'68 Big Block Cat Saved!

Thanks to Steve N. for sending in this survival story. Way too often you see that great muscle car sitting in the weeds because the owner says he's going to restore it some day. Usually they sit so long that there's nothing left to save after a few decades of rust. But this big block Cougar has found a new home and is on it's way to being restored and back on the road again.

So what kind of big block has a 2 bbl carb? It's actually a very rare X code 390. Ford made a handful of these as some strange way of marketing the heavy big block FE engine as a fuel efficient choice. Not too many fell for that sales pitch, making the X code very rare today. They came on both Cougars and Mustangs, but only in 1968. The engine itself was identical to the S code 390-4v, but with a 2v carb and intake. This breathing restriction equated to a 45 horsepower hit as compared to the 325 hp 4v version.

This particular Cougar is also an XR-7, which was Mercury's luxury interior package. The XR-7 featured real leather seats, simulated wood grain dash and steering wheel, upper and lower consoles with clock, map lights and deluxe door panels. Steve's new project also has a nice list of options including air conditioning, power brakes and power steering. There was also an almost complete tilt-a-way steering column, but he's not sure it's original to this car. The interior is gutted and most of the XR-7 parts are going to have to be sourced from parts cars or careful NOS searching.

Good luck Steve getting this rare cat back to prowling the roads!

Cougars for Sale now on eBay:

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Mercury Cougar GT 1969 COUGAR BLUE OVER BLACK RARE AND BEAUTIFUL $200.00 Ends in 6d 20h 20m

Mercury Cougar 1968 cougar 289 auto $721.65 (7 Bids) Ends in 2d 2h 48m

Mercury Cougar 1969 Mercury Cougar $1,000.00 Ends in 3d 1h 1m

Mercury Cougar 1967 Mercury Cougar $1,025.00 (10 Bids) Ends in 2d 10h 31m

Mercury Cougar XR7 1967 Cougar XR7 Mercury Muscle Car VERY Little rust 289 3spd orig 302 current $1,495.00 Ends in 4d 20h 15m

Mercury Cougar 1969 Mercury Cougar Factory Stick Car 351W Hideaway Headlights $1,500.00 Ends in 2d 22h 29m

Mercury Cougar 1968 Mercury Cougar $2,500.00 (3 Bids) Ends in 5d 15h 24m

Mercury Cougar 1967 and a 1968 Mercury Cougar Mild and Wild NO RESERVE $4,050.00 (2 Bids) Ends in 1d 13h 6m

Mercury Cougar XR7 1969 Ford Cougar XR7 California Muscle Car $4,100.00 (2 Bids) Ends in 12h 49m

Mercury Cougar XR7 1969 Mercury Cougar XR7 Convertible $7,800.00 (9 Bids) Ends in 1d 11h 40m

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Mercuy Cougar Factory Show Car

This cat has a lot going for it. Not only does it sport the highly desirable 390GT 4 bbl engine, but it's also a factory show car. The Marti report lists it as an ‘INTRODUCTORY SHOW UNIT’, which is a Special Order for the Ford Home Office Reserve District (DSO 84).

Part of the benefits of being a celebrity show car, this Cougar was loaded up with options. The 390 GT engine was mated to a C-6 automatic transmission with 3.00 gears out back. The Jamaican Yellow paint was accented with a black vinyl roof and black interior. Of course the GT performance package was included with this engine. This Cougar also came with rare tilt-away steering wheel, AM/8 track stereo radio, power steering, deluxe seat belts, courtesy light group, electric clock, convenience control panel and F70-14 Firestone wide oval tires.

All in all a very desirable early Cougar. Hopefully it will get restored and back on the show circuit one day soon!

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Mercury Cougar GT 1969 COUGAR BLUE OVER BLACK RARE AND BEAUTIFUL $200.00 Ends in 6d 20h 20m

Mercury Cougar 1968 cougar 289 auto $721.65 (7 Bids) Ends in 2d 2h 48m

Mercury Cougar 1969 Mercury Cougar $1,000.00 Ends in 3d 1h 1m

Mercury Cougar 1967 Mercury Cougar $1,025.00 (10 Bids) Ends in 2d 10h 31m

Mercury Cougar XR7 1967 Cougar XR7 Mercury Muscle Car VERY Little rust 289 3spd orig 302 current $1,495.00 Ends in 4d 20h 15m

Mercury Cougar 1969 Mercury Cougar Factory Stick Car 351W Hideaway Headlights $1,500.00 Ends in 2d 22h 29m

Mercury Cougar 1968 Mercury Cougar $2,500.00 (3 Bids) Ends in 5d 15h 24m

Mercury Cougar 1967 and a 1968 Mercury Cougar Mild and Wild NO RESERVE $4,050.00 (2 Bids) Ends in 1d 13h 6m

Mercury Cougar XR7 1969 Ford Cougar XR7 California Muscle Car $4,100.00 (2 Bids) Ends in 12h 49m

Mercury Cougar XR7 1969 Mercury Cougar XR7 Convertible $7,800.00 (9 Bids) Ends in 1d 11h 40m

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1969 Eliminator 390 big block

The Cougar Eliminator has become a hot collectible muscle car. Only made in 1969 & 1970, these Eliminator Cougars had both looks and power to back up the name. For 1969 the Eliminator exterior package included one of 4 special paint colors, blacked out grille, driver's side "racing style" mirror, front and rear spoilers, hood scoop, styled steel wheels, rocker trim and body stripes with "ELIMINATOR" text.

The interior was also upgraded including hi-back bucket seats, 6,000 RPM tachometer, and other custom trim. Under the hood engine choices included a Boss 302, 351-4V, 390-4V or 428 CJ & SCJ.
This particular Eliminator has some serious rust issues. The rear half looks like it could crumble to dust any minute. Check out the daylight showing through the rear quarter panels at the trunk! Several other spots are totally rusted through, which means there's a ton more rust that you're not seeing.

It's a desirable Cougar for sure, but it needs a whole new body.

1969-1970 Cougars for Sale now on eBay:

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Mercury Cougar GT 1969 COUGAR BLUE OVER BLACK RARE AND BEAUTIFUL $200.00 Ends in 6d 20h 20m

Mercury Cougar 1969 Mercury Cougar $1,000.00 Ends in 3d 1h 1m

Mercury Cougar 1969 Mercury Cougar Factory Stick Car 351W Hideaway Headlights $1,500.00 Ends in 2d 22h 29m

Mercury Cougar XR7 1969 Ford Cougar XR7 California Muscle Car $4,100.00 (2 Bids) Ends in 12h 49m

Mercury Cougar XR7 1969 Mercury Cougar XR7 Convertible $7,800.00 (9 Bids) Ends in 1d 11h 40m

Mercury Cougar CONVERTIBLE 1970 Mercury Cougar Convertible Black Exterior White Interior $7,877.00 (12 Bids) Ends in 6d 3h 48m

Mercury Cougar XR7 Mercury Cougar 1970 Olive Green Original $9,000.00 Ends in 6d 6h 1m

Mercury Cougar Convertible 1969 Mercury Cougar Eliminator Convertible $11,999.00 Ends in 3d 11h 36m

Mercury Cougar Eliminator 1970 Mercury Cougar Eliminator Highly Optioned One Of Luxury Muscle Car WOW $13,600.00 (4 Bids) Ends in 8d 5h 24m

Mercury Cougar XR7 1969 MERCURY COUGAR XR7 Original Low Mile California Car VIDEO $14,999.00 Ends in 1d 23h 26m

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The Cougar that Mercury never made

It's a safe bet that this is probably the first '68 Cougar convertible you've ever seen. That's because Mercury never made one. The Cougar started in 1967, but they were hard tops only. It wasn't until 1969 that a convertible Cougar was offered for sale.

This 1968 cat is a project car that never got completed. The owner chopped off the top and started the conversion to create a one-off convertible. The idea was to use it's cousin, the Mustang for parts but it didn't ever get the attention it deserved. So now it's a half done project that needs a lot of peices to finish it up. The top was chopped, but not stabilized, so several reinforcement panels and connecting panels need to be welded in to stiffen the body like the convertible Mustangs of that era.

Once it's finished this would be a very cool and unique car. A great conversation piece at local cruises or shows.

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Mercury Cougar GT 1969 COUGAR BLUE OVER BLACK RARE AND BEAUTIFUL $200.00 Ends in 6d 20h 20m

Mercury Cougar 1968 cougar 289 auto $721.65 (7 Bids) Ends in 2d 2h 48m

Mercury Cougar 1969 Mercury Cougar $1,000.00 Ends in 3d 1h 1m

Mercury Cougar 1967 Mercury Cougar $1,025.00 (10 Bids) Ends in 2d 10h 31m

Mercury Cougar XR7 1967 Cougar XR7 Mercury Muscle Car VERY Little rust 289 3spd orig 302 current $1,495.00 Ends in 4d 20h 15m

Mercury Cougar 1969 Mercury Cougar Factory Stick Car 351W Hideaway Headlights $1,500.00 Ends in 2d 22h 29m

Mercury Cougar 1968 Mercury Cougar $2,500.00 (3 Bids) Ends in 5d 15h 24m

Mercury Cougar 1967 and a 1968 Mercury Cougar Mild and Wild NO RESERVE $4,050.00 (2 Bids) Ends in 1d 13h 6m

Mercury Cougar XR7 1969 Ford Cougar XR7 California Muscle Car $4,100.00 (2 Bids) Ends in 12h 49m

Mercury Cougar Coupe 1968 Mercury Cougar Lime Frost 302 4bbl California DSO Classic Hardtop VIDEO $6,600.00 (4 Bids) Ends in 3d 6h 50m

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1969 Cougar 390 big block

Big block + convertible = nice project Muscle car. Here's a true S code 390-4v big block Cougar convertible. There were only 344 convertibles made that year with the 390 FE big block. It's not an Eliminator or anything, but definitely worth restoring.

It's time spent in North Dakota is obvious by the rust, but it could be worse considering the amount of salt they used to use there on the roads. It looks like this was a project someone started and then let sit. Some work has been done, like stripping the paint and replacing a few body panels. But it has a ways to go still.

1969-1970 Cougars for Sale now on eBay:

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Mercury Cougar GT 1969 COUGAR BLUE OVER BLACK RARE AND BEAUTIFUL $200.00 Ends in 6d 20h 20m

Mercury Cougar 1969 Mercury Cougar $1,000.00 Ends in 3d 1h 1m

Mercury Cougar 1969 Mercury Cougar Factory Stick Car 351W Hideaway Headlights $1,500.00 Ends in 2d 22h 29m

Mercury Cougar XR7 1969 Ford Cougar XR7 California Muscle Car $4,100.00 (2 Bids) Ends in 12h 49m

Mercury Cougar XR7 1969 Mercury Cougar XR7 Convertible $7,800.00 (9 Bids) Ends in 1d 11h 40m

Mercury Cougar CONVERTIBLE 1970 Mercury Cougar Convertible Black Exterior White Interior $7,877.00 (12 Bids) Ends in 6d 3h 48m

Mercury Cougar XR7 Mercury Cougar 1970 Olive Green Original $9,000.00 Ends in 6d 6h 1m

Mercury Cougar Convertible 1969 Mercury Cougar Eliminator Convertible $11,999.00 Ends in 3d 11h 36m

Mercury Cougar Eliminator 1970 Mercury Cougar Eliminator Highly Optioned One Of Luxury Muscle Car WOW $13,600.00 (4 Bids) Ends in 8d 5h 24m

Mercury Cougar XR7 1969 MERCURY COUGAR XR7 Original Low Mile California Car VIDEO $14,999.00 Ends in 1d 23h 26m

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Rare 428 Cobra Jet Cougar

Here's one you don't see every day. It's a factory R code 428 CJ Cougar. And no, it's not a GTE, which is how most of the 428 & 427 Cougars were sold. It's confirmed with a Marti report that this is one of 101 built.

In addition to the 428 CJ engine, this cat is also an XR-7 which meant it came with the deluxe leather interior, faux wood grain dash panels, lower console with clock, and XR-7 badging. The XR-7 package came out mid-year in 1967 and was very popular. Mercury sold over 32,000 XR-7's in 1968, which accounted for almost a third of the total production.

Cougars for Sale now on eBay:

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Mercury Cougar GT 1969 COUGAR BLUE OVER BLACK RARE AND BEAUTIFUL $200.00 Ends in 6d 20h 20m

Mercury Cougar 1968 cougar 289 auto $721.65 (7 Bids) Ends in 2d 2h 48m

Mercury Cougar 1969 Mercury Cougar $1,000.00 Ends in 3d 1h 1m

Mercury Cougar 1967 Mercury Cougar $1,025.00 (10 Bids) Ends in 2d 10h 31m

Mercury Cougar XR7 1967 Cougar XR7 Mercury Muscle Car VERY Little rust 289 3spd orig 302 current $1,495.00 Ends in 4d 20h 15m

Mercury Cougar 1969 Mercury Cougar Factory Stick Car 351W Hideaway Headlights $1,500.00 Ends in 2d 22h 29m

Mercury Cougar 1968 Mercury Cougar $2,500.00 (3 Bids) Ends in 5d 15h 24m

Mercury Cougar 1967 and a 1968 Mercury Cougar Mild and Wild NO RESERVE $4,050.00 (2 Bids) Ends in 1d 13h 6m

Mercury Cougar XR7 1969 Ford Cougar XR7 California Muscle Car $4,100.00 (2 Bids) Ends in 12h 49m

Mercury Cougar Coupe 1968 Mercury Cougar Lime Frost 302 4bbl California DSO Classic Hardtop VIDEO $6,600.00 (4 Bids) Ends in 3d 6h 50m

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