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FEATURED MEMBER RIDE

Darrell Bush’s Polar White 1967 Standard

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This Cat’s Tale

“I am the third owner of my 1967 Cougar. I bought it in 1981 from my dad’s boss. The original owner was that man’s sister, and then she gave it to that man’s sons. When I bought it, it had 67,000 miles on it. It has never left the area. I have the dealer emblem, and it’s possible that I saw the car at the dealer when I was 3 years old—my dad was at the dealership buying parts regularly, and my parents say I was always drawn to the Cougars.

When I got it, it had body damage to the right rear quarter panel at the wheel well, the right door had a crease from top to bottom, the clutch was shot, and the seat upholstery was duct taped together. It had been sitting under trees uncovered for three years and had black grime all over the original white paint. Its first wash job was with Comet and a brush. I don’t recommend this; it’s a bit harsh on the finish. This was all fixed, and the first paint job was in 1984. The Magnum 500s soon followed.

I took it off the road in 1990. The right passenger floorboard had been rusting away for years and finally went completely away. I found the windshield had been leaking and the cowl vents were rusted out, which led to the floorboard issues. I fixed the cowl vents by using the plastic hat inserts purchased from AutoKrafters. Then I started on the body repairs. The right rear quarter panel had problems from the first repair in 1984, and the bottoms of both quarters had rusted out. The repairs were finished in 1997, and a fresh coat of base coat/clear coat in the original color was applied.

When asked what work I’ve done on this car, the easier answer would be what work I haven’t done. That would be the gas tank and the rear end gears. There have been many modifications, all with the intent of making the car a better road car, not a race car, and keeping the look as stock as possible. Starting at the front, I changed to halogen headlights, replaced the original two-core radiator with a three-core, and added an electric cooling fan. The engine now has a four-barrel carburetor, Pertronix electronic ignition, and dual exhaust. Behind the engine is a T5 five-speed transmission. I added power steering when the manual steering box was worn out. I changed the front brakes to 1978 Ford Granada disc brakes, and added Magnum 500 wheels. The wheels are from a 1978 Mercury Monarch, and that switch was necessary because the disc brake hubs are larger than the drum brake hubs, and the original wheels would not fit. The interior still has the original door panels, but the carpet has been replaced, the seats recovered, and the dash repainted. The radio is now a modern stereo with Bluetooth and a subwoofer. The front seats are not original, they are Procar Classic seats and have head rests and they recline. They have been recovered to match the original seats, so the stitching and patterns are identical to the originals.

This was my daily driver from 1981 to 1990, and after the repairs and paint in 1997, it has been a recreational use car. The farthest I’ve driven in one trip is to the 2015 Cougar Nationals, in Springfield, Mass. That was about 500 miles and took 11 hours. I drive to local cars and coffees, cruise-ins, and car shows. I’m usually the only Cougar there, so I see it as an ambassador role for the Mercury Cougar. Sometimes I just take a drive because I want to. And yes, I do regularly check to make sure the four-barrel is working.

When I first bought the car, the window regulators did not work well, and the door latches did not reliably latch shut. This was in high school, so what do you think happened? The windows stayed down and the doors stayed shut, and me and my best friend got in and out of the car Dukes of Hazzard style, sliding in through the windows. Obviously, most people were not too interested in that method of entry, so I did get the windows and doors working properly.

At one point, the starter failed, and I could not get a new starter that would fit. It turns out that the parts stores had the part numbers for starters for the manual and automatic transmissions transposed. I kept driving the car for about a month without a starter on it at all. I always had to park on a hill so I could roll a bit and pop the clutch to start it. Fun times!

Things have changed since I first bought this car. Parts were in stock at the parts stores then, and being young, I spent only what was needed to stay on the road. Over time, my approach has changed. Fortunately, most parts are still available, but it might take a few days to get parts now. I repair and replace things in bulk now. For instance, if a hose has some age and starts to leak, all of the hoses get replaced. If an upper ball joint is bad, I replace both upper ball joints. You get the idea. This helps keep my car reliable, and (knock on wood) I spend more time driving it than I do working on it.”

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Notes

Darrell, a software engineer and former employee of his father’s body shop, also owns two 1967 Cougar project cars, including a GT, and a 1954 Ford F100 project truck. His dream car? A Cougar Eliminator or GT-E. Darrell’s other interests include dog agility competitions (he and his wife have four dogs training and competing now), softball, and playing guitar (he says he’s “still learning”).