Hello, I am new to this site and just wanted to introduce myself. I just purchased a 1971 XR7 convertible 4 speed with a lot of nice options. I have owned many classic cars in my life but never a Cougar. Hoping to connect with other enthusiasts and find a good place for OEM parts. I live in Asheville, NC,
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Welcome aboard.
Nice Cat.
I had a 71 hardtop back in day, would like to get another one.
Great, comfortable cruising cat - and with a four speed!
Welcome.
- Phillip
Welcome,
Nicely optioned cat.
Was your car delivered to Lee D Butler 1121 21ST ST N W WASHINGTON DC?
The picture of your invoice cut of the “Ship to” information.
Do you know if the person who originally ordered your car was in the service and stationed overseas?
Thanks,
Yes, Vietnam 1970
Thanks…! Yes a convertible 4 speed (1 of 47) with factory air conditioning and other cool options. It needs a paint job for sure and a dash pad. I wanted to paint it a different color but I also feel I should stay with the original color.
That’s a dilemma a lot of us have faced.
Ultimately, it is your car and you can do with it whatever you want.
Realistically, when the time comes to sell it, unless you find a buyer that doesn’t mind the change in color at all, you can deduct the cost of a repaint back to the original color from your asking price.
The rarer the Cougar, the more keeping everything “as delivered from the factory” becomes the prudent thing to do.
Just my opinion - others may differ.
- Phillip
Welcome to the forum! You’ve got a nice Cougar there, and factory 4 spd is way cool!
Over in Norway, Gry recently repainted her 70 convertible the same color as yours. It’s a beautiful, timeless, and classy color IMHO.
https://cccforum.discoursehosting.net/t/1970-cougar-xr7-convertible-repaint-and-much-more/13012/1
Welcome to the madness, glad to see another phatcat in the group. As having been said I agree, its your car do what you want to it and enjoy the heck outta it. But it is a good looking color from the picture 
I just looked over your invoices more closely - that is a VERY well optioned cat.
Here is some artwork I created for the CCOA when the '71’s reached their 50th anniversary.
I love the design of the front and rear - that grill is actually pretty complicated!
- Phillip
Welcome aboard! That’s definitely a cool Cat!
Congrats on your purchase!! That is a very nice car and well optioned (as already mentioned). I thought I saw on the invoice that it was sold to Ford and listed as “Ford Marketing”. Could this have been a display car? I too agree that it is your car, so you make it what you want. Having owned a very rare Cougar in the past and taking it from where I thought I was going, to making it a pretty nice show car, I can understand the dilemma of a rare Cougar.
At the end of the day, just enjoy it.
Ken
Ken,
The sold to is “Ford Motor Company FIFESGO in Newark NJ”
This was the sold to for almost units that were not sold through a US or Canadian dealer.
That is why I asked if the original owner was in the service and stationed overseas. In this particular case from what the current owner has told us he was stationed in Vietnam and took delivery when he returned to the states.
Nice cat. Would like to see more photos!
I spent some time with my mechanic today and will be doing some improvements to the cat keeping it as original as possible but making some enhancements to improve the drivability along with some general maintenance stuff. I really didn’t realize when I bought it but this car could be a high 5 figure or 6 figure car after being totally restored due to all of the options it has. It is a 351C with a factory wide ratio 4 speed, factory air (converted to 134A), 3:25 Traction-Lok rear axle, front disk brakes, power steering, AM/FM radio, tinted glass, competition suspension, clock, console all detailed on the Marti report. It is very rare cat and could be 1 of 1. I do not plan on doing what it takes to bring it to that level though. Also being an Arizona car for its entire life there is absolutely zero rust anywhere and still has its original paint…! I do have it on ebay for $22,500 in case anyone wants to do a full resto on it, it would be worth it for the right person. If not I am happy to enjoy it for a while and see what happens. Better than money in the market for sure and a lot more fun…!!!
Welcome in this nice community and good luck with the improvements you want to do 
Nice looking ride !