It’s not the money. It is the fact that HE is the only one that Ford gave access to these records and when someone asks him and pays him for specific info, he should provide it. I waited 26 days for a report that was only supposed to take 10-14 and I still don’t have the info I wanted or asked for.
Plus you scored like no other, for now focus on getting the parts needed to restore it n on occasion keep looking for info on it. Either way you got a rare car and kevin marti proved that just that much more.
thanks
pat
Well, getting ready to put it in ebay later tonight so it will at least be interesting to see what it brings in a no reserve auction.
How many came equipped with window tinting?! Won’t somebody PLEASE think of the children!
Anyone placing bets on what it sells for?
Already too high at $6600 
Hard to believe that is more than a parts car sadly.
If Spitzer is bidding on it for a display car it could go 12,000 or even more.
it is already at $8100 
some people have money just to throw away.
If Don Rush, (someone who should know) thinks it is a $200,000 car, where is the restoration cost break off point? If you look at it from merely just a parts car standpoint, it has about a $6,000 engine, a $2,500 tranny and bellhousing, clutch pedals, Zbar and clutch fork. About a $1,500 rear axle and a $2,000 hood scoop. That doesn’t count anything else. Well, I listed it at no reserve so we are all going to get to see what it is worth in the real World one way or another.
Personally I think $200K is a stretch for one without the original drive train and the extensive sheet metal work it’s going to need. Still a great car that I’d love to own. Unfortunately I have a severe rust allergy.
I agree it has it’s issues. On 1968’s a lot of these cars had the VIN stamped on the cylinder head. The rest was just “date code” correct. Not so much a biggie on an ex drag car. I could do this car nice for about $60,000 with me providing much of the labor.
Plus a previously purchased project plethora!
Well this will sure be a fascinating story and car to watch. It already has been thus far… 
As far as this Ebay auction goes…If more than one guy is really wanting it and knows what it’s going to take to get it restored, there’s not going to be much difference between paying 15k or 40K…Because that is just the beginning and the buyer’s likely going to know that a lot more is facing him/her down the road.
I think it’s a 100-120k car easily all “done” but there was the originality factor that really played a huge part on the Owl Museum’s GT-E and other recent high-selling Cats. If done to perfection and marketed well and brought to a high profile auction I see no reason it’s not a 150k car completed, despite a transplanted drivetrain.
This will NOT have be a rebody, at least, down the road. But it’s going to need to fall into the hands of a collector or restorer with the finances to hold it for years, pay for a ton of talented labor and rare parts, and get it to the finish line of restoration. That can all take several years of course. But this is definitely one of the best VINs and combinations one could ever find in a first-gen Cougar.
You find a handful of GT-Es for sale while working on this car to get it to finished status and not ever see another one pop up!
Yes, the Owlshead car was so wonderfully original. But it DID have worn and cracked paint, worn and cracked seats and some rust and two previous collision repairs too and still brought $228k. With a correct concourse restoration and “date coded” everything, I do think this car would top out over the $200k mark just based on its rarity and configuration even with its NOM engine since really, for the most part those numbers are only date codes other than one cylinder head or a barely legible if at all readable stamp. The currently installed parts that would be removed to make way for the date code correct parts would also bring a pretty penny too. I’m sure there is an early built 1969 CJ Mach1 or Shelby needing an engine or a 1970 Boss429 needing a trans somewhere. The point is that with the value of the finished car, there is still room to restore this car and not be upside down in it as long as the bidding doesn’t go too crazy. It will be fun to watch. 
It’s an awesome Cougar that deserves to be saved and I’m sure will be saved.
- Phillip
Phil Parcells was kind enough to share some of the data from the 1968 R-code Cougar registry…
To partially answer your question of how many 4:30 68.5 cars there were - we have 7 reported to the database. 5 are 4-speeds, and 2 are C6’s. 6 are standard (91) Cougars, and one is an XR7. None of them are restored, and 3 are possibly parted out.
No wonder there have not been any sold in forever.
Anybody have an informed opinion of what the cost of bodywork and rust repair would be on the car?
About $10k-$12k labor I imagine. I actually do that kind of work and have my entire life. Just getting older makes it harder for me. Add another $2k-$4k for a good parts car for the roof, hood and decklid and all of those little things that a parts car would make easier. Having restored a slew of Mustangs fastbacks, most of them need full floors, toe boards and toque boxes anyway. Tons of people have built fatbacks by taking the roof off of a rusty fastback and putting it on a solid coupe when fastback values are a fraction of this car. Major rust to me is like restoring two cars at the same time. It just takes a little more time.
This car is now up to $11K. And climbing… I hope it gets a good restoration.
I have a restorer near me that charges $60 an hour. To bead blast, prep and paint a door is 8 hours, a hood is 12-14 hours. Recently I bought fairly clean fender and door for $800 a piece for a 69. A full repro floor pan is around $400.