A bit cheeky, it seems to me, to start this 1968 Mercury Cougar, available here on eBay, at 10 thousand bucks. After all, by the seller’s own admission, it’s been hiding out in a barn in Willimantic, Connecticut, since 1991 and needs total restoration. The current owner has been in possession of it since three years prior to that. Now, three decades later, it has occurred to him that he won’t be getting around to restoring it, and he’s cutting it loose.
“Needs torque boxes.” Those are the three most damning words in this ad, since, as has been discussed many times before, rust in one place means rust hiding elsewhere. And the torque boxes are no small matter on a car with unibody construction (though note the only image this comment could refer to appears to show the base of the rear fender rotted through, and thus possible the integral rear frame rails, a very serious and scary problem). Rust is also visible near the bottom edge of the rear window, and at the base of the small rear passenger window, as well as near the badging. In short, as the seller says, do your “due diligence” on this one (and you should, then possibly walk away). When you do, you’ll also notice interior needs—a good cleaning to start, and possibly other restoration work to follow—and exterior flaws, such as a prang that has damaged the driver’s side fender and door. The engine, not pictured, also has no claims made about it, not even “turns freely,” and is thus a potential headache-in-waiting. At the least, if it’s original, it has 102,000 miles on the clock.
But before you abandon ship, note that this one’s a bit special, as a Cougar 500, which was a limited-production run of just 54 cars, with possibly a dozen remaining. The model was produced as a dealer special in the Washington, DC and Atlanta, GA areas. (For a similar idea, look up the Mustang “Twister Special.”) All Cougar 500s were white and many came with a black vinyl top, like this one. Various engine configurations were available, but the Cougar 500 was not a mechanically enhanced offering. It was a fancy-badges special, not that that takes away from its rarity. Vintage ads of the day suggest a racing tie-in, which is pretty cool.
Just in terms of what this Cougar is aside from a “500,” note the 302-CID 4-barrel, C4 automatic transmission, power disk brakes and power steering, and “Whisper-Aire,” possibly the greatest name for optional AC ever invented. Add to that an AM radio, the Décor Group, and tinted glass, and you’ve got a rather well-optioned coupe, not uncommon for the Mercury Cougar as it appeared on the street in the late 1960s. Your decision is whether restoring it is worthwhile given the starting price, not to mention where bidders might push this in the week-plus that it is still to be listed online. Is the one-0f-54 status worth the cost? You’re not likely to find another, but how much does that “500” badge capture your imagination?
Take the badges. Scrap the rest.
I’ll admit, the Cougar 500 is a new one on me. These first-gen Cougars were cool, but not sure this one is a good restoration candidate. Good write-up briank.
Thank you for your kind words. I appreciate your compliment. This 500 was new to me, too, btw.
Here is a link to great information on the Cougar 500. It is posted in the eBay ad. I love reading about rarities, the reason they exist, and the breakdown of the numbers.
https://cougarclub2.org/cougars/uniquecougars/cougar500/
I wrote a lot of that article. I spent way too much time researching the history. Lol. Poured over old newspaper ads, read some books that mention them. I own a Cougar 500, it is unrestored, and a survivor in good shape. It has been in shows, and there are pics of it in the article. I’ve sent info to CCOA and to Marti because they asked.
I enjoy reading the comments from folks who know nothing about them, but
still make authoritative claims. Folks who don’t appreciate why these cars were made are missing fun automotive history. Its just a white cougar with badges blah blah blah…. But why was it made, what was going on at the time that they built them, why are they all white? I love all the weird Cougars. Calypso Coral, Rocky Mountain Purple Cougars. How are you a cougar fan and not like these?
I’d have a one finger gesture for the seller when he asks to take a picture of my driver’s license!
A standard procedure in the car sales business. This process has been around for years for vehicles that can be driven. I agree a one finger wave sounds good for a rust bucket.
What do you have to hide? If I was the seller, I would want to know who came to see my car, especially if it disappears 2 weeks later. Plus, he warns you of that in advance, so you don’t have to flip him off, you can just stay home.
Maybe just me but just did some reading on these, Google is wonderful. Anyway agree with oldog. Pull the badges and put it away. Was just a simple badge thing to boost sales in a couple of areas and apparently that wasn’t all that successful. More of a conversation thing than anything. Maybe if it was a 427 or 428 car then that’s a whole different story.
Just another tired worn out Cougar. If you have the time and$$$ go for it
Regional “special editions” were a very common thing, especially when specific models started to stall on dealer lots and the production pipeline had a ton more coming that needed a home. These badge marketing exercises never came from a retail purchaser perspective. Manufacturers had only one customer; dealers. Dealers had retail customers. The job of factory sales execs was to get the dealers excited enough to take more units when they had too many rotting on their lots already. Usually these activities were aimed at a major dealer marketing group and all the vehicles were equipped the same with either no, or very limited color choice. This made for a simplified ordering process, simplified manufacturing schedule, and a uniform MSRP. The “special edition” dovetailed into some factory sponsored event for dealer advertising to tie into as a group (major race, top tier golf event, etc.) which was to justify why they needed “special” inventory instead of selling what they already had. The only thing that distinguished a special edition from anything else in most cases was the emblem. The same ploy has been used occasionally on a national level to boost production by thousands of units, but usually there was a specific combination of either equipment or color/interior combinations that were not normally available to at least provide some differentiation from standard models. Nothing excites dealers more than something special with limited availability whether it was special or not. The retail purchasers? Sometimes yes, many times no……
That driveway looks familiar……
Sorry, all I see is a tired `68 Cougar. Regional ‘Special” or not, there is nothing significant about this car. Now, had this been a “GT” with the 427, perhaps it would raise an eyebrow. But other than that, it’s nothing special.
It might be ‘special’, but not $10,000.00 special.
Just another tired worn out Cougar. If you have the time and the $$$ go for it.
Noted zero bidders at this point. Would need deep pockets and mad welding skills for this one – if you could amass all the body parts needed – Cougars are not Mustangs, not a ton of parts out there. I too have never heard of a 500 before. Love me some Cougars, this one would be a hard pass – especially the whole photocopy DL for anyone that wants to look at it.
Talk about bad photos, and no engine photos.
First of all, let me say I love the Cougars of the first generation. Like the Mustang sporty panache coupled with typically more luxurious options. But this poor 1968 is eaten with rust and has been sitting too long. A Cougar collector might be able to salvage parts off this unfortunate car but the cost and time of a restoration worthy of this Cat exceeds my budget. The 500 emblem carries little weight outside if the DC metro.
Rare? Maybe. Desirable? Not really. Worth restoring? No way.
The “500” emblem is from a Chrysler product, not from the Ford parts bin. Part it out to save other more worthy Cougars.
The 500 emblem is from the Galaxie 500 not a Mopar. It is also supposed to have a checker flag emblem in front of Cougar (you can see the holes for it). The flags were from a Mercury Cyclone. My friend has a 1968 Cyclone GT 500 and a classmate of mine in high school had a 1968 Cougar GT 500. His was a 428CJ with a 4 speed. Looked just like this car minus the black vinyl top.
Funny, I have totes full of those “500” badges (appliqué may be a better word) from all the Galaxies I’ve scrapped since 1976. Jeez, is that all we’re paying for? That and a white finish with black vinyl top? PASS!
Impress this one with a whopper offer of $1.00 and pay me to haul it off.
Non runner for 30 years @$10K???????? This guy is nuts!!! It will cost someone $20K to restore it to factory condition. It never ceases to amaze me what people feel their junk is worth.