1968 Cougar 427 GT-E at Barrett-Jackson, Scottsdale 2011
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- čas přidán 9. 03. 2011
- This is the story of Brian Aust and his 1968 Mercury Cougar 427 GT-E. Over the course of about 5 years, he undertook a painstaking restoration to bring the car to the highest level he could, with a little help from his friends (and lots of advice from folks on www.mercurycougar.net ). On January 22, 2011, he drove it onto the auction block at Barrett-Jackson, stepped out, and watched it sell for... well, you'll just have to watch to find out!
WCCC TV was there to chronicle the experience for your enjoyment, so relax and enjoy! Don't forget to subscribe to our channel to keep up to date with our latest videos.
West Coast Classic Cougar, Inc.
Specializing in 1967-1973 Mercury Cougar Parts
www.cougarpartscatalog.com - Auta a dopravní prostředky
Well, darn, I didn't have the 427...or 428. Just the 390 with a 4 speed. Paid $300 in 1983. Sold it in 1984...for $400. XR-7 GT. Gotta go have a drink. Thanks for the vid!!
I had a ‘68 XR7 GT 390 4 barrel carburetor. Bought it in 1970 with 9,000 miles on it for $2,650 sold it in 1977 for $825. I miss it dearly.
I have owned 2 in my lifetime, a 67 GT with a 289 Hi-Po and a Borg Warner 4 speed. The other was a 68 XR7 that came originally with the new 302 4V, however it had been replaced with a 351 Cleveland experimental. What a fun car that one was!
Nice I have owned 2 myself both 68 with 302s I still own one today 68 xr7 with a ho 302 in it
Wowzer , me being a avid Chevy fan I did love the look of the cougar I like them even more now 😆 lol
I tried several times over the years to buy that car!! It was kinda an "urban legend" here in Ardmore. Lots and lots of car guys knew about it. The owner would not even talk about it even though I talked to him several times about it! Course, I could never have payed that much, but, I am thrilled that it has gone to a good home-- the right home.
Different GT E, I believe. Jerry Heasley did a piece on the sale of the one in Ardmore OK. It sold to a collector in Seattle for $60,000 in '17 or '18 ... needed a lot of work.
60k ain't nothin
Worked in a muffler shop in Chicago in 68 and one nite just before closing a fella wanted to know if we could put headers on his car. So the shop owner ran this brand new GT-E just like this one. At the time there were no headers so we welded a pair of lakes pipes no gaskets a washer between the caps. Before we buttoned it up we fired it up shot flames several feet. He came back a few weeks later ran over something cracked the weld. We asked him how did he like it never forget what he said, it's nice to have something this fast you never back down from a race.
My Brother and i were at Barrett Jackson the day this car sold, it was the highlight of our day. We both had a chance to buy a GTE back in the day. The one my Brother looked at was also red, the one that ii looked at was blue, the price was $1500.00 back in 1973. I did get to drive the GTE, it was so fast that it scared the hell out of me. Oh, the good old days, thanks for posting this video.
Dad paid 4800 for his xr 7 green with a black vinyl top..I'm just realizing what he had...this is amazing!
My Brother had one. Was always my favorite of the cars we own. I’m so freakin distressed now. The 65 GT350 we had is much less of a loss now. Oh how sad I am now.
I have a 68 w code Augusta green non xr7 car in my garage in need of resto, so this video makes me happy to see the value considering I paid 500 bucks for it
I've always had the impression that the Cougar is underappreciated. When Cougar was new I was truly impressed because they became official in September '66, on my 16th Birthday and by October 1966 there were two in my neighborhood already. I wanted one. I daydreamed about owning one but, I was only sixteen. In '72 my buddy bought a '68 Cougar ragtop with a 390 in it. There was just over 15K on the odometer. That Summer I drove two 300 mile legs of a trip we took and I vividly recall that driving that car was a ton of fun. We were getting about 10 miles per gallon and disobeying all speed limits. Thanx for the look at your car. It's spectacular :~)
I dont mean to be so offtopic but does anybody know a method to log back into an Instagram account..?
I was dumb forgot my login password. I would love any tricks you can give me!
@Charlie Landon Instablaster ;)
@Karson Lennon I really appreciate your reply. I found the site on google and I'm waiting for the hacking stuff atm.
Seems to take quite some time so I will get back to you later with my results.
@Karson Lennon it worked and I now got access to my account again. I'm so happy:D
Thank you so much you saved my account!
@Charlie Landon you are welcome :)
Also came out with two that had 429 boss.
That is very special. Thanks for showing us fomoco guys , awesome.
Wow unbelievable awesome COUGAR GTE FIRST TIME I EVER HAD SEEN THAT RARE BREED CONGRATS ON YOUR SALE AND MORE TO BE RESTORE HAD A 68XR7 302 RESTO MOST OF IT THEN I SOLD IT BEFORE WINTER BUT SEEING THE BIG BLOCK 427 IN THAT COUGAR GTE WAS A TRIP TO HEAVEN GREAT JOB 👍
My first car was a 68 Cougar XR-7, in 1981 I test drove one that was a complete numbers matching GT-E 4 speed for sale for $4500, who knew? I passed on it, sad to say.
Nice job on the video guys. Since I couldn't make the trip this year it was nice to experience it through this video. Keep it up!
I wonder if that 390 horsepower 427 made more horsepower than the 428 Cobra Jet. The 428 CJ was only rated at 335 but it actually made 410 horsepower at 6000 rpm on a dyno. I know the Medium Riser R-Code 427 Side Oiler made close to 500 peak horsepower and well over 500 lb/ft of torque
Would be very interesting to find that out. The hydraulic cam was not supposed to be hot. Was under carb’ed. All I know is ours was awesomely fast. My favorite car we ever owned.
Wish I still had my 68 xr7.
My uncle had a forest green '68 XR-7 with a tan leather interior. 302 cu in, 3 speed manual, Cragar mags. Very nice. Much better than a Mustang. It had class.
Years ago. In the 80s, a friend found one in a junk yard in South Alabama, we didn't know what it was. It had all the markings but no engine
Absolutely fantastic.
I love these cars and have owned 4 myself, and have 2 now. Not the GTE cars though. The only pet peeve of mine with these cars are when people restore them, they never have the headlights line up. Trim or the light frame sags, but as much detail as everyone pays to building these cars somehow this is always an issue
congratulations again!
Like Cougars! I have owned a 75 and 77 both XR7.
13:41 Embarrassed to say that I too am a Cougar hoarder...
I love my 67,68's!
that's what my '68 w/ a 302 aspires to be :)
Love THOSE COUGARS had a 68XR7 DID SOME RESTRO AND PAINT IMERON MIDNIGHT GREEN A EYE CAUTER
Good job. Fantastic car.
An amazing story i heart cougars 4 ever i want one
What a cool car club!
Wow, classic cars have gone the way of fine art. Pricing is out of reach of the Main Street enthusiast unless you want to mortgage your home!
Jack Jones where the hell do I sign ?🤣🤣🤣
very cool car
I knew 428s were installed in Cougars but I never knew the 427 made it in there as well.
The late '68 model year GT-E option gave you a 428 CJ w/ ram air...and in '69 the SJC was an Eliminator option.
First half of 68 were 427
Now featured on Mustle Car of the Week.
It's been worth them many years ago . Not cuz of this sale Dude has been under a rock !
Super super Rare !
Well Brian I was born and raised in Dearborn Mi. There is a Lincoln Mercury dealer there on Michigan Ave by the name or Krug LM. One day a candy apple red 1967 GTE appeared in the center of the show room floor. This would have been maybe 1983 maybe 1984 around there. (Im guessing) A friend of mine walked in and bought the car cash. I dont remember what he paid for it. It belonged to either Krug himself or his son I also cant remember that. It had a black vinyl sport roof with black interior. This car had a few things on it I have never seen prior or since on any Cougar or GTE since. The motor was a 427. But it came with the cast iron 4bbl manifold, I think a (735cfm vac secondary Holley) a single point vac. adv, distributor, non adjustable rocker arms, and a hyd cam. So for the most part it was nothing more than a .160 over 390 4bbl car. The things it had as I said I have never seen again, and up to then never before were the big aluminum Ford oval air cleaner assmy. and had a walking cat on it. That matched the aluminum C6 bell housing that also had a walking cat on it. When the head lights doors were closed closed they had the same walking cat across them. As I said it was an automatic and came with a 3.50 gear, and 31 spline t-lok 9 in. It also had the GTE emblems on the front fenders but no 7.0liter badges and only XR7 badges on the interior door panels. And the exact same rims your car had. Power front disc brakes, power steering, rear window louvers, and front and rear spoilers. Like a drag pack option but no 4.30 gear. I cant remember if it came with a/c. or not. Anyway i was just wondering if you had ever heard of the walking cat stuff on any other GTE 's . Which as I am told were the predecessors to the Eliminators in 69 and 70 Hence the "E" about 4 years later that same guy bought a 1969 Eliminator with a rare Boss 302.
This sounds like it was a customized car, so take what you remember with a grain of salt. Most of the things you're describing are not factory original. There were no GT-E's in 1967, it was a 1968 only package. There were never spoilers (front or rear) or louvers on any 67-68 Cougars. The walking cat valve covers and oval air cleaner were available as over-the-counter add-ons, but didn't come on any cars from the factory except 1968 XR7-G's (valve covers only). Also, no GT-E's came with vinyl tops from the factory, although some people did choose to add them after the fact. Etc.
Great car! Beautiful color and wheels :)
I read once (Gran Turismo info) that the front/rear weight distribution is far from perfect in a Cougar. That's the only thing not so great.
Must be a whole tent full of lottery winners!
More cars less chit chat!
I had a 70 G code boss 302 car never knew they made one not worth what a boss mustang is
Guess that 68 GTE W code in my bard with the OEM Exhaust and OEM 427 Split Chrome Tips thats a STD GTE and have a NOS Front n rear valance in the trunk is worth something.
Mine is registered with CCOA GTE.
Be going up for sale real soon! Have had it for 10yrs and have NOT touched it. Might make a package deal for all the 67 XR7 Parts in the loft too.
I had a 1969 351w factory 4 speed factory air and rim blow horn
Ford has several cars to bring back bring back the Cougar just like it was modernize the engine maybe a coyote.
The Brothers have one of these but there are some differences under the hood with the valve covers and the blue piping cross the front of the motor.
The valve covers were finned Cobra style ones with the cougar emblems on them. The air cleaner had one too. Very special!
Valve covers not correct on this one...
barely starts then pushes a cloud of black smoke . yeah 165 for sure
Choke on the Factory Holley hadn't kicked down yet. That car is a factory 1968 427 side oiler. The last Ford vehicle to ever get the 427, the only car in 1968 to get the 427, and the only Ford small platform car to ever get the 427. You clearly do not know a thing about rare muscle cars.
I do remember around 1973 seeing a XR7 with the fender 7 litre , it was a silver car with white inside but wasn't a fancy GTE .
The GTE has the side-oiler 427, the baddest engine you could get in a factory muscle car. Put the hemis, max wedges, and cobra jets to shame.
there is one of these sitting in mustangs unlimited showroom in ct. dont know if its for sale but it looks real cherry1
Shit! I’ve never did this much detailing on all of the cars I owned combined!
This is the same car that's now in the Muscle Car of the Week videos collections right ?
A client of mine has the blue one. White top white intererior
I know they put a 427 in the 1968 Mercury Cougar xr7 GTE because I own one.
February of 1968 was the last month they used the 427 and in March switched to the 428.
The badge on the red cougar said 7 litre, which is a 428. Guy down the road has a 67 galaxie with 7 litre. He ordered from factory. Now it's a rust bucket wasting away
7 litre was definitely the W Code 427 hydraulic cam 427. Not the boat anchor 428.
edward mitoma, Don't know where you got your information, BUT 7 LITRE WAS 429. CHECK YOUR INFO
Red YOU need to check your info. We owned a 68 R code GTE! It was a 427. Did you even watch this video. The whole thing is about this very car. The only reason this car went for this price was because it had the extremely rare 7 liter hydraulic cam 427. The only car that had the 429 in 68 was the TBird. A ford historian you clearly are not. 7 liter can apply to the 427 ( at 6.997 liters) the 428 ( which you previously asserted 🙄) and the 429 at 7.03 liters.
As a owner. Ya always carry a towel!
Don Thank You for all the info! You helped me build my 1968 Cougar. Thank you again!! LOVE WHAT YOU GUYS DO!
check out my car
It starts at 9:00
Where is the stripe on the hood ?
I have heard of these cars before, my only question was if they went out and put the 427 in that car, why not put the 425 hp version in it? To me it never made any sense, why bother?
Did he say it has the original “rotating assembly “? Then how did he stroke it with the original crankshaft?
i thought he said he had the original, like in saving it , but not sure. buy you can stroke it with the original crank, just offset grinding.
He said it did not have the original rotation ass.
Not a fan of anything over the 1970. 1968 Nice restoration and find. I like the clean fenders on a 1967.
Hope mine is worth as much
my mom bought a 69 Chevelle 396 new- my dad bought a 70 Duster with a slant six new- God only knows about that one
$165k less 15%. How much of that goes to the club ?
Loading up a little
Its bad that its an auto with a super low stall converter.
Choke with a cold motor..you could hear the choke kick out once he made the first turn.
I don't believe the 4spd was a option on the 427 Cougar GTE...maybe in the later 428CJ version's
In todays market you pay for the car you want. It doesn't make a difference in what it will cost you. The old mind set was oh there will be another one some day. Not the case anymore. Money can be made everyday. Classic cars can not. Buy your dream car, even if it means spending more than you think it's worth.
Never looked more happy than when he sold it. Whats that tell you?
That I was in debt to my eyeballs and had to take a huge chance to sell it and then it was a huge relief.. That's what it meant;)
Brian Aust Congrats. Should have bought a Chevy.
"happier," not more happy. Sheesh.
***** Thaks "Helpie Helperton".
Chevy's are junk.
I want to meet the daughter that raced it
this is the second one without the tailpipe cutouts wth?
They came with a split chromed tail pipe unit like the mustang but good luck finding a set for a Merc GTE.
The rare GTE's had the 428CJ that were about 37 of the 392 GTE's , and among the 428CJ's there were just 3 4 spds produced . The 428 I saw had the padded roof and leather seat option . i believe that the lower trim paint was Argent on all of them .
If you're thinking of the round, semi-circular cutouts in the rear valence with trim around them, that's the XR7-G, a different high-end '68 Cougar model. GTE's had the quad tips under the valence as seen here.
OH YES THEY DID, poor baby ONLY made 390 hp, ONLY!
with org cost of car plus all the $ and man hours in it..my guess he just broke even...
$165.000? Dam
Sold $165,000.00 @ 10:37 sec
BJ charges 18% to sell a car?
@7:56 - Wow, hood certainly doesn't line up very well.
it was open
@8:26
jquest43 alignment issue
Clearly it was open.................. about 15 seconds further in the video you can hear him say "close the hood".
thats because its not shut all the way.
65
I had 69 GTX Hemi it beat the shit out of me
Have a 428 SCJ 1969 Cougar Eliminator drag pak car going to sell in the Spring. Has automatic transmission and 430 : 1 Detroit locker rear which is factory. Rear end has been restored all new bearing, seals and gasket. Car has been restored. Anyone interested? Asking $120K
It's cold. So rev it it up ? Blue smoke . Bad sign.
Wonder if it is an XR7
We put headers on it - beast
Friend had one - ate other cars easy
The XR7 had the bar on the rear lights also
19
45
he kids don't know how to drive the old car You got to clean out !!
Id never sell that if i were rich enough to own that, cause you gotta claim that money as income on your taxes
Not #s matching
News update, his wife filed for divorce 1 hour later and had $165,000 to find a non car nut.
More about Brian and his buddies than anything else. Video sucks a big one!!!!