Ringbrothers gave this once-crusty Cougar a Coyote transplant
Ringbrothers, the Wisconsin car builder known for wild custom muscle cars and trucks, is showing its newest build, a subtly restomodded 1968 Cougar that uses a late-model Ford powertrain. The build began with a crusty Cougar that needed new floor pans, so the fabrication crew stripped the car down to its shell, cut out the rust, and rebuilt everything from the ground up.
Detroit Speed & Engineering provided a new suspension that uses HRE Series C1 C103 forged three-piece wheels and Michelin rubber to deliver handling that a Mercury engineer could have only dreamt of in 1968. Unlike some of the Ringbrothers’ wilder builds, this Cougar’s sheetmetal was left as the factory intended, although it is now coated in a beautiful shade of green BASF paint and highlighted with new brightwork including bumpers, grille, and custom Ringbrothers emblems.
The most dramatic change for the upscale pony car is the addition of a 460-hp, 5.0-liter Coyote V-8 crate engine paired with a 10-speed automatic pirated from a Ford Raptor. With the hood closed, the only indication that something unusual is afoot is the shifter integrated into the otherwise factory-looking interior. The high-revving, power-dense engine breathes through a custom Flowmaster exhaust to get even more of a classic V-8 sound from the modern mill.
“We put our heart into each car we build, and this Cougar is no exception,” said Ringbrothers co-owner Jim Ring. “The finished product is mild and classy, yet any enthusiast instantly knows it’s not stock. I imagine this is what Mercury designers would have come up with if they were building the Cougar today.”
“While we couldn’t bring the car to the SEMA show, we hope it can be shown to the public soon,” continues Mike Ring, the other half of the Ringbrothers’ ownership duo. “We had never done a Cougar before, so this was a fun build. I love working with new shapes and coming up with new ideas.”
Ringbrothers usually has something new to unveil at each SEMA show, so it’s no doubt cooking up a fantastic build for this year’s big event. Previous builds include Mustangs, Chevelles, Camaros, a Blazer, a Pantera, and a Cadillac, so there’s no telling what to expect later this fall.
