In 1968, You Only Got a Small Portion, But It Was Still Spaghetti If you’ve never spent a Saturday afternoon trying to figure out which vacuum line goes where on that ’68 Cougar you bought from the guy who thought his vacuum system modifications would improve things, you’re very lucky. The fact is, even Lincoln/Mercury’s technicians needed occasional help when it came to untangling the spaghetti-like mass of vacuum lines under the hood of the ’68 model line.

You Don’t Know What You’ve Got ‘Til It’s Gone Many of us didn’t fully appreciate the TCCN until it was no longer available. TCCN had become, for many users, the best place to learn about our classic Cougars and to get the technical information needed to fix the most common problems. And even if your car didn’t have a problem today it served as a wonderful place to while away the hours thinking about all of the things you might someday want to do to your Cougar.

Even Then, They Knew Just How to Play You If the 1968 Mercury Cougar didn’t have you searching your couch cushions for pennies, the Dealer Guide would. It’s 1968. You’re standing in front of the Lincoln-Mercury dealership. The gas station on the corner is in the midst of a “gas war” with a station down the street; premium is going for 19.9 cents a gallon. Your palms are sweaty.

In 1963, Ford provided its salesmen with this confidential booklet in order to give them the information they needed to sell Ford’s line of 427 high-performance engines. The booklet includes details of the 427 high-performance engine line, suggested sales prospects and selling techniques, and, most importantly, specifications for the engines. Whether you’re running a 427 in one of your rides or not, the booklet serves as a fascinating behind-the-curtain glimpse into Ford’s approach to marketing the venerable 427 as well as an intriguing view of a time when gas was cheap and size–in cubic inches–definitely mattered.

Front View My love affair with Cougars started back in 1991. I had always been into classic cars, and as I approached my 16th birthday I started searching for “my car.” I saw many cars I would love to have and looked at a few that were realistic. I looked at ’61 Impalas, Chevelle’s, etc. Finally, my dad pointed out an ad he had seen at work for a 1968 Mercury Cougar.

Photos from the 2008 Cougar Club of America Nationals. Click/tap a thumbnail to view a full-sized image.

Confessions of a Cougar-holic Copy Cat 1970 Mercury Cougar Hi, my name is James and I’m a Cougar-holic. My story, well, I was raised just outside the San Francisco bay area in a small town called Pleasanton, California. At least it was a small town when I lived there. The Good Guys show would start a few years after I left. My father was a sort of car guy.

The information contained in this article is summary information taken from the 1968 Mercury Cougar GT-E Registry maintained by Jim Pinkerton, and used with his permission.

Modified Classes – Overview All classes will require that the vehicle be currently registered, tagged, and insured. Modified (Stock) Any Cougar with more than 3 changes from original factory configuration while retaining a stock appearance. This class is intended for clones or tribute cars with factory-appeariing upgrades. A Marti report will be required for entry into this class, which will be judged according to Street Stock standard pertaining to the model being cloned.