If you awoke this morning hoping to find one of the 127 specimens of 428 Cobra-Jet equipped Cougar from 1968, tears of joy may obscure your view of this Mercury’s rust-eroded sheet-metal. Rust concerns may blur even more if you fancy one of the 48 original four-speed specimens. On the plus side, this particular 1968 Mercury Cougar 428 Cobra Jet Ram Air four-speed in Largo, Florida comes with some known history. Sadly the listing here on eBay features low-resolution versions of decent-looking original pictures. Over 20 bids have driven the market value beyond $11,500 in this No Reserve auction.
Kudos to the seller for including some of the Cougar’s history. This dangerous North American predator roamed through several states including Ohio and Michigan before making its way to Florida. As much as Boss 302-powered Cougars embraced road racing, the 428 CJ cars, with the 4.30:1 rear axle ratio, fulfilled another purpose: go fast in a straight line.
Cardinal Red with a black interior makes as sporty a combination today as it did in 1968. Check out more pictures posted here on photobucket.com. Eagle-eyed readers may spot the non-original Hurst shifter, though the factory unit comes with the car. Other sellers could take a lesson from this listing’s details about original and non-original parts and other notes.
Ford’s 428 Cobra Jet or “CJ” engine made 335 HP and 445 lb-ft of torque on paper, and quickly earned a reputation for being underrated. Dynamometer tests show these numbers to be more like 365 and 462, respectively. In place of the original 428 CJ engine sits this 1969 428 CJ version. The seller mentions a similar car selling for over $200,000. This is a No Reserve auction, folks; what’s your high bid?
I have a love for these early model Mercury Cougars and own a ’68 Nordic Blue XR-7 GT 390 4-speed Cougar. This one is already at 12K and due to its rarity will sell for a lot more. If you think the rust repair on this Cougar is near impossible, check out the two Aruba Cats (’70 Eliminators) being restored by KTL Restorations in Danville, VA.
My first Cougar (bought new by my Dad) was a ’68 Nordic Blue/black vinyl top/black Decor Group interior 302 2V. Yours is a rare treasure; would love to see photos!
Car will fetch a decent price and with the original engine would fetch even more.
Nom kills it for me …
But hey for the searcher out there and a big check book …find an engine 90 days prior to build and your original in fords …..
Looks like Mother Nature tried to make this a convertible.. wow and yep Ohio and Florida salt killed it.
I just hope the new owner swaps all the tags out correctly…..on the donor car err original restoration 🙃😮
Re: NOM. I have to wonder if somewhere there’s a person with a 1969 428 CJ car that’s got a date-correct ’68 428 CJ motor. Even swap. No dollars, No tax. Win-Win. The Internet makes it at least worth looking. A fella can dream, can’t he?
Nope…No dreaming Todd ! Classic Steel doesn’t like much of anything. We readers try to cheer him up !
Thanks John you made my heart grow two sizes bigger with the nice comments and Cindy lieu so happy.
Seriously the rule if the ford engine within 90 days of build making this not impossible but still statistically tuff .
I love mustangs and cougars !
I have also built many from the ground up like this…but as we all get older Time gets harder to cut, weld and fabricate..
This sweet deal never made it here was this special order delete paint code no rust Utah mustang that I considered adding to my collection
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F223181580446
Thanks John you made my heart grow two sizes bigger with the nice comments and Cindy lieu so happy.
Seriously the rule with ford engine within 90 days of build making this not impossible but still statistically tuff .
I love mustangs and cougars !
I have also built many from the ground up like this…but as we all get older Time gets harder to cut, weld and fabricate..
This sweet deal never made it here was this special order delete paint code no rust Utah mustang that I considered adding to my collection
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F223181580446
Classic Steel, I have said it before and I will say it again. The federal government mandated that the engine and transmission be VIN stamped starting with the 1968 model year. When this Cougar left the factory the VIN would have been stamped on the engine and transmission. Having an earlier date coded engine and transmission only works for the 1967 and earlier model year vehicles. If you need more proof I have a 1968 Cougar here that I am working on and the VIN is clearly stamped on the back of the block, an F code 302-2V.
Wow is that thing a rust bucket! At least it has a sun roof. :D
Still very rare but going to take some mighty deep pockets to salvage.
Yeah, this is the second time through for this one. It was here a couple months ago. Must not have sold, so they’re trying again. Best of luck selling this. I think you’re going to need it. Way too much rust and corrosion for me to fool with.
That was a different car. Although mine was posted in the comments section. That red car was a 390 GT. Big difference in an S-Code and an R-Code.
Isnt Karguy James rig a ton better? I like them both
Actually, this IS my car. Yeah, it’s rough and rusty but still very restorable. Noted Cougar expert Don Rush has stated that this is a $200k car when restored. The current engine and trans could bring $10k to the right buyer to fund the purchase of a 1968 engine.
As far as “matching” numbers, the 1968 Fords and Mercury engine stamps were barely legible, sometimes missing and sometimes even stamped on the back of the driver’s side cylinder head. Everything else is just date coding.
I put it out there at no reserve so we will let the market decide value, but it should be fun to watch it. There have been people that have offered mid twenties to end the auction, but that would not be fair to everyone interested.
Hey karguy James – Thanks for chiming in. Good luck with the sale!
A legitimate $200,000 ‘68 428 CJ Cougar would be either an incredibly well preserved thoroughbred survivor OR an absolutely immaculate restoration with the original engine under the hood, not an engine from ‘69.
The Cougar experts say otherwise. :)
Kind of like Little Red, the red 1968 Shelby Coupe that was just discovered in a Texas junkyard, rusty, missing its entire front clip and drivetrain and estimated to me a million dollar plus car. When rarity and desirability along with good colors all intersect, prices get crazy.
Not really. The unrestored $225k GTE 4-speed was not “an incredibly well preserved thoroughbred survivor”. Survivor yes, incredibly well preserved… debateable.
Could this one be a $200k car? Also debatable ;-)
It will take a lot of work to get this back in top form. Based on the build date this Cougar, the original motor would have been stamped with the partial VIN number so a date correct 428 CJ motor won’t help the case of a “NOM”. I would keep the 69 motor and send it to KTL to restore. I like the history of the car documented on eBay. That information is not usually available after 50 years.
The high bid for me on this one sits around $20,000 – $22,000.
I’m thinking maybe mid twenties based on the fact that people have offered more than that to have me stop the auction. But you never know. Since none of these have sold publicly that I have been able to find it is really going to be interesting to see what the market says.
Like the ad James.Pretty honest and well described. Appreciate you allowing the market to decide it’s worth. Best luck !
With this much rust I see two scenarios:
1. Remove the crusty VIN numbers and reinstall onto solid Cougar, (illegal) and you now have a devalued rebody or,
2. Replace most of the body due to rust (almost a rebody) and wait for the remaining body parts not replaced to start showing rust.
Furthermore, this car won’t have its original drive line. So, when “restored” it will be a once rust bucket, partially or wholly rebodied with a non-original drive line; hardly comparable to the $228,000 car that the seller is comparing his car to. I’m thinking $125,000 when properly done, about the restoration cost plus purchase.
I agree totally with 2cool2say. Option 1- A rebodied car of this pedigree would not be the way to go. The rust issues can be taken care of but it will be costly. West Coast Classic Cougar has some of the sheet metal but not all that is available that is needed. A clean western donor car with a similar build date may be the best way to go to find rust free metal.
But when you buy and drop metal / rebody and paint your past return of sweat equity and why not just drop 100k to 130 on a classic shelby KR big block which is cool and a safe bet on return should one ever sell versus explaining you bought a rust bucket NOM car that is not original other than the vins.
CAll me grumpy but I am a realist not a wow let’s polish the field car from
Salty Ohio to Florida and I have a rebodied car for much money💰
For those wanting this car, the idea is having something truly exclusive. There are thousands of Shelbys and only 43 1968 Cougar R-Code 428cj Ram Air 4spd cars built and likely way less than half of those survive. There are only four existing 4:30 rear axle drag cars listed in the Cougar R-Code registry and none of those are restored cars. As we all know, exclusivity is a big factor in what a car can bring in the Muscle car World and few cars offer this level of ‘I have one and you don’t” more than this car. How many of you have ever seen one? That’s what makes this a $200,000 car when completed.
Well sure, putting money into a KR is probably a safe bet. But where are you going to find a Shelby KR for $25k that isn’t a NOM rust bucket too? LOL!
I would fix the sheetmetal, repaint it, then drag race the hell out of that car, that’s what it was built for. That car is and always will be worth quite a bit. It has obviously been drag raced a lot, I think fixing the rust and putting it back on the track would be the best thing for the car and let the car collector queens cry.
I live 20 minutes from largo. If anyone needs a set of local eyes to check it out let me know. If anyone is interested i would gladly help out
Rough car, but rare enough to make it worth saving.
This one has had quite a bit of discussion on the Classic Cougar Commuity and Mustang 428 Cobra Jet Registry forums.
https://classiccougarcommunity.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=9780
https://www.428cobrajet.org/forum/index.php?topic=25600.0;all
OMW, this is one rare find for sure! Brings back memories for me! I know of a guy way back in high school that owned one of these! What I remember most is that he had a huge black cat that rode around with him! It was either a panther or a cougar, I really can’t remember exactly, but one of the two! His daddy owned a circus animal act they had elephants, lions and a whole bunch of animals in cages around their yard all winter! It was in a town that I grew up in, Gibsonton Florida! Just memories, gotta love em! Eh?
Love the history on this one, must have been one quick cat. It’s interesting at the end of the eBay ad where Dyno Don may or may not have raced this particular car.
Very interesting car and absolutely must be saved.
24 hours until the auction ends with over 11,500 views, over 600 “watchers” and currently over $15,000. Bidding is expected to pick up just before the auction ends.
Well, another 68.5 benchmark $26,766 for a restoration project 1968 Cougar 428CJ 4spd 4:30 Traction Lok Staggered Shock car with NOM engine and trans. It will be very exciting to watch the next chapter in this car’s life.
Congrats! I hope the sale transaction works out smoothly.
Can’t wait to eventually see how this one turns out.
Congrats on the sale. I hope that the new owner takes advantage of the resources available through the Cougar Club Of America.