SUNFLOWER CAT

SUNFL WER CAT

By ROB MAY and BILL BANNISTER

Kansas City, MO, in the bright sunshine, is the perfect place for this Cat to make his den. Julie Bannister, wife of Bill, off ers us a glimpse of their 1972 Mercury Cougar XR7 351 Q-code C-6 Transmission Convertible with her photography. Its original color was Medium Bright Yellow, and now the classic Cat wears Lightning Yellow. 1929 XR-7 convertibles were made in 1972. Approximately 358 of those were Q-codes making this a rare Cat.

Opening up the Cat’s history book, Bill shares some fi ne ‘tails’. “At 10 years old, I was running in the house despite being told not to. Running through a plate glass window severed my artery through a plate glass window severed my artery and tendon. My dad clamped my arm to cut off blood fl ow and my uncle drove grandma’s 1971 Cougar Coupe at speeds in excess of 100mph to get me to hospital and save my life with dad clamping my arm tight the whole time.”

When Bill came home from his fi rst leave from the Navy, his grandma gave him that Mercury. “The Cougar had a front end that looked alive from the nose of a cat to its body panels which resemble a cat’s legs stretching as they run. It was a work of art - the car I loved so much – the car that saved my life.”

Next leave, Bill met his future wife, Julie. “I was dragging Douglas street and saw this platinum blonde checking me out. After whipping the car in front of her blocking both lanes of traffi c, I told her that I would not move until she gave me her number. Five months later, we were married. That was almost 37 years ago, and we are still married.”

They had talked about getting a convertible for years. “We actually followed this yellow one for several years as the price kept declining. Finally, when it hit 15k, we decided to drive to Oklahoma and see it in person. A kid was selling this car for his boss. Its door handle was busted, and the ‘working AC’ was not working because there was

no compressor! The kid had tried it in the cold weather obviously (it was about 48 degrees when we got there). We both fell in love with the Cougar at fi rst sight. The Mercury had the white interior with black carpet, and the yellow went with my Alma Mater Wichita State. My wife said, ‘Let’s off er 10k’. I replied, if you like the car, don’t do that - it will insult them. and they won’t sell it to us at any price. Julie stated, ‘Then it isn’t the car for us.’ What happened next, I did not expect. The boss said ‘lets end that terrible chapter in our life – just liquidate it’.” Bill’s mouth was hanging open in shock. “Seems they had bought a bunch of cars for an elite hot rod dealership in Branson Missouri, but during Obama’s $5 a gallon debacle, they went under. This car had not sold and was sitting in a barn gathering dust. That was our 35th wedding anniversary present to each other.”

Every year, they take their grandson on vacation to broaden his horizons, but this year was bad due to COVID. “We decided to do route 66 in our new ‘vert – It was just like it was back when we were kids. It was a good thing we took the car to Mike at Iron Works in KC. The new “looking” tires were actually 20 years old. A competition water pump was added that moved 35% more fl uid as we prepared for Arizona and New Mexico which were going to be especially hot! The car appears to be a fairly good restoration even though it was restored around 20 years ago and just sat during that time. No rust. Strong engine. Everything works.”

“My grandson, Ben, saw the car for the fi rst time as a teenager. He said, ‘It’s a pretty car, but I don’t see what the big deal is.’ That was before we had young girls at every drive up smiling and fl irting with him – telling him nice car! Some even took their breaks to come get selfi es with the car. After this happened several times, Ben turns to me and says, ‘I got to get a muscle car’!!!”

The Cat acquired 3500 miles on route 66 with no mishaps which is proof of just how good the restoration was. “We did chip the paint from the road condition, but with our Route 66 App, we had a fun trip stopping everywhere of signifi cance along the way. Since California was rioting and shut part of 66 down, we decided to end in Winslow, AZ and head up to Colorado to see my brother. It was Good Times! We literally did 99% of the trip top down.”

This is a real daily driver. “For me, the lure is driving - hearing the exhaust purr and sharing that with everyone around us. We drive it every day that there isn’t rain – even to the lumber store (not sure what the wife was thinking but we made it work!)”

Other than the Telstar mags with oversize rubber and the upgraded paint, it is stock. There is zero play in the steering and has a very luxurious ride. I have owned several newer Cadillacs over the years including a 2000 El Dorado ETC, and this Cat has every bit the comfort and ride they do - 3,500 miles on route 66 with no backache will attest to that. It is a true luxo-cruiser.”

The only drawback to the car is the transmission/gearing. “It needs a 4-speed minimum. At 70 mph, you are running about 3,100 RPMs with the 3.25 non-locking axle. Of course this doesn’t give you much on gas mileage either – about 11mpg give or take a gallon depending on which state we are in or whether I have my foot in it a lot which is hard not to do. It is a small gas tank and she likes to run!”

CRANSTON AUTO BODY

24 JOHN STREET CRANSTON, RI 401-943-0622 • Restoration • Collision Repair • Fabrication • Expert Auto Painting • Custom Work