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FEATURED MEMBER RIDE

David Bran’s 1972 Cobra Jet XR-7 Convertible

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This Cat’s Tale

“At 18 years old, I purchased my second Cougar in 1980. It was a ’72 XR-7 Q-code convertible, one of seven pewter/white interior, fully optioned, built (of course at that time I had no idea of how rare the car was). About 14 years ago, I began the search to find a similar car. I had to check several boxes! First, it had to be a Q-code, second-generation XR-7 convertible. That left me with a ’72 or ’73 model. I’m not a big fan of the safety bumper change in ’73, so that narrowed my search to a ’72 only! It had to have a white interior. I loved that about the old car (I did a search and found the old car had succumbed to a blown motor and rusted out completely in Chicago).

“Initially, I had no luck finding anything (there are less than about 88 left), and my wife was not a big fan, either! So, we settled on a 1968 GT 500 Mustang, red/white stripes. It’s a beautiful car, a non-original restomod. I put tons of money into it over a 12-year period. But I never gave up my search for the right Cougar! About 12 years ago (two years after we purchased the Mustang), the perfect Cougar came up at auction at Mecum. It was a ’72 Q-code Cobra Jet, white interior—everything I wanted. However, we were bleeding money on the Mustang, and I knew there was no way I could tell my wife we needed a second car. So, I passed, figuring that one day down the road I will find the right one.

“It took 12 more years, and finally one popped up on eBay in 2023 from a collector in Texas! Car was perfect, and it checked all of the boxes! After a negotiated purchase, the car was on the way! I found the pictures of my old car, and when I went to MVA to get tags, the tag number from my old car was available, so I got that as a historic vanity tag! Last, I found my old VIN number and sent it into Kevin Marti to get a Marti report on my first car 40 years ago to compare it with my new one. Imagine my surprise when I discovered both cars were built on the same day! It must have been destiny!”

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Notes

David currently serves as registrar for the Cougar Club of America’s special recognition category of 1971-73 Q-code cars. He’s also owner of The Audio Connection, a car audio retail shop in Parkville, Md. When he’s not tinkering with this Cougar, David says he spends time on home renovations. David said he has one restoration task left for the Cougar: a repaint to correct a substandard paint job in 1980. One last fun fact: You might notice the gallery below has photos of both Comfort Weave and leather seats. David spent considerable time and expense to find the the factory-correct OEM leather, assuming the Comfort Weave seats in the car were incorrect for an XR-7. But later, after acquiring the original sales invoice from Marti Auto Works, he discovered a $42.56 credit for Comfort Weave seats. “Now I rock both!,” he says.