unofficial corvette info

Nathan Summers' 1967 Cougar

©by Nathan Summers

click on any picture for a larger image

Nathan restored this car from the ground up. This was a two-year labor of love. Sandblasting, body panels and beautiful upholstery.

Nathan is really proud of this Cougar. It is a beautiful work. Looks like it is off the show room floor. Some things better than new. Nathan used a performance engine directly from Ford's Clevland plant!

He keeps the steering wheel out of the car so no one will ask to borrow it. And he's promised to send better pictures when he gets the Cougar on the road; so you might want to keep an eye on this site.

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Saturday, 04 October 03

Nate,

Your cougar has been getting a lot of hits! Some are asking when the updated pictures are coming.

Do you have the car on the road yet? What does it feel like to drive it? I'll bet it's great!

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04 October 03

Hi Dean,

Yea its running and driveable. It sounds a little hotter than a newer mustang Cobra GT with custom exhaust. It moves a little better than a big block did in a 67 Cougar back in those days. The steering is super nice like a brand new 67 Cougar. Those were the good old days when cars had a lot of personality (Ha! Sound like my dad now). I have it all shinned up and ready to cover for winter and I just haven't had a chance to take more pictures yet. I will try to get some this week. The next 3 weeks are really busy though.

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04 October 03

Thanks, Nate.

Take the pics when you get a chance - don't rush. And keep that car in good shape, I might want to borrow it for next summer!

BTW: Today, I was in Cougar Gulch installing underground piping in a garage and had my good shirt on (see the house at www.idahocontractor.com). I brought a work shirt with me but couldn't find it (usually keep them in the back seat of my pickup). Well, I was almost finished and had just glued up two pieces of ABS with the black glue. I lost my grip on one piece and it dropped in the sand. I picked it up and tried to clean the sand out of the glue when I lost control of the pipe and wiped it across my good shirt. Wasn't going to take it home and let the bride see that! Anyway, when I got back to the truck, there was my work shirt on the passenger front seat!

Today was such a nice day, 80+ degrees on the fourth of October - we never would have seen weather like that in Seattle! Well, I drove from the job site, in my F350, with my windows down. This truck came with one of those Sony boxes mounted in the back and it makes my speakers max out at volume three! Anyway, it was a beautiful day for a drive with the windows down and the music loud!

I pulled onto Highway 95 and punched it (the limit is 60 and I wanted to get there). I should tell you, a couple weeks ago I tuned my chip with a Superchips Microtuner that I purchased from www.truckracingparts.com/ and my 2000 F350 has got power! Well, I said I punched it and just as I was easily making my way past this Chevy the map on my dashboard went flying out the window. I couldn't stop and get it so I drove down the road til I found a place to turn around. I turned left into a new road they're punching through just south of CdA and backed back onto the highway pointing the other way. Well, I crammed the stick into third by mistake and stalled out the truck - sitting in the lane! Not to worry, I quickly restarted and shifted to first, then because of the traffic gaining behind me, I punched it - this time I intended to really get there! I could not believe it, my dually, diesel truck spun rubber for fifty feet! and the traffic in my mirror quickly became little specs. The Superchips is a real good tuner.

BTW: Thought you might like a picture of my truck. Had some but couldn't find them. However, I took one today while doing the pipe job. Only have a shot of the rear, will get some other pics later. Speaking of working, I have a vice - yeah, just like on your work bench with six inch jaws - that plugs into my trailer hitch receiver. Makes for easy work on the tough jobs. Had that custom built, I'll take a pic sometime and post it here.

Do you like my roll-up tonneau cover? That's made by Access and I got that also at TruckRacingParts.com.

Well, see ya' and God bless.

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Monday, 06 October 03

Hi Dean,

Here are some more pictures. Also, here is a little more history on the cougar that your visitors may be interested in.

I bought this car out of a field here. It had mice in it, real cute field mice with big ears. Channey took them out to the field behind us (this is one woman not afraid of a mouse). Every nut and bolt on this car was removed. Everything was rebuilt or replaced using as many new/old stock parts as possible. We put the car on a rotisserie, cut out all the rust and repaired the body; resealed the seams better than factory. We also upgraded the insulation above the headliner etc., so it is super quiet as far as wind and road noise are concerned (You can still hear the roar of the mighty little motor!).

The engine and transmission are brand new Ford assemblies. Some reproduction parts are available but not like a Mustang where almost everything has been reproduced. This led to many challenges; we had to purchase parts from all over the US to complete this project. I am talking many, many hours of time on the internet, the phone as well as in the garage.

The only thing left to replace now is the radio and I just ordered a new wheel for the spare so it will match the rest of the wheels. - And I am sending the steering wheel to be reconditioned over the winter!

Tell your visitors I am looking for another '67 or '68 cougar to restore. I need something that has a reasonable good body. If you know anyone that may have one, please let me know!!!

Thanks, Nathan