Cougar #11
Standard GT, loaded
Early Badges , show unit, July 4th 1966 date , built 66 days later as it got the special body fitment for a show unit.
Does anybody know anything about this one ? Any history on it.
You should contact Jim Pinkerton and Phil Parcells. You can reach both of them through the CCOA website, www.cougarclub.org.
Randy Goodling
CCOA #95
Sounds like there already is a Marti Report. If not I would get one.
You can also contact Brett Irick He is the GT registrar.
mailto:xr7gt@cougarclub.org
I have nothing useful to contribute, but that’s very cool!
Originally a White car that was painted blue at some point.
When I first looked the car over , I thought the engine was not date correct because of the 66 days later built thing , but It does appear to have it’s correct running engine as the date codes ( Aug. ) jive with the actual build date of Sept. 1966.
I did read an article saying only the first 8 cougars got the extra body treatments. Basically the trunk and doors areas where the quarters are seamless, as they were at Shows with the doors and trunk open for the Auto Shows in Detroit and so on. So I’d have to say that is incorrect and it was at least up to this 00011 car.
Does anybody know how many of these first built cars exist.
The VIN is not indicative of the actual build sequence. The stall built cars were assigned serial numbers officially on the first week of production. So if this car has a 4 G scheduled date and a September 66 build it sure looks like a pretty production show car.
I don’t think the GT specs were ironed out until after the show cars were built. I recall that the first GT was VIN 41. This car really needs a Marti
The XR-7 was not built until January 1967. So when this car was built, if it was originally a GT, it was as loaded as you could get. Is there any reason that you are avoiding getting a Marti Report? This is a pretty special Cougar.
Then what is the build sequence, if it’s not related to the Vin #'s.
This car is 4G dated, actually built in Sept. 66 , Introductory Show Unit as per the Marti Report.
DSO item 3284
Dealer # 84230J Lincoln Mercury Division GO
Order received 6-1-66
Serialized 9-8-66
Scheduled 7-4-66
Built 9-8-66
Released 12-13-66
Sold 10-20-66
Released over 2 months after it was sold ?? Still traveling for Shows I guess.
Options
Convenience Control Panel
Courtesy Light Group
Clock
White Sidewall Rayons
Firestone Brand Tires
Console
Power Disc Brakes
Power Steering
AC
AM/8 Track
Heavy Duty Battery
Rear Bumper Guards
Has the early GT badges and the GT air Cleaner.
The Marti does not list GT as an option , but this was before Ford made it a Package Deal.
Preproduction cars are really a case unto themselves. They all get a July 4th scheduled date, but that really is just a code to say they are pre production cars, not an indication that they would be built that date. Many are actually in process or possibly even complete by that date. The plants were closed for the 4th of July so in reality, nothing is running on the production line. On the 4th of July the assembly line is still set up to run the current model year vehicle (in this case Dearborn was building 1966 Mustangs). The plant closes for a week or even longer for change over. They want to count all the new model vehicle in the correct model year so they serialize the preprodcution vehicles typically on the first day or at least with in the first week of production. Some preproduction vehicles are never serialized because there is no plan to sell them (not up to standard in some critical way, or damaged) and they are typically crushed.
This is just a guess but I think that the specification for the GT was not established when the order image was created so it could not include the GT option (this much seems fairly certain). However, Mercury marketing could have very easily added the GT badges and other items to the car for the show car circuit. It would be instructive to look at the early literature and see if you could find pictures of this car or early road tests to see if it showed up there. There were several pictures of a white '67 in early ads. Does the Marti show a DSO of A1?
Door tag has a 84 DSO
There is a 67 white brochure car with standard blue interior, I’m not sure if it had a 390 though , I don’t remember it having any front fender emblems.
The released and sold dates were the dates when Ford received notification of the event from the dealer. They are not necessarily the dates that it happened. It could be the dealer was doing end of the year housekeeping on his documents.
Is this car for sale, or have you just bought it? Nice car, and deserves a concourse resto IMO
Not trying to highjack, but one thing I remain confused about on all Cougars I guess is the dash face pads. I thought I had narrowed down at one point that early production Cougars did not have the trim bezels around the pad openings for the blinkers, high beam etc. Then I noticed Cougar 1 has them, as does this car. My car has a 28k scheduled build date, and it doesn’t have them. There is also a difference in the amount of the pad that is flattened around the high beam light (less on cars with bezels, more on cars without. Then I thought maybe it was AC cars vrs non AC cars as Cougar 1 is w/o AC. But this car has AC, so that blows that theory. My car has AC as well, again no bezels, and large flat spot around high beam. So is it plant produced at by chance? Or does it have to do with the deluxe interior option vrs a standard? If the latter what was all included in the deluxe interior option? I’m thinking seat belts, padded wind laces (maybe?) and now a different dash face pad with bezels (maybe?)
As to the chrome under the hood of this car, that don’t make it a GT as (again referring to Cougar 1) it has chrome valve covers and a chrome lid on a non GT air cleaner. My non GT car actually has a chrome lid as well. I was told by someone that someone must have just added it at some point to make the air cleaner look nicer.
1967 Cougars were only produced at Dearborn. There may have been more than one supplier of the dash face piece though. Standard 1967 Cougars only had one style of interior.
Randy Goodling
CCOA #95
Found an Article on the CCOA site , showing a White 67 in Aug. 1966 , on a ship going to Megan’s Bay in the Virgin Islands for a Special Reveal.
If #00011 is the same car that would be awesome. Wonder how many of the early Cougars were White. There’s a very good chance this is the same car.
The only thing I can note from this picture is the Marti you posted doesn’t call out front bumper guards.
I think this AD shows some good possibilities about #11 being the same car in FLM 's advertising.
Being a pre production car , it may have had options added or changed. Could be realistic that happened.
Still wondering if the car is for sale, or you just bought it?
On the question of if the car is the one in the photos above…i’ll take it back to my dash face pad researching. The photos above show a car with a wide flat spot around the high beam window and does not appear to have bezels around the other openings. Number 11 is small around high beam and has bezels. Not to say they couldn’t have changed the dash face pad when they added other options. The add car also appears to have straight column, and number 11 has tilt. I’m just assuming this because it isn’t tilted away with the door obviously open for the photo. Again, not that it couldn’t have been added