1968 mercury cougar 454 gasser 4 speed project/build

[Mr1963chevy]

if theres one thing you did rite,its chevrolet power,save alot of money and goes much faster.better biult chevy.better quality chevy.longer lasting chevy,easier to get parts for chevy,cost less chevy,better looking chevy,easy horse power chevy,dollar for dollar,pound for pound,cubic inch per cubic inch cant out do a chevy,period.these are facts, not opion!

[1123bokeer]

I love seeing a piece of art come out of a pile of rust like that. I was 17 when I received my 68 Cougar. My dad and I traded wire the guys new house for the car. He had completely restored what needed to be restored on it. No rust spots or anything like that, the body and interior were straight. Just needed paint and a few hoses and transmission. Anyway, I loved it and still do. The original engine blew at 69,000 original miles and I sold it. An "if I knew then what i know now" scenarios.

[TheRocketSilo]

cool , what's the black wire run to ?

[ljdgm]

keeping anything original is wayyyy to easy not to mention the cougar isint a good car to begin with so i made it the baddest car i could and i havent seen one like it.

[ljdgm]

for all the haters. it was either junk it or build a wicked gasser because the car was mostly gone.

[0501999999]

thats the ugliest cougar i have ever seen ...

keep it origonal

[392hemia100]

GOOD JOB! These LOSERS who are dissing your ride never built NUTHIN' in their whole lives or they'd know better and SHUT THEIR PIE HOLES.

[jeepers2655]

right hand steering? or was the pic flipped?

[chargerrt426hemi]

Obviously,you don't know what a muscle car based gasser looks like. There is a lot of difference between a 1955 gasser like the classic chevy 150 and a mid 60's gasser like the mr gasket camaro ...

the differences are a stock body height,big hood scoop,engine near the interior,magnesium mag wheels,and fiberglass front,for examples.

60's gassers have nothing in common with the 50's gassers ...

I will even say that the flat black bug catcher and the skull on the front are ugly

[69Cabeast]

I love this build noramll y I would have said " put a 429 cobra jet in it dont mix breeds " I like all the big three four really AMC but I see where you were going with this its a rebel piece of art its supposed to be outside the box and you did a great job! keep up the great work ! you now have another subscriber

[ljdgm]

You guys are too funny

[OldboySaint]

I can't stand gassers but you did a great job none the less!

[zbadass650]

uhmmm this is distgusting...

[JoeythePope]

Now that it's torn down again take most of that crap off, sit it back to a normal height, drop a 351 in it, paint it anything but yellow, and you'll have a BEAUTIFUL ride! Or just paint it a nice color and take the garbage off the front, either way.

[bigggmustang73]

Most people would have junked that car. Way to save it and make it into something cool.

[MrPsyban]

Perfect! I love it when ppl do their own work.

[JPmixet]

AWESOME GASSER!!!! What was your budget??? I have plans to do the same to my 64 Galaxie...but not using a chevy motor...EEEEWWWWWWW....LMAO!!!­!

[eSLAPS530]

was switching driver sides necessary? over all I like the whole engine swap and the chain hurst shifter cool littel detail. Im sure your car is beastin. Drag strip vids would be cool too!!!

[mengle2004]

awesome

[ljdgm]

@mengle2004 Thank you

[dozar1]

nice engine, everything elss bad. sorry

[ljdgm]

@dozar1 i see your a chevy guy lol

[dozar1]

@ljdgm i have a 68 cougar to, i just got it. check out the video...but chevys are bad ass to..

[EASTEDERD]

putting a cheby POS is was the wrong thing to do.... Larry who designed the bbc also designed the bbf and the big block ford was an improved version of the cheby junk...come on man! its a Mercury not a cheby

[Zman700T]

Looks like you got your fair share of haters...I've owned '67-'68 Cougars in the past and like the car....not all too crazy about stuffing Chevs into Fords, but I've been guilty of doing the same thing in the past too. :) ..

I built my latest on a budget too, and you use what you got....cool build ..

[bw920056]

this car is awesome. like the straight axel. looks like a old amt 3 n 1 kit.remember them?nice build.the people that dont like the car were probably born after 1965!

[ljdgm]

@bw920056 lol i agree even though i was born in 1992=P

[zenREVolution]

idk about all of you saying its looks terrible but i look at the car and its performance over the paint ... its whats inside that makes a true american classic not a layer of paint and primer.... dont be so close minded you picky bitches

[euqip]

This car appears to be in the US. American license plates US flag on neightbors house. Why the swap to RHD?

[mrdylan828]

Id drive it

[jakevail]

my uncle had 3 cougars when i was a kid, 1 ran and the others were for parts, love the look of that build. i'd probably go for more of a stock look and black paint but that ride is definitely badass and i applaud you for doing that on a tight at home budget

[EpaEinar]

Really cool car! I´ve got a -69 cougar conv myself. :) But I also wonder why you built it to right hand drive?

[tjames722]

It's nice-ish. Not a fan of the skulls & whatever that random tank on the front is, but it's nicer than my Cougar...bc I don't have one D:

Anyway, why right-hand drive? Did you convert it that way for a particular reason, or did you get it that way?

[eyeball54f1]

dude why the chevy?

[cower16]

wow people talk alot of crap that is one badass build end of story great job

[narutosfoxdemon]

ok the car is great!!!! but just why right hand side drive? just to try something diffrent?

[zarcon666666]

Very cool,nice to see old school creativity. I dont understand why its so taboo to mix parts from different makers. Chevy guys put ford rear ends in their cars and thats perfectly acceptable. If your goal is to go fast , or build something without breaking the bank, chevy is the only way to go.The guys who say you didnt do a great job are just jealous.They needs to go back to their xbox and leave the car building to the men.Cutting down peoples things makes them feel better about themselves

[427FEguy]

I hate to say it because I also love my fords and my family owns a couple of cougars of this same age but you did ruin this cougar by putting the pos chevy engine in it

[axe2210]

this is a very nice car! looks like alot of hard for it!! im fixing to get started on a cougar exactly like that !! but if you can .. let me know how much u actually spent on it .. cause i know that rust is a pain in the ass especially on the panels... message me all that info if you would like .. love the car! GREAT JOB

[ruwithlee1970]

Why did you change it to a right hand drive car ?

[Booban8]

gorgeous car man. you did a beautiful job. dont listen to the haters. i have huge respect for guys who save old cars and take good care of them. well done!

[qwerter92]

Probably already answered but what is that tank in the front for?

[kjj0506]

To each their own. I dig Gasser style cars and not everyone has a big budget. While this car isn't my flavor I bet you two had fun building together. That and the fact that you have fun driving it is what counts.

Don't let the trolls get you down. It's easy to sit behind a computer and bag on people. They are probably just hurt because they got dropped by a yellow Chevy/Cougar thing.

Kudos to you and your pops for not just sitting in front of the TV!

[suehufstutler]

I think this car is COOL. I had a 429 SCJ Torino years ago, it was a really cool car but it was very expensive and broke a lot. A 454 with a good tune could walk it every time. This inspires me to find a '70 Torino and stick a 454 and a muncie in it. Any of you Ford guys got one for sale?

[19cougar87]

I absolutely love cougars but i have to say it was a decent idea but VERY BAD EXECUTION!!!!!

[ljdgm]

@19cougar87 oh really? how is it bad execution. i would like to ask what you wouldve built if you had such a tight budget?

[19cougar87]

@ljdgm Well for starters i never would of but a chevy motor in a ford. Oh and i bet that u have more money in that cougar with ur "tight" budget than i have stuck in mine.. By the way u never say but how much money do u guys actually have in the car? Just wondering how tight of budget it really was.

[zarcon666666]

@19cougar87 great looking Cougar gasser, very cool.  Nice to see some old school creativity. Time well spent. Thanks for showing it.

[Thunderstruck951]

They ruined an American classic. It would take a lot of work to fix that car. People with such bad taste should be driving a Toyota.

[ljdgm]

@Thunderstruck951 ruined an american classic huh? funny bc the car roamed the streets hauling ass...when it was going to be scrapped. idk whats worse a cougar with a chevy in it or you complaining bc we saved a car. become a muscle car guy not just strictly one make or model.

[midnitesquirldog]

chevy motors are cheap! but you should of used a ford 460 engine there around but not cheap like A chevy is !!

[mrfordmerc]

its a ford u dumb fuck why would u put a shitty chevy crap in it. do u know what GMC STANDS FOR GENERIC MADE CRAP.

[ljdgm]

@mrfordmerc well if you were a real car guy youd like cars not just fords. fords are nice but unless your paying for my engine i put what had. so stop being a dick. and stop being so narrow minded. open your mind up bitch

[Nicolais73]

@mrfordmerc don't be an asshole it's just father son project, respect them...

[goddarddrumrEB]

@mrfordmerc Quarter mile time. BHP. Foot pounds torque. Those are the things that count

[MrBlackbrad]

@mrfordmerc fuck a for gm is were its at ur jus hatin cause ur bitch ass cant afford one

[FASTOLDSMOBILES99]

it looks like something mad max would do...pretty cool

[FASTOLDSMOBILES99]

really cool but different car but why did you put the steering wheel on the right side

[ljdgm]

@FASTOLDSMOBILES99 because i new you were going to ask=]

[Sledkid15]

ugliest cougar i have ever seen, they ruined it =.(....

[ljdgm]

@Sledkid15 no way. think what you want. deffinatly one of the fastest. think what you want man. but we wanted to be even more different than a regular cougar

[Thunderstruck951]

@ljdgm There is a line between having a car that is different and having a car that is wrong. This car is certainly wrong.

[touchsmart0]

@Sledkid15 couldnt say it any better

[cpgixxer]

I like it, fuck all the haters

[cpgixxer]

I like it, unique, fuck all the haters.

[tistrisha]

you should rebuild mine. its a piece of shit

[dalestuff]

Looks mean, but why not show it in motion? otherwise- --cute lawn ornament!

[ljdgm]

@dalestuff haha i would but you see i dont have a camera. and now its apart anyway lol looking for a vw bug or a 280 datsun to put the big block in

[cougarman01]

Front head light assembly weighs 50 lbs each? Chev motor in a Ford?????

[chanceklein76]

your stupid for doin that to the couger man, oh and it sits way too high in the front, y cant people just put the car back to the origanal state, it would be worth alot more if you didnt chop it up

[ljdgm]

@chanceklein76 alright look the cougar in xr7 form fully restored with a 302 auto is worth no more than 20k. we got out cougar rotted. 1 frame rail gone every panel needing to be redone no trans or engine and a shot rear. no interior except shit seats and a decent dash. we got the POS for 800 bucks. and made it into this. and its a gasser its meant to sit like that. look it up. and this car fully restored without matching #s isnt work 10k. now we have a 500 hp big block gasser race car so deal

[dodgestilldeath]

@chanceklein76 then you should have bought it instead. god damn. did you ever stop to think that there are some people out there who dont give two shits about resale value? build it the way you want. its yours. keep hotrodding alive. thats a sweet ride that was saved from the crusher. a real car guy would thank him for that.

[bree7878]

you need to make the front end lower to the ground and the rear end up in the air more

[Ranger543]

thats cool nice to see cars with character being built.

[deannaber]

I just love what you did with the right hand drive!!! is it the original box did? you find one from down under? please enlighten me im considering making my 69 camaro right hand drive and into a gasser just to be different like what you and your son have done!! BRAVO!!!

[ljdgm]

@deannaber haha well thanks bud. It is a box from a 68 cougar. when from the inside of the left rail to the outside of the right. some cutting in the engine comp. works great

[FASTOLDSMOBILES99]

@ljdgm pretty cool but different car just wondering why did you make into a right hand drive but its pretty cool looks like something mad max would do

[82hotrod]

please please dont tell me thats a chevy sittin in there!!..

[ljdgm]

@82hotrod Sure is bud! its what we could afford!

[82hotrod]

@ljdgm hey man thats cool though! just glad ta see some muscle bein played with! look sweet though man deffinantly somethin different:)

[70goldtop]

@82hotrod If I could give you a bazillion thumbs up I would.

[Suazovic]

"OMG a Chevy motor on a Ford! OMG right hand spec, this is America not Japan or England! OMG a GM color!!"

To all haters, its not your car, so shut the fuck up!!!

[chanceklein76]

@Suazovic hey man fuck you, thats bull shit. the only reason people put chevy shit in fords is because they cost less, and theyre made cheaper too. you build a ford engine, and you build it once if you do it right, and if you dont think thats true then you can go fuck yourself. pussy

[transameric]

damn nice i wana build one of these sooo bad out of a pinto wagon lol, but ive never thought of a cougar gasser i love it why was it right hand drive tho?

[ljdgm]

@transameric haha we get this alot. because we knew you were going to ask=]

[thekidofmany]

hey man, im sure this question has been asked b4, but how much have you put into this car so far?

[ljdgm]

@thekidofmany yo man weve got quite a bit in this car id say roughly 10k and that includes the new engine rebuild and now we have amuncie too. so 10k roughly

[thekidofmany]

@ljdgm hey, that aint to bad, that is actually relative affordable i think, i want to build a car like this with my dad, the only other question i have is did you have the engine on hand and just cleaned it up or did you by a rebuiolt engine or something ?

[ljdgm]

@thekidofmany well we got the engine with a spun rod bearing and we rebuilt it. with a cut crank. was rerung and had new bearings with stock bore and stroke. with stock heads and stock 8.2 Cr with a big ol cam with the tunnel ram. but now its .060 over with pocket ported heads with low compression hoping for a blower soon. but it was a rebuild. anymore questions man i love answering them

[Huber1116]

WOnderful job man. What did you mean "Its torn back down" though?

[ljdgm]

thanks a lot man it means a lot. and now we re did the engine. bored to a 468 rebuilt. hopefully with the new stuff like cam and shit in the engine hoping for around 500 hp N/a Thanks though!

[crabpeoples]

that shifter is sick lol.

[ljdgm]

haha thanks dude. its home made. wanted it chrome but too expensive.

[crabpeoples]

@ljdgm no way, you gotta leave it all rustic n shit, some mad max type stuff.lol.

[xRASPADOx310]

ur an idiot ur calling urself a cock suker u fukn idiotic ass pussy..with ur cougar ss looking like an idoit..i have a 65 fastback ss vtec..hahaha thats how rediculous ur car is

[ljdgm]

haha your funny. id call you a kid but your 27 playing COD haha and posting vids. And all the SS is there for is to piss people like you off. so listen 1 learn to spell and insult better then that. Let me see what you build tough shit? and do you know what. unless you plan on paying for our parts shut the fuck up. we build what we can afford and i garentee its cooler than anything you have. weird everyone else but 3 assholes seem to like it. dont watch it if your going to bitch bro

[xRASPADOx310]

@ljdgm wtf mt bro with the 72 Nova isnt posting them vids and me his lil bro is, and i have a 72 Maverick with a 351c and im 15!!!!!! fukin dumbass peice of SHiT!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ljdgm]

well i take what everyone says with a grain of salt. so show me vids. and chill out man. listen you shit on my car. i dont care. your just narrow minded. all car guys should like that we saved one more muscle car from the scrap yard. you got nice cars more power to you. i love them. but when car guys shit on a guy about his car? why? were not import guys. were american muscle? cant we remotly stick together. but people like you ruin that

[RJJDJ]

but u guys are still stoopid.. u dont put a chevy engine on a ford..trust me i wouldnt be the only one too tell u this..plus i have a 72 nova with a 454 big block u cock suker

[ljdgm]

calm down, and thats mr. cock sucker to you. and i know that. but its mean to piss off the ford guys chevy guys dont really care. the ford guys are anal. chill. were not stupid. unless your suplying the money for my build shut the fuck up

[RJJDJ]

this guys an idiot putting a chevy engine on a merc...and then right hand side drive...lol by the way a merc is ford for all u guys that are confused like this guy..

[ljdgm]

i have no idea what your talking about. but honestly you dont have any info on what you drive or can do to back you up. and we did it too be different. you dont like it i dont care at all lol. i do.

[79USA1]

NICE MERC!!!

Big Block Chevy in a Mercury...too cool. Just needs fender well headers.

AWESOME father & son project!! You guys should be proud.

[ljdgm]

thanks a lot buddy! and we wish we could afford those headers but our set was 37 bucks on ebay=]

[the5445]

lower the frint end

[ljdgm]

nah its a gasser its meant to look like that.

[the5445]

really? it makes it look ugly

[ljdgm]

look up on youtube. Gasser. its a drag racing thing from the 60s. its cool its a cool look but its cool if you dont like it

[the5445]

o i see, i will look it up then. thanks

[ljdgm]

yeah dude. its a cool thing. its really its own style. but personally its all about being different

[coronet1966]

I love it, i wouldnt have done a bbc but i bet the parts were cheaper. I agree with carrie post a vid with that beast running!

[ljdgm]

sorry about the BBC. but we got a hell of a deal on it....free. haha it needed work but with the BBC we very easily converted it to Right side drive. but thanks for the comment!

[jameskruppa]

a gasser is from from the term "the gasser wars" back in the 60's where they thought the air went under the car instead of over my grandpa use to race in the gasser wars. really cool courgar btw

[the5445]

haha o

[ljdgm]

Thanks dude!

[CarrieEWilson]

you took a basket case and made it bad ass. fuckin wierd, but bad ass. i would have gone with a 428 or 460 but you fellas are obviously chevy guys. but nice job. post a vid of it running!

[03bayouboy]

you RUINT THAT WHOLE DAMN CAR....dumbasses!!!!!!

[ljdgm]

haha thats funny a guy speaking his opinion judging people who doesnt have anything to back him up lol! your funny=] but a rotted out mercury? sure ruined it..your right with a big block...im sure it gets more looks than you and your bicycle

[xbfalcon351coupe]

top work keeping a rusty car back on the road, and for being different! Couple questions - how come you went r/h drive? I'm in Australia - are you guys? Oh, and with the rust, did u end up cutting it out / replacing, or bogging it, or just left it (given the full chassis and no need for so much structural strength in body..) Oh, and pleeeese tell me you replaced the front drum brakes...disc conversions are so cheap n easy with junkyard parts... do it if you haven't ...

[ljdgm]

Well Thanks for the interest my friend. And we are in the eastern US. so no the R/H drive wasnt nessesary but we thought it be something to make everyone this wtf! lol as for the rust it was cut out. except theres a small part of the frame rail that was patch. the rail was gone just metal put over it so we just welded all the metal and it looks real nice. no money in our budget=P and its a Unibody and she twists a bit. and stock drum breaks. 49 ford drums and stock 10 bolt drums=]

[xbfalcon351coupe]

Wow, thats taking dare to be different to new levels (the r/h drive for pure wtf value - love it!!) I can see from other comments the 454 has ruffled a few feathers, but why not? Fantastic motor, and any Ford guys getting the shitz up, what do you think the general design of the cleveland was based on? (and I say this as a 351 cleveland owner and lover..) those drums...while I'm kinda freaking, I said teehee to myself at the 1949 age tho! kepp it up, well done - true hot rod spirit right there..

[ljdgm]

Well may i just say thanks for all this positive stuff! and the brakes are the scariest brakes me and my dad have ever seen. but eventually well get it done when its in the budget. were too busy building a Higher hp 468. hoping for 475 to a more hopeful 500 hp. but now its time for subfame connectors=P but its a unique car thanks a bunch dude!

[xbfalcon351coupe]

hey if you like have a look on my channel, I've got an (Australian) XB Falcon coupe with 351 and 4 speed - check it out..

[Sarcasticscum]

Why not choose a 460 ford for this project?

[ljdgm]

well we wanted to be different but that was after the fact we did what we could afford. and who can refuse a free 454 for some manual labor=]

[Sarcasticscum]

Yea, still a good drag car.

[ljdgm]

but the car most likly wont see the track in a long long time. just getting parts of the engine back from the machine shop. got a lot more done to the car

[Trendyrapslut]

you shouldn't try to be different by going with a chevy. if you haven't been living under a rock, the chevy has already in in thousands of other cars not a chevy. so no, you weren't being different or unique.

[oldsfan61]

sweet ride

[cheeepcherokee]

sweet, good job, gotta love a ford.....powered by chevy, the chevy rallies look good on it too,those are my fav. rims,have you ran the 1/4 w/ it yet?next vid,show the power!

[ljdgm]

nah no 1/4 mile lol all street car=] should be around 425 hp 500 ft lbs once i get acamera ill take a vid of a burnout and a launch

[Trendyrapslut]

how is it a street car with it right hand drive? this isn't fuckin europe

[jameskruppa]

its called one off

[Trendyrapslut]

that doesn't mean anything

[ljdgm]

being different and one off means everything. what would you look at. one of the millions of fucking mustangs or a cougar which isnt special or a cougar right side drive gasser with a big block chevy and a 4 speed?

[Trendyrapslut]

there are not NEARLY as many cougars. especially a 67-70. you would've been different anyway just building one with a FORD engine and just your gasser style as much as it doesn't fit. right hand drive is stupid and there's a reason why all cars are left hand. how are you being different if there's already a country that does that crap?

[jameskruppa]

yeah theres menny country that do that but hes in the US where they dont. hes making one that does leave him alone we all have opinions in europe im sure the hot rodders make cars taht are left hand drive to be different. its called being a leader not a follower

[Trendyrapslut]

no it's called being practical for the roads you actually drive on lol

[jameskruppa]

its practical this cars not driven everyday im sure and when it is its cool and a change

[Trendyrapslut]

no, it's not. it's not practical for the ROADS

[jameskruppa]

if you want to drive it and you built it so you wanted it its practical for you

[jimbooey85]

GASP!!!!!!! A CHEVY ENGINE!!!!!!? Just teasing mate. If it were something like everyone else's, then why would you want it? Dare to be different sir, and for that I tip my hat. I just finished a father/son project with my dad. There's nothing else like it. You have something to be real proud of!

[ljdgm]

thanks a lot buddy! it means a lot!