A Racer with History
By Jim Pinkerton
Ever wonder about what became of, say, the first Cougar XR-7, the first XR7-G or the first GT? Well I don't have the answers to those first two "firsts," but I can report that the first Cougar GT is alive and well. OK, at least it's still alive.
Back in 1988, Bart Burroughs of Grants Pass, Ore., wanted to build a
drag race car. He thought an early Mustang or a '67 or '68 Cougar would
make a good candidate. He found a '67 Cougar GT, without the original 390
big block engine or the C6 transmission. This was OK with Bart, as he wanted
to run a built 351 Cleveland engine.
Work began in earnest, with Bart and friends putting in a full roll-cage, tubbing the inner rear fender wells, cutting out the front inner fender aprons and shock towers, notching the firewall to set-back the engine and installing Mustang II front suspension and rack and pinion steering.
Over the years Bart made many further changes and improvements, finally getting the fast cat into the 11.70s. Not bad for a single four barrel carburetor on race-prepped, 2-barrel heads.
In April 2002, Bart decided to give up drag racing and spend more of
his "spare" time with his family. So, he put the fast Cat on eBay, the Internet
auction service. I saw it and sent him an e-mail asking for the VIN and
left door data code plate information on the car, if he had it. He did have
it, and the rest, as they say, is history—in more ways than one.
Bart had no earthly idea that he'd made a race car out of the first Cougar GT. But I did. So, after verifying the facts with Kevin Marti, who has exclusive access to Ford Motor Co. production records for 1967 to 1973, I called Bart with the bad news. To say that he was mortified would be a gross understatement. All he could say was, "Well, I thought it was sort of a low number!"
The car failed to make its eBay reserve. Bart searched the scrap yard for the original inner aprons (stamped with the VIN), but with no real hope, and no such luck. Serial No. 500041, the first production Cougar with the GT performance option package, remains an altered drag racer.
Then, along comes Seattle resident John Howell, of the Cascade Cougar Club, who purchased # 041 from Bart. John has had it painted and is preparing to have some fun racing, probably turning over the "hot shoe" driving duties to fellow Cascade club member Eric "Doc" Anders.
View the window sticker and Marti Report for this historic car!