Jan 29, 2017
I finally started a new page..I wanted to do something today, so I installed the intake manifold and carburetor. Up until now they were just loosely bolted on. I also tightened up the fuel line on the carb. Doesn't seem like much, but it still took 1 1/2 hr.
Feb 1 2017
The last piece in the fuel system came in, so I finished up the fuel system, except for the wiring. I really like this hose, it's easy to cut and install fittings. 2 hrs
Feb 2, 2017
Raining today, but I managed to cleanup and paint the starter and installed the thermostat. Here's some before and after pics of the starter. 2 hrs
Feb 7, 2017
Day off, but it's raining. So, I worked in the garage on a bracket for a couple relays for the fuel pump and cooling fan. A couple days ago my distributor came in and I stuck it in, not indexed, just to see how it would fit. It's bigger than I imagined, and it will require a 12" or smaller air filter. I have already found nice 12" X 8" oval air filter on ebay. Also today, my throttle cable bracket arrived, so I bolted that on and hooked up the cable. That's about it for now. 3 hrs
Feb 9, 2017
Well, today was pretty nice so, I worked on the fuel pump wiring. I got the relays wired and mounted on the inner fender. I ran extra wire for the electric cooling fan for later. I sprayed inside the front wheel wells with undercoating before running the wiring. Next I remounted the battery tray using the stock tray and support. I originally planned on mounting the battery in the trunk, but to save some money decided to not do it. I tried the pump relay and everything works as it should. 6 hrs
Feb 14, 2017
Happy Valentines's day to me! I just received a package from Summit! New headers. I was cleaning the spark plug wires which I will be reusing off the Ranger. They are Ford motorsport 8mm. amd while they do have some battle scars, they will work just fine for now. The headers are Hedman long tube with ball socket collectors. I couldn't wait to try them, so I just hung them on with two bolts on each side. It took 15 mins to put both sides on. Passenger side from the top, drivers side from the bottom. Easiest headers I have ever installed! The headers on the V8 Ranger took 4 hours to put on or take off! I can even put my hand down between the shock tower and the header! I fooled around for about 2 hrs on this project.
Feb 16, 2017
I couldn't wait to start on the headers, so I stripped one header down to bare metal. I started with the sand blaster and it worked ok but to taking a long time, so next I took a propane torch and burned the paint. But, that just left burnt paint on it. Then, I used a cup wire wheel grinder and got 97% off and then finished it with additional sand blasting. By the way, the reason for stripping them, is the paint they come with is just a protection coating and will burn right off after running the engine a while. My plan is to coat them with VHT silver header paint and then wrap them with black fiberglass header wrap with gold stainless steel zip ties. I ordered the wrap today and ordered an aluminum radiator and electric fan last night. Building some momentum on this Cougar now! 3 hours today.
Feb 21, 2017
Raining today, but I still managed to get quiet a bit done. First, I got the right 1/2" pulley spacer for the water pump. Then, I was able to bolt the two pulleys on and put a belt on it. The belt is on nice and tight. Next, I cut a board for the radiator bottom mount and drilled a couple holes to mount it. I counter sunk the bolts to keep the heads from rubbing on the bottom of the radiator. Then, I spayed 3 coats of plasti-dip over the board and then put two layers of rubber tape on top of that. Then, I needed to drill a couple new holes for the lower mounts, the upper ones lined up perfectly. I bolted the radiator in and then mounted the electric fan on the inside. Next, I decided to try wrapping the header I painted the other day. I managed to get one tube wrapped, after fighting with it for about 45 mins. The rest will have to wait. 5 hrs today.
Feb 23, 2017
It doesn't seem like much but I wrapped the other 3 pipes and collector on the driver side header. Despite wearing a hoodie sweatshirt, and latex gloves, I still got some fiberglass on my arms. It took 40' of the 50' roll to do that header, so I'll have to get one more roll to do the other side. 2 hrs.
Feb 24, 2017
I got home little early today, so I decided to install the header I wrapped yesterday. It went in the engine compartment really quick, but getting the first two bolts started was a bit of a challenge. But, I won and managed to get this side installed in 1hr.
Mar 2, 2017
Yesterday, I used some paint stripper on the right side header and then pressure washed it. About 90% came off, so I used the wire brush on the grinder to knock off all but some tight spots. Today, I finished stripping it with my propane torch, steel wool and more wire brushing. Then, I painted it with the silver VHT header paint. I will wrap it Sat. Next, I bought some radiator hoses for a 92 Mustang 5.0, because the looked like they might fit my custom setup. However, after trying every possible scenario, I gave up and went back to the auto parts and this time the parts person, allowed me to go back to the hoses and pick a couple suitable ones. Well, two hoses fit perfectly with just about an inch trimmed off. But, the lower hose won't work, so hopefully one more trip will do it. 3 hrs
Mar 4, 2017
A great day, I finished wrapping the header and it went much better than the other one. I then bolted it in the car with the gasket for keeps. I also found a lower radiator hose from a 91 Dodge diesel pickup would work for my lower hose, with a little trimming off one end. I need to splice in a "T" that I will fabricate from a plumbing pipe nipple and 3/8"fitting which I will weld in. This will be for the thermostatic switch to turn the electric radiator fan. Things are going together at a good pace now, I think I could possibly fire the engine in about a month. 4 hrs
Mar 5, 2017
Today I made a "T" out of a piece of my steering shaft which happened to be the right size to fit inside the radiator hose. I cut and ground down the 3/8" end of a plumbing fitting and welded it onto the pipe. This will be where the thermostatic switch will screw in. Next, I mounted the modified transmission crossmember in place for it's final fit. It looks like the driver side exhaust will clear no problem, but the passenger side looks like just the corner of the crossmember might hit the muffler pipe. It can be cut on that corner to clear it without any problem. Then the last thing today, I cut a little of the transmission tunnel to clearance the shifter. 3 hrs
Mar 7, 2017
Off today, but rain is on the way. I stripped both pulleys and powder coated them with chrome. They aren't perfect but look way better than satin black. I installed the starter, and wired it and put in some new wires for the starter and alternator. Wow! only two lines of text, but it took me 6 hrs to do all that!
Mar 23, 2017
So, when we last posted, I put in some new wires for the starter. In the process, I managed to short out the new negative battery lead on the positive one. POW! After the smoke cleared, I found that I had burned the fusible link going to the main fuse box under the dash. After spicing in a new fuse link, I then discovered I had a direct short, on the connection of the alternator. I don't know if the battery shorting had anything to do with it or not. After finding out that my nice polished alternator, that I work so hard on, was not good, I have to make a decision about replacing it. The original alternator is only 55 amps, which is fine for a stock vehicle, but with electric power steering, powerful stereo and Halogen head lights, it wasn't going to work very well anyway. So, I found a nice 110 amp alternator on ebay, that is chrome already, and only needs one wire to hook it up instead of 5 on the old one. It also has an internal voltage regulator, so I can take that ugly thing and its 5 wires off the inner fender. And all that for only $96 shipped. A stock replacement would be $50 without chrome. I did manage to use the key to get the starter to work, so I got that going for me! The only other thing I did today was splice in the "T" I made for the fan switch on the lower radiator hose. 4 hrs
Mar 30, 2017
Finished the heater hoses and installed and wired the new alternator. Also, wired the relay to the cooling fan and mounted and wired another solenoid for the HEI ignition Should be able to start it up this weekend. 4 hrs.
Mar 31, 2013
Today I bought some oil and a filter and put it in the motor and then used a oil pump primer I made out of a deep 1/4" socket and a 1/4" allen wrench I cut off. I used my 18v PorterCable cordless drill to spin the oil pump thru the distributor hole. After only about 15 seconds the motor bogged down and the oil started flowing out of the roller rockers. I wasn't surprised, because it had oil in it when I pulled it out and I never took it apart, other than replacing the oil pump. After that, I opened my new steel core neoprene valve cover gaskets and bolted the covers down for good. Not much left before firing it up! Hopefully tomorrow, if not then Sunday. 1 hr sorry no photos today.
April 1, 2017
Today I finished the gas tank filler hose connection, and timed the distributor as best as I could, given that I couldn't see the timing marks very well. I also, hooked up a temporary ignition wire to the distributor. Put 5 gals of gas in the tank and turned the key to start and it cranked and cranked and cranked but not a pop out of the engine. After doing some adjustments to the timing it came to life with a roar! I need some mufflers real bad now! 3 hrs
April 2, 2017
I Today, I put some coolant in the radiator and fixed a couple leaks because some bolts were missing in the water pump. I still need to adjust the timing, it's idling at 1000 rpm, I held the choke down to get it to drop to about 600 rpm.
April 3, 2017
It was raining most of the day, but I managed to get out and do a few things today. I got my HEI pigtail in the mail so, I wired that in. Then, I hooked up a vacuum line from the carb to the distributor vacuum advance. Next, I hooked up a wire from the solenoid to the electric choke. After that, I washed and did a light detail on it, since it's running now, I felt it should look good too. 3 hrs
April 08, 2017
Today I got my new air filter and it fits perfectly! It has almost 2" of clearance to the hood, and just barely clears the distributor cap. And what looks like an expensive K&N filter is a very good copy! I also picked up a cheap Harbor Freight timing light and will set the timing tomorrow. 1hr
April 09, 2017
Today, I got one muffler and tailpipe painted, welded and installed. 3 hrs
April 11, 2017
I finished my exhaust system, so the neighborhood will appreciate it for sure! Timed the engine and ran it until the cooling fan kicked on. Yay! 4 hrs
April 12, 2017
Yesterday I took my driveshaft in to the shop to have it shortened. Today they called and said it was done so I went and picked it up and just finished installing it. 30 minutes today
April 13, 2017
Today's work on the Cougar included getting the hydraulic clutch operational again. Month's ago I had it working and then it leaked at one of the hose fittings. So, I tightened all the fittings and think the leak is fixed, but getting the master cylinder and slave cylinder bled was another ordeal. I ended up taking the master out and bench bleeding it, and then reinstalling it and vacuum bleeding the slave cylinder. In the end I had 90 percent of clutch operation, it still needs work, but it worked well enough to limp down the street 1/2 a block and back. I also tried to set the timing and idle on the engine, but it's still not quiet like I would like it to be. I will get it all sorted out eventually, but it's disheartening to work and slave over something and then it still not working as you would like. I need to work on these problems, before moving on to easy and satisfying elements such as carpet and seats. Some things I need to fix right now are, clutch operation, timing and carb settings, shock absorbers front and rear, steering wheel and horn kit, front tire rubbing on fender in sharp turns, radio installation, trunk and door locks and on and on. 6 hrs
April 25, 2017
It's been awhile since I posted, but I have been busy. I fixed the front tire rubbing problem by relocating the fender braces, which pulled the corner of the fender in about 3/4" enough to clear the tire. Then, I installed a new lock set on the trunk. Today I installed the carpet front and rear, a new leather steering wheel, one of the new houndstooth seats and a door sill plate.
April 26, 2017
I worked today, got home a little early, so I installed the passenger seat and sill plate. I also threw in the back seat even though it is ratty and will be re-upholstered eventually. Still have lots to do, but mostly little details. 2 hrs
April 27, 2017
Today was a good day, I got the whole trunk trim made and installed and detailed the trunk too. I made a template from cardboard for the driver side and after getting perfect, I tried it on the passenger side flipped upside down and it almost fit perfectly, just a little adjustment. I cut the panels out of masonite board and covered them with black vinyl. Afterwards, I cleaned the trunk and then did some touch up on the paint in the trunk. I think it looks super right now, hope I can keep it that way. 8 hrs
April 27, 2017
Having company over for steaks tonight, so after installing the front shocks and shock tower braces, I did a little detailing on the Cougar to show it off. 6hrs
April 28, 2017
It's about to storm, but I went out and painted the headliner trim under the visors and installed it as well as the A pillar trim on both sides. 1hr
May 2, 2017
Yesterday I decided to take a little trip in the Cougar down the the gas station to get a little gas. The gas station is only 1 mile from the house so...what could happen? Everything went well, going down. I did notice the engine mounts are a little loose and I now remember that I hadn't tighten two of the mount bolts. Anyway, got the gas and when I started to leave the clutch was gone! NOTHING! No pedal at all. Well.. this has happened to me before about 8 years ago in Hutto, Texas. The piston inside the clutch slave cylinder pushed out of the body and got cocked holding the clutch open. I was able to get it un-stuck but had to drive it back home by starting it in gear and creeping back home in 1st gear. Today, I replaced the slave with another spare one I had and this time adjusted it with more pretension to keep that from happening again. 4 hrs no pics sorry
May 4, 2017
Today, I pulled the Cougar out of it's temporary shelter/tent garage and drove it into my wife's side of the garage. My side is still full of parts and tools, but soon I will clean it out. I cut the shifter stick down and re-drilled the holes and added a rubber boot and chrome trim plate. I also installed the speedometer cable into the transmission and filled it with fluid. I chrome powder coated the dipstick too. 6hrs
May 5, 2017
I got home a little early today and the rear shocks I ordered were here, soo..why not throw them on? If you go back to April 30, 2015 the last photo shows the wonderful job I did sealing the trunk/seat back area. Well, right behind that is the little cubbyholes for the top shock mounts. So, an hour later, after taking the side panels, package tray, and sill plates out, I finished a 15 minute job! While I had the package tray out, I realized I haven't mounted any speakers under it. I remembered I put some pretty nice speakers in the 93 Ranger I took the engine out of, so I pulled them out and they're Pioneers 6X8 150W..I paid something like $80 for them. 2 hours
May 11, 2017
I have been having an issue with the Cougar when I test drive it, there was a clunk when on and off the throttle. I thought maybe it was a motor mount but finally found it was all four rearend u-bolts, that holds the leaf springs to the housing were loose! My bad! So, after tightening them up, it drives much better.
Next, I got some free speaker grills from a car stereo store I used to deliver parts to! Went home and cut some holes in the package tray, and mounted them. Since they're the open type, I glued some screen to the package tray before screwing them down. 8 hours
Next, I got some free speaker grills from a car stereo store I used to deliver parts to! Went home and cut some holes in the package tray, and mounted them. Since they're the open type, I glued some screen to the package tray before screwing them down. 8 hours
May 13, 2017
I decided to not have the houndstooth put in the rear seat covers, that's $300 I just don't have right now, maybe later down the line. So, I went ahead and installed the seat covers myself today. The back was pretty easy, the bottom wasn't easy at all! But, it's done and I'm ok with it. I also installed the driver seat belt. I took it for trip down to the park and my wife followed me just in case. It's about 6 miles round trip, with no problems. There are still some little rattles and pops I need to fix, but not today. 6 hours.
June 4, 2017
I have since the last post, driven the Cougar to my work which is 11 miles and did it in a rain storm. It made it ok, except one of the valve covers was leaking and oil was leaking onto the headers making it a bit smokey. I later tightened the valve cover and fixed it. Today, I decided to try to mount the Pioneer DIN 1 AM/FM CD radio out of my Ranger in my Cougar. The radio bezel had to be cut out to the DIN 1 size and then I made a cover out of sheet aluminum. It was a little tedious cutting and fitting the bezel, but it turned out pretty good. I think I will cover the plate I made with some black vinyl to dress it up a little. I didn't connect any wires, so it's just for show right now. It will take another day to hook it all up. 3 hrs
June 10, 2017
Today my friend Andrew came over and re-wired 90% of the engine compartment. You can see what a mess I did when I wired it back in February. It worked but, was very amateurish. Andrew used hi-tech waterproof connectors and convinced me to get a marine battery with additional stud posts which allowed us to power relays directly off the battery instead of the starter solenoid. He did most of the work, I just helped. 8hrs
June 11, 2017
I forgot to post this a couple days ago I managed to get my antenna mounted and plugged into the radio, so I could do the final install on it. It's playing good, it's not a mega amp base system, but it is audible over the roar of the engine. 2hrs
July 30, 2017
It's been a while since I posted, but I've been working on the front end suspension. Right now, I have the passenger side upper control arm and strut rod removed and the wheel well cleaned and painted. I have ordered upper and lower control arms, new hd lowering springs and spring pads, Shelby drop kit and polyurethane strut rod bushings. This should make the Cougar handle much better!
Aug 2, 2017
After work today, I started assembling the right front suspension. I got the lower control arm in, after having to grind off 4 hundredths of an inch on each side of the steel sleeve going through the bushing. The down side of using parts that may not be made in USA. I then, assembled the lower ball joint and cleaned up and painted the strut rod. That's it for today, tomorrow the Shelby drop template will arrive, and after drilling two new holes I can mount the upper control arms. The strut rod bushings are coming tomorrow too, but probably won't have time for them. 3 hrs today.
Aug 04, 2017
After work today, I drilled out the drop suspension holes for the upper control arm and installed it. 2 hrs.
Aug 17, 2017
Aug 5th I finished putting the spring and strut bushings in. Then we went on vacation on the 8th. Today I finished the driver side suspension. It went pretty good until I installed the spring. In my haste, I had connected the lower control arm to the spindle, which reduced the amount of travel of the upper control arm. I fought with the spring compressor and spring for about hour before I managed to get it in. I also had problems with the strut rod nut not wanting to loosen but finally got it off too. Now the Cougar sits almost completely level now. Total time for both days..10 hrs
Aug 24, 2017
So, back from vaca and had the day off so, I swapped out some water pump bolts that were slightly leaking and rusting because they were mild steel. Made a trip to Lowes and picked up some stainless bolts and washers and changed them out. Next, the carburetor was idling too high and it turned out to be the choke adjustment. Afterwards, I took it down the street for a test spin. And lo and behold...it spun the tire a great distance in 1st and second gear. Notice I said it spun the "tire". No, traction loc or limited slip so, only one tire will spin, but will change that down the road. That's it for today a little video of it running. 2 hrs
Sept 9, 2017
Today I tackled a project I have been dreading. I did a redo on a rust repair on the driver door. When I originally welded the patch, I didn't use weld-thru primer, and the rust came back after 4 years. 4 hours
Sept 12, 2017
Today was a great accomplishment day! When I first put the electric power steering in, it worked perfectly, but about 6 months later it started acting up and would occasionally just pull violently to the right or left all of a sudden. I thought it was the ground that was attached to the bottom of the metal dash where the adjuster knob is mounted. And after redoing it it seemed to work better, but then got even worse, to the point of not working at all. Today, I ran a dedicated ground wire from the battery directly to the steering unit and it immediately started working perfectly, without a hitch! I was faced with taking the entire unit with the steering column out to try to fix it, which would take all day. What a relief! I also cleaned out the tent garage and fixed a couple minor leaks in preparation to move all my garage stuff out there and move the Cougar inside. That will make it nicer to work on this winter. Sorry no pics today 6hrs.
Oct 27, 2017
It's been a long time since i posted anything. I'm not done with the Cougar yet, but have been doing some do- overs. First, I had a leak in the heater core, after having it all apart a couple years ago. So, I decided back then, to just bypass it and make do without heat (or A/C). But, then I later realized that the speedometer cable wasn't hooked up to the instrument cluster, which can only be done with the dash out. At the same time, the wiper switch which I repaired, broke again. So, I had three things that needed to be done with the dash pad and lower dash out of the car. I had already been through this, 4 yrs ago so I knew what a major job this was.
I took the seats out for more working room, pulled the upper dash pad off, dropped the steering column down, pulled out the stereo, and finally dropped the lower dash down to the carpet and removed the heater box. From start to finish removing it all took 6 hrs. Then, after disassembly of the heater box, I replaced the heater core. Next was hooking up the speedo and new wiper switch. After a couple days rest..I reassembled the mess! It took two more days and 8 hours total to get everything back together. The radio was the worst, taking about 3 hrs to figure out. I still have a few loose ends to take care of, like the gas gauge, the sequential tail lights, the Hurst shifter, the console and the final alignment on the front end. All total this segment took 14hrs.
I took the seats out for more working room, pulled the upper dash pad off, dropped the steering column down, pulled out the stereo, and finally dropped the lower dash down to the carpet and removed the heater box. From start to finish removing it all took 6 hrs. Then, after disassembly of the heater box, I replaced the heater core. Next was hooking up the speedo and new wiper switch. After a couple days rest..I reassembled the mess! It took two more days and 8 hours total to get everything back together. The radio was the worst, taking about 3 hrs to figure out. I still have a few loose ends to take care of, like the gas gauge, the sequential tail lights, the Hurst shifter, the console and the final alignment on the front end. All total this segment took 14hrs.
Nov 3, 2017
Yesterday, I had a major breakthrough..while trying to diagnose my electric power steering intermittent loss of power, I discovered that the 5 pin male/female connector that connects the module with the motor had a loose pin and would reconnect when I would mess with the wires and then later disconnect. All I had to do was bend a couple of small tabs on the pin to secure it! I also worked on the brake lights, I had eliminated the brake light switch on the pedal, which I forgot about. So, I researched and found that the switch on the proportional valve I installed for the disc brakes would work, so I wired it into the brake light circuit. My speedometer works now, as well as the wipers and heater. I adjusted the front end some more and got it to a "drivable" setting. I could actually take my hands off the wheel while going down the road!! Now, I can drive it to the shop to get a real alignment. Now for the bad..I still have a leak on the driver side valve cover, so I will try once again to seal it. Funny, I had those valve covers on this engine while in the Ranger for 10 years with no leaks! And lastly, the thermal switch that was used to turn on the electric cooling fan on the radiator, quit working, so I decided to just wire in a toggle switch under the dash to activate it. I connected it to switched power so it will come on automatically when the ignition switch is on. 6hrs yesterday. P.S. I failed to mention that back in Sept I got a complete set of used tires from the dealership where I work. Two 225/45/18 for the fronts and two 245/45/18 for the rear. All of them have about half tread left.
Nov 16, 2017
I ordered a new set of valve covers a few days ago, and they came today. The old steel Roush covers were leaking and had a stress crack on one side. I got some inexpensive (cheap Chinese) polished plain jane cast aluminum covers. They looked very nice on the outside, but the sealing flange was a bit crude, with sharp burrs at the casting flutes. There was no finishing on the rim at all. So, I took a file an shaved them down and then used a palm sander to finish them up. They also had baffles which had to be installed with self tapping screws, but I elected to tap the covers and use machine screws, star lock washers and loctite. 1 hour
Nov 28, 2017
Been a while so, I finally got the front end aligned at Tire Engineer, it cost me $160, but they did a great job, as it tracks perfectly! However, the front two free tires I got got worn down to the cords, due to the mis-alignment. Yesterday I decided to do my own paint repair, because I got a quote from two different “friends” I worked with for $500+. So, I have about a pint of the black paint and most of the other materials to do it. I did the bondo work Sunday and then shot it yesterday. Today I sanded out the orange peel down to 1200 grit and will finish sanding and buffing it before Saturday. I’m taking it to Krispy Kream donuts car show Saturday morning. And today I bought some new tires for the front, so it’s ready to go! The accumulated hours are 16.
Nov 29, 2017
An update to yesterday’s post. I finished sanding and buffed the repair on the top in two places. It looks real good (from ten feet). Still noticeable up close, will look better after I buff the entire top. Better yet, it didn’t cost me a dime! 2 hrs
Dec 28, 2017
I just realized it's been almost a month since I posted anything here! Sorry, I have been busy at work, as well as working on the Cougar. I finished buffing out the paint repairs and it looks fine from a distance. So, I have taken it to the local car show at the Krispy Kream Donuts shop. twice! There were a lot of people interested in it, as it's not often you see Cougars. There were 3 classic Mustangs there and about 30 other classics. I joined the local car club called Dixie Vintage Antique Car Club. Some things I have done recently are: fixed the front control arm squeak by greasing it, I put new chrome door lock knobs on, I put a seat belt on the passenger side and fixed the brake and turn signals. Now, the new Christmas stuff. I got a pair of Alabama magnetic "A"s, a new Hurst shifter stick and white shift ball with 5 speed pattern to bolt on to my B&M short throw shifter, and a new Cougar emblem horn button. Oh, and I got a tshirt with a photo of my Cougar on it. So, Merry Christmas to me, and all of you! I took about 6 hrs to do all of that. Now, for some photos!
Jan 11,2018
So, I have been driving the Cougar a lot more now, and fixing little problems as I do. I have had an overheating problem, from day one, and thought I might have the wrong (reverse flow) water pump on it. But, It didn't act like it was hot, as it was't pinging and rattling. So, I thought maybe it just needs a shroud on the electric fan that came with the radiator. After looking for one on ebay, cheapest one was $75, I made my own, using an aluminum cooking sheet. It almost covers the entire cooling area and is only 3/4" deep. I just cut a 14" hole for the fan and then some mounting holes and done! Well, almost. It was better but still lost some water, just cruising around. So I changed the 13lb. radiator cap for a 16lb. like comes on a late model car. Fixed it! Next, the electric power steering gremlin...not long ago I found a 5 pin connector that had a pin that was loose causing erratic steering problems. I thought it was fixed but it came back yesterday. I got some di-electric grease for electrical connections and put it on the connector and it started steering properly again, hope it stays that way. Then, there's the oil lead around the distributor. I originally thought it was maybe due to the oring on the distributor. But after taking it apart, i found it was tight and sealing. So, it must have been leaking between the intake manifold at the front behind the distributor at the gasket surface. After some, research, i believe it was caused by excessive crankcase pressure due to not having a PCV valve on it. So, I redesigned the breather system and added a PCV valve and boom! Fixed it! It's a blast to drive now and I get a LOT of people asking about it everywhere I go. Next will be a traction-loc differential and lower gear ratio. I have a 3.00 ratio and really need a 3.50-3.90 ratio. Another thing I need is some kind of traction bars to fix the wheel-hop I have. that's it for now. I have about 6hrs doing the recent upgrades.
Jan 21, 2018
I have had a real problem with wheel-hpp and need some traction-bars to fix it. I have a set that were on my Ranger, but they won't fit without a lot of modifications. Well, today I decided to modify them. I first ha to cut the old mounts off and then take some measurements to see how to make them fit. I decided to cut a 1/4" channel through the spring pad and weld the bar to it. Wasn't that bad, worst part was getting the spring pad off the car after tack welding them in place. I only did one today and it took me 2 hours to do it. Maybe tomorrow I will do the other one.
Feb 12, 2018
I have been thinking about doing a ram air system on the Cougar for a while, and finally pulled the trigger. I Use the lower air cleaner housing and removed and plugged the snorkel and the little elbow that goes to the valve cover. Since I have the huge HEI distributor, I needed to raise the base an 1 1/2" to clear the cap. So, I cut the mounting ring off the bottom and welded in a strip of sheet metal to raise it. Next, was the rubber seal to seal it to the hood. On a forum I found that you can use a garage door rubber seal to do it and it looks a LOT like the original ram air seal, but cost $9 instead of $60. So, I drilled a dozen or so holes in the upper rim and riveted the seal on it. I ordered a Eliminator hood scoop and 289 High-performance open 14" chrome air cleaner, which will fit inside the 18" housing and look somewhat original. Here's some photos, don't have the air cleaner or scoop yet. 4 hours.
Feb 16, 2018
Part 2 of the ram air setup. Got the hipo air cleaner and hood scoop and immediately found that the scoop I got was not exactly a copy of a real Eliminator scoop and the mounting holes would not line up, which meant that I would have to do all the positioning and drilling holes myself without a template. GREAT!! After measuring several times i marked out the 10 holes to be drilled in my PERFECT hood. The scoop kinda fit, but needed a couple of the holes opened up just a little. Next, the big hole, that one was actually pretty easy, just marked a spot on the underside using a piece of clay on the carb stud then using a piece of wire and a marker as a compass, drew a 12" circle on the butcher paper template taped to the hood. Then, used a jig saw and cut it out and painted the edges and then covered them with door edge moldings. I took the scoop to my friend Bobby, who is a professional painter and let him paint it semi-gloss black. I also put a couple of drain hoses on the lower ram air housing to allow any water that would get inside to drain out. I'm guessing I have about 10 hours in this one.
Mar 12, 2018
I have been tweeking some things on the Cougar, I had a small leak on the front seal of the intake that was leaking oil onto the timing cover. To fix it I had to pull the intake manifold clean everything up and reseal it with new gaskets. While I was at it, I ordered some new MSD plug wires and threw them on as well. I also wasn't happy with the ram air seal, as it was less than sealing around the air cleaner base. I also had a timing issue as, the timing pointer was behind the water pump outlet, so I couldn't see the timing marks. I got a piston stop tool to locate the TDC and then put a MSD timing tape on the balancer and was able to time the distributor correctly. I straightened out the bead on the air cleaner housing and made a new seal for the ram air. Next, I dug out the sunvisors and bracket which have been in storage for 6 years, and cleaned them up and installed them. The bad news for the day is, my new speedometer cable I put in last year has melted and ruined. It's never over it is. 8 hrs for this one.
Mar 22, 2018
Well, I found that my speedometer cable got fried by the exhaust pipe. So, for the 3rd time I have removed the dash pad from my Cougar. When I ordered my last cable, I had no idea what length the cable should be, as the 5 speed would change things. Anyway, I found a 80" cable and ordered it. It turned out to be too long, and I had to reroute it to take up the slack. But, it somehow got loose and up against the exhaust, which not only destroyed the cable, but also the gear inside the transmission. I ordered a new cable and figured I would get a shorter one this time around. Well, I did get a shorter one but it was the WRONG one having a different connection at the transmission. So, I ordered another cable, same size as the first and will make triple sure that it is secure and shielded from the exhaust. While waiting, I decided to fix a couple things...first, the 5 pin connector on the electric power steering has STILL been losing connection, causing the steering wheel to jerk violently to the left. I cut the connector out and soldered and shrink sleeved the wires. Next, I put a nylon strap under the wires and steering cpu to keep them up under the dash. And finally, I fixed the turn signal self-canselling thingy. It turns out that the horn hub that came with my steering wheel, wouldn't fit into the peg that makes it all work, it missed it by 1/8". So I put a small dab a epoxy putty where it should be and then bolted it all back together, after it hardened it works perfectly! The cable will be here next Tuesday, so don't forget to tune in Wed. for the exciting conclusion of the speedometer fiasco. 6 hrs today
June 30, 2018
Well, it's been a couple months, since I've been on here. so, I put the new speedometer cable in and everything went well, until a few days later and then it started acting erratic and then just quit again. Now, it seems to be the gage itself. So, I ordered a used one for WCCC and it, but havent taken the dash out to replace it yet. Meanwhile, my transmission just totally destroyed 2nd gear, shelling 3 teeth off of it. It had a goo run though, I bought it back in 2003, and it was a used case with some good Cobra gears in it. It survived 15 years of abuse and and at least 50 quarter mile passes, shifting at 6500 rpm! So, I just recently bought a brand new Z spec (Cobra} T5, and installed it last, Sunday. Man, what a difference! It shifts so smoothly and precisely! The other day a guy on Facebook bought some left over Cougar items I had, and I suddenly had $300 that needed to be spent! So, I bought two new leaf springs, which are heavy duty, increased handling. I installed one yesterday and one today. I was afraid they might raise or lower the Cougar, but even though they were arched less than the originals, they are stiffer so they didn't change ride height at all. I haven't road raced it yet, lol but it does feel like it corners better. I did do a couple of burnouts and drag style launches and the Wheel hop it had is now non-existant. 4 hours on the transmission and 6 hours on the two springs.
9 Sept. 2018
I guess you could say, it’s finished, but there’s always upgrades and repairs. A couple weeks ago I pulled the dashboard out and replaced the speedometer. Next, I replaced the 3.00 open rear end with a 3.70 traction lock..WOW what a difference it made in acceleration off the line! Last week I installed halogen halo headlights in the low beams, which brighten up things a bit. Just the other day I was trying to play a cd and it was throwing a code indicating it was broken. So, today I pulled the old stereo which was in the race Ranger originally and bought a new Dual stereo with CD player and Bluetooth for IPhone. That’s about it for now, we’ll be traveling down to the beach for the Cruising the Coast in Biloxi, Ms. in a couple weeks.
Sept 21 2018
Well, since I installed a new stereo, I thought it would be nice to upgrade the system. So, I bought a sub woofer and amp. After getting those in, it sounded better but, the two rear speakers were crackling and distorting. When I put the stereo in a couple years ago, in my haste, I used two of the original equipment speakers from my Ranger and now they’re shot! So, got two more new ones. Sounds great, it will even thump some ghetto tunes if I want to. That’s all for today. 6 hrs