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Bruce and Rob Wallace just purchased their second Cougar, which in itself is not that unusual; several SSCC members own more than one Cougar. But Bruce and Rob's Cougars are BOTH rare 1969 Sports Specials.
Visit these pages regularly, and you'll be able to follow the restoration of their newest Cat from start to finish. It begins with Bruce's stories about the purchase and the documentation. |
| THE ADVENTURE My 14-year-old son Rob has been saving up to buy himself a Cougar for a little over a year. We have done some looking in the papers and online. He has frequently dreamed about what he would do with one of his own.
I received an email last October that would put a little twist in that plan and set me up for an adventure. The email was from Sal - he had never given his last name - saying he had to sell his Sports Special. I had heard from Sal before when he discovered that the car he had rescued from a salvage yard was more than just a basic Cougar. An excerpt from his description: "I have the original owner's manual, with the dealer and buyer's info in it. I have the Autolite warranty guide, and both warranty cards, still attached to the backing.
I also have the "tips for safer driving" fold out. The car has the rim blow wheel, the special rocker trim, turbine hub caps, pinstripe and remote driver's mirror. It needs to be repainted, but all the original paint is there. I am knowledgeable about Cougars, but never heard of the Sports Special until getting this one."
Since I had heard of the car before, I was immediately interested and contacted Sal. Ever since I found out my black '69 was a Sports Special, I've wanted to find another one to restore to stock appearance. Mine has been modified too much and is too nice as it is to tear into. Sal's car seemed to fit the bill for me.
One problem - it was Rob who was looking for a Cougar, not me. He was the one who had the money to buy one, not me. I showed photos of the car to Rob. He was interested, of course, but kept talking about what modifications he would like to make to it. I told Rob that this wasn't the car for us, that it needed to be restored back to stock. Then I hit upon an idea - Rob could help me buy and restore this car, and we could trade cars so I could have a stock one and he could have a "restomod". He thought it was a great idea.
The car was up in Long Island, NY, which presented a challenge and a concern. I knew a northern car would have rust, and I needed a way to confirm how bad it was. I contacted someone else I knew of from the Classic-Cougar Listserv who lived near Sal. He agreed to check the car out and give me a report. However, two months went by without him getting over to look at the car. Finally, I asked Sal to send some more shots of the undercarriage and other rust spots. I was amazed at what he sent back - great angles, excellent detail, and scary rust!
I checked around about how much it
would cost to fix the rust. Estimates ranged from below what I expected to twice what I expected. Rob still wanted to pursue it. I really did, too. It was a nicely optioned car - décor interior, power steering, power disk brakes, and air conditioning - and all the original stuff was there.
Next came the problem of how to get it home if we bought it. I don't have a good tow vehicle, and renting one plus a dolly would cost more than the car! Sal had done a bunch of mechanical stuff to the car and was driving it around town, so why not drive it home?
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THE HISTORY Rob's and my new Cougar is a 1969 Standard Hardtop with the Sports Special Value Package "B", which includes the Décor Group along with the Sports Special items - special rocker moldings, mid-body stripe, left hand racing mirror, and "turbine" wheel covers. According to the data plate, the original color is Burnt Orange Metallic with a Black Décor interior. The Marti Report shows that it also came with a black vinyl roof, 351-2V engine, FMX transmission, 3.00 axle, E78x14 WSW tires, console, power disc brakes, power steering, air conditioner, AM radio, and tinted glass.
The car was built on June 11, 1969 in Dearborn. It was originally sold by Country Lincoln Mercury in Huntington, NY (Long Island) to James L. Shady, Jr. of Halesite, NY on June 30, 1969. As far as we can tell, Mr. Shady owned the car until he died sometime in late 1999 or early 2000. The car was involved in an accident that damaged the passenger door and rear quarter, and was taken off the road in 1986. Mr. Shady kept the car, letting it sit until his death. The bank that was handling his estate had the car hauled off to a salvage yard.
The yard operator sold it to his friend Salvatore Mennella of Sound Beach, NY. Sal bought it for a parts car for his '69 Cougar pro-street drag car. He visited Steve Cameron who owns two Sports Specials. As they talked, Sal realized that his "parts car" was a Sports Special with all the features still intact. He even had the original owners manual, warranty manual, "tips for safer driving" brochure, and warranty cards. It was then that he decided to restore the car. He bought a new quarter panel and installed a used door that he had. He went through it mechanically, replacing a number of items. He also put new tires on 15" Magnums on the car.
However, in October of 2000, Sal decided he had to sell the car for financial reasons. After a couple of months of back and forth emails, Rob and I became the third registered owners of the car.
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I checked into cheap flights up to New York and visited the New York DMV web site to see what I needed. I emailed the listserv to ask the guys along the I-95 corridor to be "on call" in case I had problems. Quite a few sent me their phone numbers and offered help if needed.
Early in the morning on Friday, February 16, I flew up to JFK airport. Rob stayed home since he didn't want to spend any extra money! Sal came to pick me up in the Cougar. On the way back to his house, he said that it was the farthest he had ever driven the car (50 miles one way). He was kind of nervous at first, but the car did fine.
 At Sal's house, I dug out my coveralls and slid around under the car. His photos were pretty accurate - there were only a few minor surprises. Some of the repaired areas on the body didn't look as good as I'd hoped, so I offered somewhat less than he was asking. We agreed on a price and proceeded to the DMV. However, the branch near his house was closed! We found out another larger one 20 minutes away was open until 4:00 PM. We stopped for lunch and then at Pep Boys for supplies - oil,
ATF, water, antifreeze, hose tape, a headlight, and a fire extinguisher. I had brought some tools along, but I couldn't carry this kind of stuff on the plane!
At the DMV we discovered that the instructions on their web site were incomplete. I had to call my insurance company four times to get what the DMV really wanted. We got out just before closing time. We went back to Sal's, loaded up the car, installed the headlight, and topped off the fluids. By the time I left, it was 5:00 PM, getting dark, and starting to rain.
My goal was to get to New Jersey and find a motel. However, I had to get through New York City to get there. Sal gave me the best route through, all on expressway. Traffic was really heavy - a lot of stop and go. To add to the stress, the car didn't idle all that great, and as I sat in line, I'd occasionally see a puff of smoke come out the side of the car (oil on the exhaust?). In addition, the car was so loaded with parts that the headlights didn't light up the stripes on the road! It ended up taking me 5 hours to go the 100 miles to New Jersey.
The next day I slept in a little and got a late start. The weather was dry and cold. Traffic was still heavy and it took me 9 hours to go the 260 miles to
Fredricksburg, VA. It was obvious I was not going to make it home in 3 days like I planned. The car seemed to do OK, cruising along fine at 60 mph when traffic was clear.
The third day I got an early start and had clear roadway. I ran at 65-70 mph for the first leg. When I came out from breakfast I checked the oil. To my dismay, the oil was brown and frothy - water in the oil!? I went another 20 miles (now at 60 mph), wondering what to do. I pulled off to fire up my computer to see which listserv friends might be nearby. I found that one was about 125 miles further down the road. I checked the oil again and it seemed to look a slight bit better. I added some and continued on. I prayed for a "sign from God" telling me whether I should call this guy and have him help me change my oil to see how bad it was.
I pulled off at his exit and checked the oil. This time it was black and smooth! I sent up a prayer of thanks and went on my way. It was a long day - I drove for 12 hours and covered 544 miles. About 30 miles from my motel I "hit the wall". I pulled off to eat and rest a little, and then finished the drive to my motel just south of Savannah, GA.
 The
fourth
and final day I took it a little easier, leaving at 9:00 AM. The only real "traffic" I encountered was when I stopped at a Burger King near St. Augustine. Race fans coming from Daytona were creating long lines. It took nearly an hour to get my "fast food" lunch. I had a little bit of excitement when the car stalled as I slowed for a toll both just 5 miles from home! It started right back up and I was home by 3:00. I had covered 1186 miles in all.
Rob had cleaned out the garage so I could squeeze it in next to my black '69 Sports Special. Would you believe, though, that the black one (my daily driver) would hardly start and wouldn't run right? Jealous, perhaps?
My wife and I went the next morning to get it registered (no wait, no problems). Rob spent the next couple days cleaning it up while I was at work. We drove it to the SSCC charity show in Deltona last weekend and got some advice on fixing the rust. We plan on bringing it to Daytona.
All the way home I was aware of God's grace keeping the car going. I saw many cars newer and in better condition than the one I was driving off the side of the road. I could easily have been one of them without His care!
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