This 1968 Mercury Cougar XR7 (Vin - 8F93F586717 ) was built as a Trans Am tribute racer by Scotty Hackenson of Cobra Automotive in Wallingford, Connecticut. Its current owner acquired the car in 2018 and has done all necessary maintenance, refreshes and repairs to compete in 3 SVRA and CSRG races at Sonoma, Laguna Seca and Thunderhill between 2019 and 2022. Since then it has been garage kept and regularly started and driven within the Thunderhill paddock to ensure the car remains in good order.
The car has a 347ci Ford V8 that was built in 2015 by RC Performance in Huntington Beach, California with a Dart Iron Eagle block, JE pistons and AFR aluminum heads. Power is sent to the rear wheels through a 4-speed Ford Toploader
transmission and 9″ rear end with a limited-slip differential. Other details include a 6-point roll cage, OMP racing seat (Vintage Kirkey racing seat also still available) , recent GF six point harness, a Safecraft fire suppression system, a new Pyrotect fuel cell and fuel pump & fuel lines installed in 2019, disc brakes all around and 15″ Torque Thrust wheels. This Cougar is now offered in California by the current owner on a bill of sale.
The 347ci Ford V8 was built by RC Performance of Huntington Beach, California around 2015 with the following components:
Dart Iron Eagle block
JE pistons
K-1 4340 forged crank
Eagle connecting rods
AFR #1450 205cc aluminum heads
ATI damper
Canton road racing oil pan
Victor Jr aluminum intake manifold
Demon 750 carburetor
Mallory distributor
Hedman headers
Open exhaust with passenger side exit
Edelbrock aluminum water pump and Griffin radiator
This engine has had a maximum 20 hours of run time through 5 track days and 3 race weekends in the last 10 years.
The engine is backed by a Lakewood scatter shield with a Centerforce clutch and a 4-speed close ratio Ford Toploader with a Hurst shifter. The rear end is a 9″ Ford unit equipped with a limited-slip differential and 3.70 gearing
The suspension was set up by Cobra Automotive for vintage racing and includes Koni dampers, Magna Series rear springs with aluminum spacers, and a Panhard rod.
The exhaust was updated from a straight L pipe to a double exhaust underneath the body of the car to make the car compliant to the typical 103db noise level restrictions in force at most race tracks.
At the hands of the current owner, the car has been able to set the following competitive times:
Laguna Seca: 1.45
Sonoma: 1.54
Thunderhill: 2.07
The car has SVRA & CSRG Logbooks
