This page is part of www.stordahl.com

Sometimes small problems causes big delays in the progress of a restoration. So has been the case here as well. As I work forward assembling the Eliminator I found that some parts were just not good enough, some were missing and some were just wrong. Instead of working on something I knew would not make me happy I decided to put the car on hold until I had some of the parts. So then I have been puzzeling with my 1967 Mercury S-55 instead.
The seat covers has been mentioned before. I ordered a new set from West Coast Classic Cougar but unfortunately their supplier made a mistake and they had to reorder another set for me. So as I am writing this (summer 2008) I am still waiting for them to arrive.
Another problem was the AC system. The parts I had was not correct and I started looking for a 100% correct system in good condition. Luckily I got all the parts I needed from a car here in Norway. Then there has been some problems with parts for the power window setup I wanted to install, I have been missing some chrome details, trim pieces, nice tail lights and so on. Most of these parts have been found during winter and spring, so little by little the car is coming back to life. This page covers everything that was done with the car in 2008.

This picture shows the car in April 2008. Here I am installing the side glass and the power window mechanism. The power window regulators gave me more problems than I expected as they were totally worn out. I ended up using parts from the old manual regulators and made now good ones that works perfect. The regulators and motors for the quarter windows were in perfect working condition.

As soon as I had finished assembling the doors I could start to adjust the doors and windows. I have seen people adjusting the doors before they get them filled up with all the parts inside, and the result of that is not recommended as the weight of the doors will make them sag. The doors also needs to be adjusted before I put on the fron fenders as they adjustment bolts will be covered by them as soon as they are on the car.

To the left is a picture showing the orrect AC pump for the car. It is in as new condition and even the factory paint stamps and the tag is in excellent shape.

To the right you can see the pump and the correct pulleys installed in the car. At this stage I found that I needed a new condenser and dryer for the system as well, so they have been ordered from the US.

Above is the car pictured with all the the side glass installed and doors aligned. In the picture to the right the fenders have been hanged on the car. They will need more adjustments, but that will be later.

Above you can see me putting on the side stripes on the car. It was not easy to make these look straight and nice, so I test fitted them with tape before I put them on for real. The picture below shows the car with the strips on.

This is more or less all that was done with my Eliminator in 2008. Not much really, but luckily I am not in a hurry.

To see what is going on in 2009 click HERE

Here you can see the rear of the car which is pretty much finished. Restoring the tail light chrome bezels on a Cougar is a lot of work. First of all, to find nice used tail lights is hard. I ended up with a left hand that is rechromed, and a RH that is good used condition. I was looking for a right hand NOS bezel, but so far it has not showed up.
I had several lenses to choose from and found two that were pretty nice. The lens for the gas door is a reproduction lens and the ornament is a near perfect used one. The rear bumper is a rechromed bumper from west Coast Classic Cougar and the bezels for the back up lights are near mint used ones I found on eBay. The back up lenses are NOS.