Every Cougar is special, and in particular the most special of all is the one you own. But in 1969 Mercury decided to launch a new option package that created a new series of Cougar, the Sports Special.
A Very Special Cougar
Starting in October of 1966 the Lincoln Mercury group had been on an absolute tear. First, in October of 1966 it was clear that the new Cougar was going to break every sales record. Then in September of '67 the new Montego hit the streets bringing in new customers that had never considered a Mercury before. In April of 1968 the Continental Mark III created a new segment of personal luxury vehicles, selling so well they had a waiting list that would take two years to satisfy. It seemed like 1969 would be the greatest year ever, but it would not be easy.
The competition had not been standing still. The Cougar would be newly styled for 1969, longer lower and wider as the ads claimed, but it would also face a broad range of competitors. General Motors would offer the Chevy Camaro and the Pontiac Firebird, Plymouth had the Barracuda. American Motors had the new Javelin. Even Ford was getting into Cougar’s territory with the new upscale Mustang Grande’. Of all of the competitors, it was the new Mustang that was causing the most grief for Mercury.
Mercury had been borrowing parts from the Mustang from the beginning, and now Mustang was returning the favor. The New Grande’ would use the same voided rubber bushings and Iso-Clamps that gave the Cougar its superior ride. In product literature form the time Mercury struggled to differentiate the two cars, resorting to the trivial: the Cougar glove box lock and light were standard where the Grande’ offered them as extra cost options. What Ford had done was to position the Grande’ right in-between the Standard and XR-7 Cougar.
Mercury did not wait around to determine what the consequences might be. The answer was a new option package called the Sports Special introduced in January of 1969. There were 4 versions of the Sports Special. Each package would include the following five exterior features:
• Turbine Wheel Covers similar to the ones used previously on the Dan Gurney Specials of '67 and '68.
• E78 x 14 White Side Wall Tires
• A mid-body paint stripe in red, white, or black, that would replace the upper body stripe.
• A Unique curb or rocker panel molding that featured a die-cast reverse scoop at the front and deep ribbing running to the rear wheel opening in black and polished finish.
• A remote controlled driver side racing mirror.
Checking the box for Package A got the exterior trim items only and was priced at just $95.30. This was only $9.60 above the price of the tires, standard molding, racing mirror and deluxe wheel covers. Considering that a set of these moldings is nearly $800 today (if you can find them!) that was a great buy. Package B added the Interior Decor group for $150.30. Package C added the Special Handling Package including F70 x 14 WSW tires on 6" wide wheels, stiffer springs, a larger diameter sway bar, and heavy duty shocks, all for $123.10. If you wanted it all, Package D combined the Decor interior and handling upgrades of Packages B and C and put you out the door for $177.60.
The Sports Special was a huge success for Mercury marketing. Almost 17% of total Cougar production was equipped with one of the four packages (16,142 Cougars). The Sports Special Program was also offered on the Montego and Marauder. The vast majority of Sport Specials were Package A cars. The Package C and D Sport Specials are rare. Only 204 were ordered with Package D, making it about twice as likely to find a Cougar with the heater delete option. Only 116 were equipped with Package C making it the most rare of the Sport Specials.
The Sport Special option was offered only on the Standard Cougar hardtop, and you could add almost every other option on the list (except Eliminator)when you ordered your Cougar. There were no XR-7s originally equipped with the Sport Special rocker trim. The Sports Special was available with all engines except the Eliminator only Boss 302. As successful as the Sport Special was, it did not reappear for the 1970 model year. If you have '69 Cougar Sport Special, you have a very special cat!
Mark Piechowski’s Cougar story starts out a little differently than most. He bought a Ford 429 engine before he knew what car he would put it in. He had grown up watching re-runs of Hawaii 5-0 and Streets of San Francisco, and liked watching the Ford products like the '71 LTD tearing up the streets. Buying the engine sealed the deal that he would be building a Ford product. He found a picture of a '69 Cougar in a magazine and really liked the looks. Plus he could put all of the Mustang go fast parts on it. It wasn’t long after that when he found a cheap Cougar and towed it home. Money was tight so from the beginning his mechanical skills were being put to good use.
He got it running and for a while it was his daily driver, that is until he dropped the very powerful 429 in it, and realized that he needed something better suited to daily driving chores. He wanted another Cougar, and that is when he found his first Sports Special. Several more Cougars would follow: a convertible, then an Eliminator, a '69 S code 390 XR-7, another Eliminator, plus several parts cars.
One of Mark’s friends mentioned that he knew of a Cougar, but he was interested in the engine not the car. This worked perfectly for Mark since he still had the engine he had pulled from his original '70 that had been replaced by the 429.
When they got the Cougar home it turned out to be in pretty bad shape. The body was rusty, the interior was shot, and of course; no engine. But it was still a '69 Cougar and that was going to have to be good enough. After putting the '70 351 Cleveland in, the car ran down the road straight as an arrow, even though you could see the road passing beneath you through the holes in the floor. For the next few years Mark drove the Cougar like it was. In 2005 he brought the Sports Special to the DelMarVa Cougar Club’s National Show in Fairfax VA and it won it’s (mangy Cougar!) class. His '70 was in better shape, and after a while, looking at the road beneath your feet loses its appeal. He decided to put a more mild motor in the '70 and it regained daily driver status, leaving the Sports Special idle.
Life happens and following a move from Florida to Massachusetts, and a short stint working for a local Ford Dealership, Mark opened his own business, Berkshire Transmissions in North Adams, Massachusetts. It was not long after that that Mark decided to try his hand at restoration. The Sport Special would be his first, a good way to build experience before tackling one of the Eliminators.
As is often the case the deeper you dig into one of these old Cougars, the more damage you find, and the Sport Special was no exception, except perhaps in just how bad it really was. Florida cars rust from the top down so many areas that are usually okay were in desperate need of repair. The roof drip rails were rusted through, the trunk would no longer close due to extensive rust under the rear window and every seam was bulging. A second Cougar was purchased and the the best of the two cars came together to create the car you see today. And as luck would have it, the donor was also a Sports Special.
There is nothing like getting a little help from your friends and Mark has a few of the best. Ken Gucker from Connecticut, Paul Lemieux, Paul Damato and Stu Nembrutti from New Jersey all pitched in to help get the reborn Sports Special ready for the 2011 Cougar Nationals in Bridgewater New Jersey. This time the Sports Special would complete in the '69 '70 Standard class and bring home 2nd place.
When asked about his favorite aspect of the Cougar Mark said this. “It’s a Sport Special with factory tu-tone paint. Plus, the A/C works! Which is a wonderful thing as there is usually a 100 degree day in June at the Carlisle All Ford show. I added an AOD transmission which makes highway cruising easy. The white interior with blue appointments has a nice contrast. Although, for a grease monkey mechanic like me, white interior takes a lot of work to keep clean.”
If Mark’s name sounds familiar to you, it may be because in addition to the great information he provides here at CCC.Com he is also the President of the Mercury Cougar Club of New England. Mark mostly attends Cougar oriented events but he also finds time to show his Cougar Sports Special at various shows in the New England area. He tells us this. “The Cougar gets a fair amount of attention. Be it a Ford guy, GM or Chrysler enthusiast, they all have appreciation for the styling of the Cougar. They always bring a story of how they knew someone back in the day that had a Cougar-----and ya just don’t see them anymore. It feels good to have something that puts a smile on people’s faces as they reminisce about the Cougar they knew in their past.”
One last thing; Mark encourages everyone to try to get out to a 50th Anniversary Event! And if we are lucky maybe we will get a chance to see his very Special Cougar.
