My 1967 Mercury Cougar:

289 V8, Automatic Transmission Factory A/C, Power Steering, Power Brakes, Back Seat Courtesy Lights. Headlights and Taillights blacked out, Keystone Wheels...

Only 7,412 Bench seat cars were made out of the 150,000+ cougars for 1967.

The two pictures that started this project.

These pictures were hanging on a soda cooler in my mom's store out near Blythe, CA. I asked about the person selling the car and went out to take a look.  The next morning, this cougar was mine.

Having set in the desert for over a year, nearly every hose, belt and vacuum line was dried out beyond safe use. I replaced what was needed and drove it home. The normal 3 hour trip took 7 hours as the radiator was plugged and overheating and the gas pedal was giving about 1/3 throttle.

A little cleaning goes a long ways with these older cars.  Maybe it was just happy to get out of the Sun and Sand!!