Up for sale is this great 1969 Cougar XR7. This car is extremely fun to drive and attracts plenty of attention as it’s moving down the road. Since it is driven rather than trailered, you will find cosmetic issues in the paint and trim, indicative of a car that has seen road time but none of those impede your ability to enjoy the car and participate in the hobby. This Cougar is unusual in that it is virtually rust-free. There are some very small pimples on lower front and rear edges of the driver’s door, the inside of the driver’s door at the rear of the jamb and one small bubble forward of the wheel on the passenger quarter. Other than that, the quarters, floors, deck lid, hood lip and other common rust areas on early Cougars show no signs of it.
This Cougar was originally equipped with PS, PDB, A/C, console, rim blow horn, AM/FM stereo radio, rear window defogger and intermittent windshield wipers. The car was originally red over dark red/Shelby check broadcloth interior with a white vinyl top, white pinstripes and full wheel covers.
When the car was restored, the prior owner switched the interior seat covers to Mustang upholstery and removed the white vinyl top. At the same time, an Eliminator/428 style hood scoop was added and painted red to match. There are some flaws in the paint and several scratches and rock chips from being used regularly but the base coat/clear coat paint shines beautifully and is very presentable. It appears as if it may not have been prepped properly since there are some raised areas under the paint on the top of the hood, top and side of the right fender, right door, deck lid, etc. They are visible under florescent lighting but hard to see in natural light unless you’re looking directly at those areas. The area where the roof panel is leaded to the “C” pillar is not finished as nicely as it could be and the joint is visible under the paint which is not uncommon on Ford/Mercury vehicles of this era. Just to be clear, I’m nit-picking the paint so you are fully aware of the issues. To many people, this will be a perfectly serviceable paint job.
The gauges, lights, headlight covers, and sequential taillights all work. The headlight doors come up after being parked for a couple of hours but close as soon as the engine is started and function properly when the car is running. There is likely a small vacuum leak in the system that should be addressed at some point in the future. The car has been upgraded with a remote controlled power lock system, alarm and power deck lid release. These features have been incorporated so they are not visible yet give you modern amenities on this beautiful classic.
The interior was originally dark red with Shelby check inserts. The red XR7 door panels, dash panel, headliner, sail panels, console, etc are all in very nice shape. As noted above, the seat upholstery is Mustang but is in excellent condition and very comfortable. The seat foam was replaced when the seats were reupholstered. The red carpet is in very good condition except for a 4” oval spot on the passenger toe board that had a chemical spill which stripped the dye. It isn’t visible with floor mats in place and the rest of the carpet is very nice.
All four of the windows roll up and down as they should and are well aligned which seems to be uncommon on the 69’s. The front windshield has a rock chip on the passenger side near the pillar. It doesn’t impede your vision but you may want to get a new windshield sometime in the future. The rear window is nice with a few scratches in several areas which are noticeable on close inspection. All the stainless trim around the front and rear windows is nice as are the drip rail moldings.
The AM/FM Stereo is no longer in the car. It has been replaced with a Panasonic CD player which is hidden behind a fake panel that appears as if a stock radio is installed. The aftermarket stereo is remote controlled and goes through a pair of 4X6 Polk Audio speakers in the doors and another pair of Polk Audio 6X9 speakers in the package tray. It sounds very nice. The steering wheel is un-cracked and very nice although some of the wood grain detail has worn off. The dash pad is still soft and un-cracked. The wood grain on the dash face and console is in good shape. All the lenses are clear and in very good condition. The door panels and rear interior quarter panels are in excellent shape with no rips or tears. The console is in nice shape.
The front and rear bumpers and anodized aluminum trim on the hood, deck lid and front & rear fender extensions are all in good driver condition. The anodized aluminum has some minor scratches but still shines and looks nice. The grill and taillights have been blacked out to give it a more aggressive appearance. The back-up light housings, door handles and quarter window moldings are very shiny but have some flaws that are noticeable upon close inspection…
The original 351W 2V was rebuilt about 18K miles ago and it starts up and runs smoothly. The original 2V Autolite carburetor has been replaced with a Holley which doesn’t have an automatic choke. When cold, it requires you to put a little pressure on the gas pedal until it warms up but if that is bothersome to you, an electric choke can be added with minimal expense. For those of you who like originality, the original Autolite 2100 carb is included in the sale but the Holley runs much better. There are no unusual noises or leaks. The engine compartment was detailed a number of years ago but since the car has been daily driven in the past, it is no longer detailed to show quality but still presentable. The engine compartment is basically stock appearing and in good driver condition. The dual exhaust system is older with some generic turbo mufflers but it is serviceable and sounds good.
The FMX transmission functions as it should and shifts well when warm. It doesn’t like to shift into third when cold but is no problem once warm. It will manually shift through all gears when either warm or cold. It may need servicing but these old cars aren’t typically driven until warmed up anyway so it’s almost a non-issue.
The tires are 225/60/15 blackwalls on 15X7 Chrome Magnum 500’s with Magnum tri-bar spinners. The tires have good tread with no unusual wear. The wheels are in decent shape with some areas of wear but are still shiny and look great from 3 feet.
The power steering, power disc brakes and suspension components are all in driver condition and work as designed. The car is an original A/C car but has had the engine compartment components upgraded with a modern R134A kit. However, the installation was never completed and charged so while the components are present, there will be a little more work to do to have working air conditioning. At least the hard and expensive parts have already been done.
There is a book that will be included with the purchase which is filled with details and receipts for work that has been done as well as previous owner information and old registration documents.
This is a great driving Cougar that is fun to tool around in and gets lots of looks as it is rolling down the road. I wouldn’t hesitate to drive this car anywhere. It’s not an absolutely perfect show car but is an extremely well optioned, nice driver. This car has won a number of awards at local shows over the years so while it isn’t perfect; it’s a great people’s choice type car show winner. The car is currently located in Delta, British Columbia, Canada which is about 15 miles over the border at the Peace Arch crossing on I-5 in northwest Washington.
Don’t let the prospect of importing the car back to the U.S be an obstacle for you. It is a relatively painless process and can be facilitated by a broker for a marginal fee. See this link for information from the US Customs and Border Patrol website https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/278/~/importing-classic-or-antique-vehicles-%2F-cars-for-personal-use . If you still are having difficulty with the car being in Canada, give me a call and we can talk about options. This really is a very nice driver and you don’t want to miss the opportunity simply because it’s a few miles over the border.
Price for the car is $11,850 U.S dollars or best offer. If you are a Canadian buyer, the equivalent amount in Canadian dollars will be accepted if you prefer. Contact Jeff at jcbingcougar@comcast.net or call/text 253-350-4353. If you are from Canada and would like to talk to someone there, let me know and I’ll connect you with my friend who has the car at his house.
