• Seller: Ken B oatright (Contact)
• Location: Issaquah, Washington
• Mileage: 14,000 Shown
• Chassis #: 7F91C563397
• Title Status: Clean
• Engine: 302cui V8
• Transmission: Automatic

Anyone with an honorary B.A. in Automotive History knows who Harley Earl and Bill Mitchell are, but far fewer are likely to be familiar with Gene Bordinat, Ford’s Vice President of Styling during those giddy years of the 1960s (and beyond). Bordinat and his crew steadily turned out handsome designs that don’t always receive the accolades of their counterparts from across town but still look great today. Perhaps their best was the 1967 Mercury Cougar. It was so effective at turning the Mustang into a mini personal-luxury car that you could be forgiven for having no idea that it was based on the Mustang at all. It also made a heck of a nasty Trans Am series race car (ask Dan Gurney). This Cougar is being offered as a Barn Finds Auction in Issaquah, Washington, by its second owner, who has owned it since 1983. He’s downsizing, so he’s “ready to let someone else enjoy it.” Maybe that someone is you.

Beneath the extra six-plus inches in length and three inches of wheelbase was, fundamentally, a Mustang. That included Mustang’s lineup of V8s (there were no sixes in Cougars). This is a “C-code” car, which means that the original engine was a 200-horsepower 289 two barrel, but our seller installed a rebuilt 302 back in 2013; it has an Edelbrock carburetor and HEI-style distributor for a little extra power and reliability. The original C4 automatic is still performing its duties beneath the transmission tunnel, and the seller converted to front disc brakes in 2017. He has only driven the Cougar about a thousand miles over the last ten years, but it “runs and drives great.” The odometer reads 14,000 miles but it’s “turned over at least once.”

The current paint color is Burgundy, but the car was originally painted Turquoise and had an aqua interior (which is a color combination that I’d like to see – send us a picture if you buy and restore this Cougar!). Some of the interior plastics were dyed black, and the aqua is now forcing its way out in spots. There is a tear in the driver’s seat, a sagging dash pad, and cracked arm rests; the seller has included dozens of pictures showing the details.

Being a Washington car that spent its first sixteen years in Southern California, the Cougar is rust-free, and has had only one very minor fender bender (leaving a small dent in the, you guessed it, driver’s side fender).

Although parts of the car are showing their age, this is still a Cougar you can drive and be proud of. The turn signals (a brilliant styling feature, if you ask me) and the vacuum-powered headlights still work, and the car will come with the original owner’s manual, a factory service manual, some spare emblems, and a fan shroud. So, what do you think, is the ’67 Cougar Gene Bordinat’s greatest hit? It has to be somewhere near the top, and if you are as keen on it as I am, place a bid!

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