1969 Mercury Cougar

1969 Mercury Cougar Convertible Its restless, civilized, challenging, serene.. Its a Cougar, and its like nobody elses car. Queue Farrah Fawcett to hug the cat on the roof! The Sign of the Cat was the ad slogan that brought Mercury back to life in the late 1960s. For consignment, a mildly upgraded drop top version of the Mercury Cougar right out of 1969. Sporting a cosmetic restoration performed at some time in the past with clean upholstery, some upgrades on the suspension and engine, and our consignor states it probably wears the original top, along with a full ownership history and the original dealership invoicing, this cat surely wont last, so hurry up and grab it by the tail before someone else does. Exterior The Cougar is quite different from the Mustang in the realm of styling. Most noticeable was the front end electric shaver split grille treatment with concealed headlights. At the rear, it came with sequential taillights. Yellow covers the panels which show some usage, which consistent for its age. A few stone chips are noted and some bubbling of rust over prior body work is noted on the rear quarter panels and doors. A black canvas top, quite possibly the original, is now aged and has become a fine color of charcoal but overall, the condition is good with no tearing or seam separation. A 2-piece glass rear window is on the top and remains clear and clean. Chrome bumpers and all trim retains its shine and shows very little wear. Dual exhaust with chromed tips peek out the back at the bottom of the chassis and just above are full length sequential taillights stretching across the back of the car. Mercury 14-inch styled steel wheels with a blue cougar badge on the hub, are wrapped in BFG Raised white lettering radial T/As. Cue the cat growling. Interior Swinging one of the two doors open we are met with 2 sporty black vinyl covered wide tuck and roll buckets with accompanying headrests. The drivers bucket, while in nice shape, shows some minor tearing and seam separation. In back is a matching bench stretching across to smooth vinyl covered panels. This holds true for the doors as well which are in very nice condition as is the applique insert with chrome stalking cat. This car sports the standard package, which includes much of the XR-7s Cougars Euro theme. The dash front is covered with burled walnut appliqu. In front of the steering wheel within full view of the pilot, a lineup of 4 round gauges 2 of which are a speedometer and a clock and the others being warning light clusters, the temperature gauge, and fuel indicator. This appliqu panel is within a smooth black vinyl dash top and front which is in very good condition. Below is another black horizontal panel that has a few knobs and the ignition. In the center dash is a cascade of black which starts with a quad of warning lights and underneath the AM/FM radio are the temp sliders just above the floor. Adding to the European flair, in front of the passenger is an oval panel wood appliqu dash front which has an inset COUGAR in block lettering, and below is a black covered glovebox. Providing the backdrop for all of this is clean black carpeting with black carpeted mats. Drivetrain Under the hood is an original and patinaed engine bay which shows well. Shoehorned in its center is the star in the form of a blue block and aluminum intake topped 351ci Windsor V8 which is original to this car. It is topped with an Edelbrock intake and a Holley 4-barrel carburetor, and a surrounding Ford Motorsport chrome air cleaner covering. Valve covers are polished aluminum from Ford Motorsport and are nice and shiny and a 1 piece export brace ties things all together. A M6250-A-332 camshaft with Crane lifters was installed along with a new timing set and the cylinder heads were gone over and resurfaced in 1990. On the back is a C4 3-speed automatic transmission. Backing this up is a Ford 9-inch 2.75 conventional rear axle. One wild cat and a beauty to boot. Undercarriage Some surface rust is seen, particularly around a new stainless steel fuel tank. As we move forward this rust mostly clears up and we see some spotty surface rust on the floor pans and framing, along with some road dirt. A 1 drop via 620lb springs has been performed to the independent coil spring front suspension as well as new control arms, urethane bushings, ball joints, tie rod ends, radius arms, and a 1 sway bar. In the rear we see a leaf spring suspension with newer leafs, dual Turbo muffler equipped exhaust is on and power disc brakes for the front, and power drums for the rear. Drive-Ability A quick starter and very smooth runner with acceleration aplenty just push foot further to floor. Bias free braking, and good handling make this a luxury drop top muscle car much more upscale than the Mustang, and more powerful. Essentially a survivor with some upgrades both aesthetically and mechanically, showing a little age but in good overall condition. Also, plenty of paperwork for this cool cat to include the dealership invoice, order form, brochures as well as repair receipts and a full ownership history. Additionally, all the parts that have been changed out are included with the purchase should you want to take this roaring kitty back to factory stock. Hurry into our Hallowed Halls and you can have yourself a proud cat with a lethal roar!