Hello all! I'm new here so be gentle.

I'm probably buying a '79 Mercury Cougar this weekend. I've looked at the car once before and she was pretty clean, but I don't have experience with this model and vintage of car. What I do know is that she belonged to a paraplegic who collected vintage cars. He would garage them and the wife would occasionally put him in the passenger seat and drive him around. (There's a '51 Chevy coupe parked there as well, very nice but out of my league!)

My parents' cars were always bought from dealers and serviced regularly, so I never really learned to look under the hood except to check oil levels. This will be my first car and bought from a private seller so I need to do a little more snooping.

Last weekend she ran parked. I managed to find the ATF dipstick (passenger side, near firewall), which came out covered in clean, red, sweet goodness. The radiator also looked good and full (is coolant green/blue?). However, I don't really know my way around under the hood, and would like to know how to check oil, power steering and brake fluid levels. I realize there were two engines Mercury put in these things, but I don't know how to tell which is which. That might help too.

Also, what else should I look at besides fluids before I buy? I'm going to check shocks, tires, cabin electronics, air con/heat and battery. I know white foam under the oil cap means a coolant leak, and oil inside the air-cleaner means worn piston rings (both apparently costly repairs, I wouldn't know). I've seen online that combustion leak test kits are available. Should I bring one to test for a head gasket leak?

And if I do buy it, what should I look at replacing? Air filter? Oil filter? Brake shoes/pads?

Well, thanks for reading through my rambling, desperate first post here!

 

Welcome to the site.
The foam under the oil cap could be from the vehicle making short trips and not getting hot enough to cook it off.
Have you considered taking the car to a good mechanic/technician and have them look it over for you or bring the tech to the vehicle?
Do some homework and see if and where you can get replacement parts for it should it need any.
Are you planning to just show the car or actually use it frequently?

 

Double Post

 

We know the manager at a local dealer's service center, he's always treated us right. After I buy this car or any other that'll be the first place I'll take it, I guess I'm just worried that I'll unknowingly buy a lemon. I'd love to show him the car before I buy, but it's 160 miles away. As far as parts, I think Summit has me covered for most things like filters, shocks etc. if I want to diy it. And this car will be my daily driver, though just about 50 miles a week.

I guess this whole process has me grasping at straws, worried about the car.

And let me be concise: who can show me where to check the oil, power steering and brake fluid?

Thanks for the info re: the oil, hanky!

 

If you managed to find the oil dipstick, brake master cylinder and power steering reservoir on any of the vehicles you presently own , this is just another vehicle with the usual under the hood.