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69428SCJ
10-23-2014, 04:37 PM
Hopefully many of you got the Gone in 60 Seconds reference in the title. For those of you who've read my signature, you know I have a few toys, but there's one in particular. It's my 1969 Mercury Cougar Eliminator equipped with a 428 Super CobraJet engine. My dad was the original owner of it, and I looked for years for it. I finally found the car in 2006, and in 2007 I was able to bring it back into the family. It's been undergoing a rotisserie restoration for the past 7 years, it's not done yet but hopefully soon! Here are few pictures from over the years:

http://my69cougareliminator.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/unicorn3.jpg
http://my69cougareliminator.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/unicorn1.jpg
http://my69cougareliminator.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/unicorn2.jpg
http://my69cougareliminator.com/backup/Images/Passengerside01.JPG
http://my69cougareliminator.com/backup/Images/Cali2_Good_Pic.jpg
http://my69cougareliminator.com/backup/Images/Then_and_Now%20copy.jpg
http://www.hagerty.com/yourstories/%7E/media/Images/Storytelling%20Submissions/2014/10/16/Sonfindsandbuysdad39soldmuscle car2014101-5.ashx
http://www.hagerty.com/yourstories/%7E/media/Images/Storytelling%20Submissions/2014/10/16/Sonfindsandbuysdad39soldmuscle car2014101-6.ashx

In the meantime, I am in need of some help. I entered a contest on Hagerty's website to win a $100 gas card with the story of the car, but that's not the important part. I'm interested in sharing the story with as many people as possible. The top five comment getters receive recognition in their newsletter and possibly even an article in their magazine. The link to the "tl;dr" version is here (http://www.hagerty.com/yourstories/2014/10/17/son-finds-and-buys-dad39s-old-muscle-car20141017120107). The contest ends on the 29th, so please comment, share and give it a thumbs up if you are so inclined! Also, if you find yourself having more time on your hands, you can read the complete story at the website I built for the car, [/URL][URL="http://www.my69cougareliminator.com"]www.my69cougareliminator.com (http://www.ctsvowners.com/forum/redirect-to/?redirect=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.my6 9cougareliminator.com). I appreciate your assistance, and please keep checking back to this thread and my website as I post pictures and updates!
massacre
10-23-2014, 04:54 PM
:) Thumbs up given
Jeffonebuck
10-23-2014, 05:26 PM
Awesome Story, Well Done !


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chief455
10-23-2014, 05:37 PM
Nice recovery! Wish I could get just one of my old SCJ cars back.....
fastblackmerc
10-24-2014, 05:54 AM
I wish I could get my '73 XR7 back.
sflrainmaker01
10-24-2014, 06:27 AM
:2thumbs: How about two thumbs up! Great job bringing her back home!

But, how were you actually able to locate the car and the car's owner?
69428SCJ
10-29-2014, 03:59 PM
I was able to locate the owner through Marti Auto works of Mesa, AZ. They have the FoMoCo production records from '67 to '79. The PO had requested a report and because of that, they passed my info along to him. That's how I got in touch with him. Thank you for those of you who lave left a comment or given a thumbs up. The voting ends this evening, so for those of you who haven't left a comment and given a thumbs up, please do so. I greatly appreciate it!
RF Overlord
10-29-2014, 09:01 PM
She got a little sad looking there in the middle, but it's nice to know you're taking good care of a very rare classic.
chief455
10-30-2014, 06:50 PM
Is it a 4 speed toploader or C6 car? What rear gear? Funny, many of my CJ and big block cars had 3.25 or even 3.00 open rears, even with 4 speeds.
Only 2 of mine had 3.91 and 4.30 from the factory.
gpfarrell
11-03-2014, 10:31 AM
Great story!

Regarding steep gears and big blocks, I'm not sure how anybody got a 428 with 3.91s to hook up on the street. I have a '66 Cyclone with a 390 hi-po in it. Previous owner installed 3.91s and with a C6 it would just smoke the tires half way through 2nd gear. Tire technology has come a long way. I think if you didn't have slicks in those days you were more limited by tires than horsepower or gears.

I put a 3.25 back in mine and switched it to a Top Loader... still smokes 'em through 2nd, but I'm only running 215/70-14s.
massacre
11-03-2014, 02:14 PM
^^^ Absolutely!
Don Garlits ran 200 MPH while smoking the tires the entire time, all the old dragsters were like that. Tire technology has been one of the leading causes of such high speeds, in the 60s the tires just couldn't handle the powah
69428SCJ
11-03-2014, 06:44 PM
It's a C6 with a 3.91 TracLock that my dad swapped out a 4.30 Detroit Locker from a brand new, still unsold on the lot 70 Cyclone for. So I received an email today from Hagerty saying that I was one of the five winners! Thank you to everyone who commented, gave a thumbs up, and/or shared my story. I couldn't have done it without your help!!!
chief455
11-03-2014, 07:45 PM
Great story!

Regarding steep gears and big blocks, I'm not sure how anybody got a 428 with 3.91s to hook up on the street. I have a '66 Cyclone with a 390 hi-po in it. Previous owner installed 3.91s and with a C6 it would just smoke the tires half way through 2nd gear. Tire technology has come a long way. I think if you didn't have slicks in those days you were more limited by tires than horsepower or gears.

I put a 3.25 back in mine and switched it to a Top Loader... still smokes 'em through 2nd, but I'm only running 215/70-14s.
my best 428SCJ car had 3.25 and burned through all 4 gears, never lifting the throttle to shift :D
I had a 429 SC car = same thing.
Now, 3.91 - 4.30 cars I had would stop spinning at the end of 2nd gear, then pull 3rd and 4th.
Staggered shocks from the factory, yah, that helped alot:shake:

original post = congrats!!! great, car, story and = winning!