Hi, I'm new here with a 1987 Cougar 20th Anniversary

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Hi, I'm new here with a 1987 Cougar 20th Anniversary

March 10, 2006, 11:24:34 PM

First I'd just like to say that I came upon this place from a link on EricCoolCats's page. I don't remember how I found his site, probably a Google search or something, but it's really great. Eric, your "cats" are really nice and your site is so informative, thanks! I've been lurking around here reading posts for the last few weeks, and this place seems real nice.

My name is Paul, I'm 17 years old and I live in the Capital Region of New York.

It is not a happy story how I obtained my cougar. In 2003 my father became ill with a malignant brain tumor. He lost his battle on December 31 that year. I inherited this car and his 1938 Buick Special 4 door sedan he owned since 1968 when he was my age, and which sat for 25 years in a nearby garage until last year when I resurrected it. I am a member of the Buick Club of America and up the local chapter. I also belong to this forum: forums.aaca.org. http://forums.aaca.org/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=351607&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1 that is the thread I have going about my Special. On the first page down near the bottom are a couple posts with "Attachment" in orange letters at the top of the post. They are pics of the car. I'll post some more here if anyone would like.

The cougar he bought in 1998 because he had a grey two tone 87 T-bird that he bought new but which was totalled when a car sitting in a turn lane with its wheels already turned was rear ended and thus veered into his lane, oncoming. This was the next best thing he could find. It had ~60 or 70k miles when he got it I think, I gotta look it up again. He always told me to NEVER sit waiting to turn with my wheels turned. Because of that experience and other he had lots of automotive wisdom for me. He was a racer, we have his '84 Reynard Formula Ford in the enclosed trailer next to our house. he was in the SCCA, just as a hobby, for fun, no prizes or anything. Its a small car with a 1.6L Pinto engine in it. We will probably sell it this year.:( We dont have use for it...

The cougar now has 114750 miles on it. It is in great shape. As far as I can tell the underbody is very good, the front suspension and cross members, etc are very well rustproofed due to a slow oil leak for a long time:hick:. (i really like that smiley lol) and in the back i tried to peek underneath and the frame rails in the back that go up real high have some significant surface rust but dont look eaten through at all. And of course the driveshaft and rear axle and diff are nice and brown too. The body is great, just a little rust starting as the very bottom edge at the rear of the doors, on the inside. Some silicone spray or something should stop that when I remember to do it. It runs great, has always been well taken care of as far as I know, the ol' AOD is fine, the trans fluid is crystal clear red.

I absolutely baby the thing. This winter is the first one I've driven it in, and Ive taken it out in the snow/salt maybe 6 times total. After every one within 3 days I got it washed, if the road wasnt still salty and full of crud. I take the bus in to school 90% of the time. My bus driver knows a lot about real old cars and cars in general and I love talking to him about the Buick and cars in general. Occassionally I romp on the cougar because its pretty powerful, but I want this car a LONG time. I always talk with relatives about the musclecars they once had and hear "If only we knew then what we know now." A classic statement. I think these 20th Anniversary's will be worth something someday, and even if not its rare and cool.

So here's my conundrum: OF COURSE I've read on coolcats about the HO conversion and it sounds appetizing. I remember when I was like 12 years old once my dad lit the tires up somewhere while I was in it. I tried once last year and could only get a few squeaks. I probably could have let off the brake and nailed quicker, or do what I didnt know about then--brake torquing. I'm definitely gonna try that sometime. That must be what my dad did. He was smart, I'm sure he knew how to do that. But anyway I think 75 extra horsepower would be um...noticeable, LOL. And its really not much more stress on the motor, at least not more than it was designed from the factory to be able to handle just fine day-to-day, right? But I kind of want to be like the guys that have old '40s or '50s cars in their original condition, I don't want to modify this car much. So i'll see what happens. I think in a few years I'll end up doing the conversion. I'm thirsty for some horses.

Sorry for the long post if that irritates anyone, but I felt I needed to tell all of that. Theres more I want to tell about that oil leak (and pics will come tomorrow!) and there are a couple small gizmos that don't work, so I'll save that for later, and I'm sure everyone will have questions for me, too.

Hi, I'm new here with a 1987 Cougar 20th Anniversary

Reply #1 – March 10, 2006, 11:47:59 PM

Nice car man! I'm 17 too, I've got an 88 Cougar XR7 im taking home Monday when I finally get my licence (NJ sucks, making me wait 6 months...) Can't wait to see some pics of your car. Have you thought of making a car domain? How about going to Catjam this summer? lol. Anyway, what have you done to the car so far as far as mods and sound system goes? Welcome to the forums!

Hi, I'm new here with a 1987 Cougar 20th Anniversary

Reply #2 – March 11, 2006, 12:01:25 AM

well, i haven't done anything, lol. i never really considered doing anything to the sound system. i know, thats usually first on everyone's list, but the buick is what i have spent my money on, and to be honest, I'm happy with the stock "Premium Sound" system, with that equalizer. its pretty neat, and works well. sure i have one of those tapes with the wire coing out of it in the tape deck, connected to my portable CD player and that is a little bothersome at times because the player moves around on the seat, but its good enough for me.

as i said, some engine mods will come in a few years i think, but i really like the car the way it is.

Hi, I'm new here with a 1987 Cougar 20th Anniversary

Reply #3 – March 11, 2006, 12:05:53 AM

Welcome to the board bud. I'm 19 years old and purchased my first cougar when I was 15... I love 'em to death as will you once you start doing some more stuff to it. Sorry about your Father tho...
maybe you heard about Cat Jam? It's in Youngstown OHIO. A bunch of guys from New York head there every year in late July. I'm in central PA... but ya look that up on Coolcats.net .

Welcome again! Good Luck with everything and if you need help these guys here are amazing and pulled me out of many (and i mean many) binds.

-Steve

Hi, I'm new here with a 1987 Cougar 20th Anniversary

Reply #4 – March 11, 2006, 12:15:35 AM

Quote from: ZondaC12

the front suspension and cross members, etc are very well rustproofed due to a slow oil leak for a long time

Hey, sounds like my turbo coupe! :giggle:

Hi, I'm new here with a 1987 Cougar 20th Anniversary

Reply #5 – March 11, 2006, 12:36:45 AM

alrighty...im tired and ill go to bed soon but since im up and decided to check here, ill talk about the leak.

last fall we actually had my uncle's friend, who is probably the most knowledgeable person with fords i have ever met. he has a '73 mustang mach 1 thats pushing 500+ horses letsput it that way.

he replaced the valve cover gaskets, intake gaskets, thinking that was where it was leaking from. also new cap, rotor, wires, plugs. it would always have a lot of trouble starting after sitting after it rained, for an hour or more. youd have to crank it for a minute's worth (not constantly, dont worry im not stupid lol) before it was finally start firing and eventually fire up.

turns out we later had a garage look at the car and the oil pan was rusted pretty bad. a bunch of pin holes. so they only did oil changes and stuff, so they recommended this really great place that we ended up taking it to and they replaced the pan. $1000 job.

but it had to be done. it still leaks a little now. they recently said when i took it to them to get it inspected that the rear main seal is actually leaking a bit. so someday...

also they found oil all over the one rear brake drum. they replaced the wheel seal, $300. my mom was very generous in footing the bill for both of those. what she said was "you cant buy a new car for that little money" obviously you can get a car but not a great one.

finally, the keyless entry pad has been pushed in, broken off the metal frame thing for a few years. my dad always claimed my mom pushed it too hard but she is sure she didnt. i wanted it to work, so they said it would be ~$250 to do. i paid for this one. im very very careful with it, and half the time i still use the key, lol. again i baby this thing. i think that will pay off very well over time.

Hi, I'm new here with a 1987 Cougar 20th Anniversary

Reply #6 – March 11, 2006, 01:47:36 AM

Welcome, Nice well thought out and done first post.

Hi, I'm new here with a 1987 Cougar 20th Anniversary

Reply #7 – March 11, 2006, 02:50:13 AM

Welcome fellow 20th owner...

Hi, I'm new here with a 1987 Cougar 20th Anniversary

Reply #8 – March 11, 2006, 03:42:23 AM

Wow man welcome to the boards. Sorry to hear about your father. That Buick of yours has an amazing sound to it. Most guys kill for that sound and pay out the pocket for it. Is that from the stock exhaust?

Hi, I'm new here with a 1987 Cougar 20th Anniversary

Reply #9 – March 11, 2006, 09:30:45 AM

Quote from: ZondaC12

So here's my conundrum: OF COURSE I've read on coolcats about the HO conversion and it sounds appetizing. I remember when I was like 12 years old once my dad lit the tires up somewhere while I was in it. I tried once last year and could only get a few squeaks. I probably could have let off the brake and nailed quicker, or do what I didnt know about then--brake torquing. I'm definitely gonna try that sometime. That must be what my dad did. He was smart, I'm sure he knew how to do that. But anyway I think 75 extra horsepower would be um...noticeable, LOL. And its really not much more stress on the motor, at least not more than it was designed from the factory to be able to handle just fine day-to-day, right? But I kind of want to be like the guys that have old '40s or '50s cars in their original condition, I don't want to modify this car much. So i'll see what happens. I think in a few years I'll end up doing the conversion. I'm thirsty for some horses.

I wish we had more newbie posts like yours. Welcome to the board.

You need to go to Cat Jam: http://www.coolcats.net/catjam/

My opinion on your dilemma depends on the current condition of your car. If it's in really good condition and has never been wrecked, I would preserve it.

If it has been wrecked and repainted and there is still evidence (upper radiator support welds for instance), then I would lean toward customizing it. Also, if it hasn't been wrecked but it has a lot of rust and the paint is peeling, the seats are worn, etc, then I would be tempted to customize it as well.

Yours sounds like it is in good condition though. Has it ever been repainted or repaired?

That's why I decided to modify one of my cars (modified one) over the other one (stock one) that was exactly like it - it was in a previous front-end collision and you can still see the rework under the hood. The other one has never been repainted or repaired or anything.

Hi, I'm new here with a 1987 Cougar 20th Anniversary

Reply #10 – March 11, 2006, 09:44:55 AM

Welcome Paul.
I was 16 when I purchased my '88. If you take care of the car, it will last a long time. Well, I'm 21 now so if you want to call 5 years a longe time... :hick:. I drove mine daily until I bought a new car in February '05. Now I basically have the Cougar for fun.

I agree with you keeping the sound system stock. I would have done the same in my car but it's previous owners had already hacked it to bits.

Now the motor. How about getting yourself a HO motor and pull and keep your original SO. The motor is a bolt in and next to no changes have to be made. That way say 20 years from now, if you want the car to be stock again, all you have to do is put the original back in.

I too agree with Karl (Cougars2go). My car has body panels that were replaced, had 172000 on it when I bought it, interior shows a little wear, and was repainted so I felt better about modding it. If it was in perfect original condition with original paint and so on, I would have kept it stock.

Hi, I'm new here with a 1987 Cougar 20th Anniversary

Reply #11 – March 11, 2006, 10:33:46 AM

Welcome.

You have a couple nice cars from the sounds of it though a sad way to get em.

I agree with the last few posts. If it is in good condition and you don't have to do much to keep it stock, then just keep it stock, but if it has already had major work done, might as well go to town.

Hi, I'm new here with a 1987 Cougar 20th Anniversary

Reply #12 – March 11, 2006, 10:41:25 AM

like i said ill be posting pic later today. it looks as good as Cougar5.0's signature. my dad once rear-ended someone at a traffic light as maybe 10 mph, because they stopped too fast. the metal piece right in front of the hood was damaged, as well as the grille and stuff in that area. we still have the old, cracked in half grille in a box in my basp00get, LOL. he kept everything like that. better not tell mom she throw it out! he found a grille in a junkyard, problem is its just a flat metal one, not the red color. I think it could be painted though. that metal in the front that got damaged he either had repaired or he did it himself, again maybe finding one in a junkyard or something. i cant remember it seems so long ago!

the only noticeable thing due to that accident is that on the driver's side of the car the very front edge of the hood bows up maybe 1/16 of an inch, maybe a tiny bit more, but not very noticeable unless you looked at the car for a minute or two to the average person. and the plastic flexible bumper, where theres black paint, some is gone and the yellow plastic underneath is showing.

FOREWARNING: you may notice in the pics there will be swirls in the paint. this is because last year a friend of mine was like "dude you gotta get some rubbign compound on that make it look real nice...blah blah rubbing compound....rubbing compound" it got really annoying i was thinking it looks fine. well we had some in my garage and i looked at it and its talking about marred paint, etc, and im thinking thisll take the paint right off! so i grabbed the one that said "polishing compound" and we used that. that caused the swirls. he has done some other REALLY stupid stuff, and as a result i dont really see him anymore. so my other friend who is very smart and knows a helluva lot about car detailing assured me that its ok and that the other guy didnt **** up my paint completely. he said he'll show me what stuff to use in the spring, and i even offered to pay him if he wants to go all out like hes done for other people.

Pics!!!

Reply #13 – March 11, 2006, 06:29:28 PM

as promised. all taken today, along with the one of me with the buick. finally decided to "wash" it. no garden hose etc, but used a spnge with some zip wax car wash soap, because the door seals, etc are not sealing, lol. so a spray of water is not a good idea. then i wiped it down good with a 100% cotton rag, too get rid of all the streaking and "water spots" that appeared, and there were quite a bit. im amazed how much better it looks, i figured it was just the paint being old and having as many blemishes as it does. but i guess it was more that the car was just dirty and dusty, lol.

Hi, I'm new here with a 1987 Cougar 20th Anniversary

Reply #14 – March 11, 2006, 06:36:00 PM

heres the underside of the cat