Tracy's Cougar- Help Needed

Gebruder Gumbold · August 2011

Cheers All,
Now that the DBS is completed (but never finished- it is an Aston!), I am turning my sights to the companion car- Tracy's Cougar.

I know absolutely nothing about these cars, save that they are getting harder to find.
Let's start with the basics- what year, was it a 6 or 8 cyl, autobox or manual?
Photo sources would also be wonderful.
Had a ski rack too- any ideas there?
I have ordered up a BCC version from Ebay. Not bad for a start...

Thank you, Tom
OHMSSDBS.com

Donald Grant · August 2011

If memory serves, the car is a 1969 Mercury XR7 Cougar. The XR7 being the premium version. They are somewhat rare particularly in convertible livery. Lincoln/Mercury was the premium brand of Ford, however as of this year Mercury is no longer available and I believe only Lincoln and Ford exist. I know this because I lease the last year for one of the Mercury SUV's.

I think the Mercury Cougar only lasted from about 1967 to 1973. Although a different body, the underpinnings of the 1969 Mercury Cougar XR7 are basically Ford Mustang. I too thought about getting one but for my daughter who's middle name is Teresa. You guessed it, I call her Tracy and I'm the only one in the family to do so. However, she's still young and I have a quite a few years to accomplish this.

Stacy David on the television show Gears recently did a resto-mod of a Mercury Cougar and referenced West Coast Classic Cougar as "The" place for hard to find parts:

http://www.cougarpartscatalog.com/

Wish I could be more helpful, but so far I've only done cursory work in this regard. Good luck!

DG

Edit: It was an 8 cylinder.

Double Edit: The Mercury Cougar tail lights are distinctive featuring sequential (chasing effect) turn signals. Shelby used these lights for the 60's Mustang Shelby GT 350 and 500's.

Gadget Meister · August 2011

If I remember correctly, Doug Redinius of the IFF owns the original, complete with the stable blanket on the back seat, may be worth getting in touch with him.

Higgins · August 2011

Gadget Meister wrote:

If I remember correctly, Doug Redinius of the IFF owns the original, complete with the stable blanket on the back seat, may be worth getting in touch with him.

not correct GM

EON still has it

pyrat · August 2011

David Stacy's TV show Gearz did a Cougar project called V8 Interceptor. You might find interesting even though the model Cougar he works on is '67, there are a bunch of links to Cougar parts suppliers. Chief among these suppliers was West Coast Classic Cougar which is actually quite close to you and may be a source for a good project car.

Donald Grant · August 2011

pyrat wrote:

David Stacy's TV show Gearz did a Cougar project called V8 Interceptor. You might find interesting even though the model Cougar he works on is '67, there are a bunch of links to Cougar parts suppliers. Chief among these suppliers was West Coast Classic Cougar which is actually quite close to you and may be a source for a good project car.

I think I pretty much said that. However thanks for the Stacy David link!

DG

Gadget Meister · August 2011

Marcus, I'm sure I saw some pictures of it outside his house, was it on loan?

Higgins · August 2011

well, some pics have been posted by Pete together with the DAD Jaguar and others. I have tried to find them here, but did not succeed.

Edit: Sigh, I have found the pics

http://ajb007.co.uk/topic/33522/james-bond-lifestyle-competitionwinners-announced-in-post-184/page/2/

seems, that I have been wrong and GM is correct. Or have they be loaned by EON?

Apologies, GM! :x

Gadget Meister · August 2011

Love you too, Marcus :x

danjaq_0ff · August 2011

The pics were of me next to the DB5 and TND BMW, I don't remember posting any others

I was always under the impression they were on loan, it might be permanent loan, and he cant sell them?.

I REALLY have my doubts that the blanket is original, the Archive didn't even exist until 95, before that everything was kept in a lock up at Pinewood, unless it was kept by a crew member ? you would need some damn good provenience though.

Higgins · August 2011

Gadget Meister wrote:

Love you too, Marcus :x

now that that's clear :x :x , you should learn to spell me correctly.

It's Mar k us

And please stay in line, Pete was in front of you

Gadget Meister · August 2011

Sorry Markus, was thinking of LeMarchand :v

Higgins · August 2011

Don't worry. Sh*t happens -{

danjaq_0ff · August 2011

8-) Guy love

Aston Martin DBS · August 2011

OK so sorry to interupt the "bromance" here but here's a couple of photo's and what the Ian Fleming Foundation's website has to say about the car

"This 1969 Cougar XR-7 2DR Convertible has a powerful CJ 428 V8 engine, red exterior and black convertable top. It was used extensively in the production, from the pre-title sequence all the way through to the chase in the Swiss alps. It has been well cared for and is in remarkable shape for its age."

You can visit their website at http://www.ianflemingfoundation.org/main.htm and there's some nice photo's of their other vehicles too!

Now the above webpage doesn't elaborate on the actual ownership but in this article on the Cinema Retro magazine's website they state that the IFF have acquired the car.

http://www.cinemaretro.com/index.php?/archives/2400-CLASSIC-JAMES-BOND-CAR-MAKES-A-PIT-STOP-IN-NEW-JERSEY.html

Chicago Metromix has a photo of Doug Redenius who is the president of the IFF with the Cougar and the DAD Jaguar (all big cats together). You can see the photo here http://chicago.metromix.com/home/photo/doug-redenius-next-to/771043/content and the article explains that in the description of the engine being a "CJ 428 V8 engine" the CJ stands for "Cobra Jet".

The Internet Movie Car Database has some interesting coments about various people knowing the people who owned the original cars - don't know if you'd perhaps be able to get any assistance from them - they might not be as nice and helpful as the good people of ajb

http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_6081-Mercury-Cougar-1969.html

Just a little question but if the convertable/soft top version is uber rare couldn't you buy a hardtop and er convert it into a convertable? Or does such a question show my complete lack of knowledge on pretty much most things mechanical and car?

Had a quick look on ebay and there are a couple of cars for sale at the minute that are convertables

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mercury-Cougar-XR-7-1969-Mercury-Cougar-XR-7-Convertible-/330603099637?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item4cf97af5f5

That one is a bit battered looking but the second one I found looks at first glance quite sceen accurate

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mercury-Cougar-1969-Mercury-Cougar-Convertible-/120765941289?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item1c1e360629#v4-40

And here's some of the photo's of the car from Ebay

So there you go - don't know if any of the above will be of help - but it gave me a good excuse to look at some nice Bond photo's for a while. And the best of luck in getting this project off the ground - if you do as well as you did with the OHMSS DBS then I for one can't wait to see the end results and hope that you'll add the new project to your website!

EDIT

Since writing the above I've been wracking my brain thinking where I've heard the phrase "Cobra Jet Engine" before and it turns out that the Cougar wasn't the only 007 film car to feature a Cobra Jet engine as you'll find out from this article from Commander Bond Dot Net

http://commanderbond.net/2438/diamonds-are-forever-mustang-mach-1-showcased-at-l-a-auction.html

And it makes sense that the 1969 OHMSS Cougar had a CJ 428 Engine and the 1971 DAF Mustang had a CJ 429 engine as this must be a later model of the engine.

Donald Grant · August 2011

That's excellent Aston Martin DBS! Thanks for all the information.

DG

Aston Martin DBS · August 2011

Donald Grant wrote:

That's excellent Aston Martin DBS! Thanks for all the information.

DG

Thanks for your kind words DG. B-)

doublenoughtspy · August 2011

danjaq_0ff wrote:

I REALLY have my doubts that the blanket is original, the Archive didn't even exist until 95, before that everything was kept in a lock up at Pinewood, unless it was kept by a crew member ? you would need some damn good provenience though.

Um, I'm not sure if he is claiming to have the original, as I'm the one that owns the original blanket - and I have the provenience and it is solid.

danjaq_0ff · August 2011

doublenoughtspy wrote:

danjaq_0ff wrote:

I REALLY have my doubts that the blanket is original, the Archive didn't even exist until 95, before that everything was kept in a lock up at Pinewood, unless it was kept by a crew member ? you would need some damn good provenience though.

Um, I'm not sure if he is claiming to have the original, as I'm the one that owns the original blanket - and I have the provenience and it is solid.

With it being yours, I have no Doubt Charles -{, now wait for the onslaught of who made it emails and or do you want to sell it

doublenoughtspy · August 2011

danjaq_0ff wrote:

With it being yours, I have no Doubt Charles -{, now wait for the onslaught of who made it emails and or do you want to sell it

Haha too true! Markus already sent one!

)

Higgins · August 2011

But I did not ask to sell it.....

(and have not received a reply yet....)

Aston Martin DBS · August 2011

Forgive me if I'm wrong here but weren't there two blankets in the scene - one for Bond and one for Tracey whilst they're in their separate beds? Could they perhaps both be original blankets?

And if you want to see the photo of the blanket then you can see if here on the forum at this page:

http://ajb007.co.uk/topic/33522/james-bond-lifestyle-competitionwinners-announced-in-post-184/page/2/

Is this like your blanket or just a similar one?

danjaq_0ff · August 2011

Aston Martin DBS wrote:

Forgive me if I'm wrong here but weren't there two blankets in the scene - one for Bond and one for Tracey whilst they're in their separate beds? Could they perhaps both be original blankets?

And if you want to see the photo of the blanket then you can see if here on the forum at this page:

http://ajb007.co.uk/topic/33522/james-bond-lifestyle-competitionwinners-announced-in-post-184/page/2/

Is this like your blanket or just a similar one?

I think Tracy had the blanket? anyway why would you carry 2 picnic blankets? I dont think they intended to use it as bedding

danjaq_0ff · August 2011

doublenoughtspy wrote:

danjaq_0ff wrote:

With it being yours, I have no Doubt Charles -{, now wait for the onslaught of who made it emails and or do you want to sell it

Haha too true! Markus already sent one! )

Don't let him tempt you with his sausage :v

Aston Martin DBS · August 2011

Have a look at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTdlxUzjv_E - there were 2 blankets in the barn - not sure of the logic there either danjaq_0ff - unless the blankets were already in the barn and the couple just planned to use them?

danjaq_0ff · August 2011

Aston Martin DBS wrote:

Have a look at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTdlxUzjv_E - there were 2 blankets in the barn - not sure of the logic there either danjaq_0ff - unless the blankets were already in the barn and the couple just planned to use them?

Hmmm, Horse blankets and not picnic blankets ?, I cant get the video to run, it says it is being processed

Aston Martin DBS · August 2011

mmm, Horse blankets and not picnic blankets ?, I cant get the video to run, it says it is being processed

Well lets just say that being processed is the story of my life! LOL

But back to the blankets I think that you might be right as the proposal scene does end with there being two horses in the barn - Hope that Mr & Future Mrs Bond snugled the horses up in their blankets before they went for a ski to get away from that bloke who looks like Kojack! LOL

Aston Martin DBS · August 2011

As I'm still being processed you can have a look at the video clip via the following link to download it - if you're interested people

http://www.mediafire.com/?s4mo8gvtjsa1v

But it is 2 blankets - honest!

Gebruder Gumbold · August 2011

Well done everyone!
It is great to have such knowledgable bretheren!
We will be scouting for Cougars at a local muscle car convention, called "Good Guys" here in CA on Saturday, then rushing down to a Judge's Receiption on the eve of the Hillsborough Concours, our second competative event with the OHMSSDBS.
We have made a lovely new display board, on stretched canvas, which we will be posting after the event, and "we have made some improvements to her since last time..."
Cheers, Tom

ics · August 2011

nice project... Love the car -{

Aston Martin DBS · September 2011

Gebruder Gumbold wrote:

Well done everyone!
It is great to have such knowledgable bretheren!
We will be scouting for Cougars at a local muscle car convention, called "Good Guys" here in CA on Saturday, then rushing down to a Judge's Receiption on the eve of the Hillsborough Concours, our second competative event with the OHMSSDBS.
We have made a lovely new display board, on stretched canvas, which we will be posting after the event, and "we have made some improvements to her since last time..."
Cheers, Tom

Hi Tom

Just wondered if you'd had any luck finding a Cougar yet?

And how did you get on at the Hillsborough Concours?

Tracy's Cougar- Help Needed

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