Featured Car
1970 Standard
Owner Matt Tieken
Lake Dallas, Texas
I have had a love affair with Cougars (especially ‘70’s) for about 10 years. I had to sell a basket case of a daily driver when I was 21 and couldn’t wait till I would get my hands on another one.
I bought this 1970 standard from the original owner’s daughter after he died. The daughter didn’t have anywhere to put it so she decided to sell it. It had a good interior except for seat covers and headliner and had no rust on the body. Best of all, it had all of the trim pieces intact and very little damage. The car has a 351C 2v engine with an FMX transmission and a 3.00:1 open diff.
I spent the first few months driving it and burning the rubber off the little 14” tires that came with it. After that, Sheila and I decided to drive it from our wedding to the reception, so I knew I had some work to do.
I started by hunting a body shop to do the work. Not being from the area, I was flying blind. There was a guy a few doors down with a nice Buick Grand National that I had seen a lot, so I asked him where he got his work done and he told me of a shop in Irving. I took the car down there, got an estimate and decided to go for it.
I immediately started taking off trim pieces, gutting the interior and refurbishing everything that I could. It took three weeks to tear down the car. I took the car in and started ordering stuff from West Coast Classic Cougar. I was as surprised as anyone when they called after three weeks and told me the car was ready.
It took another three weeks to put it back together and get a headliner and seat covers on it. I still have a long way to go, but it was good enough for Sheila to ride in after the wedding!
