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1969 was the first year for the Cougar convertible. A Mustang drop-top may be more desirable, but this could be a more affordable way into essentially the same car, albeit with more luxury. The Cougar was always the more luxurious of the two and the XR-7 model was even more so. This convertible is fitted with the base 351, so nothing special there. There is rust and it has needs, but with a $5k starting bid and no reserve here on eBay, it might just go for a fair price. Take a closer look and let us know what you think. Thanks goes to John K. for the submission.
This is not the base 351 , it is the desirable 351 4-V ( 290hp ), it also has a very rare option , cruise control, I have only seen a few 69 or 70 Cougars with cruise control. This car is nicely optioned, Tilt-away steering wheel ,AM-8 track, power windows…….I would like to have this.
Thanks for pointing that out Larry. The 4V and all the options do make this one worth more.
I got to drive a ’69 XR-7 with a 390 in it and can say it really MOVES, almost TOO well. if you put your foot down it would spin its wheels till you let up on the gas! I’m one of the few, apparently, that would prefer the coupe instead of the convertible. That said, I hope whoever buys this car that they appreciate its originality. I’d personally maintain it carefully and cherish its originality.
I like them better than Mustangs and would prefer a Cougar. Id put some magnum 500 wheels on it and 15 inch tires and tune it up a little and it would be a great fun car.
I have a “69 Cougar Convertible with a 351-4v. This car is so much fun and what a head turner. Everyone is use to seeing all the Mustangs at the car shows. I’m usually the only Cougar there. It definitely attracts a lot of attention & it’s wearing the magnum 500 wheels.
Nice, all there,but whoever ends up with this car has his work cut out for himself.
For those that don’t know about replacing floor pans……..you darn well better make sure you check shut lines in all directions before you strike an arc. If not……….you are toast.
Also, before purchase jack the car up in the middle on one side where the tires are just off the ground…..then open and close the door. Proceed to the other side. All the time checking shut lines. This will revel much.
Once purchased you have an old man car where the buying demographics are dying by the day…………….good luck with that
You say that the ’69 Cougar is the first year for the convertible, but in the drop down related finds it shows a ’68 convertible. So which is it?
Dave , There wasn’t a convertible Cougar until ’69 , this ’68 Cougar was a hardtop that was made into a convertable, the story includes the explanation .
Larry & Dave, this is my car, No where, anywhere, does the auction say this was a 68, or a hardtop converted to a convertible. The Marti report, included in the auction documents this vehicle as a convertible, originally equipped with the listed options.
Rancho’s advice on doing some very simple tests on any convertible, which always seem to flex more than the corresponding coupe version, is well worth having. If the floors are bad the amount of flex can get scary.
Various convertibles were made with extra stiffening in the floors/frame to compensate for the loss of stiffness from the lack of a roof compared to the corresponding coupe version. I don’t know whether real Cougar convertibles have extra chassis stiffening, but since this car was made from a coupe, if it doesn’t have extra stiffening I would want to check for chassis flex very carefully.
where are you guys seeing anything about this car being cut from a coupe????
This car does have the factory reinforcments on the under body… because Ford build it that way, as a convertible. The marti report, documents this is a convertibe, by the VIN #. and-the top goes down-like a convertible.
the rocker boxes, spring perches, and trunk floor are in very good shape, the floor boards are rusty, as shown in the pic.
The 68 Convertible Dave was referring to is at the bottom of the page at Related Finds , not this car . This car is a 69 Convertible .There are a few people that got confused as to what car we referring to. I hope this corrected the misunderstanding.
I have owned and restored over a dozen of these 69-70 Cougar convertibles. This is a desirable convertible with a long option list and in XR7 trim and good colors. Unfortunately, the rust is more serious that it may at first appear. The bottom of the frame rail is rusted away. This is the extra stiffening the factory welded into the convertible. The seller is honest. This one is going to need some work. The cruise control option is worth about $1,500 removed from the car, but it is not an easy job, as the dash and gas pedal actuator system have to come out. Patch the frame rail rust, drive and enjoy. I wouldn’t spend lots of money on paint and chrome. To get the grille properly re-chromed is a $2,000 job.
I posted some pics of the trunk, it’s actually pretty solid. I’m more a fan of “driver” condition cars myself. If you put truckloads of $$$ into paint & body work, it’s much harder to simply, drive & enjoy the car. This one’s a great driver. :-)
I’m looking for the complete Speed ( ‘cruise’ ) Control system, to replace the one that was lost / stolen en route to my house. It was insured and tracked – but locating it was to no avail. Really horrible loss of late 1960’s rare American muscle car parts. Does anyone know where I can get another complete system ? Randy has the price right for a one car take-off system – 1500 to 2000 dollars. Big job to reinstall. Help me to find another system ! Regards and thanks for any and all suggestions and leads.
I have a complete system for 4000.
I’ve uploaded some pics of the trunk with the mat removed, it’s actualy quite solid. Most of the rust on this car is in the floor boards it self. Someone in the Cougar community sent me some facts, that of 100,085 total 69 Cougar production, only 1146 were equpped with the speed control option, and only 183 of 69 XR7 convertibles had cruise, out of a total of 4024 made. pretttty cool :-)
I was never really a Ford guy, although some cousins and friends were. I thought they did have some awesome cars back in those days. I was mostly into the Chevys during that time, and into Mopars before that in high school… Out of all the classic, antique and muscle cars through the years I’ve owned, one of them that I distinctly remember driving, belonged to a friend. It was a 68 Cougar XR7 / Eliminator. I know it had a 428 or 429 Four spd., with a lower geared rear… It was unbelievably quick, and even honestly scary, with the smokin tires torque at a 35 to 40 mile an hour kick down….White with outside black decals/stripe, rear trunk spoiler and Black interior… was plush too… great car, great memories…
Ooops… I was just informed by a cousin,… that the car had the 427 Ford engine in it…lol,… been a long time since that drive and shows how much I know about Fords.