Add it to your Blackberrys and day timers. It’s the big one. Check out the post by Steve on the MercuryCougar.net forums. “Now is the time to make your hotel reservations for the Mid-Atlantic Prowl. The Cougar Club of New Jersey & Pennsylvania and the Delmarva Cougar Club will be hosting the show again this year with . This show is held as part of the All Ford Show at Carlisle.

The first phase of data pages for our classic Cougars are now up and running. Check out the growing amount of data for the 1967 model year. This is however just a drop in the bucket and only the beginning of data assimilation for the site. So much of the data available for our fine vehicles is handed down by word of mouth, community forums and old Internet sites that can disappear at any time.

Mercury introduced the Eliminator in April 1969. The Eliminator came with a range of engines, from the Trans Am-inspired solid-lifter 302-cid small block to the 428-cid Cobra Jet big block. The 1969 Mercury Cougar Eliminator Specifications Wheelbase, inches: 111.0 Weight, lbs: 3,780 Base price: $3,500 Top Available Engine Type: ohv V-8 Displacement, cid: 428 Fuel system: 1 x 4 bbl. Compression ratio: 10.6:1 Horsepower @ rpm: 335 @ 5200 Torque @ rpm: 440 @ 3400 Representative Performance 0-60 mph, sec: 5.

Dan Gurney specials were produced for the 1967 and 1968 model years only. They were promoted by Dan Gurney who signed a sponsorship deal with Mercury for the 1967 Trans Am racing season. The DGS option included a chrome engine dress-up kit, “turbine wheel covers” and a sticker on the rear passenger (needs to be confirmed it was passenger side please) side window. The chrome engine dress up kit consisted of a chrome air cleaner lid, dipstick and valve covers.

The GT package was available for every year of classic cougar except 1970. The package options varried greatly from year to year and have often been the source of many heated GT discussions.

1967 XR-7 trim package: Did -NOT- include an XR-7 emblem in the trunk lock cover. The XR-7’s and standard Cougar packages in 1967 both had the same trunk lock latch emblems that simply said Cougar. The XR7 emblem in the trunk latch wasn’t offered untill the 1968 model year. 1968 XR-7 trim package: XR-7 emblem insert for the trunk keylatch cover.

Standard base model package for 1967: 289 2V engine 2.80:1 8″ rear axle All vinyl interior 3 speed manual transmission wheelcovers (hubcaps)

1974–1976 For 1974, the Cougar was shifted from its Mustang, ponycar origins onto a new platform and into a new market as a personal luxury car. It now shared a chassis with the larger Mercury Montego/Ford Torino intermediates and was twinned up with the new Ford Elite. The wheelbase grew to 114 inches (2,896 mm) and became practically the only car to be upsized during the downsizing decade of the 1970s.

Aside from minor grille and taillight changes, 1973 would be largely a carryover year for the Cougar, but it would mark the last year of the Mustang-based Cougar. In 1974, everything would change. Power figures continued to change as new federal/EPA regulations began their stranglehold on the V8 engines. The new figures continued to fluctuate but engine options remained unchanged from 1972. The standard engine continued to be the 168 hp (125 kW) 351 Cleveland 2-barrel V8.