The Pick of the Day is a 1968 Mercury Cougar listed by a California dealership on ClassicCars.com.
Mercury offered different breeds of its 1968 Cougar that were more owner-friendly or roared louder and attacked other cars with more ferocity. The XR-7 model’s interior was furnished with leather seats, European-style toggle switches, and walnut-tone trim. Cougar GTs were equipped with a four-barrel Marauder 390 GT V8, stiffer springs, and heavy-duty shocks. The alpha cat was the GT-E with its massive 427ci V8 (later to be replaced by the 428 Cobra Jet) that produced 390 horsepower and 460 lb-ft of torque. The base Cougar came standard with a 302, which was eventually changed to a 289. The ’68 Cougar you see here is the base model, but it’s certainly not a lap cat.
According to the Deluxe Marti Report documentation, this Cougar was built in May 1968 as a fleet order for the Pacific Canada district sales office (DSO). It was configured with Glacier Blue paint, a Light Blue vinyl interior, and conveniences such as a Tilt-Away steering wheel and power steering. The original buyer also checked the box for the Decor Group, which added deluxe wheel covers, courtesy lights on the door panels, and “custom-grade” seat and door trim, according to the brochure for the 1968 Cougar.
Most importantly, the one who ordered this Cougar also opted for a four-barrel Marauder 390 GT V8 that was factory-rated at 325 horsepower and 427 lb-ft of torque. A Select-Shift Merc-O-Matic automatic transmission transfers power to the limited-slip rear end.
Luckily, this nice, reportedly numbers-matching combination didn’t waste away over the decades. It was given a rotisserie restoration between 1999 and 2000 that included fresh Glacier Blue paint, a white top, and new chrome. The original interior was largely left alone, but it did benefit from new carpeting. Other interior updates include a vintage-look Custom Autosound radio that sits above AutoMeter oil pressure and water temperature gauges concealed behind a slide-up cover. Don’t worry – the original AM/8-track radio comes with the car, along with the owner’s manual, factory literature, the Deluxe Marti Report, pictures of the car’s number tags, and a display board for car shows.
The big V8 under the hood sends its power to a rebuilt rear axle and breathes through Dynomax mufflers. If the Marauder V8 gets a little too aggressive, four-wheel power disc brakes are there to restrain it. The suspension has been augmented with dual sway bars and KYB Gas-a-Just shocks to help this big cat move with composure and grace.
If you would like to adopt this powerful Cougar for $49,950, click on any of the pictures in this article to go to the listing and contact the selling dealer. It won’t need spaying or neutering and it definitely won’t need a leash. Just let it run and enjoy the ride.
Click here to view the listing for this Pick of the Day on ClassicCars.com.
