A Daily Driving Cat Is Where It's At - 1968 Mercury Cougar - Growl!

In the streets of Southern California, specifically Orange County around Costa Mesa and the planned community of Irvine, there's a daily-driven prowling cat that knows just where it's at in the American pony and muscle car landscape. The uninformed think it's a funny looking, if not upscale customization of a first-generation Mustang. True gearheads shake their heads at such an outlandishly incorrect assumption. For goodness sakes, the new for 1967 Mercury Cougar was appointed Car of the Year by the automotive scribes at Motor Trend (an automotive car mag of considerable repute back in the swingin' muscle car '60's - in the February 1967 issue).

Above: The Cougar originally had a 289 Ford V8, but it now sports a 302 cubic inch Ford V8 mill that is backed by a three-speed Ford C4 automatic transmission.

And one could argue, with considerable ammunition to back such a notion up, that the 1968 sequel was an even better vehicle than the premiering cat. Such is often the case in the design, engineering, and manufacture of an all-new automobile, whether the assembly line is in North America or at pretty much anywhere that vehicles are produced around the globe. Bugs get corrected in successive iterations of a new automobile. New conveniences, features, and enhancements get added too. It's not like making movies, where the first one could be a smash hit and the sequels sometimes attempt to live off the laurels of the hit premiere blockbuster film.

Of course, with renewing an old car, the renovation is oftentimes better than what emerged from the assembly line when the car was first brand new. In the case of Johnny Rojas' 1968 Mercury Cougar, that would certainly be the assessment.  

Mr. Rojas took it as a sign from God that he initially passed on purchasing the Cougar from an Army buddy's ex-wife, when his wife told him that he should purchase the Mercury. That's a most surprising outcome to be sure!

When Johnny first wrested away the tired cat from his buddy's ex, the mechanicals were rumored to be quarter mile passes sound at the Pomona Fairgrounds. However, the exterior and interior were pretty darn gone. The Cougar wore a raggedy and tattered white vinyl top and several different shades of burgundy paint on its outside. The interior's original faux vinyl woodgrain dash and black vinyl door panels were eight ways to Sunday gone. 

Several instruments inside the dashboard weren't working. Since the steering was loosey-goosey, Mr. Rojas first found Kelly's Auto Repair right in Costa Mesa. Kelly was a retired high school auto shop teacher, so he was definitely the right man for getting the steering to steer straight and go around the curves, when the road ahead is filled with unexpected and oftentimes rewarding turns (in terms of driver entertainment). Kelly then upgraded the cooling system to a dual electric fan and larger aluminum radiator system. He replaced the front drum brakes with a disc brake system and rebuilt the drum brakes in the rear. An electronic ignition system replaced the points and condenser, which was state-of-the-art technology for the '60s, but not great for the demands of daily driving.

Above: If that hood scoop looks familiar, you might also be a 1969 Mustang Mach 1 fan.

Interior's Inside the Park Home Run

The father and son Rojas team became the designated hitters for the interior's transformation. They removed the fake woodgrain vinyl decal on the dash, sanded the metal, and lavished white paint on the dash panels, which dramatically improved the Cougar's cockpit right off the bat. The duo also replaced the dash pad and the door panels with brand new items. They replaced the gauges with some aftermarket white-faced ones and made the vacuum pop-up hideaway headlight system operational once again.

For the restoration of the Cougar's exterior, Johnny sought some consul from another good friend, who referred him to nearby R&J's Body Shop, run by the father and son team of Robert and Jonathan. While other auto body paint pros were quoting six months to a year to respray the Cougar's hide (couldn't resist) and gobs more cash, R&J finished the job in two months and charged Mr. Rojas one-third the price! That's a home-run deal. Those who are able to read between the lines have likely counted a few (triple of) baseball puns so far. 

Young Johnny Rojas was born and grew up in the shadow of Dodgers Stadium; that's L.A. Dodgers Stadium for those not familiar with one of America's favorite professional baseball teams. R&J Auto Body recommended the GM paint hue called Blue Me Away, because it very closely matches Mr. Rojas' desired Dodger Blue paint scheme/theme. Remember, the Cougar's intrepid caretaker doesn't just drive the Mercury on an occasional seventh-inning stretch. Johnny drives her five to seven days a week - to work for Monday through Friday, and for cruises and car shows on the weekends. 

In these several photos you may also be aware that there are stickers and family keepsakes in the car that give an idea of what interests the Rojas family, in addition to American pony and muscle cars. Johnny is retired U.S. Army. Additionally, Johnny and his son are trained boxers. In fact, the Oscar De La Hoya Training Gym wanted the younger Mr. Rojas to turn pro. You wouldn't want to mess with Johnny Rojas' Blue Me Away 1968 Mercury Cougar. Father or son Rojas might be tempted to, "Knock you to tomorrow," as Rocky's trainer Mickey, aka Burgess Meredith said to Sylvester Stallone in Rocky 3. 

About five years have passed before the father/son Rojas team had the Cougar back on the prowl. Young Rojas recalls with pride that the renewal of the Cougar was so easy that it took just three different sized wrenches to accomplish the task. The best part of the restoration for Father Rojas was working on the car with his son and instructing him in the great hobby of working on and restoring cars. Now it's something that young Rojas enjoys with his daily driver. And he's actually recognized among his buddies as the car guy. 

Parts Unlimited Interiors is Your Source for Mercury Cougar Interior Items

Above: 1967 Mercury Cougar (photo courtesy of Ford Heritage Vault)

You'll find a growing inventory of Cougar components for the classing cat.  In fact, check out all that PUI has to offer for the stylish 1968 Mercury Cougar. More Mercury Cougars are needed on the roads, at the car shows, and on the vintage racetracks around the globe! Components from Classic Industries can greatly help you in getting your Mercury Cougar restored or restomodded and released back into the wild!