My wife keeps asking me, with her hands against the side of her head yelling, "What have you done to the Cougar ?! I can't believe you. Are we ever going to drive in that thing?!"

That seems to be a common theme shared by many Cougar enthusiasts who decided to tackle the restoration process on an older car. In this case, Stray Cats President, Jeffrey Goldman is the third owner of a black on black, 1969 Mercury Cougar convertible.

"I'm addicted to Cougars. Pretty interesting since I grew up in the '60s & '70s with Pontiacs and Oldsmobiles," said Jeff. The closest to a Cougar he got was a 1966 Mustang convertivle owned by his father from 1968-1972, but it died a horrible death due to the New England winters.

His current restoration project was found in Los Angeles, California through the Southern California Cougar Club. The car was just painted black, had a new black canvas top and a ratty black interior. It was the power windows and air conditioning that made this Cougar interesting.

"Fact is that I dreamed of owning a 69/70 Cougar ever since the 69 convertible rolled onto the streets in fall of 1968. To me there was no better looking car with the right combination of performance, comfort andstyle."

While Jeff's wife wonders when they will drive the Cougar, there has been considerable work done including a new XR-7 wiring harness along with a rebuilt air conditioning.

The "Cat-vertible" sports a 351W-4bbl (M-code) with an FMX transmission and a 9" rear end, which was standard in 1969. Jeff did replace the manifolds with a set of Hooker Headers with 2.5" exhaust pipes and a Holly carburator.

"I bought my first XR-7 convertible from a guy in Las Vegas back in September of 2002. The cat had been his godfather's from new. He acquired it in the mid-80's and had it painted metallic blue. I put in a new suspension, fixed the steering, brakes and many of the nuisance problems the car had.

My wife and I happened to be driving around Napa in October 2003 when I happened upon the Stray Cats during the annual Catistoga run.," said Jeff. He didn't find them that day, but tracked them down through www.mercurycougar.net.

In January of 2005 I got a call back from the seller in Las Vegas and something about his dying godfather and wanting the car back put me back on the trail for another cat. This particular cat meant a lot to him and I would be happy w/any cat. So the search was on.

Jeff now had his "dream car" but he admits "Now I've got to finish it."

It's about driving, relaxing and enjoying every aspect of the Cougar and the club. We'll make this club and the history of the car whatever we want"