Words: Tommy Parry
As Bjorn and his family enjoyed a Sunday afternoon bike ride, he spotted a ’67 Mercury Cougar collecting dust on the side of the road. Dust was the least of its issues – it had a tree growing through the engine bay – but he immediately knew he had to have it. This was two years ago, when he and his wife were just discussing adding to their family, and she didn’t like the idea of adding another complication to the matter with a derelict machine like that.
The following year, when his wife was browsing through the funnier listings of Facebook Marketplace to take her mind off the pain of pregnancy, she stumbled upon the very same machine. At just $150, Bjorn decided then and there to pick the car up, much to his wife’s shock – though it did help take her mind off the discomfort.
A day later, Bjorn’s daughter was born, and the following day, he provided his newborn with a steely, dilapidated brother. The car was forklifted over to his house, and as he sat there weighing all the new responsibilities in his life, Bjorn dreamed of fully restoring his new toy. Inspired by a Caterham reproduction he’d seen a few years prior, he wanted a lightweight car – but one with a roof and doors, that wouldn’t give him trouble starting in the winter.
Truth be told, it was a rusted wreck that should’ve been crushed, but Bjorn wanted a challenge. Immediately after he pulled the carpet and found a worrying absence of floorboards, he decided the most practical route to getting this back in shape would be retrofitting it with modern bits. A friend soon after finagled a new chassis for Bjorn, but not just any chassis – it turned out to be Matt Kensith’s 2001 NASCAR Cup car. The body was cut off less than an hour after the Cup car arrived on his doorstep; he couldn’t wait to start the transplant.
By throwing himself into the project, Bjorn put both cars together within two weeks, then took a break from the build to spend time with his wife. One has to make concessions in a healthy relationship.
Returning to his project, he built the inner fenders and the trunk floor, and collected all the necessary sheetmetal to bring the body and the chassis together. After finding a charitable chap in Idaho who had plenty of leftover Cougar parts, he picked up a hood, trunk, two doors and both bumpers for peanuts.
Inspired by Ken Block’s Hoonicorn, he decided he needed a five-foot footprint, so a widebody was in order. The head-scratching process of crafting wide front and rear flares which complemented one another took more time than he’d care to admit, but the finished product was inspiring to say the least.
A week later, he won a 2015 Mustang at a copart auction, and he guessed his way into mounting the 5.0-liter V8 in the Cougar’s bay. To handle that torque, he reassemble the rear suspension with a new 3.22 locked third member, 31-spline chromoly shafts, in a full 9″ floater rear. Above it, he mounted a fuel cell he found for just $20 on the local classifieds, which ought to help put the power to the pavement.
Bjorn’s managed all of this in less than a year’s time, and surprisingly, it hasn’t been all that challenging. Despite caring for a family, he’s been able to avoid financial headaches by staying within his $7,500 budget. In fact, his aluminum flatbar spoiler set him back just $60. Unfortunately, discovering some rust underneath the mounting points added another ten hours to his build, but considering the relatively smooth sailing he’d enjoyed until that point, it’s easy to forget.
With the front end attached, he turned his attentions to fitting the engine’s ancillaries. He modified the upper radiator mounts, cut the bulkhead and then added a flange to fit the new radiator and intake, afterwards sending his ECU off to Ron Francis for a budget flash. With roughly 450 horsepower powering the stripped-out Cougar, he shouldn’t be wanting for power. And he has already bought a nitrous oxide kit with the plan of hitting it with a 150 shot from time to time. Considering the forgotten cars he’s frankensteined together, that’s saying something.
Because the Cup chassis was designed only to turn left, he installed a set of aftermarket upper a-arms to help the tires sit square and level. He had to add an inch to the lower arm, since the new upper is an inch shorter, and he spent some time moving the upper ball joint hole 5/8″. Without a doubt, this was the most challenging aspect of the build thus far.
He then focused on the interior, where he added a custom shifter and pedals along with two Corbeau seats. Though fixed, they still support his frame nicely and offer enough comfort for regular drives around town. After all, the Cougar needs to be comfortable, quick, streetable and stylish.
Once it is complete, he hopes to ruffle a few feathers, try his hand at autocross and run faster than 175 at Bonneville. With his ambition and the good luck he’s enjoyed so far, he should be able to do all of them—knock on wood.
To keep tabs on Bjorn’s build, you can visit his thread here.
