Of course its not a Ranger or an RBV but i figured i would ***** it out a little as i take the next big step with this one.

To give a little background, as my screen name suggests, i have a 1969 Mercury Cougar in my stable as well. Its my first car that i got in 1999 just AFTER high school (never had a car while in school) and its also the last car id ever sell. Its the first car ive ever modified, first ive ever painted and its also responsible for me winding up in the profession I am in. So i have a ton of sentimental value attached to this car.

Its currently powered by a 351W with an FMX transmission and a 9 inch rear end with a 3.89 and a detroit locker in it. It weighs 3,520lbs, is not super fast but it runs ok considering its the original engine with a few bolt ons and has over 140K miles on the long block. It still runs great, but the trans is taking a crap. I had to use it as my daily driver when my 04 XLT got totalled, so although 3.89s sing a TON with 27 inch drag radials, it still can be used for daily duties when needed.





A few years ago i decided i wanted to go faster than i could go in this one. I thought long and hard about it and decided a big block was the way to go and that a proper Ford of this era really should have an FE engine. I looked into a 390 for about a minute until i decided that a 428 could be had for about $500 more, and seeing as most of the pieces interchange, the initial core price would be one of the few places that ill have to make a big difference in a layout of cash. After finding a 428 at Memory Lane junkyard in (then anyway) Sun Valley and plopping down $600 for a core engine i worked my way home with it and there it sat in a friends garage for some time. Several years have pased and after moving with my friend TWICE, the engine is now about ready to go into the car.


specs as i can remember off the top of my head
428 Ford FE, punched .030 out.
Speed Pro Forged pistions 10.5:1 Compression Ratio
Edelbrock aluminum heads
Crane Aluminum roller rocker shaft assemly
Hooker Super Comp ceramic coated headers
Edelbrock Performer RPM intake
Holley Aluminum 770 Street Avenger carb (just ordered today!)
Milodon hi capacity oil pan high volume oil pump
Probably going with a recurved duraspark triggered with an MSD 6AL
Stock rods shot peened and magged with ARP bolts
ARP bolts all over the engine. Heads, mains, external accessories.
I believe its a Comp cam, but i dont remember the specs offhand. Still hydraulic, in the 280 duration and .55X range for lift. Should be happy.







My lack of motivation and willingness to spend money have made the car not ready for the engine though. Thats the reason for this thread. Ive finally gotten off my *** and started to get the car ready. I want to paint the engine bay first, so its gotta come out. So today ive been spending some time starting to pull sheetmetal off of the car.

Hopefully this goes smoothly, and my goal is to have it all done before October 23, 2009. Why? Thats the 10 year anniversary of when i bought the car. Funny.... i dont remember my GF's birthday but i remember that.. well... heres to that first step!

 

i will keep an eye on this thread....awesome

 

sweet... that is a gorgeous car.
that new engine will be SICK.

 

SKEET!!

 

Get busy.



and i was.



This is all thats gonna happen to it for a lil while. Im off to NorCal on Monday for work so its gonna sit while i contemplate whats coming off next.

 

That Cougar is beautiful. I'm still waiting for the right one to pop up locally. There are only a couple that I know of, and they are beaten ragged, and thrown to the dogs with a high price tag on them.

 

nice, good list of parts u have. what are u going to do for a transmission?

 

that cougar is gonna be sick nasty

 

Thats a pretty sweet Aladdin poster.

 

Nice looking Cougar. After seeing that 428 block though, I need to take a cold shower. LOL

That'll haul @ss with that in it.

 

Thats beautiful!

 

Beautiful car man.....a dude local to me has a black one....u just dont see too many of these anymore...

 

Beautiful car man!

 

Thanks for the compliments :D

Ive been out of town a lot lately so progress has been SLOW.... basically....

Got one fender off. Forgot how heavy these bastards are. Especially the drivers side fender. It has an auxillary vacuum can underneath it that is used as a reserve can for the headlight doors They are vacuum operated, and it lets you open and close them a few times when the car is not running. The other fender will come off when im not so lazy. I gotta pull our the radio to undo the anteanna so i can take that off. Then i get to degrease the suspension and engine bay a bit.






I also decided that i dont like how the two stripes look with the hood scoop. So im gonna repaint the hood, and paint a single satin black stripe down the middle of the hood along the peak. I also will repaint the scoop satin black. Hood is at work and half stripped. I wanted to strip it because i was unhappy with a few things on the hood, so i can correct those issues while im at it. Heres the pic i have of that...





As far as a trans, I have a C6 that a friend built for me a while back. I had it in my old Galaxie, and i took it out before i sold it because frankly, the work done to it was worth more than the car it was in at the time. Its got a wide ratio gearset in it, a 3000 stall, kevlar bands and Alto clutches, Billet servo and a hardened inpuit shaft. a necessity, because i snapped the stock input shaft....my friend said he never saw a C6 input shaft break before.

I have 3.89s and a locker in the rear end right now, but it sucks on the freeway. The short 1st gear in the new trans should take up some slack, so i think im gonna step down to a 3.50 or 3.70 gear when i get a new third member. I have to step up to 31 spline axles anyway, so i might as well redo it all. Thats later though. I cant afford it right now. THe good thing is that i work around the corner from Currie, so i can place an order and pick up stuff easy :D



The Aladdin poster rocks but the Terminator 2 Poster is even better. OG VHS RELEASE EDITION! :D

 

OH! I also got my Holley 770 Street Avenger in too. Its the new aluminum bodied ones. Its lighter than im used to so that rocks. I know its not a big deal, but its cool to save a couple pounds and the whole top of the engine is aluminum now anyway. I also got a great deal on it, and Holley has a promotion for a super discount on a Holley Blue pump when you buy one. $25 for a new fuel pump! woot! i probably wont use it, but i can probably sell it and recoupe some costs.

 

I have 3.50 gears in my 69 Cobra with a 428 CJ and C6 transmission. That was not good for cruising the freeway with 225/60-15 tires but it was great for acceleration as long as I could keep traction. I bought a set of 275/60-15 tires for the rear that are 28" tall and it cruises at freeway speeds very well but does sacrifice all out acceleration a little. The tires still break loose but not as easily with the shorter tires.

Nice cougar. Maybe we can meet up sometime at a show or something.

 

Pics of the Cobra! Yeah after its done im always down for the car show circuit. Hell, ill take it to a show (close to home one anyway...) without the fenders and front end on it. Then again, im the guy that took a Galaxie that had moss growing on it to the Ford show at Knotts a few years back.

and a blue Cougar covered in surface rust the following year...

 

lookin good Steve, shes going to haul ***!

 

C6, nice. our 66 fairlane GT had a toploader and i put in 3.89 gears with an auburn limited slip. it launches like a **** off the line and doesnt cruise to bad @ 55 either.

gotta love the FEs.

 

X2

 

so awesome man..

 

Very nice i so want to put a 429 Cobra Jet in my '66 Mustang. Too bad the blocks alone are like 12 grand.

 

I remember sitting at a swap meet with my brother about 25 years ago. he sold his 68 or 69 torino with a 428 CJ motor in it.

$800 if I remember correctly.

 

We had a 429 CJ in a jet boat, can't believe I let that go down the road to the neighbor. Might have to see if he'll sell that back to me, got a 1969 Ranger (2wd) that would hold it up Nicely.

 

Here are a couple pictures of my 69 Cobra. I wish I could have bought it for $800.