While Mercury marketed the First Generation Cougar as an upmarket alternative to the iconic Ford Mustang, ticking the right boxes on the Order Form brought enough power to satisfy most enthusiasts. That is the case with this 1969 Cougar Eliminator, with its original owner slotting a 428 Cobra Jet Ram Air under its hood. The car presents superbly and would seem to suit the most fastidious buyer. It has generated plenty of interest since the owner listed it here on eBay in Patton, Pennsylvania. Bidding has raced to $60,000 but remains short of the reserve.
Mercury released the Eliminator package for the 1969 model year, offering some cosmetic upgrades and a few mechanical improvements. Visually, it included additional stripes, a blacked-out grille, and a rear spoiler. The company restricted mechanical updates to heavier springs and a thicker front anti-roll bar. This Cougar retains those components, and it presents superbly. The seller admits the vehicle underwent a repaint in its original shade of Code 9 Bright Yellow in 2009, and the past thirteen years have seen no deterioration. It still shines beautifully, with no significant marks, scratches, dings, or dents. The Cougar remains rust-free, with the exterior looking clean and the underside wearing a consistent undercoat. It is worth noting that the seller doesn’t describe the car’s condition as showroom-fresh. They admit there is pitting on some chrome pieces and the Magnum 500 wheels, but if potential buyers consider the Eliminator as an above-average driver-grade classic, this is acceptable. Sending the offending parts to the platers for a refresh is possible, but only an in-person inspection will determine whether the cost and effort are justified. The glass looks spotless, while the Ram Air hood indicates this Mercury might have something special hiding below the surface.
Mercury offered the First Generation Cougar as a more upmarket alternative to Ford’s Mustang. Unlike its cousin, the Cougar was V8-only territory. If your budget didn’t stretch to an eight, you needed to step back and place a Mustang in your sights. Of course, there are V8s, and then there are V8s! The original owner of this Eliminator wasn’t intimidated by brute power, ordering their new toy equipped with the legendary 428 Cobra Jet Ram Air that delivered 335hp. They coupled this great eight with a three-speed C6 automatic transmission, a 3.50 Traction-Lok rear end, power steering, and power front disc brakes. Mercury may have chosen the luxury angle, but this car’s ability to storm the ¼ mile in 14.8 seconds means it commanded respect. While the seller doesn’t specifically say the Cougar is numbers-matching, their emphasis on originality suggests it is. It has been part of their family since the early 1970s and has a claimed 27,000 genuine miles on the clock. They don’t mention verifying evidence, but the ownership history means confirmation may not be difficult. The car runs and drives well, and they say the engine feels strong. It sounds like it could be a turnkey proposition for its new owner.
The seller holds a Marti Report for this Cougar that confirms it rolled off the production line with an interior trimmed in White vinyl with Black highlights. They indicate the car recently received a new headliner, and I’d be willing to bet the carpet isn’t original. The White vinyl has a few marks, but there are no rips or tears. If considered a survivor-grade classic, the condition is acceptable. The dash is spotless, while the pad and wheel show no evidence of cracks. There are no aftermarket additions, with the factory AM radio occupying its rightful place in the dash.
This 1969 Cougar Eliminator is a stunning classic, and its monster motor should offer enough power to satisfy all but the most hardened performance enthusiast. If you believe resources like Hagerty or NADA, they indicate bidding should nudge six-figure territory before the hammer falls. However, recent sales results don’t support their claims. It has already attracted forty-eight bids and may need to hit $70,000 before passing the reserve. Whatever the outcome, someone could be driving away in a classic that will command admiring glances and respect wherever it goes.
Nice! You know, the Cougar always seemed to run in the shadow of the Mustang, but make no mistake, this was one bad axx car. 335 hp, pfft, probably more like 435, I rode in a ’68 KR500 with this motor, and I swear the front wheels came off the ground. That was a Mustang, known for that kind of stuff, more “civilized” people drove Cougars, and the Eliminator was the zenith of Mercury performance. Left lane car, for sure. Again, perspective. New, this car cost around $4grand, which for 1969, was a bit pricey, about a grand more than the CJ Mustang, but I feel got a much nicer car for that extra grand.
So, SIXTY GRAND today,,sigh, yeah, I suppose. It’s been said and not just by me, but in ’69, just about anyone with a halfway decent job( Uncle Marv type, again) could have this, now? $60gs pretty much “eliminates”( get it?) us regular folks from having this, and relatively useless in todays society anyway, may as well put a velvet rope around it. At .47/gallon, they were fantastic cars.
Engine Bay needs detailing. I noticed 10 areas that would get the attention of a purist. However,, still an extremely nice car!
In 69 I made $8700.00 in what was considered to be a very good job at Boeing Airplane company. I bought my first house, a little 2 bedroom 1 bath 700+square feet with white pickett fence in the Sand Point area of Seattle for $13950.00 with a monthly payment of $125.00. I wanted rather than needed a new car so my wife (at the time) and I went car shopping on weekends. We found most new cars to be out of our range on a monthly basis, but finally settled on a 69 Nova 396 4 speed in forest green with black vinyl top and ralley wheels. the monthly payment set us back $95.00 a month. By then we had two baby girls to support. One family income in those days was the norm. You bought cars on a three year loan plan in those days. It was about 30 miles from our little house to the plant in Muculteo. So 60 miles round trip 5 days weekly meant a tank of gas at least once a week. At the end of each month we were scraping the bottom of the barrel for money. I got paid every two weeks. Sure that Mercury was nice, but there was no way we could afford one. We looked at Mustangs, and AMX and a few others before getting the Chevy, with our two babies we need a good sized back seat in the car we could afford. The Chevy was nice as far as medium sized cars go and could beat most other cars in a street race, and I love the color. Unfortunately, Boeing lost the contract to build the SST and started laying people off or transferring them to other plants. After being transferred to Renton I was soon laid off. We lost our house our car and most of all my dignity. I fell into a slumber with my spirit broken that took a few years to overcome, our marriage failed, but in retrospect that was probably a good thing, as I went to school and got a little education which got me a good job in a Ford dealership, a new wife and a new life. Now more than 50 years later it’s all just a foggy memory. Life throws things at you that you can’t see coming. At Ford I started driving Lincolns and Ford pickups, never got a Mercury, but I helped a lot of people with their Mercury’s. Life is grand, get what you can, but make honesty and integrity the most important parts of your life. I’m 75 now widowed and alone, but I’ve got fond memories and the most important thing, Love for other people even if they do me wrong.
God Bless America
You didn’t fail one bit (except getting rid of the 396, hindsight). Your parents would have been proud of you. Maybe now you can afford a 396, Boss 302 or 409 convertible. Life comes at you in strange ways……..
What a story and all of us in the 60+ age group have similar tales and aspirations. Thanks for sharing!
When my layoff came in 2007, 2 kids with 1 of them applying to colleges and the other 4 years away, I felt like you did and I’m sorry to hear about it. Fortunately, I made it through without the losses because I was able to find another job. A lot less money, but enough. Yeah, things changed, but we endured. I admire you for putting into words what many of us could not. Hang in there.
I know what you went thru. When it comes to schools, you pay up or it is a no go. We had the same situation, but I managed to work overtime and standby to make payments, not sure if any of those options are still on the table. Teach your kids to do it, once they see how hard it was on the folks.
Blue-collar man right there👊🏼 good read for sure.
Reason so many thumbs up? You just described what most of us went through, and why we’re here instead of attending the next B-J auction. Most of us didn’t plan to fail, it was the nature of our way of living, and folks today couldn’t possibly experience what we went through, just like we didn’t know how our parents made it, in far worse times. I like to think of it as, our generation ( I’m 67) had it made, aside from war, that is. That was always an underlying threat, we were darn happy to be free, as some of our buddies weren’t so lucky. We had good jobs, made and bought AMERICAN items, and the “American Dream” was indeed achievable. I did it. It all worked, and not how much money one can bilk out of their fellow man. You always end your posts with “God Bless America”, as if to remind people of that, and I’m right with ya’, pal, but I come from a time when that didn’t need to be said, and I sadly wonder if that’s still true, especially today. In these unsettling times, where’s our messiah now?
I’m about the same age as you. A quote from Winston Churchill that I heard as a teen stuck with me: “Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts.” I’ve failed, dusted myself off, failed again, dusted myself off and succeeded. I’m not rich in wealth (I’m comfortable), but I’m rich in love from friends and family. Never give in and never give up your dreams. Fight to the death for our collective freedom… there is no green grass on the left side of that fence.
Hi John,
Very touching story. I’ve always said it’s not what you’ve accomplished in life that defines you; rather, it’s how you’ve dealt with the difficult situations in your life that truly defines you. God Bless you as well!
This car is missing quite a few rare and expensive parts under the hood.
Looks like the driver’s front inner apron has been replaced, as well as the hood and radiator support. So past accident repairs ~ which were likely the reason that the car got repainted.
Marti Report shows it as a Pennsylvania car, so it’s interesting that it retains the original floor pans ~ AND they look great! IMO, that helps back up the claimed 27k miles. …but I would still do my due-diligence and check the VIN stamps on the shock towers, as well as date codes on various sheet metal.
Speaking of VIN stamps, it would be nice to see a pic of the engine VIN stamp as well.
A few items on the “plus” side: correct ram air base and lid, and seal (the seals usually get replaced with the Torino version). Looks like it retains the FoMoCo radiator ~ would need to see the codes on it to see if it’s original / correct or not. Retains the factory rear spoiler (unique to the ’69 Eliminator, a rare piece!). Interior looks great! Camera case dash pieces look great!
Very nice, i wonder if that is original miles or has it flipped?
Based on the undercarriage condition (no rust in a PA car??), and no signs of rust at the tops of the aprons, and condition of the interior… It has either been restored in the past or it is low miles. IMO.
Very nice looking Cougar and it being the Eliminator version just makes it all that much MORE!
I hate to agree with the statement that the Cougar lived in the shadows of the mustang, but know it’s true. I am going to buy a Cougar one of these days and if I were ready now this would be a heck of a candidate. Beautiful car!
Has a deepened oil pan, Cal Tracs and Headers. Might have Class raced for years, would explain the low mileage.
Good point! Might have quite the racing history. That would also explain the changes to underhood parts. Would be interesting to dig through the records and receipts that presumably come with the car.
1969 was a long frigging time ago when you think of it! I really wonder how many “stages” this old Eliminator went through before appearing showroom stock again when cars like these became investment grade collectables. I always remember how most people thought I was nuts driving around in a clapped out ’68 Chevelle street cruiser in the early to mid eighties. It was just an old car then, noisy dang thing too.
No AC and it’s automatic, it’s a pass.
To Bleednred. What exactly do you mean by “no green grass on the left side of the fence”? BF says no politics. But I will indulge you.. all the hate coming from the “right side of the fence” has this country on verge of self destruction instead of taking care of our planet.
Respectfully disagree.
Ffred: El Oh El…
Yeah… cuz the “left side of the fence” has no hate whatsoever, LOL!