John
12/11/2012 03:23:10 am
It is incredible what you have done with the cougar in 6 months. The door panel looks incredible. How long did you work on the door panel? What did you use to actually clean the panel?
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Paul
5/20/2013 06:09:08 am
Man, I am having a blast watching you do all this!
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Frankie
5/20/2013 08:12:20 am
I"m an old guy (63) been messing with cars since I was 15. Never did anything like this for money, just a hobby. Thanks for the kind words, In the last yr it seems i have been spiraling down into an abyss, I hope soon I can pull out of it and start climbing back out . I have a hit locator that tells me where my lurkers are from, but it doesn't identify them, where are you from? You can find me on mercurycougar.net as frankie3555. Would like to see some pics of your Cougar.
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Paul
5/23/2013 08:59:03 am
I will put a few pics of my baby up too!
mike
5/31/2013 04:11:44 pm
When welding up holes in body panels if tape a penny to the back side of the hole it makes it alot easier to fiil up . the weld wont penetrate the penny so most of the time it just falls off after it cools down a little if not you can pull it off
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thanks I heard that before and I might try that today on some small holes (1/4") the ones I just did are 3/8" and the pop rivet washer fit right inside. Mike are you on mercurycougar.net forums? I'm frankie3555 on there.
6/2/2013 11:11:49 pm
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Mike
7/1/2013 01:28:06 am
Well I wasn't but I am now as mike32577. Also what part of the country are you from I live in Ohatchee AL about 20 min. from Talladega
Frankie Fisher
7/1/2013 10:18:25 pm
I live in Leeds, you should come by sometime. my email is [email protected]
Hi Frankie.
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Frankie Fisher
6/17/2013 08:18:17 am
Thanks for the kudos..I hope others will be inspired by what im posting. I'm no pro by far..but willing to try just about anything..with the right tools and the internet ANYTHING is POSSIBLE! Show some pics when you get the 69.
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8/20/2015 09:12:05 am
Frankie,
Steve Ackerley
9/5/2013 10:52:35 am
Just wanted to say you inspire me and also scare me! I bought a 69 XR7 august of 2012 and have done very little and now realize how much needs to be done.
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Charley
10/29/2013 12:53:07 pm
Your doing an awesome job restoring your cougar. My first car was a 69 cougar XR7 and I still have it. Once I get the garage space I'm going to dive in. What sand blaster are you using? Is it a cabnet or a larger outside unit, or both? If it's an outside unit does it make a terrible mess when you use it? Thanks and keep up the good work!
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Frankie
10/30/2013 05:40:38 am
It's one I got from tractor supply, an outdoor I use their black diamond media $7 for 50#, I put a tarp or moving pad down to catch as much as I can. Go though a lot of goggles, thanks for the kudos
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frankie
10/30/2013 09:21:38 am
There is a picture of the blaster and mess, 1st pic on the Oct 4, 2013. The blaster is just a hand held with a pickup hose you stick in a bag of media, it cost $20. When I finish I usually sweep up all the media I can and run in through a sifter. I use the finest grade 80-40 its actually coal slag and not as dangerous to use as sand, it breaks down to powder after a couple runs through the blaster.
chris
12/23/2013 07:50:25 am
Frank,
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ray paquin
1/23/2014 01:23:08 am
nice job on your cougar i am just finishing on my 69 cougar and about to drop in my rebuilt 351 winsor and was looking for advice can i drop in the motor with the transmission attached or not also should i put the headers on before or after thanks in advance Ray
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Frankie
1/23/2014 03:05:04 am
Ray, it would be easier to drop engine and trans together, however..you need to have an engine hoist tilter to get the angle right. You need the tailshaft down to clear the trans tunnel then once passed that straighten out the tilter to get the engine level again. If not, then put the engine in first and then using a transmission jack install the trans. Next, the headers...without the bolt in the motor mount, jack up one side of the engine so its leaning slightly to the other side, slide the header in and bolt it in then lower it, put bolt back in motor mount and then do the other side. You can also do this during the engine install, but the engine will have to be almost in position to do it. Hope this helps you.
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Joan
1/23/2014 02:21:34 am
So proud of you and all you have done with the car! Awesome job!
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You are a master, Frankie! Awesome job! Funny, but the last several slides, I could actually smell the paint and filler, all the way over here in Phoenix! No kidding! The job you have done on your 69 is impressive! My opinion is you have more care into your work than most professional shops produce. :) Great documenting of your progress and processes, too. How many cars have you painted in your auto hobbying years?
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Thank you for your flattering comments..I'm just picky about some things. I have only painted two other cars..my last was my 93 Ranger I put a 5.0 V-8 in, which was in 2002. The other was in 1993 when I built a full roll cage/tubbed 69 Firebird racecar. Neither was as good as this one, but they didn't take as long either :} Thanks again, and keep watching to see if I ever finish it!
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Darrin
4/25/2014 12:36:05 pm
Frankie,
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Mark
6/10/2014 11:33:00 am
Incredible job thus far. Anxious to see the final product. I too am in the midst of building a pro touring 69 cougar as well. Finished underside of car and all suspension and braking system.
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Mark
6/10/2014 11:42:17 am
How much work was involved in die grinding your headlight grills? Did you grind off the chrome, or have you found a good primer to cover and paint the fins?
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Mark
6/11/2014 10:57:39 am
Ooops!!! Sorry, didn't realize my question came through so many times
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Larry
12/30/2014 02:10:17 am
Car's looking good! Happy New Year Frankie!
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mike
1/9/2015 07:37:51 am
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George
2/4/2015 11:42:16 pm
What a great site! I just picked up a 69 Base cougar, with a Bench seat! Never seen that before. Very little rust as it is a California car. My plan is to clone to an Eliminator, and this site has really helped to put the scope of the project into perspective. Thanks for taking the time to detail all you have done and sharing it! Your Cougar looks fantastic!.
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George
2/5/2015 01:03:08 am
I am just outside of Chicago.
John
3/7/2015 06:05:16 am
The Cougar looks great.
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John
3/13/2015 05:08:06 am
It's great seeing the lights on in the Cougar!
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Larry
4/13/2015 10:30:03 pm
Hi Frankie, car's looking good. I found this: http://www2.cougarpartscatalog.com/store/p/12453-Door-Glass-TINT-Passenger-Side-Grade-B-Used-1969-Mercury-Cougar-/-1969-Ford-Mustang.html
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Thanks for the link, I did see that one. But by the time you add shipping, and the rear bracket and chrome weather strip, it would be about $250. I had found one with the brackets and strip shipped for $125 on Ebay, but was a day late. A couple guys on the Cougar forum are sending me pics of windows they have for sale so, hopefully I will get one of them.
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frankie
5/1/2015 11:40:50 am
Ok John, I will keep you posted. I really would like to build the engine now, but will have to wait a while to afford the upgrades that I want to do.
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Cristian
6/17/2015 01:45:45 pm
Congratulations Frankie, you've done an excellent job in your Cougar. I'm from Chile and I have a Cougar XR7 70, I am currently restoring the engine 351C, aesthetically have not done anything yet, whether your site has been of much help. Thanks for sharing your experience, I hope you upload more pictures and videos of your work. Regards
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Larry
11/18/2016 11:15:48 am
NIce!
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Richard
5/4/2017 10:00:11 am
Hey this is fantastic. I've been working on rebuilding my old 69 Cougar recently and your documentation and pictures really are helpful. Would you mind if I talked to you about some hot topics in particular sometime? I'm trying to figure out some issues with the fuel tank and filler right now (not aligning correctly.)
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Richard
5/4/2017 06:06:25 pm
What kind of alignment issue are you having? It might be easier to do this on messenger or text msg, so we could send pics. Thanks for the kind words, I'm going thru sorting out problems on mine right now, just got to keep on going on. Frankie
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3/29/2018 07:33:52 pm
Sorry Richard, I didn't see your comment last year. LOL How is your Cougar coming along? You could find me on Facebook @ Frankie Fisher 7/29/2019 11:19:33 am
I just ran across your site and I am excited to start to study your progress and the many posts.
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4/9/2021 06:57:36 am
Drew:
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Richard Bernethy
9/6/2021 06:49:52 pm
You did a fantastic job. I have a 69 Cougar that I am working on I have owned mine for 45 years.
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9/6/2021 07:40:42 pm
Thanks, my Cougar has been out of commission for about 5 months now, I built a new 347 stroker and am just a few hours away from getting it done. I’ve neglected the blog, but thanks for looking at it.
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Robert Sotelo
9/27/2022 12:29:26 pm
Spent the last couple of days reading about your progress. Great job! Recently purchased a 68 XR7 and got some great motivation and inspiration. Located in Southern California and screen name is 68CoolCat.
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