I don’t have the VIN or license plate that was on the vehicle.
Both parents are gone, & don’t know what insurance company they used.
Dealership gone & documents shredded.
I’ve subscribed to Lost Muscle Cars & it’s been posted online.
Please share this. Someone out there knows where she was or is.
I was 18 in 1978 when my dad bought my 1969 Cougar for me from his boss in the Chicagoland area. It had about 48k miles. They’d weighted the trunk for the Chicago winters & had to replace the back suspension. I don’t know what the color was called, but it was a medium blue 1969 351 Cougar automatic with a black vinyl top & light bluish-gray vinyl interior.
There is some discussion as to if it was in fact a 351 Cleveland. Some say they weren’t used until 1970, but I’m not the only one out here that says they had a 1969 351 Cleveland engine, & that they started them in 1969.
When I traded her in, there was an air leak in the headlights & a small piece missing from the grill. It originally had white pinstripes, was repainted the same color, but the pinstripes weren’t replaced.
I traded her in at Conlon-Collins Ford in Crystal Lake, IL, which is in the far NW Chicagoland area, in the early 80s & I & never forgot her. I’m hoping she’s still intact somewhere & someone knows where she is. I’m positive there’s a picture of the 2 of us, & my brother & sister in law are looking through the albums for it.
If she’s still out there somewhere, I want to see her again.
Ford started producing the 351C in the summer of 1969 for the 1970 model year, as vehicle production started in August. As Royce stated, no 351Cs were factory installed in 1969 model year production cars. Lots of people have the same story, but no one has ever produced any credible evidence, such as a VIN stamped block or a build sheet with the proper engine codes. Kevin Marti of Marti Auto Works, who has the Ford production database from the era, has also debunked the 69-351C stories multiple times.
I wish you best in locating the car, sounds like you made some great memories in it.
It would be expensive research but you could ask Kevin to look for that exact color combination sold in the Chicago District Sales office. You would need to definitely need to get the interior and exterior color codes right. And of course XR7 or Standard, Engine code, Transmission code, any other options such as AC, PS, PDB, Tilt-away,Power windows etc. So many of our Cougars are one of one after all of the options are taken into consideration. This might get you to a VIN which could then be submitted to the CCOA database manager and you just might get lucky.
Went to my brother’s, which is where we all lived when I traded in the car.
I didn’t find the photo of the Cougar, but we did the photo of previous vehicle that showed the license plate. I’m sure my dad just put the on the new vehicle.
Where do I go to search the license plate?
It’s an Illinois plate, for sure would have had it in 1978 & 1979, it’s ST 974.
Where would be the best place to run this plate online?
What is the CCOA database?
The CCOA is the Cougar Club Of America. We maintain a database of all known Cougar VINs. Everything from a 100 point show car to a car that has been parted out. We do not have every Cougar VIN, just the ones that have been reported to us. Your old Cougar’s VIN may or may not have been reported.
As stated above no 1969 Cougar, or any other 1969 Ford product, left the factory with a 351C. Kevin Marti has confirmed this by going through the records. There is no myth, no speculation, it has been confirmed that no 1969 Ford product left the factory with a 351C. Yes, the 351C engine existed during the 1969 CALENDAR year but they were only installed in 1970 MODEL year vehicles. The calendar year and the model year are two very different timeframes.