68 XR7

[timbo]

My uncle gave me his 68 Cougar XR7 S code in July 22. He bought it in AZ in 1970. I have a lot of memories riding in it when he worked for my dad. Originally it was a 390 3 speed car but it was swapped to a 531 W and a C4 in the late 70's, not sure why. Eventually I will go back with a 390 and a 4 speed. For now, Im fixing the little things and just driving it.

 

[Bamamav]

Beautiful cat! I’ve always wanted one of those. When I first met my wife, she had a 68 289 Cougar. She didn’t keep it long after we met, it had a cooing system problem and would lose all the coolant, running hot. She traded it in on a 76 Mustang II before I got a chance to work on it. We’ve both wanted to find another one for years, but they are rarer than Mustangs and priced higher too. Every one I’ve looked at were either out of our price range at the time or rust buckets that would cost a fortune to fix.

 

[dutch]

That`s one of the better gifts...
Great color too. It sure would be nice to do the engine and trans swap. I owned a `67 390 Galaxy 500. That thing pulled pretty good being such a big boat.

 

[gene49]

I worked at a gas station repair shop from 72 to around 78, then went to work at a JC Penny auto service center for a couple years.

I had the extreme privilege's working on a few of the 390 Cougars. When they ran well, they were fun cars. They were a pain to work on. The 390 was shoe horned into them, and the front suspension was a bit light weight for the 390. Those upper control arm bushings were a royal pain, I had to do the grease job on every Mustang and Cougar that came in the door, no one else at either place could seem to get it done, and if it didn't get done, they squawked bad.

If the 351 W is in good shape, and you intend to drive the car a lot, I would not be in too big of a hurry to swap it out. That Cougar is a better balanced car with that 351 W in it then it will be with the 390. The 390 makes it nose heavy. The real life performance isn't much different, and the lighter weight of the 351 W will be easier on the front suspension.

When its time to sell it or it turns into a show poodle, put the 390 in. Between now and then enjoy the 351W.

 

[Couper]

When I was 17 I was driving my 1970 Challenger and pulled a hole shot off a light in Guttenburg NJ.
I lost control of the car and hit one of those Cougars. It just came out of the body shop and the Pin stripper just finished up laying down the stripe by hand. I hit that thing at the quarter panel and went down the whole side of the car. Boy did I feel like a jerk, I felt more like a jerk when my dad showed up and kicked the crap outa me...... Oh boy 51 years ago.

 

[earthman]

Sequential turn signals?

 

[redidbull]

That`s one of the better gifts...
Great color too. It sure would be nice to do the engine and trans swap. I owned a `67 390 Galaxy 500. That thing pulled pretty good being such a big boat.

First car I drove after getting my license was a 289 Galaxie 500. I thought it was so fast. A local guy was obsessed with Cougars. Saw him a few years ago and he still had one. Not a lot of them around when I was growing up. Jim

 

[smallfoot]

Beautiful shape!

 

[Tripper]

A girl in our neighborhood had a red XR-7... think it was a '69 or '70! OMG that car was beautiful. She got a really good job out of high school & bought it herself when she was about 20 yrs old... all the guys were sooooo jealous!

 

[timbo]

Sequential turn signals?

Yes sir. they still work nicely.