Cougar, The Top Cat

[jobaa]

i will set the record straight about the TOP CAT cougar pictured above. this picture was taken at lions drag strip in wilmington california about 1971 by a well known drag race photographer, steve reyes. i still have the negative. i am driving the car. when we first built the car in ’67 it was driven by darrell droke for a while because i was driving another of our cars, an A/stock ’67 comet 427. we raced these and several other cars across the country but mostly the NHRA division seven events. they were all owned and built by us in our shop. stan’s dad freddie did the body work on all of them and would come to the track on occasion with stan and his brother steve. the cars were all NHRA record holders at one time or another, with the cougar holding the record 4 times. as stan said, it had a gurney westlake 302 with weber carburetors and a ford toploader 4 speed. as to these two cars, i sold the 427 comet to my cousin who put the engine in his boat, in about 1971 and the cougar to a guy in san diego in about 1972, without the drivetrain which we installed in a ’72 capri we built to run in the C/altered class. i raced the capri for a short while but grew weary of the grind so i quit racing and started participating in deep sea fishing tournaments. last i heard about the cougar it was still in san diego but that was about 25 years ago. the 427 comet is nowhere to be found, i tried through a friend who was an LA policeman and another friend who was a CA department of motor vehicles investigator. i wish i had kept the comet at least. later i found out that ford built only 9 of the 427 comet cyclones in 1967. oh well… john o’connor

[6t5frlaneParticipant]

I thought Darrell Droke drove it very succesfully in 67. Didn’t he and his brother do all the engine mods and work on the car at Autodynamics ??

[dinoKeymaster]

Ok ….Heres the ‘DOVER” Top Cat…Al McCormack …1970… Kathy V.Collection -ODF Gallerys come though again . Al Sinuta lettering…Come to think of it…Where IS AL?….Drake ?-can Al be located?
………..Mikey …PM’d Rick Sorci’s contact info to you.

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[digger]

the real top cat

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[6t5frlaneParticipant]

Well if that pic at Dover is June 1970 then the O’Connor car must be a different one……Correct ??

[dinoKeymaster]

Differant year cars Too…

[6t5frlaneParticipant]

Man Your right Dino. Dover car is NOT a 67…69/70 ?

[dinoKeymaster]

Geoff …You still have the Ford? If your’e coming to Lebanon…Post a Pic at Team Check In…Oh- I found ‘A’… Alan McCormack at a Dealership in Md. Waiting for call back. How many could there be?

[mikey]

Geoff, I new that the car you were talking about was no the one that I new, and worked on. If I remember correctly, McCormick had two cars that they raced, and they were bought from others, not built by them. One was a Comet that was originally driven by Bobby Lagana, and the Cougar. The son, Alan, eventually drove both of the cars. My old next door neighbor in Beacon N.Y. still has the Cougar. I’ve tried for more than 25yrs to get the car, and he won’t part with it. It sits in a barn in Fishkill, N.Y. just rotting away. I’m going to try again this year to get the car, but I’m not gonna hold my breath. I’m calling him today. He is in poor health, and now might be the time. He also was the “Best Man” at my first wedding.
Rick Sorci is his name, has a brother Wes. ………………Mikey 😆

P.S. That pic from Dino is the car that I know. 4X4, Marty knows all about that car, he was a “Dealership Troubleshooter” for old man McCormick back in the day. 😆

[mikey]

Just thought I’d let you guys know that I did call and talk to Ricky, and he’s been slowly restoring the car to it’s”furry” former self. Fresh 428 engine, and fresh top-loader 4spd, rear is good, as is the interior. Body is next, several small dents and dings, nothing major. I tried to talk him into going to the Valley, but I don’t think it will happen. I’m just glad that I know whats happening with the car. It was a nice stroll down memory lane. And no, Dino, he won’t be on the Dover site, he doesn’t even have an e-mail account. I’m sending him some pics of the Willy’s, but to his wife’s account. He still has an old roadster and a dune buggy, an old Triumph TR-6, and some other things, but he won’t part with anything. Oh, he just bought a new 2011 Camaro. Must be nice! ……………..Mikey 😆

[vindicatorParticipant]

😀 😀 😀 Hey Guys…just “confining” the post to “info” only…the McCormack cars…the ’65 AFX Comet (later…really just a altered wheelbase “wheelstander”…no longer competitive race car) was driven by Billy Lagana…not Bobby…they had a ’66 390 “factory” Comet stock eliminator car…which Alan drove…and lastly the Cougar 428 stock eliminator car…which I believe Alan also drove…lost “touch” with Alan years ago after…Fishkill-Wappingers “stories”….Maryland(?)…’course ya’ never know…who or where…a “cat”…can turn up…’eh… 😆 😆 😆 Drake…hey “Mikee”…U…too…can have a new Camaro…just sign the “papers”… “hoss”…and join…the book of the month club! 😆 😆 :lol:…Al Sanuta was living in New England…still travelin’ w/paint box…Tri-State up until 4-5 years ago…lost “touch”…Bobby Schelgel…is in contact with Barry Ortiz…he just “might” know…

[dover1320]

i have too pics that are not on the site 69- 70 ? red on to.yellow sides, ran C/A $ Rotella and Cusimano really hot !! BRIAN

[vindicatorParticipant]

😀 😀 😀 HEY GUYS…”believe” the red/yellow C/A…car was originally… owned by…the one…and the only… 😆 😆 😆 … Bob “Dawg” Gaudreau…was very X-early Pro Stock car…like all “Dawg’s’ cars… a beauty! 😀 😀 😀 Drake

[john-sachs-srParticipant]

quote vindicator:

😀 😀 😀 HEY GUYS…”believe” the red/yellow C/A…car was originally… owned by…the one…and the only… 😆 😆 😆 … Bob “Dawg” Gaudreau…was very X-early Pro Stock car…like all “Dawg’s’ cars… a beauty! 😀 😀 😀 Drake

I agree… ❗ ❗ 😉
John

[rastiss]

quote SANPEDROAND4TH:

Hello Mikey. The Top Cat Cougar was sponsered by O’Conner Lincoln Mercury In Los Angeles, where my dad was a body and fender man. The Cougar had a 302 cubic inch engine, being fairly unique with it’s Guerney – Westlake heads. I believe it’s highest finish was a runner up at a National event, but it’s been around 40 years ago, so all details are gone. They also sponsered a dark green Comet, I believe in the Super Stock D class. This car, and a lesser Comet along with a B gas Capri, were all driven by the dealer owner’s son, John O’Conner. At the time the Capri was being completed, dealers along Crenshaw were hard hit by the downturn in sales, and the B gasser was never completed. My dad performed the wheel well’s radius.

John O’Conner was last working as a service manager in a dealer ship in the Santa Monica / West Los Angeles area. Very occasionally, my dad would have communication with John, the last time being when he delivered a set of rims that my sister had replaced on her Mustang. My sister did not like that year’s “rotary phone” look of the rims.

Hope you get this Mikey. Take care of yourself.

-Stan

the gurney weslake 302 from top cat was put into the capri when it was built. the capri WAS finished AND raced by john o’connor. the capri was a trick car for it’s time. i know cause we own/owned it. my dad had a body shop in ridgecrest, cali back then. he bought all of his f/l/m parts from o’connor l/m. they had lots of parts breakage and john got frustrated with it and sold it to my dad at the end of ’74. dad tore it down over the winter and changed some stuff on it. first race of ’75 out was grand premier @ irwindale. we won modified eliminator first time out with it! had a very successful season that year. the way the frt axle was made it squirrely. everytime you’d change years, you had to correct for it with the steering wheel. the body was a little crude the way it was done as not much lined up. the rear wheel openings were cut waaaayyyyy to big. i even have a magazine that it was featured in. very easy to work on. had a floating rear axles. 4 link. and of course the g-w engine. john tried to buy the engine back from us in the 90’s but dad didnt sell it. the car was rolled jan 1 ’76 testing a new gapp and roush 331 pro stock engine at inyokern. corner to corner 8 times. our friend mike schmitt was driving it. we have everything to put it back together, just never have. here are some pics of it.

this was from when o’connor had it. sacramento ’73

the magazine article

this was how it looked when we ran it

it was way ahead of it’s time in many ways. and no doubt the BADDEST capri of it’s time. but perhaps the only one too, lol.

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