'71 Cougar

Automotive Cars
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My first car was a '71 Cougar. My second car was a '71 Cougar. My third and fourth cars were… '73 Cougars. The only difference was a slightly different grill. I believe the kits marketed by MPC as '71’and '73 models all used the '71 molds, but I can’t be certain. In any event I’m doing a '71 version with this kit:

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It has the correct hood scoop that came on my car. For obvious reasons, I’m going to build it was it appeared before I let my lack of judgment get carried away…

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After leaving Hawaii I went to school in Florida. That symbol never meant anything to me either way - every student at my high school it seems sported it in some way or another on their vehicles. Similarly when I moved to Michigan no one ever seemed to mind it.

So…I’ll do it pre-paint job - black, with the rotting out quarter panels. Michigan winters are tough on cars. The car was only seven years old when I bought it - for $400. Original MSRP I believe was around $3500. The guy who sold it to me needed to ditch it quick - he had just joined the Marines. I even remember my old license plate number that I’ll put on it. Pretty cool and easy to remember: XCX 898

This car wasn’t nearly as quick as my yellow one I bought in New Orleans before enlisting - extremely modified 351 Cleveland with a 4:11 rear end.
Here it is jumping off (or being jumped off by) my Jade Green XR7.

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Can’t wait to jump in. I loved the profile of the body during those years. Much better when jacked up a few inches - nothing too ridiculous.

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Edit: I just noticed - I had completely forgotten the yellow one bore the name OUTLAW IV.

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Nothing wrong with a Marine Corps sticker on the car. :sunglasses:

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Oddly, I left it on there for a while because I myself had every intention of joing the Marines. I even had the recruiter come out to our garage one day while I was fiddling with the carburetor - putting a manual linkage on it to open it on demand, if I recall. There was a problem with the vacuum somewhere so it seemed like a good fix. I think I got about twelve miles to the gallon. Anyway, my stepfather actually ran the recruiter off. I’d have still enlised anyway but at the eleventh hour I discovered I had a scholarship to any state school, I chose Northern Michigan University where the car enjoyed a bit of fame. Or infamy, however you want to look at it.

I was quite surprised to discover that MPC did indeed change the grills between the '71 and '73 versions. The difference is so slight I’m still going to go with the '73 grill. Maybe I’ll leave it semi-detachable in case I decide to buy an actual '71 kit. I could always do my yellow one…

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