On the 'bay. Looks like the auction ended w/no takers. $30K doesn't seem hateful for an R-code CJ convert in custom colors w/2 428CJ engines. But I do understand it will probably need a $50K resto in order to become a.....$50K car.
Re: Anybody catch this factory PURPLE 428CJ Cougar 'Vert?
November 13 2008, 11:27 AM
It`s kinda hard to read the Marti report for this car, but the DSO appears to be special order car from A7, which is Western Canada for a Mercury dealer. (Western Canada Ford dealer DSO is B7). I have seen a couple of 69 Cougars with the same light purple that is showing thru in spots on this car. In fact I talked to one of these purple Cougar owners at a local show a few months back. His Cougar is a purple hardtp with a white vinyl top, and a 351 4v auto. He showed me a couple of articles he had concerning these purple Cougars. They were ordered for an Alberta Canada insurance company,(Rocky Mountain Life Insurance) and were used by selected group of insurance company representives. I have this fellows business card, I`ll see if he has any info about this car.
428 powered Fairmont drag car, Best ET:10.03@132.11MPH, best 60 ft: 1.29
59 Meteor 2 dr. sedan 332, Ford O Matic
74 F350 ramp truck 390 4speed
This message has been edited by RM428 on Nov 13, 2008 11:33 AM
in the ad. Also a picture of some sort of buildsheet w/purple overspray and a pic of a different purple Cougar.
My first attempt to view this ad, my computer kind of choked on it, I thought it locked up so I exited. 2nd try worked fine and had lots of pictures, and a good closeup of the Marti report. Worth a peek.
I don't see why it would take $50,000 to restore it, it looks pretty complete and in decent shape. The $29,900 seems like a good deal for such a rare and unique car.I think the Marti report numbers are misleading in this caseand he should have sprung for the Deluxe report. I'd be surprised if there were a half dozen 428 XR7 converts that were purple.
What the heck is that horizontal steel plate bolted to the underside, behind the trans but obviously not the trans mount? Is this OEM Ford? Is it a stiffener to make up for the lack of a roof?
Have worked on and owned many a Mustang/Cougar body ('65-'72) but now that I think of it, never a 'vert from this era.
This message has been edited by machoneman on Nov 13, 2008 2:27 PM
A year ago, he'd have gotten 50k , even for a purple car !!! I don't believe it would take 50k to restore, but even if it were fully acurately, in todays market it's probably not more than a 75k car. It would be a nice finished cruiser though. The trouble is , based on my experience with my CJ car, the Cougar folks don't want to get up off any money. They all talk about how a nice Cougar is worth as much as a nice comparable Mustang, but then won't pony up the cash. I would love to have this car...its ass would stay red and be restored to a nice concours driven level otherwise. But they ARE expensive to fool with. Mustang resto prices x 30%.
I know that seems harsh, but this is really the kind of car that would inspire "as long as we're here we may as well do this too". The interior is decent, but you can see everything has been cut for radio and speakers, plus white never gets cleaned up enough. New NOS interior, or buy a survivor small block car to pirate the interior out of. A full proper color change back to purple, and make everything line up on the body (which those of you who have '69 Cougars know wasn't true when they were new.) The motor will be coming out, and the numbers matching one will be getting a rebuild and put back in, go through the trans and suspension. I can get to $50K with this scenario, getting some back with the sale of the NOM 428CJ.
It absolutely HAS to go back to purple! Concourse restos w/color change kill my interest. That particular Purple is a little interesting and I would be tempted to play with it a little. Its not like anyone knows what the REAL purple looks like, unless that hardtop shows up at the same show........
Doesn't take long to get to $50K on the restoration...
November 14 2008, 6:44 AM
I should know. I'm into more than that on my 68 vert. And it is a Mustang which is much cheaper to get certain parts for. And I'm not putting in a totally "correct" dated coded drive train which probably would have added $10-15K to the final total.
Problem on any 40 year old car is that you pretty much have to replace everything. Anything you don't replace/restore just looks shabby compared to the rest of it. For example, I spent $900 having the vent frames and rear window frames replated. Don't want an otherwise brand new car with pitted window frames because they stick out like a sore thumb.
When you start to cut corners it really shows so the money adds up quickly.
