I saw this when I was on eBay. The former Mustangs Unlimited GTE is back up for sale: https://www.ebay.com/itm/1968-Mercury-Cougar/263366044969?hash=item3d51d6ed29:g:pJoAAOSwbw1aEzed&vxp=mtr I know this car has been covered before but this listing seems real honest so buyers know exactly what they are getting.
Steven
If you transport this car to certain states and they do an inspection on it you could risk it getting impounded on the spot until the VIN issues are resolved. I am glad they are being so up front, this car has caused grief to several perspective buyers over the years. This is an untrue statement “The RH front fender is an aftermarket replacement”. No repro has ever been made, just Ford Service replacement.
That is probably the most honest/up front listing we’ve seen on this car, no?
I believe it is. There is no mistaking what this Cougar is by this listing. I like the car overall. A few things I’d change but other than that it’s a driver. 
I’d really like to know more about the tailight grilles, factory one off XR7-S or custom?
Steven
It’s my understanding that the tail light bezels are custom made.
What happened to the G hood scoop it used to have?
I thought G good scoop was replaced in one of the previous sales by Mustangs Unlimited. It shows in one of the pictures in this listing.
Steven
What I’d like to see is something along the lines of, “The VIN issues have been resolved to the satisfaction of the Fill-in-the-blank State Agency, and is registered and licensed in the state of _______.” Otherwise the car is an albatross, IMO.
If it has been cleared for takeoff, then the price is becoming reasonable for a nicely restored Cougar with a '64 427 in it.
I wonder if this car will eventually gain value due to its own notorious history. It’s certainly a well known car.
It gets a little bit cheaper and I might be interested in trying to choke down my nausea with clones (a rebody – clone, whatever) and looking into buying the car if it’ll title in Oregon. 
The history needs to be sorted. I bought the engine from the car a few years back from the original owner of the car. Mustangs Unlimited was trying to sell it at the same time. I mentioned the odd items on the car at the time to him as we did our engine deal. Wild Bill told me he drag raced the car very soon after purchasing the car. He pulled the engine and stored inside his house and installed a 427 TP. He told me he stripped the car years later for repaint. At that time he said he got some parts from another Cougar mixed with this car and ended up stuffing them all inside the shell and selling it as a lot. All I can say is the engine was the most incredibly clean virgin FE I have ever seen and everything he said and did was spot on. Now somewhere I read that Jim P says there is an issue with the front apron vins. Has anyone actually looked it over one end to the other to veriofy the remainder of the unibody? Maybe Wild Bill crashed the car racing? maybe someone installed the incorrect parts and then it was crashed leaving the puzzle at hand today. Point is there are enough people collectively to sort this out. I hate to see a car completely dismissed that could be forgiven and still represent being one of the GTE’s albeit a bit battered and bruised.
I was just notified by someone I trust that this car is not a GTE unibody upon inspection from one end to the other. So what remained of this vin was the engine only. It was rebuilt and installed into my old Black GTE also restored to a very high standard. Unfortunately the car was lost to a tragic fire in its entirety 2 yrs ago. I have no doubt that Wild Bill sold the original car though.
I’m lost on this thread. Is the above mentioned destroyed black GTE the one restored by Jim Ellsworth? But the MU GTE is another body not originally a GTE?
Yes Ellsworth and yes the engine was from the vin on this MU GTE. The person who inspected said the car was a small block chassis with untouched 302 vins on aprons
I believe the 427 side oiler engine was lost in a black GTE that was restored. The engine was originally out of the old red Mustangs Unlimited GTE. Either way I was under the impression that the Mustangs Unlimited GTE had not been verified as a rebodied GTE the last time it was for sale. I guess it now been determined by this past listing on eBay. It’s is no longer listed for sale.
Steven
It is a rebodied car, and is so noted in the Registry.
Jim Pinkerton
Cougar GT-E Registrar
Yes it is the same car.
It’s a good looking Cougar. I wonder what it will sell for.
Steven
Jim, are the 427 & 428 GTE’s supposed to have thermactor systems on them ? I have seen so many without them Im getting confused.
All of the 427 GT-E’s came with Thermactor smog system originally.