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Been Sitting For A While: 1968 Mercury Cougar XR7

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If this really is a Dan Gurney Special, this is an unusual Cougar, although it’s quite sun-baked. Thanks to Robert R. for this find! It’s located in Kingman, Arizona and is for sale here on craigslist for $3,000. I’d rather deal with sun-generated surface oxidation than rust-through, although it may have a little of that as well. I like this clean early Cougar design, and it makes a change from the usual and popular Mustangs, and it has air conditioning! The seller doesn’t tell us much other than that it was part of a barn find with other Fords, and that it will run but is not in drivable condition. Of course, being a flipper, the seller has the car pictured on the trailer. The pictures show that the interior is trashed, and I suspect it spent a lot of time out in the Arizona sun at some point. I’d like to see this one fixed and back on the road, but it’s way too far from me. How about you?

Comments

  1. Avatar Another Bob

    Looks like a nice straight body. Just find a rusted out one with a mint interior from Michigan or New York

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  2. Avatar Vince Habel

    love these early cats but it is to much work for someone my age.

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  3. Avatar Mike D

    I just went to a Cougar web site, they state the 67 Dan Gurney Special was an XR7, the 68 DGS, is just a Cougar, they also say there is a XR7 G which is a different animal . Time money and patience will make this one a looker . I would like a Cougar, just to be different , but this was not true of me when I was younger

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  4. Avatar Randy

    This one is cooked! It is an XR7, but there’s nothing to get excited about even if it is a DGS. That option package got you very little, and adds no value to the car. A full restoration, but a good starting point.

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  5. Avatar JW

    Love the early Cougars and would love to take a crack at this one but way too far away to make it a reasonable purchase at 3K + shipping. I would fix interior go through the drivetrain and fuel / brakes then do what bodywork it needs then get a Maaco paint job and drive the hell out of it.

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  6. Avatar Todd Zuercher

    This is typical for a lot of the cars we find here in AZ. No rust but sunbaked and rotted interiors.

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  7. Avatar Richard Prokopchuk

    I always had a soft spot for the Cougar. To me it was just a better car…unexplainedly so.

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  8. HoA Howard A Member

    I’m not sure where the seller came up with the Dan Gurney Special, it doesn’t seem to have any of the DGS options. XR-7’s, were the nicest Cougars, ( although, never quite understood why they put the oil pressure gauge in front of the passenger). This one scares me, especially with that roll of paper towel sitting there.

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  9. Avatar Woodie Man

    Thoroughly trashed……but complete. Uhuh

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  10. Avatar piper62j

    I rebuilt a “67” years ago and I have to admit, it was much nicer than the comparable Mustang. The cougars, like the Mercury line, were a cut above Ford.. They had more sound deadener, thicker upholstery, and few more accents to make it more quiet and smooth..
    Too bad they aren’t as popular as the Mustangs, even though they’re basically the same platform..

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  11. Avatar piper62j

    Forgot to add… This is a site with new and used Cougar parts..
    http://www.westcoastclassiccougarinc.com/

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  12. Avatar Bob L

    This is not a factory AC car…

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  13. Avatar HeadMaster1

    I have always preferred the Cougar to the Stang, both for styling, and mostly for what your dollar gets you. Try buying a big block stang, but a 390 Cougar isn’t so hard to find or expensive……much nicer interior, and those taillights are the coolest

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  14. Avatar piper62j

    The AC is an add on and hanging under the dash on the passenger side.. there was a lot of that going on back then..

    Like 0

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