- Seller: Mark K (Contact)
- Location: Highlands Ranch, Colorado
- Mileage: 60,000 Shown
- Chassis #: 8F93F579826
- Title Status: Clean
- Engine: 302 2V V8
- Transmission: Automatic
Some cars carry their history with them, not just in paperwork but in how carefully they’ve been treated over the decades. This 1968 Mercury Cougar XR-7—now listed as a Barn Finds Auction—has that kind of story. It shows around 60,000 miles, believed to be original, and has lived most of its life in Colorado after its original owner purchased it new in Nebraska and relocated in 1971. From there, it stayed with him until his passing in 2000, then sat quietly in a garage until 2013. Even the brief second owner couldn’t bear to leave it outside during a harsh winter, so the current owners stepped in and became only the third caretakers of the car.
When they acquired the Cougar, the body was straight but the paint was dull and the interior worn out. Over the next three years, they took it down to bare metal, resprayed it in its factory color, and replaced the vinyl top with the correct material. The car reportedly had no bondo and no signs of accident damage, and the only rust—two small spots in front of the rear tires—was cut out and replaced with fresh metal during the restoration.
The XR-7 came well-equipped from the factory with air conditioning, power steering, power disc brakes, a deluxe sound system, and cruise control. As part of the modern upgrades, the owners installed power window regulators for all four windows, a RetroSound stereo, a wood steering wheel, new upholstery, new carpet, and three-point restraints. They also added aftermarket A/C, since repairing the original system and sourcing R12 would have been far more complicated.
Mechanically, the 302 2V V8 has been treated to a throttle-body fuel-injection unit from Affordable Fuel Injection and a Pertronix ignition. The owners note that they’ve purchased a Holley Sniper system and distributor to further improve drivability but have not yet installed it. Other updates include an aluminum radiator, rebuilt transmission, new tires and brakes, halogen headlights, Hooker headers, 2.5-inch dual exhaust with turbo mufflers, Magnum wheels (with original hubcaps included), a new battery, a new gas tank, and even hand-painted pinstriping by a professional who did new cars back in the day.
Several classic Cougar quirks still work as intended, including the vacuum-operated headlight doors and the original sequential turn signals. The car does have a few needs: a headliner soon, cruise-control repairs, attention to internal vacuum leaks, and possibly a new front transmission seal. The Sniper EFI installation is still on the to-do list as well.
The sellers say the Cougar runs well—better than ever compared to its carbureted days—but recommend a good once-over before a long trip. Even so, this is a lovingly restored, lightly modified XR-7 with a remarkable backstory and a long list of upgrades. It deserves someone who can enjoy it more often than its current owners have time for. Would you keep the resto-mod touches or return this XR-7 to a more original setup?
Bid On This Auction
Johnny V bid $9,500.00 2025-11-27 08:18:13
Vince D bid $9,000.00 2025-11-26 19:40:05
Tinpusher bid $8,000.00 2025-11-26 09:09:10- Vince D bid $7,500.00 2025-11-26 08:22:49
Jay Sea bid $6,500.00 2025-11-24 15:09:52
Craig Haas bid $6,000.00 2025-11-21 16:47:57
mainlymuscle bid $3,500.00 2025-11-21 10:58:31
freeman bid $3,000.00 2025-11-20 19:18:02
chieftbird bid $1,968.00 2025-11-20 11:26:31
Sharp car. The first gen XR-7’s were classy cars. This one looks great in dark green/black. Interior pics?
Here’s a picture of the interior. I have more pictures, but it won’t let me upload more than one at a time.
I see the owner might install the Holly Sniper Fuel Injection. My experience is he better just keep what he has, as the original is both correct and reliable. The Holly is neither.
My uncle Vinnie bought one like this (Blk vinyl on white body, blk leather interior) before he shipped off to VietNam. Unfortunately he never came back and his brother sold it a year later. I remember him taking me to the store with him several times and how much he loved this car. It made me a big Cougar fan. Brings back great memories for me and I wasn’t even the owner!
Here’s another interior picture. I also have engine pictures and underneath pictures.
Here’s another one. I found out the site doesn’t like the pictures my phone takes, so I will be shrinking some down so the file size is in guideline.
One more thing, the video shows starting it up for the first time in over a year. That was ice cold and I should have waited for the fuel pump to prime the line. A lot of the smoke is from the fuel stabilizer I put in before I parked it. Also, it runs rich because of the fuel injection system. That’s why the upgrade to the Sniper. And the brake problem is the rear system was out of fluid. I needs to have them bled since I replace all the soft parts as part of the rebuild.
Well, the video was amusing from the start when he tried to enter with the seat moved too close to the steering wheel, then the smoke and brake issues. At least the headlight doors cooperated finally. Can the existing fuel system be easily sorted by a pro? The car appears very nice otherwise.
The fuel system is a GM based throttle body fuel injection system that is supposed to be tuned for that engine. It is not tunable as it sits. That’s why I purchased the Sniper system. The factory carburetor was incredibly finicky and the fuel would evaporate from the float bowl over the course of a couple days. Then you had to crank it for about 30-45 seconds for the old mechanical fuel pump to fill the float bowl. It also was VERY cold blooded. The current fuel system solved some of those issues, but didn’t allow for tuning. I purchased the Holley Sniper system because it allows for tuning. The smoke is a combination of it having been sitting for over a year without being started at all, the fuel stabilizer I put in to keep the fuel from separating, and a poorly tuned fuel injection system.
The brake issue turned out to be the master cylinder reservior for the rear brake system was empty. I added fluid after the video, but I haven’t bled the system, so the brakes are still soft, but they do pump up.
The video shows what it took to start the car the initial time after a long hibernation. I had not started the car after taking off the car cover before shooting that video. I thought about re-shooting the video, but I want to be as open as possible about the car, and felt that showing it being started after a year of sitting would be of more use than a later version showing a running car, with no context behind it.
Good, honest reply.
Really beautiful Cougar that I’d be proud to drive home…after sorting out the front strut rod bushings, cuz something definitely aint right there.
My son put the castle nuts from the old strut rods on and cotter pinned them on the end like that. The whole front suspension was rebuilt and aligned. It tracks true with no pulling out on the road.
One of the great models, from any Manufacturer 👍
OMG! It’s beautiful! I’m jealous! If this Cougar passed me, I would do a double take. FORD MAKES NOTHING TODAY THAT I WOULD LOOK AT A SECOND TIME!
This is definitely a Top Cat right here !
1967 and ’68 are my favorite years for the Cougar. Also the right color! Nice car when completely sorted. Good luck to the seller and buyer!
Its a” restomod”, might have a issue selling it because of that
Beautiful car! I usually don’t like green cars, but a green cougar just looks so right! The more I read about the car the more the car looked so nice!
Marti Report available?
I’ve got a Marti Report for it. I have to dig it out of the filing cabinet.
Here’s what I have from Marti Auto Works. I also have the ‘normal’ report, but I can’t locate it right now.
I also found the owners manual.
Nice. I had one ,a vert,same color,that I put over over a 1,000 miles on for my h.s. prom, stopping frequently for picnics.My first love affair.Both car and girl.Much nicer than my Stangs.
Yes. Immediately after we finished it, we put it in a car show locally. We didn’t win, but there were some beautiful Mustangs, a couple that even still had the factory plastic covering the seats. We won an honorable mention, and not one of the 35 or so Mustangs won anything. We also constantly had a crowd around us. It was strange, everyone knew what a Cougar was, and almost everyone had a Cougar story. Either their parents, a friend, an old flame, or even themselves owned one. It was a lot of fun!
Beautiful car Mark, in your description you mention new tires but in the photos I see Cooper tires and B.F Goodrich both on the completed project, what will be on the car.
The car had BFGs on it when we finished it. They got too old for comfort, and we replaced them. The Coopers on it now are about 3 years old.
Do you happen to have the original carburetor, air cleaner and any other stock items that were removed?
Beautiful car. Green is my color.
Apparently, the site doesn’t want me to bid anymore. I’ve entered a bid multiple times in the past 90 minutes and it has not registered on the screen.
Are you sure you’re logged in? If it doesn’t hit the reserve I can change it to a classified ad.
Just to be sure, I just now closed the site and logged in again. It just flashes at me after I enter a bid. Wonder if it’s done that to anyone else. I suspect I’m still well under the reserve, however even if it took.
I am open to offers. I will also work with anyone who want to have it inspected, either by a professional or someone they know locally. Just let me know.
As much as I like the car, your asking price is far outside my range of capability. We would be to far apart to make it affordable to me.
I’m lowering my asking price to $24,995 or best offer.