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FEATURED MEMBER RIDE

Roger Cross’ Jamaica Yellow ’67 XR-7

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This Cat’s Tale

I bought the car in 1998, while vacationing with my family in Virginia Beach, Va. I’m not much for sitting in the hot sun on the beach, so on Wednesday of our week stay, I went to a local library. On the way in, I picked up a copy of Auto Trader magazine. I saw 2 Cougars listed: a ‘67 XR-7 and a ‘68 standard. Not knowing much about Cougars, I did some research while in the library. When I found out that only about 27,209 XR-7s were manufactured in 1967, I decided to call the owner and arrange to see the car the next day.

Advertised as in “excellent condition,” it appeared to be all original, with only 83,472 miles—albeit with rust in the normal spots: lower fenders, doors, and quarter panels. After starting the car and seeing that it ran smoothly, I made an offer. It was accepted, and I put $100 down and went back to the beach. I drove down the next Saturday and picked it up. I am the third owner. I bought it from a relative of the first owner, who had owned it for about a year. He turned over two notebooks of maintenance records from 1981 forward; the original order form (May 2, 1967) from Stamford Motors, Stamford, Conn.; the bill of sale; the bank finance note; and an owner’s manual. The maintenance records showed it had been repainted once in 1988 and that it received even more than regular maintenance, since it was taken in several times a year for oil changes, etc. The Marti report said this 1967 Cougar XR-7 is one of 1,056 with this paint/trim code.

I drove it sparingly for several years while I worked on my parents’ 1966 Mustang coupe. The engine and transmission were rebuilt in 2005 (stock except for 0.030 overbore) and the original Autolite 2V carburetor was rebuilt. I decided to have it restored prior to the Cougar’s 40th anniversary. Luckily, I chose a father and two sons with a small business west of Richmond. I turned the car over to them in late January 2007 and picked it up completed, except for the pin stripe on the sides, a couple days before the June 2007 All Ford show at Carlisle, where it was shown for the first time. The work involved rust repair of the lower fenders, doors, quarters, corners of rear windshield, removal and installation of a new torque box, glass out repaint (single stage) in original colors, and replacement of shock absorbers and rear leaf springs. The black vinyl top was replaced. The vacuum tank was restored, the vacuum motors were rebuilt and all vacuum lines were replaced, the interior received new carpet. The original taillight sequencing was converted to electronic sequencing, and the bumpers were rechromed. The front seats received new seat foam and new vinyl seat covers, while the rear seats were redyed. The headliner, dash pad and all glass are original.

My Cougar is driven and not trailered. I have made the trip to Carlisle several times, which is a 400+ round trip from Williamsburg, Va., where I live. While attending the Wings & Wheels show near Virginia Beach in 2018, I was encouraged to join the Antique Automobile Club of America, given the originality of my restoration. I did join in 2019 and have progressed through the judging categories at Hershey, Pa. (1st Junior Nationals), at Gettysburg, Pa. (Senior Nationals), and at Charlotte, N.C. (1st Grand Nationals). I plan to attend the Allentown, Pa. Grand Nationals this year, going for the final level, Senior Grand National award. While I know that restoring a car to the way it looked when it arrived in the dealer’s show room is not everyone’s cup of tea, I find it very rewarding to drive an almost 60-year-old car the 600 miles round trip to Charlotte, for example, and achieve the greater than 375 out of 400 points you need at the Grand National level. I have now owned my Cougar for 28 years and the mileage is 97,058.

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Notes

Roger, who has lived in Williamsburg for almost 40 years, is a retired nuclear engineer who worked 34 years for Dominion Energy. When he’s not driving or tinkering with his Cougar, he enjoys woodworking and family genealogy. Roger also owns his parents’ 1966 Mustang coupe. His dream car? A first-generation Ford of Europe Capri, with a six-cylinder engine. “I owned a second generation 1976 Capri and have always thought they were neat, fun to drive, sporty cars,” he says.