1969 Mercury Cougar XR7 Convertible in Aqua & 428 Engine Sound on My Car Story with Lou Costabile 

When I was a teenager a friend of mine got a 69 Cougar with a balanced and blueprinted 351 cleveland as a graduation gift from his dad who was really into Fords and it has a fresh restoration in 1989 and the day he got it he asked me to cut school with him and by the end of the day I know there couldn't have been much tire tread left but we had a great day of cutting school.

Gee! Wizz! What a fine American machine , and she sounds great!! That starter need more power to crank that big Ford!! Thank you Mr Costabile for finding such fine machine's for me to slobber over!!

Great video, Lou. I remember as a kid riding with my Dad and seeing one of the 60s Cougars in front of us and praying it would turn just to see the sequential turn signals activate. Life of a car crazy little kid in the 70s.

I know this car intimately. When my brother bought it I drove it home with him tailing me since we didn’t have tags. It had 54,000 miles at that time. It was a virgin. Didn’t have those chrome tail pipes at that time. Rare cat - if I remember there were only 2 aqua CJ Conv Xr7 Conv ever made. The other isn’t stateside as I remember. If the current owner bought it in MD - this is the same car. She’s rarer than any Eliminator. He regretted selling it the day he sold it but life causes things to happen. Truly a pure car- glad it’s been respected.

Wordless, one of the prettiest cougar I have ever seen in my life. Last for ever!

It's my favorite year for the cougar! In my sophomore year of high school, one of the teachers had one, a convertible. She parked it near the entrance I used. It was a beautiful car. I obviously couldn't afford one when I just got my driver's license and hadn't yet convinced my parents to let me buy a car. When I did buy my first car I had to pay for it myself, my parents couldn't afford to buy me one. So all I could do was dream of buying one used in a few years when my financial status was better and the car would be lower priced. That dream never came true. My first Cougar was a 76. The XR7 badge did appear on the rear roof pillarson the hardtops, but convertibles obviously wouldn't have them. I would not have opted for the hood pins. They were not needed, and they were just a nuisance to deal with when opening and closing the hood. They were more of a fad than anything back in the day. Most teenager gear heads thought they made the car look cool. I think I might have thought so too back in the day until my sister and dad put them on their cars. I definitely didn't like them after that.

My favorite!!! A 69 Cougar!!! I’m currently painting my 69 XR7 351 M Code 1 of 1 VIN very rare sunroof car in a similar color, not a factory color but a very nice 3 tone blue

Great car! My next door neighbor (high school) drove this car but in dark green! What memories we had cruising around!

I am a GM guy however I remember these back in the day and thought they were very unique. I remember going to Disneyland in 1968 and we were at LAX in the Hertz rental line. When it came time to choose my Dad turned to me after the counterperson ratteled off a list of car choices, "which one do you want son?" I chose the Cougar. I remember it being gold and really cool and fast in my ten year old eyes. This is a FANTASTIC rare and very well documented cat. Being an Oregon car certainly helped in its early years to keep it in this condition. Love the color, the only box I would have checked would have been a 4spd. Thank you for sharing.

Yet another great find! So unusual loaded drop top with A/C and power windows, which unfortunately were rare on 60's and 70's cars

Hey Lou. Awesome looking Merc Cougar. This has always been my favourite generation for the Mercury Cougar. :)

Most of these came with a 351. What a nice and rarely seen muscle car. Thanks Lou. My kind of kitty!

Perfect color and engine . Very nice . Thanks for posting .

Very nice car! Cougars are among my favourite Vintage cars and this one has everything I would want in my Cougar Convertible.Lou great Video, I have been a fan for some time. Good work !

1969. What a watershed year for American cars. Stunning, Lou, stunning. 'Scuse me as I also need to find a napkin from slobbering all over this car, too, as a prior commentor stated he was doing first.

Lou, for a car that is "driven" the level of detail and cleanliness throughout is excellent - well maintained! Was there ever a car with Magnum 500's that didn't look great?!

Lou:For the second time this week you scored a "home run". You knocked it out of the park again! I've always wanted a top spec '69 or '70 XR-7 GTE 428 convertible in black w/white interior. But I also like the color on this one as well as the spec. Definitely a stunning CougarXR-7. Wow again nice home run Lou. Have a wonderful God blessed day to you and owner.

Beatiful car. My '69 has the same color (Aqua & Parchment) interior although less the console. It's cool you have the bill of sale. Really cool.

Love this car! I’ve always been an admirer of the 68-69 Cougars. The perfect antidote for Mustang fatigue! :) Thanks for sharing this one!

That's one of the best cars you've featured Lou ( for my tastes) , and amazing specification to even have air conditioning on a convertible, big thumbs up 👍👍👍

What a great way to spend my last moments of 2019

Great car and video! Thanks Lou!!

Love the car. A beauty, nice and cool. Thanks Lou.

Sequential is my favorite word

Wow what a car! Another great episode Lou.

Georgeous Cougar. I had a two a 69 and a 70 both with 351. This is rare!

Another great car and story, thanks for sharing and have a great weekend as always"Howdy"😁😁

Another great video Lou. I bet that is a very rare car.

Thanks for sharing this beauty Lou you bring back great memories of awesome Detroit iron!!!👍😁😎✌

Thanks Lou for posting this beautiful car. I had a 68 Cougar in that exact color combination which I think is stunning. They were great cars, rode and handled nicely, and they were very luxurious for a pony car. Like other people posting, I too am a sucker for sequential turn signals.

Good looking car Lou! That big block sounds great! The perfect car to go cruising on a nice day.

Great car Lou! same color as the Cougar i had in 1968 but that's where the similarities end. Thanks Lou

gotta watch out for those old cougars,really nice cars as well

What an engineering masterpieces.🤗🤗🤗

Beautiful sound in style thanks Lou for your service gso

Rare cat. Love this one Lou. Another example that old is better.

Awesome. Yes This is great!!

Purdy kitty. Thanks for sharing guys.

Beautiful

Lou I love this car! As you know I love Cougars always did! These are so much nicer than a mustang but I like mustangs but Cougars have them beat! Love the color and options. Optioned Just like I would have ordered it! Love the owner too! That is the biggest part of the cars you show it is the owners and their stories! Thanks Lou for sharing!

Really nice car!

Classy!

Beautiful car sharp nice color awesome interior and motor sounds very smooth too. It's in very good shape for being driven

awesome car. great colour. and a 428. cool. thx Lou & to owner for sharing,. stunning. love to give that a good work out on an empty desert highway. :)

Makes me miss mine. I had the same car, but 4 speed, no A/C and red with white top/interior (red dash, carpet, seatbelts, console) 1 of 31 built!

That is one sweet rod !!!

Sweet car!

What a beautiful Cougar, damn!

Very cool car 👍🏾

If I were to own this car, I'd name her "Couger Ann" a pseudo homage to the Beach Boys' Barbara Ann. Yeah., I know - my brain works weird. This car is sexy as it gets and has attitude. Cougars rock! Thanx again, Lou. Another "My Car Story", great!

Great car and another driver......very clean for a driver.

It's a shame the young people growing up today just don't understand what it was like back then when these cars were prowling the streets. It was pretty rare to see a performance car, or a luxury performance car like this one. Today, almost every car (performance or not) is pretty fast.

Very nice 😀

Nice

By far the first generation is the most beautiful. Sleek and powerful looking. After that it got bloated and eventually turned into a clone of the T-bird.

The Mercury cougar XR7 it was a car always wanted but never had the closest I came to having a Mercury cougar was a base model mustang 6-cylinder no power steering no air

Who would really like to see FORD finally bring back this iconic name in a concept equal to the first generation of car enthusiasts! *(LINCOLN/MERCURY)* *(1968 COUGAR XR7 428)* *(THE STORY OF THE YEAR)* *(AWAKENING PAST FAN'S)* *(SALES WOULD BE VERY HIGH)* *(FORD LET'S MAKE HISTORY)*

WOW

Dream car

Beauty~~!!!!

I worked with a guy who had a green 69 Cougar with a 302. It was nicknamed the Mercstang.

love your channel Lou I like the ole guy in Elgin Ill the best I think his name is Ken also he has the wonderful fords those i like

Thanks, Guys... Interesting to see this XR CONVERTIBLE, seems like pretty Rare & low production with428, etc..Rememeber Ford: AND 3x2 BBLS for 390 CI ,IN TRUNKS, feul Injected 57’s, 1963.5 SCATBACK 427, 1957 Lincoln TURNPIKE CRUISERS *:& at least in 1967 , one four (CI 428 )Speed Station Wagon............

That was a good idea by the designers for those Reverse Light on the corner area that can be seen from the side so a Driver knows you are about to be backing up in a parking lot or in parking space on the street . The 1969 Lincoln MkIII had the same thing for the Running marker lights front and rear . Side markers became the Law in N.America for the 1968 model year and that design for a Wrap Around lens avoided the extra steps for Stamping hole in the front fender and rear quarter panels . That $4603 price tag is pretty steep because for another $210.00 you could get the base model Thunderbird in 69 while the MARK III was just $1900.00 more . With the base Cougar at $2732 , this cars opton total add 68% of the base price , it's like buying a $50,000 car today where your Option add-ons are $34,000 . btw The window sticker Invoice has an AM Radio stereo / Sonic Tape palyer system for $195.60 , but the radio in the car is an AM/FM stereo where I can't see any Door for the 8-Track cartridge .

I remember on large Ford's and Mercurys starting in 1969 the top engine option was the 429. The same engine that was standard on the 69 Marauder X-100 and the Marquis. It doesn't make any sense to me for Ford to offer with two big blocks within 1 cubic inch of each other. Was this 428 retrofitted. Now they did offer a 428 and a 427 during 66 and 67 but the 427 was a racing engine that was marginally street legal and could not be had with air conditioning, power steering and Cruisomatic. That was not the case with the 428s and the 429s.

One sweet cat!

✌🏿😜 VAS-Y MON LOU T'ES BON BON BON 💪😜

NOT A BIG FORD FAN BUT THAT KITTY GOT A NICE PURRR!

Lot of Mustangs at car shows, but not many Cougars.Thanks....

I sold a Cougar identically to this in early 1990s to a girl in Kentucky and few years later man from North Carolina restored the car. Saw it early 2000s in Louisville Kentucky at Cougar car show. Could be the same car.

I’ve got the LIST 4698 C90F-9519-R Holly “service replacement “carburetor for these 428 engines. It needs to go to an owner of a 428 car.

That's one hell of a pussycat. Now we need Tom Jones to sing it.

428 engines in smaller cars such as the Cougar or Mustang were good if one wanted to go in a straight line. The cars were not designed for the big blocks such as the 390 and above. The small block was more desirable. It provided better handling and weight balance. A bigger engine is not necessarily better.

He's taken great care of that car it's shame Ford pulled the plug on Mercury and they don't make grat cars like this beauty any more

Love those 69 Cougars

1:03 What a dumb question. Quit looking at the camera and look at the car! (Just kidding)

That is a very nice bad ol putty tat. I think chevy's tremble at the mention of her name, and Mopars simply crap out their tranny. Bad joke, but a very nice car.