This was the year that everything finally fell in place for the car. In desperate need of paint, and with the desire to make something completely original and different, my plans were laid out on the table and ready to go. All I needed was someone to help me make it happen--and I found that person locally, in a friend of my father's, Scott.

Here's the car mostly stripped. Not a pretty picture but alas, the fate of just about any car worth restoring. This part scared me because I had no clue what was underneath the layers and layers of paint. Just as I suspected, there was a little, uh, colorful history but nothing really severe.

Almost all of the body filler is necessary to give a smooth finished surface. This is also the point where the side exhaust covers were tweaked to fit.

Bye bye door handles. The filler is merely a skim coat thanks to Scott's masterful welding.

A view of the modified side exhaust system.

Throughout the process of the car's transformation I found out the hard way what works and what doesn't. I estimate approximately $500 was literally wasted on parts that could not be used. I was able to sell a few items and get back roughly $200. Still, that's what happens when you enter into the world of hot rodding. It's all a matter of careful measuring, ordering parts, and hoping they fit correctly (or can be modified to fit). Sometimes you luck out, sometimes you don't. Your only hope is that someone can use the parts you cannot, and eBay has been an absolute godsend for that. In any case, I've highlighted some areas of the car below because I know everyone will be asking questions about what I did. And by the way, this is all the information I'm willing to give about the car. If you cannot figure out what I did, then it remains my secret. True hot rodders never give away all of their tricks...sorry if you're offended.

Bodywork
In the fall of 2000 I started thinking about what I wanted the car to look like from now on. Could have gone total Euro look but I decided to dig back way into the past with total retro hot-rod styling. I haven't seen anyone do that yet with these cars so I figured, "Why not me, and why not now?" This was my chance to do things I'd always had in the back of my mind. The problem was to execute this in a way that was both quality-driven and true to the hot rod ways of old. I consulted with Scott on what we could do....we went back and forth (to this day he swears he lost 2 days working on the car because we couldn't come to any conclusions). One of the areas that I wanted to change was the rear valance of the ground effects.The Xenon piece I have now is not low enough for my tastes, and I really want a Mustang GT look. We thought about hand forming some steel skirts and even flares, but in the end it was easier to go with what I had because it is clean looking. Same with the front. We knew the side exhaust covers were going to be on so that took care of the lower portion of the car. The side molding would be totally removed, saving probably 20 lbs.---no joke. And I definitely was getting the door handles and locks shaved. We tried to clean up as much as possible....not easy to do on a car with so many subtle curves. One area that I'm the happiest with is, oddly enough, inside the door jambs. Fox chassis cars have a broken seam where the sill plate is. We fixed that with custom bent sheetmetal and some welding, creating one smooth bucket when you open the door. I topped the sills off with a pair of 1999-2000 Cougar chromed sill plates (left). They're trick, look custom, and were very inexpensive to buy. But they can only work the way we did this; they won't cover up the holes on regular Cougar sills. Every Fox car should look this good. The frenched-in grille (see below) adds to the smooth look. The only thing I kept was the trunk lock, since my battery is back there. Had to have some kind of escape hatch!

Paint
Obviously the paint has changed to go along with the new bodywork. Originally I had the same all-white scheme in mind. But that's too much for what I had planned. So I started thinking about a nice silver on the bottom to contrast the white. I looked at several Ford and Chrysler colors but after much debate I went with Opal Frost, a 1994-95 Mustang color that is pearlescent in nature. In the shadows it's very bluish, but in strong sunlight it turns goldish. It's one of the coolest colors Ford put out in the 1990's and a predecessor to the infamous Mystic paint. Coincidentally, it's the same color I painted my upper intake and valve covers, so that tied in the engine compartment with the exterior rather nicely. Then I decided to bounce the silver up into subtle graphics. Silver against white is cool...but I wanted to push it a bit further. As a tribute to my first Cougar, we broke up the silver and white with 1984 Medium Cadet Blue Metallic. Little did we know that the silver and blue are mere shades from each other. You really, really have to look hard (and get the right light) to see the difference. The blue is about 2" high and actually starts at the front end, bounces up on the door, and continues to the back around the taillights. We filled in the indents on the taillights where the COUGAR and MERCURY nomenclature normally goes, then wrapped the blue around to a finished turndown on the rear reflectors. Thus we shaved all emblems from the outside. Scott did a fine job on the paint, especially considering that the car had 3 to 4 coats of paint previously. We didn't know this until the d/a sander hit the surface. The car has had a slightly active past....I really hate to admit how much body filler there really is. Then again, all of that was before I got the car so there's not much you can do but roll with it. Scott fixed just about everything he could. Some things, like body panel alignment, will never be good because of the conversion. Without a full door frame the doors bend all over the place and the fenders bow out at the bottom. We probably could have spent more time on things but I am an understanding person....this car will never, ever be perfect. And we did all we could under the circumstances. It's very acceptible to me and I'm pleased with the overall finish of the car.

Side Exhaust
What is cooler than a hot rod with side exhaust? Nothing...and it's now back "in" (although if you ask me it was never out). The challenge was to figure out a way to do it on this particular car. The exhaust system itself is unique due to the car's massive subframe connectors. I'm fortunate enough to live in an area where there is no emissions testing, and I have the best exhaust guy around willing to tackle anything I hand over to him. I still had a stock Mustang H-pipe with all 4 converters in place. Behind that there is about 4" of aluminized 2.25" pipe going into Dynomax race bullet mufflers. From there the aluminized tailpipes hook 90 degrees out the sides, going upward at about a 10 degree angle (see the photo at the top of this page). As for the side covers, I'd long thought that the 1994-98 Mustang's increased wheelbase length would be beneficial to our cars somehow.....turns out I was right. Unfortunately Mustangs have straight rocker panels, whereas our cars have slight curves on the rear quarter panels and fenders. Which means modifying. A word of warning: it is extremely difficult to find high quality covers, then purchase just the covers without having to buy a complete Mustang side exhaust system. I was able to work a deal with the company from which I got these and that's how they ended up on my car. From the feedback so far, they make the look of the car; I tend to agree. If you're thinking about doing it....have fun.

3.5" Cowl Hood
Seems like everyone and their brother wants a hood like this for their Cat or 'Bird. I found through my research that there are only a few companies that still make hoods for this body style. In my opinion, this particular hood is definitely the best. The reason? It's the only hood I found that has a fully finished, show-quality underside liner. While pricey at $500 plus freight shipping, the U.S. Body Source hood is undoubtedly the best quality fiberglass hood I've ever seen. I have no hesitation recommending it to anyone. My mechanic had a set of key-locking hood pins that he donated to the cause. It's the way to go if you have a show Cat, plus they add security. The stock hood opener doesn't work with this hood, and I had to rig up a spring hood popper. All that aside, this hood screams, "Get the heck out of my way." Awesome.

Grille
The inspriation for the new grille was obviously from the grille on my old black '86 Cat, but I wanted it much better and more durable this time around. I personally hand-made the grille itself, then Scott suggested that we mold the grille into the header panel. The end result is a one-piece front header panel. In the process we eliminated the stock hood ornament from the top of the header panel. The mesh was originally expanded aluminum I bought at a surplus store (but has since been replaced). The emblem is a brand spankin' new NOS 1987 Cougar grille badge. Everything is held down by theft-proof bolts with thread-locker. There is such a thing as overkill and this grille would be it. Wouldn't have it any other way.

Spoiler
Believe it or not, if you look through the archived photos of this car, I'm using that same spoiler that's been on the trunk since 1997. Turns out this M3-style spoiler was totally foam filled, which meant a little time with the d/a sander and it was good to go. Turned out nicer than I expected too. I tried 4 or 5 different spoilers and none had the curves I needed, so we decided to modify the existing one.

Lighting
Every single light that could be changed on the whole car, I made light up bluish. It goes great with the blue theme on the exterior and under the hood, plus the stock green lighting just looked out of place. The headlamps are H4's with xenon bulbs; the fog lamps are hyper whites with purplish-tinted lenses. Inside I swapped out for a 1984 Thunderbird digital clock; a 1995 Cobra R heater panel head (no a/c markings); a Blaupunkt CD player (all blue lighting); and blue gauge faces from RPM Gauges. I had thought about a full neon kit but it's not my style.

Wheels
I had nothing against the chrome 16" Pony rims that I'd run for the past few years. They'd just run their course, and besides, who can do up a whole car and NOT get new rims? I originally was going after Saleen 5-spoke 18" rims. However, Saleen is getting very, very difficult to deal with in the order department. It's a shame too....when someone has $2,000 to spend and they can't even give you the time of day, it tells you what the company is fast becoming--indifferent. So I went with my second choice, which was the 2000 Cobra R-style rim. The original rims on that car were 18" and I'd always planned on getting that size. However, the 9.5" width would have played hell with my front suspension, and no other width is offered in the 18" size. So I dropped down to 17" x 8.5" all around, running 245/45HR17's. The back can take the wider rim, by the way, but I did want to use the same size at all 4 corners so I can rotate the tires. I never did plan for chrome rims; the silver goes great with the silver paint on the bottom half of the car, and that's the effect I wanted. Chrome rims are nice but to me they're a fad that will go away in a few years (I like to buck trends, if you haven't noticed by now).

Interior
The interior is where I spent most of my time on the car. Where to begin.....I started by picking up a pair of 1995 Mustang GT front seats to replace my well-used original Cougar seats. Then I went hunting for colors. I knew I wanted dark carpeting with lighter colored seats to give a "floating seat" effect. The car was initially going to have new burgundy carpeting but then I realized it would clash with everything else on the car. So I went with a charcoal grey from JC Whitney that unfortunately did not match the factory Cougar charcoal color (it's since been replaced). Headed on down to the upholstery shop and started hunting through colors for the seats. Didn't know what I wanted but I'd know it when I saw it. The putty color hit me hard. It's about the color of a beige computer casing, and oddly enough it's called Oxford White. After I picked out a contrasting fabric pattern reminiscent of tweed (but not nearly as gawdy), I took a sample of the color to the local PPG paint store to try and find a match for the interior paint. I didn't get far back into the Ford colors when I found a very close match from 1998--called, you guessed it, Oxford White. Yes, there are 3 different Oxford Whites on this car! The hardest part was finding a dye for the rubber parts on the doors, and for the steering wheel. I breifly toyed with the idea of a Grant or Momo wheel but really wanted to keep the factory wheel since it's just so damned cool. After searching the 'Net I found a company that sells a paint that bonds to surfaces. It's made by Bryndana and goes by the name of MolecuBond. After wiping down the surfaces really well with lacquer thinner, you spray this stuff on and when it dries, it theoretically won't come off. This is what was promised; it more than delivered. The stuff won't scratch off (although scuffing from shoes can take the paint off). Not only was the color match almost dead on, but it's just amazing stuff. Now I don't normally endorse anything as I'm opposed to most forms of blatant advertising, but this stuff works like a miracle. The paint was just the icing on the cake and I could not have completed the interior without it, plain and simple. I recovered and painted what I could and left the rest to the upholstery shop. They did a fine job of everything. Overall I'm pleased with the colors and the quality. I quickly painted the radio and dash panel inserts in a flat black with the idea of putting an aluminum mesh over them. Everyone told me to leave the black...so I did. It's amazing what a little paint will do to change the look of an interior. The fact that this was never a factory color makes it all the more unique.

After spending so much time and money on the car in '01, I was sort of on "cruise control" for '02. I did replace the carpeting though; the JC Whitney stuff was not only the nastiest color I'd ever seen, but it also was incongruous with the rest of the interior. So I called up ACC and had them custom-make the carpeting for my car, in the color I wanted. It literally fell in place by itself; the fit was unbelievable. The only complaint I have is that it's rather thin at a 16-oz. weight. The original carpeting from this car (remember, it was an LS) was 24-oz. At the time ACC did not offer anything heavier. Still, for how it fit and the amazing 2-day delivery time (from AL to OH), no other gripes whatsoever.

This is a rare glimpse of the car's interior "undressed". I was having my hand-built rear panels covered with matching leather at the time, so I snapped a few photos of what's going on underneath them. You can see the large steel plate upon which the seatbelt and top cylinder is attached. Behind that plate is a 1" box tube steel grid welded to the floor. This is the structural support for the sides of the car. Between the grid and the outer sheetmetal is a custom-cut plastic track for the power window, a GM power window motor, and a GM window on a custom-made lift support.

You may have been wondering where the stereo stuff is hidden--here it is. First order of business was to make a custom subwoofer box for behind the seat....except that the front and back are open, and there are no speakers in it. Essentially it's a hollow box with an elevated shelf. There are many reasons why I did this. This allowed me to hide the top motor, wiring and relays easily, while still having access to them if need be. When the top is down it now rests on the top side of the box. This keeps it from interfering with any of the stereo equipment and wiring. The hollow design (theoretically) allows more bass to come through from the trunk. BThis provided the optimum point for installation of the amps. It turns out that everything ended up show-quality back here too....no need to hide it. You can see the steel tubing again providing a frame for the rear seat mounting. This is also structural in nature.

I finally found the perfect center caps for the rims. The plastic centers themselves came from a buddy of mine, who replaced them with real Cobra R centers on his Mustang. I had these shaved down flat, then ordered the carbon fiber logos online and stuck them on the centers.

My favorite shot of the car.

This was a fine-tuning year for the ol' droptop Cat. I took care of little things that have been nagging me for awhile. First and foremost, I swapped out the old H4 headlamps with new, crystal-clear H4's (left). Not only do they now match the fog lamps, but they just plain look cooler too. Also added was a new wiring harness for them.

Also got a new mesh for the grille. This is what I wanted all along but had one hell of a time trying to find it. Seems I only needed to go as far as the local swap meet. I bought a sheet of this stainless steel mesh for a measly $10.

Undoubtedly the area where I spent the most effort this year was under the hood (left). Since the motor install in '99, I admittedly got pretty lazy in paying attention to the details and keeping the engine looking clean. Things were nagging at me so bad that I decided to tear the engine compartment up and clean, paint, polish, replace, and shine up everything I could. Along the way I created a few custom touches, such as the one-off intake plate. I also added a Steeda air pump eliminator kit at this time.

Perhaps the crowning jewel of my efforts this year was finally getting my suspension components together and installed. It took nearly a year to get everything gathered but now they're in. First and foremost, up front we have a set of 13" Cobra cross-drilled rotors peeking through the wheels (left), clamped by C4 Corvette calipers from PBR. Pads are NAPA Ceramix which are supposed to create less brake dust. Also bought new FRPP A-arms, Steeda X2 ball joints, SN95 Mustang spindles and hubs, Bilstein Y2K Cobra R struts with slightly modified valving, Maximum Motorsports bump steer kit and caster/camber plates, and a set of good used 1988 Turbo Coupe springs.

Out back there are the 11.65" Cobra rotors with matching calipers, and Bilstein Cougar/T-Bird shocks (which have been discontinued since I bought them).

Another view under the hood. Note the caster/camber plates installed.