Here is a first shot of Monte the 1967 Mercury Cougar. I found him on a KSL ad asking for $3500. When I first looked at the photos I have to admit I wasn't overly impressed. There are some issues especially with the body. I decided it was worth checking out anyway.

When I got to the dealership it fired right up. Under the hood was a 2V 351C which wasn't running all that great in front of a C4. I also noticed manual drum brakes and power steering. I do like the wheels, although they are 14" which means they will probably be replaced at one point. The interior needs some love, but it really isn't as bad as one might think for a car at this price. A glance at a few classic car price books, I saw a no.5 condition Cougar to be listed at about $2500 and a no. 4 to be about $4000. Honestly I don't do a whole lot of classic car appraisals so I couldn't say whether its a no. 4 or no. 5. Either way I offered $3000 cash, and the dealer took it. He included in that price the taxes and dealer fees, so I was out at exactly $3000. I found out from the finance guy that the owner of the dealership really wanted the restore the car, but didn't have the time. He actually left after I made my offer so he wouldn't have to see it drive off of the lot.

The drive home was fun. The only gauge which worked was the speedometer, and thank goodness for that. The car obviously had a cam on it, which made it a little finicky, and the carb could probably use a serious rebuild. The brakes were another story. They pulled like crazy, and the pedal pressure was huge. I am not a small guy and I was pushing the pedal for all I was worth just to get it stopped. The steering was very vague, and wandered like crazy. The steering coupled with the brakes made for a fun ride. I couldn't get the headlights to open, which really isn't a good sign because they should stay open if there is something wrong with the system. So I didn't drive it home at night, but it did rain. Thankfully the wipers gave me about a 5"X5" piece of clear windshield. On a bright note the transmission shifted well. Thank goodness for small favors.

About the name. We name all of our cars (except the work ones). I had no idea what to name this particular car. Heather remembered a cougar up at Hogle Zoo which she loved. She even got to pet him a couple times, and his name was Monte. I guess it was a fitting name, hoping Heather might love this one too (as unlikely as that is).

Plans... That is the hardest part. I liked the idea of a project I can drive. Although at one point, I will have to do some major body work. There is plenty of rust which will make body repairs fun. Also the interior will take some work as well. I would have to make some repairs to steering, electrical, brakes, and suspension to make it really safe and reliable to drive. Of course if I do that all right away, I will eventually have to take it all off again to fix the body and interior. I do want a manual transmission to replace the automatic, but I think I will use the 351C enigine. I could probably make some good power with that motor. Honestly, I will probably start disassembly soon. I realize a project of this magnitude will take some funds (which I don't have right now) and time (of which I have less). I do look forward the the project, because building it will be almost as fun as driving it... almost.