As the winner of the 1967 GT Giveaway Essay Contest (the last time WCCC gave away a car), Don Rush suggested I chime in on the current contest. But first, an update on my progress. After totally disassembling the car and cataloging every assembly, part, nut and bolt, I sent the body off to be blasted and, not unusually, the car was in much worse shape than I had hoped. The next six months were spent sourcing the needed replacement parts that included hood, fender, aprons, toe boards, floor pans, quarters, battery tray and trunk floor and then getting everything welded up. After the body work was done, it was off to a highly recommended paint shop – where it stayed for two years. While I only recently received most of the car back, I am still waiting on several parts which unexplainably are not yet painted. The quality of work from the paint shop is top notch but their timing and service has been quite frustrating. In fact, today I have ordered a stone shield from WCCC because mine was misplaced somewhere in the paint shop - and this is not the first part I have had to replace because my original was lost. While the car was in paint shop, I spent my time restoring and acquiring as many parts as I could – including pretty much stripping another 1967 (it was destined for the scrapyard) that I found for sale about 250 miles away. Since I received my car back from the paint shop, I have installed new front and rear suspensions, front brakes (trying to decide on keeping drums on the back or upgrading to disc), most of the steering components are in (still struggling with getting the manual steering conversion to thread on to my center link) interior parts are restored or acquired new, trunk area is finished, side windows are in, a good bit of exterior trim and emblems are installed, all of the various wiring harnesses have either been refurbished or purchased new and the motor rebuild and sourcing of the missing drive train components has started. I have attached a few pictures of the progress and while there is still much to do, I think most of the hard work has been done and I believe the end is in sight.
As Don mentions in his Giveaway videos, a restoration project of the nature of my ’67 GT or this ’68 G, takes a lot of time and patience (or thick skin), financial resources and skill. It seems I consistently miss whatever target timeline I set for myself – and likely so will you. Many of these misses will not always be within your control. Your paint or body shop may delay you, the part you need to finish a particular area may not be locatable, you may fall out of your attic while installing a ceiling fan to cool off your shop (it is hot in North Texas during August) and have to be taken by ambulance to the hospital, and remember – you still have family and work responsibilities. There will be times when your frustration level is so high (see my center link comment above) that it is best just to set it down and walk away for a bit. There will be people that are disappointed because you did not get your project completed in whatever timeline they thought they could have finished it in. But do not worry. None of these things are important. What is important is to enjoy the work you are doing and that you keep moving forward and save a Cougar.
Like my time budgets, I also seem to consistently bust my financial budgets. The cost of my paint and body work alone was almost four times what I originally estimated it would be (although the original estimate may have been foolish on my part)! My GT is certainly nowhere as rare as a G – so the cost to locate some of the rare G parts may exceed what I have spent to locate my parts. But the good news is your restoration budget does not have to be spent all at once. I set a monthly budget for myself and, for the most part, have stuck to it (although this also slows down the process). Once a month I send an order off to WCCC and I hope by the end of my project I will have earned enough Cougar Bucks to make a serious dent in the cash cost of a set of Styled Steel Wheels! Don suggests acquiring a parts car – and I whole-heartedly agree. A parts car will no doubt help you with sourcing some of your missing parts and you will be able to sell some of your duplicate parts (as I did) to partially offset your overall cost.
Many years ago I owned another ’67 GT as well as a ’71 XR7 Convertible and prior to the ’67 Giveaway Contest I had recently completed a restoration of my ’69 XR7 Convertible. So I had a reasonable knowledge of Cougars and what it takes to restore one. But there is so much I did not know. Shop and assembly manuals are a necessity, but there are also so many other sources and people out there to help you – and that want to help you. Members of this forum are an excellent source. For me, it started when Deadstang GAVE me a 390 motor to go with the car that WCCC gave me. No matter what your question or issue is, it has probably been asked here in the forum before. Folks that, with the exception of one, I have never met before like Coach Jack, Rocketman, Royce, BossElim69, 1967 S Code, 1969XR7Vert, Deadstang, xr7g428 (and of course his outstanding Legendary Cougar Magazine), BAust and so many others. They have all helped me out – and they do not even know it. They helped me when they answered other members’ questions that were exactly what I needed to know (or would eventually need to know). All of us appreciate their contributions to the hobby. Of course, the support WCCC gives to all of us is amazing. WCCC’s catalog alone is an excellent reference tool but their helpful videos are absolutely essential. If that was not enough, Don and his staff have always gone the extra mile to help me with whatever pesky issue (mostly electrical) I was dealing with at the time.
The winner of this contest will have a cool story to tell. I mean, how many people can say – “Yep – I won that car - by writing an essay”? I have enjoyed every minute of my journey (well – most every minute) and for me, it has truly been a labor of love. While I can hardly wait until I am driving my completed ’67 GT, I will truly miss going out to the shop and turning old corroded parts into jewels! So if you have the time, patience, resources and skill set – this project is for you. I look forward to seeing your entries and best of luck to all.
https://classiccougarcommunity.com/forum/download/file.php?mode=view&id=6441
https://classiccougarcommunity.com/forum/download/file.php?mode=view&id=6440
https://classiccougarcommunity.com/forum/download/file.php?mode=view&id=6439
First I will love to run this car as a modern day rat rod. I will keep the body the same but build the guts. Keeping in mind the tim e sensitive of the era of the car big meats out back and gold in all the right places, building it tell UR MOM will pull the front tires. Option 2: ls swap bahahaha 