Muscle Car Of The Week Video #59: 1968 Mercury Cougar GT-E 427
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Muscle Car Of The Week Video #59: 1968 Mercury Cougar GT-E 427
This week, we're bringing you an often overlooked muscle car, the 1968 Mercury Cougar GT-E. These were sporty but comfortable, and the GT-E bought you a 7-liter V8 to make things interesting. Most were the smooth 428 V8, but some were ordered with the far less subtle 427 side oiler... like the one in this video. The 427 was rated at 390 HP and has a great rumble, but the car is refined enough to drive and enjoy every day. The Brothers Collection is home to several rare Mercury cats, this is one of the favorites!
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Muscle Car Of The Week Video #59: 1968 Mercury Cougar GT-E 427
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To me one of the very best looking cars of its time. Still looks good today.
I couldn't agree with you more, and I'M a Mopar muscle car GUY!!😎 Personally, with its cool Headlights and taillights, I think it's much better- looking than the Mustang.
@@charlies.5777 yes its a beaut. such great lines and so rare to find.
One of the best looking cars of any time.
I agree with you all, it was and still is gorgeous.
My aunt, pushing 80, still drives a 428 that she's had from new. It's absolutely perfect. (My uncle was a professional mechanic.)
That's cool!
Have you driven it?
Mickey Bitsko We dont believe you!
Mickey Bitsko tha hers is a GTE
That's awesome
I just LOVE that car! Then again I love the entire Mercury line from the 60s. I was just a little boy but had such a love for cars and there was just something about the Mercurys that would always catch my eye. Thanks for posting!
In '68 I was working for $ 125 a week, never could afford this beauty, although I fantasied about it, along with a '64 Cutlass. Dynamite video!
Something to point out is that all GTE’s were two-tone and had GTE only special side trim. All GTE’s had the lower body painted argent (silver), regardless of upper body style. You could also get the optional vinyl top, which could make the car tri-tone.
When I was in high school, this was my dream car. I actually had two dream cars, this and an Olds 442.
The red/silver combo looks amazing!
Love those Cougars. I have a1970 XR7 and am the second owner. This car came out of southern California But was originaly purchased in Parma, Ohio. Not a big block car but happy none the less.
It's a Bankers Hotrod, she wasn't made for 1/4 mile but she would top out at 128-130 mph.
just about every Ford guy and their dog are Mustang fans I'd rather have this car, or a Cyclone spoiler.
This is a jewel of a car, thanks for the video
True. The only car I'd sell my 65 Mustang for would be a Cougar.
Amen.....I actually prefer the mid size fairlanes,torinos,and cyclones and full size galaxies over a mustang. Mustangs are a dime a dozen. This cougar is beautiful. Never knew the 427 side oiler was available in this car in 68. I always thought they ended 427 production after the 67 model year
I'd take a 70 Cyclone Spoiler 429 SCJ with a 4 speed and the 3.91 or 4.30 Drag Pack option over any other muscle car Ford ever produced. And I would take a 68 Cougar GTE 427 over ANY Mustang from that era, besides maybe a 65 Shelby GT350 or a 69-70 BOSS 302
@@jeremythompson9895 Now we are talking! Lol
Much cheaper too these days than a mustang. Same with Plymouth road runner and the upscale GTX. Also as a general rule of course both the Cougar and GTX had a lot more options, which these days means more to go wrong.
Love old Cougars
I own a Mercy Cougar xr7 GTE. It has the 427 motor. It was one of the last to be put out on production. In March of 1968 they switch to the 428 motor and dropped the 427. Mine looks identical to the one shown in the video with the exceptions you pointed out on the front end. The engine is the same with the chrome package. One difference under the hood mine does not have the bar running across fender to fender. The inside is the same with some differences. On being it does not have the center gage in the dash. It has the two large found instrument housings. The out side paint is two tone as you described so it did not only come on the GTE but also the xr7 GTE. It is Cardinal Red with silver rocker panel and red interior.
I wonder if that bar was added aftermarket. Engine mounts had the tendency to crack in these cars, I had a 68 cougar 302 and had to replace the engine mounts twice!
The Monte Carlo bar you referenced is an add on item on that vehicle. They really help stiffen up the front shock tower unibody construction. They are definitely worth the cost to add one. If you are really in tune with the ride characteristics of your vehicle you will notice the difference.
I used to race that FE engine.
One of several things on this FE engine needed was the rocker arm shaft we invented the end support piece, prevent excess flex ad pushrod wobble, causing very serious valve hammering.
Now everyone makes the end pieces..
Very important for high RPM to make things stay in line as should.
The other thing was a set of Holly #67 jets in bolt #3 oil passage on the shaft hold down, as a restricker, so the rocker arm lids would not fill up with oil at extended rpm.
I worked in a machine shop in late 70's and it was common to see these and most big block cars with "stock" volume oil pans and stock oil pumps, buzzed for extended time period.
It would pump the pan empty , oil on top side mostly, then bearing failures and rod failures.
The years racing these engines were Very reliable all season long.
The XR7 option referenced mostly the interior upgrades. The 2-tone came with the GTE option
@@twasbrillig33 : It was "aftermarket" ... and probably originally for a Mustang.
I wish l had a time machine to go back with 45,000 and bring back ten of these BABIES!
This is one of my all time favorites. Love, love, love the GT-E
The 427 was listed as an option for the Mustang and several other cars in 1968, but the Cougar GTE was the only car they actually made with a 427 in '68. The 427 was an expensive motor to make and the tooling was wearing out. The 428 was basically a luxury car and station wagon motor, and even the Police Interceptor version was not a great performer, so things were looking pretty sad. Fortunately, Tasca Ford in RI figured out that a 428 fitted with 427 medium riser heads would perform like a 427, giving rise the the 428CJ. Still, there is something just so magical about the 427.
427 medium riser heads don't fit on a 428. The valves won't clear a 4.130 428 bore. The C8OE-N head is more akin to the 427 low riser head. The valves were 2.09 x 1.65 Vs. the 427 MR's 2.19 x 1.73 valves.
The real reason that Ford didn't produce the Torino and Mustang 427's in the 68 line up was due to the 6 week union strike from Sept-Oct. I was working at a Ford dealer during that period, my brother ordered a 427 Torino around the end of August when the 68's were introduced. They said one month to build it. In the meantime, the strike happened and they told us that it wouldn't be built until after the first of the year. So, he cancelled the order and bought a Dodge. The Ford company was so far behind on production, it could barely get anything out. We got Mustangs with leftover 289's wearing 302 emblems, some had Cougar steering wheels and hub caps. What few 390hp 427's that got produced, Ford decided to put into the Cougar to beef up it's slumping image as a performance pony car. By the time all of this got worked out the 428cj was in full production .
@@frankiefisher3911 That is absolutely false. The strike had nothing to do with the 427 engine issue. I have seen enough Ford documentation to disprove your theory. The 68 427 is a different engine than the 67 Fairlane version. It became a watered down version with low performance heads, hydraulic cam and single four barrel.
The largest factor were cost. The 427 was more expensive for Ford to produce and the 428 CJ was already planned production. The 427 was a 1400.00 premium to the sticker price.
This literally almost doubles the cost of the vehicle and was only available with the high optioned vehicle.
The 302 was also a mid-year production change, not a hodge podge change over due to shortages. If ford was bolstering the pony car image it would have went in the mustang. It was all about cost.
Mustardstain504 D we didn’t get one because of the strike, why did Cougars get them?
@@frankiefisher3911 The strike had no bearing. It was that the option was dropped for all lines. The 428 CJ was already in the pipeline. It was also only available the on early 68 vehicles. There's plenty of internal Ford documentation to show this. The W code was also shown in literature for 68 Mustangs but not one was manufactured. Just the 783 Cougars.
My old man had that exact car! Everybody said" oh bullshit; They only came in 428 cu. ins. WRONG! He said they only made about 100 of them, with the 427. Obviously, he was right. He put a lot of miles on it, following me to races with our" Finagler" cougar funny car, in the late '60's
4:44 -- Just a beautiful car.
Definitely "Like nobody else's car" At the sign of the cat !!!!!!
This car was famous for another reason! It was stable and held a lot of moon shine! It was able to take the rough dirt roads and faster than any other car on the straight!
I had a green 67 XR7 new it was stolen 7 times in Queens NY. The insurance company hated my calls 3 times it was totally striped. Even though i loved that car and got a lot of compliments, I sold because I never knew if I would come out of the house house to go to work it would end up missing again. It was that good looking.
YUP
Awesome. Beautiful beautiful car. These were the dream cars everybody wanted. 😍😘 . Man the good old days. 😀😁😂
That's a beauty
And always too damn broke to be able to buy one!
My favorite car,I owned 3 68 Cougars at different times. I'm 53 and before I die I want another 68.
Pretty sure this was my parents car. Nice to see it Restored and being taken care of. Thank you to the new owners.looking good
One of my favorite cougars
Absolutely one of the nicest cars I've ever seen. I saw one of these at a super chevy show of all places. In 1987 Bakersfield Ca.
This car is gorgeous. I'm a Mopar guy but this is one of the best looking cars in the Brothers collection in my opinion. Never liked Mustang's all that much but Ive always been a big fan of 67-70 Cougar's and Mercury in general. The 427, 428, and 429 Comet's and Cyclone's were always favorites of mine too. You don't see a whole lot of Mercury muscle cars at shows and thats one of the reasons I like them so much. Mustang's are a dime a dozen and Cougar's are just a much nicer car overall than a Mustang anyways
The 1968 full sized ford brochures listed this very engine as being optional on full sized Fords for 68 except wagons. The horsepower rating was 390 and it was a detained version of the r code 425 up version sold in previous years. This version was available with Selectshift automatic power steering and power brakes but not air conditioning. I found out in later years that Ford never actually installed this engine in any full sized Ford. It was yanked from the option list shortly after the 68 Ford was introduced. It was even priced as a $967.00 option over the standard 240 cubic inch 6. Nice to hear that it was offered and actually installed on GT-E cougar.
Wow what a LEGENDARY Ford.
I bought my 68 3 years ago. The more I learn about Cougars the happier I am that I picked mine. This red on red is a holy grail of sorts. Thanks for showing it to us. Great vid
Mercury ❤Marvelous 😊
Love these cars! Only thing I'd rather have from the era is a 69' or 70' Boss 302 or Boss 429!!
Beautiful car. I did a valve job on a 428 cougar with ps ac cc when I was 15 at a shop I worked at. When I was finished I ask the boss to test drive it for me (I had no license yet) and he told me to go ahead and I test drove it awesome power for a 15 year old
Stunning!
The best mercury cougar model ever 👽
A stunner! I've seen a real one. The owner told me another strange factoid about the GT-E; the lower body trim, which was unique to this car and on no other Cougar, was attached with trim clips as per usual - except for the rear 1/4 pieces, which were screwed on from the outside, and sure enough, they has visible screws holding them on.
Love this GTE well done video!!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Awesome classic!
Beautiful car! Always liked the series one cougar. Thx for showing it.
Sweet, trying to get my 68 XR7 fixed up. Definitely going with a GT hood scoop.
Awesome piece of automotive history. It will only go up in value if maintained properly. This car is a work of art as far as styling. The headlight cover's, the tail lights....
Awesome Cougar
Beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺
Back in the early/mid 1970's my Mom drove a 1967 Mercury Cougar GT with the 390. One of the coolest moms around
Lovely...Just Lovely! The big bad 427 sider with the C6 trans? Just perfect. Imagine shredding off those skinny little tires?
I loved the cougars
Man, is that red ever red. beautiful.
I had a 67 cougar. It was my first car. And I had it selling it. Wish I could find another Another cougar I could buy.
"WHAT A BEAUTIFUL CAR FOR SURE!!!!, OH WHAT WONDERFUL MEMORIES"!!!!!! 😎😎😎😃😃😃
The Brothers own every muscle car made.
You are spoiling us!! 👍
Around 1973 bought a 67 cougar for $100. Needed a fender $35 and got a great complete paint job for$35 from a friend in the business. Car was very nice and sold it for $550. He got in a fender bender and the ins company gave him $950 and he keep the car
Back in the 70's my Grandmother had this car with white interior. GTe 427. I only rode in it once as her way of driving was to floor the accelerator and control speed with the brake.
HAHAHAH! Man, that sounds scary.
That's gorgeous
I’m actually more of a Chevy guy, but this car I really like. Would not mind having that at all. It’s a beauty (and a beast).
Yea same here
my 2nd favorite classic ever
Looks good at every angle
My dad had the XR-7 in white in 68'. Great car. Wish I had it.
That is one BEAUTIFUL “Kitty”! I too like the Silver & Red color combo.
:€)
Wow what a Great Car!! I had a 68 Cougar but nothing like this one. Thank you for this video.
Me too!!
Wow! I love this car. Thanks for sharing!
I owned one of these cars in 1971 for about 3 years before it was stolen. It was always an eye catcher every where I went. The 2 x 4 barrel Holly carburetor made it a guzzler at 8 miles to the gallon but at 37 cents per gal. it was affordable. You mentioned that there were only 100 or so made so that's the reason why I have never seen another in the Boston area.
This model year "67 &"68 are my all time favorite Cougar's !! Beautiful car ,,, sexy
If I’m not mistaken, the 427/390 hp engine aside from the single Holley 4 bbl, they had hydraulic lifters.
My favorite year of my favorite car growing up ! Thanks for sharing
I had a 68 xr7 factory 4speed car back in high school it was the real good lookin blue my brother has a 67 gte now same color blue I still love these cars would love to own another one some day.
Cougar love!
Stunning bright red GTE !! I knew of a 68 GTE in1968. The Pentler brothers had a dark Green one and it always drew the looks back then. Never saw them street race it like we all did back in the summer of 68, in Milwaukee Wi. The Pentler boys were pretty reserved, their father owned Uptown Lincoln Mercury in Milwaukee, Wi. I had bought a used 64 Comet Caliente Convertible from Uptown Motors the year before and when I turned 21 I bought a brand new 68 Road Runner....yeah I was one of those street racers back in the day, that was what muscle cars were all about!
Nice car! Worth a fortune today, 2021!
Awesome car. Wonder if the buyers were able to upgrade the tires to anything good back then? All I ever heard as a kid in the 1980's was, " hey kid, if I floored the pedal in my [insert_car_here], my car would completely lose control of the rear end". For comparison, my LS7 Corvette has 13 inches wide in the rear, so I can use the 7 liters no problem.
My older sister bought a 68 Cougar XR-7 and i couldn't wait til she let me drive it and show all my buddies and the girls too. The car was a dark metallic green with a black vinyl top with black leather interior, the engine wasn't all that hot as it was a stock 351 Cleveland with an automatic transmission. Lots of wonderful memories from back in the day.
Bobby Tucker i don’t think the Cleveland was available in the ‘68. It was probably a ‘70 cougar which I think looks like a sexier car anyway. 70 was the last good year before they turned into big slow boats.
Love the Cougar!!
Always loved the styling of this car!
A most beautiful automobile the powerful engine is a big plus, and the two tone paint.
That cougar is a beautiful car. I could even like that car
more than my 2002 red Thunderbird retro. Thank you.
That car looks good enough to eat.
Underrated beauty for sure!
My favorite pony car of the 60's!!😎👍
I had a 67 Cougar. Loved it.
That is Awesome!
My grandfather and father were Ford, Lincoln & Mercury dealers when I was a kid. Dr Sam bought a gold 68 Cougar XR7 GTE in Terre Haute, IN and drove it a couple of years. Evil Knievel came to town for a golf tournament and drove the car for a weekend. Dr Sam traded it in to my dad and I had it for several months. Can you say JOY RIDE? The only negative was it didn't have a locking rear differential and spun tire way to easily.
Extremely rare!!!!!
I bought a new 67 cougar in Mar h of 67. Three .months l was drafted. It took me until 2003 to get another. Triple black 1968 XR7, a real beauty and near perfect condition. In 2010 I got a 67 XR7/DGS. I chased this yellow cat for 39 years. I lovingly restored it from it's 1983 to 2010 slumber. I have other classics but these are head and shoulders above them for beauty and class. Colonel Steve
I have been going to Cougar (CCOA), Merc/Ford Car shows for 33 years now and this is one of the "Finest" GT-E s I have ever seen !!! There is one more "Perfect" GT-E 427 W Code car on the show circuit over the years that in my view is the best ! I've seen it at Ford Carlisle, PA show in June a number of years, it's a GT-E XR-7 427(w), Black paint w/ Redline Firestone's on Merc. Styled Steel wheels !! It's perfect in every way and always displayed in the indoor building at Carlisle,PA for Ford Motor Companies finest cars, I Hope some of you may have seen this one, it is a Stunner !!! : )
In my opinion, '67, and '68 Cougars were the most beautiful cars EVER made.
Just gorgeous
This is one of my favourite car channels. Only Muscle Car of the Week is close
Beautiful car. I had the 1968 Cougar base model with the convertible top. Only the 6 in my car, I drove it in high school circa 1978, kind of a project car for my dad and I after I got my license. My car was jade green with the white top and white leather buckets, really nice care. The car needed a new top, and a new passenger fender, but we got it fixed up and t turned out great and was a really nice ride in the summer in Wisconsin. LOTS of great memories in that car.....
Kevin Hartman They did not make a factory convertible in 1968, nor was there a 6 cyl cougar produced until the 80's. Sounds like it was a mustang..they had 6 cyl convert models. I own 4 1967's, 3 1968 Cougars...and a 68 mustang
True that.... typo on my part... it was the '69 you would think I would remember that, but the mind slips sometimes... thanks for the reminder!
I had a 1967 lime green, 289 cui.
Loved it.
Lime gold I believe they called it
Millennials be like “GT-E? Oooooooh that must be electric”
Well said. Great car. Thanks
Bought a 1968 XR7 GTE with 1,200 miles in late 68' slightly used! 427 low riser is what the called it, hydro lifters 390 HP. Price - this will make you cry - $3,200, but my Grandfather was a car dealer. Dark green with black vinyl top.
Very nice 👍
Love it!
It's never "more" unique. "Unique" is already one of a kind
Fair enough.
Your exactly right..skip the P correctness..out here it's "More unique"
well said Tom.... well said.
Tjfreak,
"JUST SAYING HERE" ...Shouldn't the "P" be an "S" for 'semantics' and drop "...correctness..." except herein?
lol ( ;D)) I'm bored
cash Jennings p
My girlfriend in the 80's had the 428 that her dad got for her for her college car. We lived in Fort Collins Colorado and weekend drives in the mountains were great. We used to race up to Estes Park, I had a 71 Stingray roadster at the time.
The paint job is fantastic.
Absolutely epic ride.
Had a Lincoln-Mercury dealer a few miles from my house. Back before I could drive, my pals and I would ride our bikes to check out the new cars. The GTE was almost as cool as the Panteras that were sold there.
Imho Cougar is the most under appreciated under estimated muscle car. I would love to have one. 67-68 of.course. Beautiful ! ! !
Didn’t have the GTE pkg but this was a model we did own when I was a teen. A Red Cougar was one hot ride ... still is
Love it!!! Cougars were my all time favorite. In my opinion the ultimate sleeper was the 68 cougar R code....aside from the hood scoop it looked like a plane Jane standard but it had a 428 CJ and it could be had with a 4 speed
Wow! I was never a huge cougar fan, and I was somewhat aware they made a little bit of a souped up version, but I never seen this type Cougar. This baby is sharp as a tack. Thanks for sharing. JohnG
A buddy bought a new Cougar xr7 GTE like this one, and it had the first electric sunroof that I had ever seen. It had a small fuel tank, so we spent a lot of time in gas stations, sometimes burning three tanks just cruising around town.