I’m not sure that the 1967/8 Mercury Cougar gets the recognition it deserves for being a fantastic-looking car, one that is almost totally distinct from its parent Mustang. From its electric-shaver grille to its slightly tunneled rear window, it is filled with graceful styling touches. What makes this ’68 XR-7 even better is its excellent, ready-to-drive condition.
There are a couple small deviations from stock, including a pronounced front air dam and Magnum 500-style wheels. Both are easily removed or swapped if the new buyer prefers a more factory-fresh appearance. The paint color is Augusta Green, a subtle color that accentuates the Cougar’s attractive lines.
Under the hood is Ford’s stalwart 302 two-barrel V8, which is correct according to the car’s data plate. The seller says that the car has a slight power steering leak and that the air conditioning “cools into the 60s.” Anybody from rust country will notice how solid the inner fenders are, a common corrosion point on Mustang/Cougar unibodies.
The Cougar’s tail is as dramatic as the nose, with wide sequential taillights, kicked-up quarter panels, and the aforementioned rear window. This one has a vinyl top, which is a nice period styling touch on this hardtop bodystyle.
The XR-7 was the “luxury” Cougar, the one that was intended to give off a European flair. The woodgrained dashboard and full instrumentation were standard, as were the Jaguar-inspired toggle switches on the dashboard. This one has a modern radio installed, but most people don’t mind a few tunes when they’re driving. It’s hard to see the odometer in this picture, but the ad claims that the car has 53,000 miles on it.
According to the data plate, this Cougar came with a Dark Ivy Gold interior. Judging by other examples online, this color is correct. The brochure claims that interior is “leather…trimmed with vinyl.” I’m not sure which material is where, but the “horseshoe” outline on the seat bottom appears to be a different material than the rest.
Here is the data plate I’ve been referring to, which verifies that this car has changed little since it was built. Backing the 302 is a C4 automatic and 3.00 rear axle ratio. The Denver District Sales Office code proves that it was originally a western car, and it is indeed being sold out of Wichita, Kansas. The seller says that it is rust-free, although there are no undercarriage pictures included in the ad.
This Cougar is a fantastic example of a late-1960s pony car. Posh and sporty at the same time, this one is currently on eBay with a strong high bid of $13,601. With several days to go, who knows where it will end up, but it looks like someone will be getting a nice old car.
I think you nailed the write-up Aaron. The 67-68 Cougars were a clean and classy vehicle, inside and out. Excellent styling and just the right amount of trim, especially the XR-7. The dark green on this example is quite attractive. For me, it’s okay that it isn’t a fire-breathing muscle car; the base drivetrain does just fine. I hope our resident Cougar expert will chime in. Great find.
I’m guessing there are many “cougar” experts in the reading audience…
Owned a 1968 6.5 Liter that I serviced for the rginal owner for years – I know they don’t pull the money in like a same Mustang will.
Some Mopar is looking for it’s wheels – looks from he garage picture it was wearing something else…..good luck to the new owner !
Drove a red ’68 XR-7 GT for a little over 4 years. Loved it.
390 S code (that was tired), 4 speed with power disc brakes, PS. Back and forth to college and Louisville to Atlanta. Still have the “6.5 Litre” fender emblem and bill of sale – would buy another one!
This ’68 looks nice with AC to boot! May hit $20k -beautiful color helps as does clean and unmolested condition not often seen.
Looks like a winner Bob!
Im awarding Bob in TN a fake gold medal 🏅 for his excellent posts. Congratulations Bob 🤝
Thank you Stan for the kind words.
I’ve read that a raised bead, as along the seat back, indicates vinyl; no visible seam is leather. By that scheme, the seating surface is leather, and the bolsters are vinyl.
That is correct. The center seating area and the center backrest area are leather. The side panels are vinyl.
Im with Bob. This is my favorite generation of Cougars. Dark green is a beautiful color on them. And of course, how can we forget those cool sequential turn signals that Ford had back then. This is a nice one.
Nice example. Appears to have been repainted, since it’s missing its pinstriping and the door data plate appears to have been masked off at some point. Too bad the original owner apparently didn’t spring for the optional front disc brakes. And of course the wheels are aftermarket instead of the Cougar-only ’67-’68 styled steel wheels.
Had a ’67 base model in this color (Inverness Green in ’67) and agree the dark green works well on these. Hard to find one this clean nowadays.
The car does have a power brake booster so it might have disc brakes. Or it could have power drum brakes. With no underside photos and no Marti report there is no way of telling.
Actually the 1967 and 1968 styled steel wheels are slightly different. The 1967 wheels are 5 1/2 inches wide, the 1968 wheels are 6 inches wide.
Those are 1969 up Mopar wheels and a disk brake car – should – have that on the brake pedal.
A very honest car. I like it.
@Aaron: “I’m not sure that the 1967/8 Mercury Cougar gets the recognition it deserves for being a fantastic-looking car, one that is almost totally indistinguishable from its parent Mustang.”
Shouldn’t that be “distinguishable”? If it were “indistinguishable” you wouldn’t be able to to tell it wasn’t a Mustang because both cars would look alike.
You are absolutely right…brain fade!
Thank you, I’ve changed my wording.
Overall this looks like a pretty decent car, if it is solid without rust issues. There are a few minor items that I see that would be fairly easy to correct.
The antenna is broken. The rear bumper is tweaked and the left rubber bumper filler is missing. The left window crank is incorrect. The left map pocket is for the right door panel. The windshield washer nozzles are not properly hooked up. They are not connected to the windshield washer reservoir, the plastic F fitting is missing. Again, all minor things that would be fairly easy to fix.
What does the license plate O/B 42 mean? Curious. I like this car very much, the dark color too, though I fear being seen by other drivers with the darker colors, when dusk or dark outside.
After some Wikipedia sleuthing:
The plate looks to be a 1968 Kansas plate. The bottom says “Midway USA”. OB would be Osborne County, a rural county in the north central part of the state.
Love the green with the black Vinyl, wonderful combo!
I bought this exact same car back in 1975 while I was living in Alaska. I moved to Washington State in 1976 and loaded up the Cougar with all my belongings and had it shipped down. About a year later, a drunk woman in a Cadillac pulled a u-turn in the middle of the road and ran straight into my door. She then proceeded to attempt a getaway and hit me 5 more times totaling my car and injuring my back and neck. I really wanted to keep that car forever. 😒
I will own one of them before I die. Loved them since my dad brought me home a Matchbox Cougar back when they were new!
I always thought the XR7 dash was one of the best produced by Detroit, but always wondered why they chose to place the oil pressure gauge location on the passenger side of the dash. The wheels are Mopar items. Nice looking car, well equipped, someone will enjoy this.
I always thought the XR7 dash was one of the best designs produced by Detroit, but always wondered why they chose to place the oil pressure gauge location on the passenger side of the dash. The wheels are Mopar items. Nice looking car, well equipped, someone will enjoy this.
SOLD for $17,101.
When I bought mine back in 1975, I paid $2,500. Wish I still had it.