1967 Cougar GT - Whaddya think?

[RustyJC]

I ran across a 1967 Cougar GT tonight at one of the informal roadside used car lots the Houston area is famous for. I didn't have a magnet to check for Bondo, but the body looks straight, all the chrome and trim pieces are there and in good condition, paint (burgandy) is fair to good, interior (black) looks original and pretty good except for dashboard top pad (the "for sale" sign says he has a new one). 390 4V with C6 automatic. It has the factory "mags" (Magnum 500's).



I haven't contacted the owner to fire it up and drive it yet. He's asking $8000. That sounds very reasonable to me for a pretty rare 60's musclecar (well, sort of) that looks to be in pretty decent shape. Think it's worth pursuing?



Rusty

 

[MFalkinham]

Hi Rusty,



Up until 2002 I owned a '67 Cougar GT. I had to sell it because I got "downsized" when the company eliminated my job. It was a west coast car brought back to Wisconsin by the previous owner, who had rebuilt all of the mechanical systems. The 390 was super fast, and the C6 is tough as nails. I always thought the 67-68 Cougars were a little classier than Mustangs of the same years. You definitely see less of them on the road, and the Cougars turn more heads. Plus, they cost about half as much as 67-68 Mustangs, yet rolled off the same assembly line.



Two things to check for are make sure the hideaway headlights open and close, and that the sequential turn signals work. The stock turn signals were operated by a gear driven relay box which often fails, but can be replaced by a modern solid state controller box for around $150.



I sold mine for $7,900 with 146,000 miles on it. As you can see in the picture, it was in great shape, except for needing some minor repairs. Check out http://www.theclassiccougarnetwork.com/tccn/encata/buying/buying.html for all kinds of info on buying vintage Cougars.



Best wishes,



- Mike

 

[Rams-n-Hogs]

If it were me, (and I had the $$), I would pursue it. I have a 67 Cougar that I am going to start restoring within the next couple of years. 289 C4 auto. Nothing special. The most common place they rust is right around the rear wheel wells. This is the second one I've owned, and I like them better than Mustangs. I'd love to find a GT.



Mike - Too bad you had to get rid of yours, it looks like it was a sweet ride.



Jim

 

[Mike Ellis]

I always liked the old Cougars, they sure looked sharp. Ran pretty good too.



If you have problems with the turn signals, give me a yell. Waaay back when they didn't know to use dirt and water to make mud, one of our first digital logic projects in college was to sequence an RX-7s turn signal lights. Took about $3. 00 worth of TTL chips and a couple of transistors to switch the current. For $150 you should be getting a whole bucketful of chips...



I didn't know the originals had gear driven relays, sounds like an interesting hack. .

 

[MFalkinham]

Mike - Too bad you had to get rid of yours, it looks like it was a sweet ride.

Jim, it really was. But I sold it to a super nice guy from Denver who flew in with his wife and drove it home. Since then he's fixed the few cosmetic details the car needed but I didn't have money for, so now it's cherry. I definitely felt like crying when he drove off in it, but that's how life goes. :{



If I were Rusty (and had the $$), I'd definitely pick up a GT in nice condition. I think 67-68 Cougars are now where Mopars and Mustangs were fifteen years ago. Back then you could still find a nice clean Mopar/Stang for a reasonable price. Now they are all sky high. Once more people discover how nice the old Cougars really are, their prices will skyrocket too. Plus, there weren't many made to start with, and there are even less left now.



- Mike

 

[RustyJC]

Originally posted by Mike Ellis

I always liked the old Cougars, they sure looked sharp. Ran pretty good too.



I didn't know the originals had gear driven relays, sounds like an interesting hack. .

Yeah, Dad had a 67 Cougar. 289 2V/C4, but a nice "putt around" car. There was a box in the trunk with an electric motor and a shaft with (as I recall) 6 cams and 6 microswitches (3 for each side). When you turn on the turn signals, you start the motor. Pretty primitive by today's standards, but I guess it did the job.



Rusty

 

[Proram]

Anytime you can get a nice, clean factory big block car,(ford , chevy or dodge) for under 10k in todays market, is a good deal.

Buy it and ENJOY it, soon there won't be many left, unless you can afford the B-J crap prices. Just my . 02$



Scott

 

[Rams-n-Hogs]

Scott,



Good to hear from you. How is the healing process going? I gotta agree with you about finding a nice car under $10K. Just wish I had more $10K's laying around.



Jim

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

Cool, Cougar people!!



I have a '68 Cougar I really like, I've had it 11 years and it was my daily driver for several years. Nothing special but it's all original unrestored although it's needing to be gone through. The motor is getting tired and the body needs work.



2-3 years ago I tracked down the original owner who is now in his mid-80s and he was delighted to hear from me. He told me all about ordering it (didn't buy it off a lot) and how it ended up his daughter drove it most of the time. They lived on Long Island about 20 miles from NYC. They sold it in '90 and the guy drove it to Washington State and I bought it from him in '93.



I have all the records on it since new. It got driven a fair amount in the '70s, only 3000 miles between '82 and '90, then about 60,000 miles between '90 and '98. It got driven more between '90 and '98 than any other time of its life (has 129,000 now).



A clean straight Cougar is a real head turner indeed! I'm not a Ford person by any means, Cougars are an exception



Vaughn