magnum 500 chrome and black 15" wheels.
The interior was gorgeous. The owner had just restored it and had done a beautiful
job. He told me he was planning on driving it back and forth to work
everyday but had to show off this beautiful Feline before it went to work.
The car got plenty of attention. Some of the younger generation didn't
even know what it was. I overheard two teens talking about it. One
asked the other what it was. The other replied "A Cougar, I
think?"
At the 2001 Carl Casper Auto Show again there was only one
Cougar. A beautifully restored White 1970 Cougar. It started out as
a father-son project but quickly turned into a father-buddy project. I
have some pictures located in the Kentucky Cougars section.
Over the next several months, some tell me years, I hope to
document the progress of bringing my Cat back to life. Along the way I
hope to talk my brother into restoring his 1967 Cinnamon Gold XR-7 Dan Gurney
Special that he has
in moth balls. I may
also stumble across other Cougar enthusiasts from this area and report on their
pride-and-joys. Stay tuned. This is definitely a work in progress.
You are the 
visitor since 3/17/00.
Thanks for stopping by.
This page was last updated on
07/19/09.
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