Convertible Project: 1969 Mercury Cougar 351
Of all the domestic automobile marques that have disappeared as of late, Mercury is the one that has faded the fastest for me. Both Plymouth and Oldsmobile have been gone longer but Plymouth’s memory, at least here on BF, is constantly recalled by a plethora of Road Runners and ‘Cudas. Oldsmobile? It was its own car and not a gussied-up version of some other GM brand – and then there was the always popular Cutlass and 442. But Mercury was a player in its day – and an important one for FoMoCo for a long time. One of their more pleasant memories was the Cougar such as this 1969 convertible. Let’s take a trip down memory lane and look it over. Found in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, this faded drop top is available, here on eBay for a single bid of $8,000 with the reserve not yet met.
Mercury’s Cougar, or the “Cat” as it was known was introduced in ’67 as an upscale Mustang likely destined to compete with Pontiac’s new for ’67 Firebird. While its appearance differed noticeably from the Mustang, and its wheelbase was three inches longer, it used Mustang underpinnings. New for ’69, was the inclusion of a Cougar convertible, and trim levels equaled two, a standard Cougar, such as our subject car, and the more nicely appointed XR-7. Standard Cougar convertible output reached about 5,800 units with the XR-7 ragtop good for another 4,000 copies so they’re not that commonly encountered.
The seller tells us, “She is a driver from day one. Needs body work. You can see in the pics“. What I see in the pics is a badly faded Medium Green Metallic finish, some Bondo in the driver’s side fender, and a slight dent in the passenger side door but I also see a fairly straight and complete body. Some of the trim is missing (fender eyebrows and driver’s side bump strip) but the rest appears to be there. The folding top, which works, is said to be four years old and the wheels are reproductions of original Cougar pieces.
The interior is a bit hinky. The driver’s seat upholstery shows pretty well, but we’ve got a wooly mammoth thing going on with the passenger bucket – I’d assume a problem there. The door panels are armrests are rough, the dash pad is likely cracked and hiding under a fabric topper, but that non-original steering wheel is very nice.
Another place where the Cougar and Mustang differed was in the engine room. No six-cylinders were allowed in Cougar land and V8s started at 351 CI in ’69 (302 CI for the Mustang). And that’s exactly what’s in place here, a first-year 351 CI “Windsor” V8 engine that was originally good for 250 gross HP. The engine and the FMX automatic transmission were rebuilt about 1,000 miles ago. The seller claims, “Heads, Valves, Comp Cam, Roller Rockers, Intake, Carb and Headers and Custom Exhaust are all upgraded to performance parts“. Said to “runs great“, here’s a brief video for your review.
This Cougar seems like a sound basis for a project, and it is still a driver – the needed work should be manageable. Another nice aspect of this car is the fact that it’s a Cougar and not a Mustang – ’69 Mustangs are everywhere, but a ’69 Cougar, and a convertible at that? Not so much so. But that’s just my thought, what’s your preference, Mustang or Cougar?
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Comments
As a purest,, the car has potential. However, the list of upgrades, and costs thereof, will cause a lot of head scratching. It would behoove you to contact the C.C.O.A for estimates, and availablity of the necessary parts.
Get the seat re-upholstered and drive it.
And for the parts you cannot find (or CCOA doesn’t know where to go for them), check out West Coast Cougar Classic. Those guys are AWESOME!
GESchmidt
Owner of a 1967 Standard Cougar
Seems like there has been a lot of Cougars on Barn Finds lately.
Did a momma have a litter?
LOL JO…..I believe that is a cammo slip on seat cover on the passenger side! And, as a Stallion fan, I believe I’ll keep my Mustang.
1969 Cougar convertibles are the most pretty of the entire Cougar series from 1967 to until they were discontinued in my opinion.
I prefer the split grille on my 1970 XR7 Convertible, but the 67-70 are all better than the behemoths that followed
I ‘m a Chevy ; G M guy but there are a few Fords& Mercs that I love & appreciate for power & style/ design ; namely these Cougars; base or XR7!! This Cougar being a plane jane car still has Character w the style & body panels & the 351 has a lot more potential than only 250??! H P ;And Also I love the style of these cars even though almost same size as The Mustangs but w more comfort features & Cat coolness lol ! of the best features that I love on these cars are the Hideaways & black grille which to me looks great & cool w any color besides this light green & shows off more w dark colors like red ; blue & black & dark green?! W all the work this car still needs & still drivable ; I don t see spending more than $10 k if that much even though it has a solid platform ; but we all ( including B F guys) that the body is where the $$ is for preservation or restoration!!$$ & no matter what this car needs 1969 is still the most popular year for all cars like this
Had a 69 xr7. And compared to the GM cars of the same style. Yeah the cougar seemed gutless. Well because it was lol
I find it funny that in 1970 the H code could be either the 351C of 351W, both rated at 250 HP. Given the significantly larger valves and ports, even with the 2V heads, there’s no way the 351C made the same amount of horsepower. My other favorite was that the dual quad 427 made the only 10 more HP than the single 4bbl and the same amount of torque!
Several automakers quoted lower HP than actual to skirt around insurance rates at that time.
Still bothers me how cheap fomoco was( and probably still are), that floor shifter was used from ’64 til sometime into the ’80s in everything from mustangs to pintos and everything in between! And its ugly as sin!
I liked Cougars, particularly the first-generation examples like this one. A little more room on the inside, with more comfort and engine choices than the Mustang, but you don’t see one on every corner like the Mustang. Its rarity works against it when sourcing body panels, interior trim and other Cougar-specific parts, however. Later versions grew bigger, heavier and uglier, before sanity returned in the 1990’s, when it shared most of its parts with the T-Bird, save for a notchback roof instead of a fastback roof on the T-Bird.
In 69 you could still get a regular 302 and even a 302 boss engine (only in the Eliminator). 351W was new in 69 & probably the most common engine, but not the smallest
A regular 302 was not available in any 1969 Mercury Cougar. The base engine for a 1969 Cougar was the 351W 2V.
Floor pan rust is almost certain with a rag top vehicle. If he’s serious about getting top dollar he would peel the carpet back and show clear photos.