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1969 Survivor: Mercury Cougar Eliminator

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The Eliminator. What a cool name for a high-performance car! And the 1969 Mercury Cougar Eliminator lived up to that name with some . This survivor example is located in Chepachet, Rhode Island, and is up for sale here on eBay, with a steep buy it now of $32,000 but lower offers are being considered.

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According to the Marti report included in the auction listing, this car had a great set of options, from a close-ratio manual transmission hooked to a 351 cubic inch, four barrel carbureted V8, “handling suspension,” power steering and power brakes.

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What a wonderfully cleanly styled rear end! I’m sure there are mixed opinions about the rear wing, but I like it. Don’t forget those wonderful sequential turn signals, too.

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There are some relatively minor corrosion issues, with the one at the left looking to be the worst. The seller has admirably tried to include pictures of the spots in the auction listing but it’s still a little hard to tell how things really are.

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The underside of the car looks truly solid, although I’m left wondering why the red primer?

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The interior looks every bit as nice as the outside. With only 35,243 miles showing, I’m inclined to believe the number based on this picture. Pedal pads, seat surfaces and padded parts like the dash all look good. Personally, having used one twice on classic cars, I’m a fan of the fire extinguisher, but I’m sure some of you won’t like it’s rather garish addition to a classy looking interior. The only thing that had me wondering regarding the miles versus the wear was the steering wheel; doesn’t that look a little worn for 35k miles to you? Regardless, it’s a beautiful looking interior!

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I can believe the mileage looking under the hood as well. Clean but not immaculate. Not much I’d change on this survivor, and I’m hoping the corrosion can be fixed locally without disturbing what I believe to be original paint and decals. I sure like this versus the more common Mustang variants–could you find a spot for this Eliminator in your garage?

Comments

  1. Avatar Glen

    I’ve always preferred the look of the Cougar to the Mustang. Atleast for the first few years.

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  2. Avatar St. Ramone de V8

    Love it. I believe the mileage. I have a 69 Cougar, with low miles. That rim-blow steering wheel didn’t age well. The primer on the underside is curious, though. While a big block would be better, it’s a great car.

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  3. Avatar Ron

    Over priced

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  4. Avatar Jumping g

    Love the car . I had a 1968 with the 390 it was a fun car …. this is NOT a 32k car . .

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  5. Avatar Mike_B_SVT

    This one has been listed for a while now. It was previously owned and refreshed by John Benoit, owner of Cascade Classics. From him it went to Steven Cameron of New York, the head of the Long Island Cougar Club.
    The current owner has had it less than a year.

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  6. Avatar JW

    I too le the Cougar styling over the Mustang, the Eliminator package is just icing on the cake IMO !!!

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  7. Avatar flmikey

    …I think they came from the factory with the primer on the underside….

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  8. Avatar Mike_B_SVT

    Several folks in various threads on this car had comments / questions about the red oxide underside. Jamie is right – the red oxide on this car is not correct.

    All Eliminators were built in Dearborn. For ’69 & ’70, Dearborn was painting the underside of the Mustang & Cougar with a “slop gray” batch paint. This was applied from the firewall back, prior to application of sound deadening (aka “undercoating”).
    Here is a great link on the Concours Mustang forum describing the underside paint process, as seen on a ’70 Boss 302 Mustang (same process for ’69 & ’70):
    http://www.concoursmustang.com/forum/index.php?topic=313.0

    Uploaded image is my own ’70 Eliminator underside, showing the transition from sound deadener to “slop gray” (mine has a lot of green metallic in it), then to the engine bay black.

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  9. Avatar Mike_B_SVT

    Here is a ’69 Eliminator on rotisserie prior to restoration. The yellow makes it easy to see the overspray patterns.

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  10. Avatar RollerD

    I like 4 speed no option performance cars, and I like this one.

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  11. Avatar stillrunners

    I like it…..but not at that price….had a 68 390 XR7….ran good….turn signals worked….ran, drove and stopped – $1800 with title was best it would bring late 80’s or early 90’s….now if it was a stang think I would have got more….

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    • Avatar Phil J

      Worth every penny if it’s legit. I question the primer though. Just mho.

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      • Avatar Mike B.

        It is legit. Marti report, as well as listed in the Eliminator Registry.
        I believe it is known to have a replacement transmission, but it is a factory 4-speed car.

        As for price, there are several ’69 Eliminator’s in better condition currently for sale for less, but they are 351/automatic cars.

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  12. Avatar RoughDiamond

    Love all Cougars since my father who managed the Chattanooga Hertz location started driving the ’67 XR-7s home. He would park one on our lower driveway and I would sit in the driver’s seat at 8 years-old and pretend to be driving. Finally located in 2006, a vinyl top delete ’68 Nordic Blue Metallic XR-7 GT 390 with close ratio 4-speed and 3:25 Equa-Lok rear axle ratio. It’s so ironic that right before logging on here I received a call from and spent the last 45 minutes speaking with Kurt Lawrance, owner/operator of Kurt’s (formerly KTL) Restorations in Danville, VA. He called me as he was leaving the shop to tell me he was getting ready to start work on my wife’s and my Cougar. I will contact the administrators once the Cougar is finished and ask permission to upload some pictures of the Cat.

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  13. Avatar Fred

    Do my eyes deceive me, or is that a 351 Windsor? Valve covers look too small to be a Cleveland

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    • Avatar Mike_B_SVT

      351 Windsor was the correct engine for a ’69 Cougar.
      351 Cleveland was offered starting in 1970.

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  14. Avatar Mike_B_SVT

    Ok, lets talk about some good points on this car:
    It is one of 2,250 Eliminators built in 1969, of which 180 were built with the 351W / 4-speed manual transmission drivetrain combination.

    How many of those are left? Good question, to which we have no answer. However…
    Only 24 are recorded in the Eliminator Registry.
    11 of those are painted Competition Orange
    8 of which have black decor interior.

    I dare say, you will not likely find yourself parking next to an identical car at the cruise in!

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  15. Avatar RoughDiamond

    @Mike_B_SVT

    Thanks for the links. I am already a member of Kurt’s Group Page and look forward to seeing the progress on the Cougar which Kurt says he plans to post on FB. Congratulations on the ’70 Eliminator you snagged a few years ago. Rare find indeed.

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  16. Avatar Mike_B_SVT

    Relisted with a $30k Buy Now.

    Like 0
  17. Avatar W9BAG

    I believe that the steering wheel in question is a rim blow.

    Like 0

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