Sometimes small problems causes big delays in the progress of a restoration. So has been the case here as well. As I work forward assembling the Eliminator I found that soem parts were just not good enough, some were missing and some were just wrong. Instead of working on something I knew would not make me happy in the end I decided to put the car on hold until I had some if the parts I needed and have been puzzeling with my
1967 Mercury S-55 instead.
The seat covers has been mentioned before. I ordered a new set from
West Coast Classic Cougar but unfortunately their supplier made a mistake and they had to reorder another set for me. So as I am writing this (summer 2008) I am still waiting for them to arrive.
Another problem was the AC system. The parts I had was not correct and I started looking for a 100% correct system in good condition. Luckily I got one out of a car here in Norway. Then there has been some problems with parts for the power window setup I wanted to install, I have been missing some chrome details, trim pieces, nice tail lights and so on. Most of these parts have been found during winter and spring, so little by little the car is coming back to life.
This picture shows the car in April 2008. I am about to install the side glass and the power window mechanism. The power window regulators gave me more problems than I expected as they were totally worn out. I ended up using parts from the old manual regulators and made now good ones that works perfect. Luckily the regulators and motors for the quarter windows were in perfect working condition.
As soon as everything was installed in the doors I could start to adjust the doors and windows. This will have to be doe right now, as if it is done before you get all the weight into the door, the door will not fit after the window installation. And if you think you can do soe final adjustments on the door after the fenders are put on you will be surprised to find that it is not possible becasue the adjustment bolts will be covered by the front fender.
Finally I also found a good working and totally correct AC pump. I also found a set of good pulleys and hoses from the same car. I bought a used condenser from the US, but it turned out to be junk, so a new one is on its way to Norway right now. (august 21, 2008)
Above is the car pictured with all the the side glass installed and doors aligned. To the right the fenders have been hanged on the car. They will need more adjustments, but that will be later.
Here you can see the rear of the car which is pretty much finished. Restoring the tail light chrome bezels on a Cougar is not done in 5 minutes. First of all, to find nice used tail lights is hard. I ended up with a left hand that is rechromed, and a RH that is good used condition. I was looking for a right hand NOS bezel, but so far it has not showed up.
I had several lenses to choose from and found two that were pretty nice. The lens for the gas door is a reproduction lens and the ornament is a near perfect used one. The rear bumper is rechromed and the bezels for the back up lights are really nice ones I found on eBay. The back up lenses are NOS.