By 1967, Ford Motor Co. had two entries in the new “pony car” market – the Ford Mustang and Mercury Cougar. The Cougar was a more luxurious offering given that most Mercurys were a step up from most comparable Fords. The car was treated to a facelift in 1969 when Mercury assembled 5,706 convertibles (excluding the XR-7). But, according to a Marti Report the seller has, this car is 1 of 61 to have its paint and trim combination. But it’s hard to tell as the car has been partially disassembled.
When this drop-top was built, it wore Dark Green Metallic paint with a white bucket seat interior. But none of that is obvious now with the interior and front clip removed and grey primer having been applied to many exterior surfaces. To help with a restoration, the seller is throwing in a blue parts car that may be in better condition. So, is this an opportunity to make one good car out of two?
This Merc once had a 351 cubic inch V8 (2-barrel) paired with a Cruise-O-Matic automatic transmission. That combination went into about two-thirds of the Cougar convertibles built in 1969, again per the Marti Report. Besides the donor vehicle, the project comes with new metal for the torque boxes, inner rocker panels, and floors. This vehicle was also a Home Office Reserve car, but we don’t know if that’s terribly important now.
The seller admits not having the time to put into this pair of projects. So, the question will be whether a buyer will have the time and money to invest, either. Located in Des Moines, Iowa, these Mercurys are available here on craigslist for $3,500 OBO together. If you don’t see the merit of restoring what’s here, could either of these cars help with another project you’ve already started? Whatever you decide, this is an interesting tip brought to us by “Zappenduster”.
Ahh I would never buy something in this condition. missing parts just someones nightmare….
It’s a two for one…..does anyone read the write up ?
Let meeeeeeee take it apart!
Would the seller let me work on it in his driveway?
This looks like a 1:1 scale model kit that someone took all the parts off of the “trees” prior to saying, “I wonder where this part goes?”
This may not be too bad of a deal for someone with the time and ability to do the work. The big question that the seller does not answer is do they have any or all of the missing parts?
$3500 for both is a great deal. If you don’t want to restore there is enough parts there to make $3500 and then some. I have no room for 2 more cars otherwise I would pull the trigger.
Project? More like an impossibility!
The “One of 61” bit is somewhat disingenuous given the specificity of the Marti reports and the plethora of options when these cars were new – I’ve seen sellers tout the “One of only XXX” built when the options giving it that status might be something so mundane as a different style ash tray, stuff that’s of absolutely no consequence to anyone!
Convertible parts are harder to find , so this looks to be a good deal