Firing up the ‘67 Mercury Cougar, the gift that keeps giving

POCATELLO, Idaho — It wasn’t my archetypal look astatine the car that stopped me. I’d seen its quality galore times successful photos and video. I’d adjacent lived with it.

It wasn’t the dependable of the engine, either. I’d listened to the debased rumble of the rebuilt 302-cubic-inch motor successful the clips my relative had been texting me. RUM-BLUM-BLUM-BLUM-BLUM. Christmas carols ne'er sounded truthful sweet.

No, it was the odor that got me. Just that faint fragrance of spent petroleum. Just a hint of Eau de Chevron, wafting coming from that V8.

“You tin odor the gas,” I said to Athan Katsilometes, my car-lovin’ relative who has a Master’s from Goodwrench A&M.

He conscionable laughed. He opened the driver’s broadside doorway of this celebrated pony car, a 1967 Mercury Cougar.

“This isn’t the aforesaid car you remember.”

True. This conveyance is thing of a Christmas miracle.

***

That car is simply a ‘67 Mercury Cougar Dan Gurney Special, the vehicular acquisition that keeps connected giving. First purchased successful Chico, California successful 1988. Driven to a coma conscionable to the northbound successful Redding 5 years later. Rescued and rebuilt wherever I americium today, successful Pocatello, much than a decennary ago. Now residing successful Las Vegas. This car has been driven successful the 4 places I’ve lived dating to property 4. We’re practically the aforesaid age. I was a year-old babe erstwhile she came disconnected the assembly enactment successful Dearborn, Mich. successful 1967.

Accelerating done the car’s history, I purchased the Cougar from a pistillate whose parents were the archetypal owners. A beauteous conveyance with a small much than 89,000 archetypal miles. I bought it mostly due to the fact that I loved the assemblage style, a feline design, which is wherefore it wherefore it’s called a “cat.”

I besides liked the Motor Trend Car of the Year 1967 sticker successful the backmost window. It is gold-colored and looks benignant of similar a VIP pass.

I drove the Cougar arsenic my day-to-day car for 5 years, moving from Chico (my 2nd location town, aft Pocatello) to Redding successful 1993. There were assorted missteps and incorrect turns, including my crashing into a pheasant portion roaring past an almond orchard successful Durham, and sliding into a snowfall slope successful Mount Shasta City portion connected my mode to a high-school hoops tournament.

There was wide neglect, excessively — I should person named the car General Neglect, actually. Back then, I was much apt to contention to Reno than alteration the oil.

I yet parked the car, by past unnavigable, successful a retention store successful Redding. That’s wherever it remained, acheronian and dry, for 17 years. A lotta dust, but nary rust.

The car’s resurrection began erstwhile Athan moved to Las Vegas successful 2009, moving the HR section for the institution that laid the factual for City Center. Athan comes from the subdivision of the household that loves moving connected aged cars. His father, my precocious uncle James, was the aforesaid way. These guys could disassemble and rebuild immoderate vintage car with a crescent wrench, a screwdriver and a tin of WD-40.

I, meanwhile, could not.

Athan bugged maine astir the Cougar for months, earlier I yet cratered. “Take the Cougar,” I said. “Spin your magic.” In the summertime of 2010, I had the car shipped from Redding to Pocatello. Uncle James past took over. He was much than qualified to judge this task. U.J., arsenic I called him, was erstwhile the spot manager for Jim Rogers’ property and car postulation erstwhile astir of that postulation was stored successful Pocatello (so my household has known the Rogers’ household for a truly agelong time).

I felt that turning the car implicit would adjacent retired my engagement with the Cougar. It would unrecorded happily ever aft successful Idaho, oregon wherever Athan coiled up.

Not so.

**

Athan did instrumentality the Cougar from Pocatello, storing it successful his existent location successful Cincinnati. We mislaid U.J. successful October 2018. When U.J. died, helium passed on 2 much vintage cars to Athan (a 1962 Oldsmobile 585 convertible, and a 1955 Chevy 210). Athan already owns a mates of modern-day vehicles, too. You know, the types with cruise control, information packages and backup cameras.

“I person excessively galore cars,” helium yet said, a mates of months earlier pandemic. “Why don’t you instrumentality the Coug back?”

“Are we going to bash this again, with the Cougar?” I said. “I person nary usage for a ‘67 Cougar successful Las Vegas.”

“You could instrumentality a photograph of it successful beforehand of the Welcome to Las Vegas sign,” helium said. “It needs to beryllium determination conscionable for that reason.”

“You marque a persuasive argument,” I said.

I understood Athan’s multiple-vehicle plight. We went astir and astir the Cougar cul-de-sac, figuring retired if and however this car would beryllium returned to my possession. We investigated shipping it connected a flatbed from Cincinnati to Vegas, which would outgo astir $1,700 that I wasn’t anxious to spend. I asked Athan, “What benignant of information is this car in, anyway?”

“I’d thrust it to Las Vegas tomorrow.”

The car had been totally, cosmetically restored. New transmission, springs, tires, rear-sequential process lights (the car’s fancy, signature effect), and, astir important, a rebuilt 302 V8 to regenerate the origina 289, which was highly bushed aft logging astir 100,000 pugnacious miles.

Finally, connected May Day, I flew to Cincinnati and met up with Athan, and the Cougar, astatine the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. This was not the aforesaid car. It looked similar it belonged successful a magazine, oregon possibly successful Dan Gurney’s store successful 1967. Athan had installed an after-market stereo, with a Bluetooth link, and had “Tush” by ZZ Top cued up (Billy F. Gibbons, a noted vintage-car aficionado, had taken a peculiar involvement successful this roadworthy trip).

We dubbed the upcoming adventure, “66 successful a 67,” arsenic I was driving astir of the trek connected Route 66. Driving westbound connected I-74 from Cincy, I would prime up from the celebrated road successful St. Louis, stopping successful Lebanon, Missouri; Amarillo, Texas and into Flagstaff, Arizona earlier peeling disconnected astatine Kingman and into Las Vegas. The full travel would screen astir 2,000 miles successful 30 hours, the MPG moving retired to betwixt 12 and 15.

This was not a scenic, sight-seeing trip, nor was it a parade to amusement disconnected the Cougar. I pushed this vintage conveyance arsenic if it were a banal car, averaging (and I americium not exaggerating) astir 85 mph the full way. I played a batch of classic-rock, fitting the car’s vibe, AC/DC, Rush, Queen, Led Zeppelin and (of course) ZZ Top. And I covered astatine slightest fractional of The Beatles’ catalogue.

I stopped astatine the Munger Moss Motel successful Lebanon, wherever proprietor Ramona Lehman told maine to instrumentality a photograph successful beforehand of the celebrated neon sign. The spot celebrated its 50th day successful June. “Everyone needs to instrumentality a representation astatine the sign,” she said. “It’s the prettiest motion westbound of the Mississippi.”

I rolled into the Longhorn Hotel Big Texan Steak Ranch successful Amarillo, rainfall falling connected the car for the archetypal clip successful astir 30 years. This is location of the 72-ounce steak. Free if you tin devour it, with trimmings. Less than six radical per twelvemonth marque it. The country was outfitted with swinging saloon doors starring to the bathroom.

Next stop, Hotel Monte Vista successful Historic Downtown Flagstaff, was wherever I experienced my lone mechanical glitch. The brake-light power (since replaced) had loosened, leaving those lights on. So I disconnected the artillery overnight. This was a five-minute hole for Howard DeVore, proprietor of Flagstaff Auto Repair for 35 years this coming May.

I knew I was successful the rigiht spot erstwhile I saw DeVore’s ‘72 El Camino parked retired front.

As Howard syas, “I’m a feline with grey hairsbreadth who knows aged cars.” And those are immoderate bully radical to know.

**

The Cougar landed astatine the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign, the last opus connected the travel being “Red Barchetta” by Rush, blasting from the car’s caller four-speaker system. Glorious. A mates of tourists took a speedy photograph of maine astatine the sign, and I texted that to Athan, immediately, our “Mission Accoplished” moment.

Since, I’ve tooled the Cougar each astir Vegas. I’ve acceptable it up astatine The Nevada Room astatine Commercial Center, Bootlegger Bistro’s Copa Room, and posed with Mark Shunock astatine The Space and David Perrico astatine the Italian American Club. The execs astatine The Strat cleared the main valet/porte cochere for a bid of shots aft a Sammy Hagar show, including 1 with SPI Entertainment laminitis Adam Steck. I’ve had it astatine the Peppermill and nether the lighted dome astatine Plaza, with Circa successful the background.

Brian Newman and I cruised the Strip successful the ‘67 conscionable past week. I felt similar Dan Tanna successful his convertible T-Bird successful the aged “Vega$” TV show, though Tanna was infinitely cooler than americium I.

Passengers usually remark astir the technology. There isn’t any. About six gagues, covering the basics. This car has 2 mirrors, rearview successful the mediate and 1 connected the driver’s broadside (a passenger’s-side reflector is optional, folks). My Infinity QX50 has 2 video screens, and the interior lights up similar a Christmas parade each clip I commencement it. Not the Cougar. It’s each metallic knobs and levers.

I besides took my buddy John Martinez connected a cruise 1 nighttime erstwhile we were astatine Tuscany Suites. He’s a rigger connected the “O” show, hubby of Vegas amusement sensation Anne Martinez, and and besides an old-car buff (as we finished the thrust helium was doing a hunt connected his telephone for aged Corvette Stingrays for sale).

Johnny asked astir the car’s overgarment job, its beauteous sky-blue hue.

“It’s a banal color,” I said. “It’s called Tiffany Blue.”

Knowing his Vegas entertainment, helium said, “That’s a signifier name. You should sanction her Tiffany.”

Tiffany Blue it is. My Christmas acquisition for each time, and present Las Vegas headliner. Catch our amusement successful 2022. These 2 cats are present for the agelong haul.

John Katsilometes’ file runs regular successful the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast tin beryllium recovered astatine reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him astatine jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats connected Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 connected Instagram.