Original California Special "blueprints" on ebay

Thanks Arlie.

I am bidding on these that apply to the CS (not the Cougar ones). One definitely belongs with the CS (the drawings of the rear panels) as it refers to the CS in the revisions.

I already sent all the other ones in a tube and also on a CD to Paul from the first two lots I got (nearly 40 drawings - great for Pauls book!!).

I agree with Bill - every CS blueprint has a final sign-off of Fred Goodell. It is clear that Fred was the father of design and development of the CS (and Shelby chief engineer). He said as much in his SAAC interview 10 years ago.

Casey

BOY! How interesting this Cougar stuff is! I'm guessing that XR-7S, means XR-7 "Shelby"? That would have been cool. I wonder what killed that one?

The date--August '67 is about the time Shelby American moved from LAX to Torrance--and Shelby AUTOMOTIVE began as a division (like SVT today) of Ford. I'd sure like the exact date that Shelby Automotive began at Ford (Ionia, MI.) ???

I knew Fred--he was a great guy! Lots more about him in my book. A real "shoot from the hip" kind of guy. He later worked on military vehcles used in Desert Storm.

I'd like to know why they used Lucas in '67 on the Cougars, and Marchals on the early CS and Shelbys for '68? I was told that it was a supply issue why they switched --- since the State of CA didn't like the Marchals.

I have a lot of paperwork similar to this...with the GT/CS budget, right in there with the Shelby program for '68. Pretty neat stuff!!

Paul N.

Xr7s

There has been a lot off debate in Cougar circles about the "S" Shelby makes as much sense as anything else. We do know that there were two built, and they both had 428's with dual 4V. Basically the Same engine as the GT500. One of the XR7S is still around, and was owned by HFII.

And yes, the XR7-G did get built, but just barely. There were a total of 619 built, 188 went to Hertz. The story we have is that the Accounting folks at Ford found out what the Marketing guys at Mercury were doing and killed the project. The bean counters felt that the Cougar XR7-G would cannibalize Shelby sales. All advertising was canceled, and production was stopped as quickly as possible. At the moment I have three of the G cars.

Since I don't know the CS heritage as well as Cougar, please do not hesitate to set me straight on any of this.

My opinion is that Ford must have seen Shelby Automotive as an engineering resource to be applied as quickly as possible to an number of small volume opportunities. Shelby Mustangs, California Special, High Country Special, and Cougar XR7-G.

The XR7-G was built on the same line as the Shelby Mustangs by AO Smith. I suspect this was because the Cougar took longer to build than the Mustang on the production line to begin with. Adding more content would have added even more imbalance to the assembly line.
However, I have no documentation to establish this...

Here is how they came to pricing agreement:

This time the dates might add confusion. By March 29th, the XR7-Gs were already being built. They must have been on pretty good terms to start building cars when the pricing was to be determined.

Notice that AO Smith is NOT Shelby Automotive. AO Smith is clearly a vendor. I have heard repeatedly that Shelby Automotive WAS AO Smith. Clearly, that is not the case.

And this time, look who is not listed. All of the engineering was done so we don't find Fred Goodell even as a CC on this one.

How much did they make? The XR7 G package (with out sunroof) for a 390 car cost Ford $393. The Sticker price? $666.95

Lucas lights were used because the XR7-G lights would have to be mounted up side down below the bumper. I have never held a Marchal in my hand so you will have to verify this, by I understand that unlike the Lucas, the lens, reflector and face plate can not be rotated to accommodate below the bumper mounting. I have also heard that they were to large to fit in to the very tight mounting-box recesses used on production G cars.

From what I heard, Marchal's were dropped due to their candle power. They were to bright for the State Patrol.

I have Marchal's on my car. They could be bolted on upside down below the bumper, but they would be upside down as you suspect. They will not rotate around to allow them to appear right side up without a mounting point directly behind them.

Never had a Lucas in my hand, so I canot speak for them.

Rob

It would be interesting to figure out why the Shelby and XR7-G were built off-site in 1968 and the CS was factory built (at San Jose) - especially when the design, development and parts were all being done at the same time by the same people and vendors. The changes to make a coupe into a CS are significant, and not something the San Jose factory workers would have considered a "minor" add on - keep in mind all the drilling, and punching and stripes and unusual parts shipping from AO Smith - these factory workers were not used to working with fiberglass. My only guess is that the bean counters thought they were going to get more volume, and that HII had approved the CS himself. Neat history to figure out....the Cougar angle is helping bring in some details......

As noted AO Smith was not Shelby, and they were clearly well-positioned (in a drivers seat) as a vendor.

Casey

Casey, I also appreciate your acquiring this history for us GT/CS and HCS enthusiasts. Thanks very much.

Not sure it has been previously mentioned, but AO Smith produced the frames and fiberglass bodies for the 60's Corvettes. According to one Corvette history book that I own, Chevrolet phased out the body build and assembly by AO Smith at the end of the Corvette's 1967 production year (interesting timing).

I also read somewhere that AO Smith produced a large percentage of all Car frames back then and were impacted when the Car companies started moving to unitized construction.

I received a bunch of the drawings today and I am pleased to say that the Marchal light is one of the drawings. I don't know if you guys need this one or not.

I will be scanning these in and then putting the files on the internet for anyone that wants to see them.

case12 said:

It would be interesting to figure out why the Shelby and XR7-G were built off-site in 1968 and the CS was factory built (at San Jose) - especially when the design, development and parts were all being done at the same time by the same people and vendors. The changes to make a coupe into a CS are significant, and not something the San Jose factory workers would have considered a "minor" add on - keep in mind all the drilling, and punching and stripes and unusual parts shipping from AO Smith - these factory workers were not used to working with fiberglass. My only guess is that the bean counters thought they were going to get more volume, and that HII had approved the CS himself. Neat history to figure out....the Cougar angle is helping bring in some details......

As noted AO Smith was not Shelby, and they were clearly well-positioned (in a drivers seat) as a vendor.

Casey

Click to expand...

Building the GT/CS at the San Jose factory was probably directed by the fact that the CS was supposed to be a "California-Only" Mustang, and logistically, it made more sense to make them out here. A.O. Smith used Dearborn-made Mustangs for the Shelbys. Shipping (a projected) 5,000 cars would have not been cost-effective. THE SJ factory folks weren't too fond of the fiberglass work, but they made it work. The CS was the first time ever they put fiberglass on a production Ford vehicle (in a Ford factory)!!

I was thinking why Shelby nixed the XR-7S, and not the GT/CS. It probably had to do with the whole coupe idea., and Shelby must have not felt "threatened" by the coupe--especially with stock engines. Iaccoca pushed the CS for California only, and his clout probably had a lot to do with how this happened as it did.

The CS was a Ford Mustang from the beginning, not a Shelby--as such. I think that the Shelby-Cougar had too many appealing features that would have drawn the Shelby-buyer demographic, and the marketing folks probably didn't like that.

How we'd like to be a fly on the wall of some of those (heated?) meetings! LOL!!

BTW--so, who is going to make a XR-7S? I'd love to see one. I'd also like to see a realized '68 Cougar with a grafted '68 Mustang fastback roof on it, just like a concept in an old copy of Motorcade that I have. That would be pretty awesome!

Paul N.

As an update --- I won 4 more blueprints (Marchal lights, rear fiberglass tail panel, rear drillings and plates, and rear tail light frames) in the latest auction. I also worked a deal on the side to buy many others. I have sent to Paul and he is going to incorporate into the book certain elements, and then we will work with Jon to get all this up on the site - now close to 50 documents (blueprints and blueprint releases). You will be amazed by the detail and history - but I leave that for Paul to decipher for the book at the moment. Just holding the original folded blueprints in hand and removing the rusty old paper clips is cool - sorta like archeology - even smells like old papers stored away in a filing cabinet for 40 years. Casey

Resurrecting this old thread...

The Cougar Drawings and some related materials are now available online free at:http://www.classiccougarcommunity.com


There are three documents that I think might be related to the California Special. They are titled mystery 1,2,and 3. Perhaps some of the CS folks can take a look and help figure these out? The drawings of the SEV Marchal lights are also on the site. Perhaps we can swap these for the Lucas drawings?

reproducing blue prints for souvineers?

case12 said:

As an update --- I won 4 more blueprints (Marchal lights, rear fiberglass tail panel, rear drillings and plates, and rear tail light frames) in the latest auction. I also worked a deal on the side to buy many others. I have sent to Paul and he is going to incorporate into the book certain elements, and then we will work with Jon to get all this up on the site - now close to 50 documents (blueprints and blueprint releases). You will be amazed by the detail and history - but I leave that for Paul to decipher for the book at the moment. Just holding the original folded blueprints in hand and removing the rusty old paper clips is cool - sorta like archeology - even smells like old papers stored away in a filing cabinet for 40 years. Casey

Click to expand...

Hi Casey,

Just a big in the ear, but I wonder if there's a possibility of reproducing those blue prints in a set for us mustangers to buy and enjoy. Unless there's alot of this copy right stuff to deal with. If Paul Newitt could look into this as an option.

Stacey

It's been awhile since I've been lurking around at this wonderful web site. So I'm catching up again. Been spending the last several months fighting to save my home and managed at this point to get it under control and actually enjoy some leisure time and the fact I can still keep my CS and not have to give it up.

correction of my own blunderous misspelling

Stacey Enderle said:

Hi Casey,

Just a big in the ear, but I wonder if there's a possibility of reproducing those blue prints in a set for us mustangers to buy and enjoy. Unless there's alot of this copy right stuff to deal with. If Paul Newitt could look into this as an option.

Stacey

It's been awhile since I've been lurking around at this wonderful web site. So I'm catching up again. Been spending the last several months fighting to save my home and managed at this point to get it under control and actually enjoy some leisure time and the fact I can still keep my CS and not have to give it up.

Click to expand...

"Just a "bug" in the ear" not big, sorry for the typo

Hi Stacey, I have given them all to Paul, and the plan is to include them all (about 50) on the DVD that comes with his book. I thought this would be a good way to distribute them to all that would want them and add value to an already valuable book. Casey

I was advised (by a major parts maker) recently to not include full blueprints on the DVD, because it would make it too easy for repro manufacturers to make parts from these prints--perhaps without a Ford license.

I'll have abbreviated versions printed in the book, with interesting explainations. Nothing relevant will be lost from what we have in that type of presentation.

Sorry--

PMN