Today as I was driving, I noticed about a 68 Couger up on a hoist. It occurred to me, I haven't been seeing them on the roads any more these last ten or fifteen years. I sold my 68 Torino GT fastback with a 390 thirty years ago and thought I might like another one some day. Same thing, all gone. I don't see them in garages, on the streets, it's like they all evaporated. Anyone know why all these late sixties Cougars and Torinos have disappeared? Quality issues? Did people just get tired of them?
Are there pockets of Canada or USA where these cars still Roam?

 

The Cougar is a Merc though. They are around, kinda like Oldsmobile's though, few and far between.

 

gearhead1218 on here has a Cougar

 

I think you're expecting too much. There aren't ANY late '60s or early '70s cars, Ford or otherwise, "on the streets or in garages." These cars are 40-50 years old now, so we see them at car shows and such, but not on the street as everyday drivers. I don't think Fords are particularly underrepresented in this category. Are you seeing late '60s Camaros, Cutlasses, Chevelles, and GTOs in your everyday driving? I sure don't, and I live in a part of the U.S. where you might expect to see them.

If you want a '68 Torino, hop onto craigslist and take a look around. They're out there. Here's one I found in 5 seconds of searching.

http://quincy.craigslist.org/cto/4116247205.html

 

they are out there. i think it all depends on what part of the country your in. i am born & raised in CA residing in SoCal now i can tell you old skools are quite common around here. i lived in San Jose (Norcal) for 10 years about 5 miles from the Ford Milpitas plant. there are a lot of old Fords still on the road up there. even here in SoCal i still see them quite frequently. as far as quality goes... i owned 1 Ford... a 66 Mustang. it was a nice looking car but compared to GM i felt that Ford used the cheapest hardware they could find when put them together. JMO

 

Not around anymore?? Man, you could say that about a Tucker, an Edsel, a Dusenberg, or about 160 other brands out there

 

likewise... looking for an old skool Ford try the SFBAY Craigs. more there than any other city i would bet

 

I sold a straight, no-rust, 60,000 mile '68 390 Galaxie sedan to a high school kid for $1,200 about three or four years ago. Couldn't unload it any other way.
He drove it around for a while, then joined the Marines, and it's been sitting waaaay up his Dad's driveway on four flat tires.

There's a '68 Galaxie convertible I see around here from time to time as well.

You're right, though, I haven't seen a Torino "in the wild" in at least 20 years.
I always suspected they rusted to nothing, like all the Datsuns.

- Eric

 

I like cougars but not the car lol. I couldn't pass that up . Anyway fords here are also scarce even at shows not too many mustangs , galaxies, I'm always stuck in a sea of novas, chevelles, camaros and mopars. Although I am seeing a lot more olds out and about.

 

Actually, I do see a fair number of older cars on the road around here. Lots of Chevelles, sixties Impalas and lots of rods. Quite regularly seeing thirties era rods being driven by gray haired guys like myself, or older. Often run across late sixties Firebirds and Camaros. Lots of mid to late sixties Cadillacs. Still see endless amounts of sixties Mustangs being driven almost daily.
When I bought my avatar car just a year and a half ago, it was being driven daily to and from work in the rain. Gives me the shivers just thinking back about it. Fellow was spending a fortune on fuel, but it was his only driver.

 

Just sold a 69 Cougar a few months ago. I see them around here from time to time. I personally like the cats better than horses.

 

A buddy had three Cougars at one time- a 71 convert that was his high school car, a 68 XR7-GT, and a 67 XR7-Gt that had a three-speed- some outrageous low number built, but he succumbed to Chevy-idiot pressure and transplanted a four-speed into it. He sold one of them, I think he said the 68, a while back to finance a land purchase.

Other than Mustangs, don't see many here either. There are a couple of nice late-60s big Fords that show up at local cruises, as well as a couple of 66-67 Fairlanes. They're all too nice to drive daily though.

 

Funny you should mention that, my daily driver is a rust free 76 Datsun 280Z and yes they are pretty hard to find

back when I lived in NC a little south of raleigh, it was pretty rare to see any old car except in barns and back yards on back roads. Not much driving around except one guy in a badass crusty 71 Nova, and a few VW Bug's. Now after moving to Upstate NY theres old cars EVERYWHERE! Its awesome, though its mostly rat rods, but there are still quite a few old 60s and 70s cars, hell, I drove 6 miles today and saw a 71 Grand Prix and a 53 Plymouth. Theres a guy in town who has a 62 Cadillac, a 53 Caddy, and a 66 Cadillac Hearse in his driveway along with a Dodge A100 boogy van.

 

Cougars and torinos, AMC muscle, are not in the big auctions much. The few Talladagas I have seen didn,t bring much which seemed strange compared to price for Superbirds. The numbers made should have been close.
Never seen a Torina Cobra , but knew of one when it was new. Those Galaxies would have been something I would love to have.
Its just what the general market wants, 57 Furys were cheap before Christine.

 

I was thinking the other day I don't see 80's mustangs around any more either. They used to be a dime a dozen, they were so plentiful. Heck, everyone was one hotrodding those, they were so easy to run.

Time as a way of sneaking by us.

 

i dont see high test gas for .69 a gallon any more either

 

I went to a car show two weeks ago, the Springfield, IL Rt 66 show. I was parked two cars away from a Ford Cobra, which was before they called them Torino Cobras, I believe, and the Starsky and Hutch crowd showed up with their tribute cars, so I saw about 50 red Torinos at once.

 

The only fords I prefer to see are on the side of the road engulfed in flames!

 

i always loved that starsky torino... its amazing how a column shift auto can sound like a 4spd

 

I have seen a variety of old American cars in the Plano-Richardson area. I did see some Fords as well, A 70's T-Bird, a Cougar, Mustang, LTD, and of course my old Pinto that has awoken from summer slumber...

 

I can remember going back even 20 years ago and it was hard to old Cougars and Mustangs then. All old cars rust, but Fords seem to be better at it than any other brand. Too bad, I would like to get one of those 1st gen Cougars someday.

 

I've heard rumours of a Cougar Eliminator 428 for sale in the Vancouver BC area over the last fifteen years or so, but never actually seen one. If it really exists, it's probably quite a machine.

 

As a 18 month member of the "classiccougarcommunity " I can attest to their ferocity and dedication of members . I turned my 68 Cougar Dan Gurney replica race car into my now 67 Old's Cutlass Supreme Holiday Coupe 442. My Cougar sold last January at the Barrett Jackson auction .
There were 8 Cougar's at the auction , 17 Old's Cutlass 442's. Pretty representative numbers . My car brought 30,000 + 10% for buyer , less 8 % to me. I was lucky.
If any of you are following my intro . engine , and suspension threads , you know I'm about $ 50,000 into a body off frame restoration . I did not plan on being here with this car . I LOVE 442's . I used to crew and race E / Stock track pack cars in 1968 and 1969 . Very fun times . If I can find the proper new owner for my car ( will be finished 2nd week of December ) I want to build a replica 1967 E- Stock Cutlass called the
" Conquistador " . That car was campaigned out of Minneapolis for 3 years , and was an absolute terror . 11.35 - 11.55 / 115 - 118 mph car.
Where the Ford component of this comes in was the nemesis of this car were a pair of E / Stock 427 67 Fairlanes . They ran 11.15 - 11.25 , 120.00 mph. Being that this was 1967 - 1969 it was just before 2 gentleman named Warren Johnson , and John Hagen began terrorizing the NHRA in A.Stock and B. Stock . Low 10.00's and 130 mph were beyond us . Literally , we could not come up with the means or technology to go faster . At the time there were no 68 or 69 factory anything's that were faster than us , and it was FUN.
1970 came up , and you could just feel the oxygen of performance and fun leaving the room . In drag racing , you could not do much without a big corporate budget . Performance cars from 1971 kept getting slower and slower . Insurance premiums and gas prices , and it was a wonder any of our cars survived . Many of them did not .
O.K. cut to the highest rate of speed and getting a warning ticket . I worked for Southdale Ford , Edina MN. 1967 - 1970 . I had to park anything with a shaker hood ( Cobra Jet ) , or rear window slats inside the service garage when I pulled keys , and secured the used car side every night . 5,000 mile 1969 Cobra Jet Mach 1 , Lakewoood traction Bars , NHRA stickers , used car . Drove east and west on 69th street from Southdale Ford to Key Cadilliac . Edina squad car passed me once , hit his red lights , passed me going back west to dealership , did not catch me until I had the car parked in service garage. No more than .9 mile each way , 0 - 100 mph , I'm guilty . My Used Car manager John Pollard and his Sargent friend sweated me for days threatening jail time if I was ever caught doing any of that Shi? again . One of those jokes that kept on giving . Very funny . Much later .
There are a bunch of well put together nostalgia Super Stock , and hot street cars out there . Pockets of them in all parts of the country . I like to support them anytime they run in the Phoenix area ( Speed World ) .
Good times . There are hundreds of hot Cougars ( I know ) out there
and the collectors seem to have multiples of them . I believe the secret is to preserve what we have , and support every individual keeping the story and scene alive.. Thx , JT

 

Perhaps we don't see old cars from other makers because we aren't looking for them. A friend of mine has a passion for Hillman Avengers (Plymouth Cricket in the USA). I thought they had all gone to the crushers years ago, but after we started hanging out I noticed them all over the place.
I guess it's the same for (insert car make/model here), keep an eye out for them and I'll bet you see more than you expected to.

Good luck to the enthusiasts for other makes, we are reading the same book, but not necessarily the same page.
That's what makes car shows fun for me, looking at other cars, and talking with the owners, sharing tales of how we fix them and why our particular cars appeal to us.

Roger.

 

I see "classic" cars all of the time on the streets (well, not in the winter). Maybe it's because I live in the Motor City area. There is a '67 or '68 Cougar sitting at a shady auto repair at the corner of Washington and Miller roads in Lansing. Been there for a couple of years now.

 

Looking for an old Ford on the road? You'll see mine almost daily

Build quality-wise, the Mustangs were built, at least in the 60s, to be VERY inexpensive. They were entry -level cars to attract the youngest buyers they could. Therefore, you could say that Ford didn't overbuild them. I have a 65 that has been garaged since 1976 and it still has a couple floor patches, trunk dropoffs, and door cancer. One reason is to cut costs, i think the Mustangs didn't get as much anti-rust treatment or paint in certain areas. They were meant to be entry level cars. The good thing though is they weigh 2800lbs! You can't say that about very many other cars of that era!

I have found that the further from the city you get, the more vintage cars you see daily. I live in a suburb so i very rarely see anything that is more than 5 years old.


JT: thanks for the story! i love hearing about the good ol days. Nowadays, if you want to run 11's, simply reach for your credit card, grab the closest computer and grab a bolt-on supercharger and a computer tune! In the old days, people had to actually work and be innovative by working the ports on your factory cast iron heads in your garage, or milling the choke horn off of your 4150. I respect that

 

Ford's?? Try to find a Mercury/German Capri...Sometimes I think I have the last drivable one in N CA.

 

Interesting. I remember in the late seventies a fellow I worked with had one. Fancy special mags on it and went decently, too. Tried to sell it to me, but it was really badly rusted out. He drove it in all weather. Always liked the look of that car.

 

A family friend had a German Capri in the early '70s.
Lots of fun to ride in. Always liked those, and, yes, they all returned to iron oxide, whence they had come.

- Eric

 

Ford Capris (UK built until 1978 then from Germany, Belgium and a few other assembly plants) were a big hit over here, sold on the tag line "The car you always promised yourself". They were just a coupe body on a Ford Cortina floorpan but Ford created a market segment for them that no other makers had an answer for.
You might liken them to the equivalent of their Mustang in the USA, you could buy a plain 1.3 liter runabout or opt for 1.6, 2.0 or 3.0 liter engines, with a big range of trim options up to the 3 liter 3000e, which had all the compatible options poured in.

Roger.

 

hey dave, there used to be a cobra torino at the gas station in lake cowichan, always getting work at the garage, only 4-5 years ago. apparently owned by a guy from vancouver with a cabin at the lake.

 

Don't forget that 71 and earlier Torinos/Montegos were unitized bodies with out a separate frame so when rust attacks it's not a simple repair. Even the front inner fenders/core support/crossmember are welded together.

 

Maybe I'll see it some time. Be fun to find a big block fastback with buckets and console.....cheap !!

 

I don't see many Fords myself anymore . I remember in the mid to late 80's , I had a chance to buy a black custom 69 Thunderbird with a 428 . It had suicide doors , and a telescoping steering wheel . They wanted $7000 for it , and I didn't have the money .

 

I didn't know that. I was thinking about my uncle's old 68 Torino GT rag top. I think he said he got his frame rails replaced decades ago because they rusted out. About $1000 a side. I just assumed they all had frame rails. When I owned mine, I was too young to even think about how it was held together.
You may have hit the nail on the head !! That's probably exactly why they all disappeared.

 

It was another "Better Idea."

- Eric

 

Any car show in Calgary is full of vintage Ford & Mercury cars. Head to Edmonton or Medicine Hat race tracks & you will see plenty of them running the 1/4 mi.

By the way....Fords look great in the rear view mirror of an Olds!

 

It's starting to come back to me now. All the FORD ads that used to play when I was watching FBI in the seventies.

 

ok, thats enuff of the F word for today

 

Right you are. How about the "C" word? Just got back from coffee in Steveston. On the way through we spotted a late sixties Cougar convert in a driveway. Looked really decent. Perhaps a previous poster was correct, and I need to open my eyes a bit more.