Wake up and smell the burning leaves and pumpkin spice: autumn is closing in fast, and especially for those gearheads who live in climates that are due for some snow sooner than later, now is the perfect time to start looking at a potential winter project car. Have you been looking at the stuff we cover and suddenly have an itch to put together a machine to come out and play with for next year? Get on it before the weather goes from “cool, but nice” to “eff this cold crap”. And as always, we are happy to help in that department…after all, we are the enablers that saw Lohnes bring home a sketchy-at-best AMC Javelin with good intentions!

Our latest round in the cheap car hunt has actually brought up two potential projects that could be built either independently or could be purchased together in a two-for-one deal. If you aren’t big on the 1971-73 Mercury Cougars, take a look back at this blown example we featured at the beginning of summer to get an idea of how the bigger Cougars can look done up right. Remember, it’s more or less a big-boy era Mustang underneath, and these are lines you don’t see anymore, on the street or at the shows. And both of these cars are right at the mark where a little bit of spit and polish and some handiwork over the cold months could produce a winner. Or two. Your call.

The first option is the primer black 1972 that’s for sale for $3,000, and the second one is the bare-metal 1973 for $2,000. Both cars pack two-barrel 351s and FMX automatics, both technically run, but according to the seller, both should probably leave the location on a car trailer. The question that should rightfully be a concern is how bad off are the engines. If they both just need a once-over and maybe gaskets, no worries, but if either mill is knocking like a teenager past curfew, well…that’ll get expensive quick. We’d fire both off to make sure we aren’t going into 100% rebuild territory. After that…whatever your budget can handle! We’re partial to the NASCAR look ourselves on this generation…

Craigslist Link: 1972 and 1973 Mercury Cougars