1969 Cougar XR7 Convertible Story

This is the full story of our very rare 1969 Cougar XR7 GT Convertible, built at the Dearborn factory as an introductory display car. This pre-production Cougar is serial number 00016 and is 1 of only 8 produced. This car also has a special engine package from the muscle parts program using all the 1969 Ford performance parts available.
The information in this video is accurate to the best of my knowledge. I have been doing the research on this car since 2015 and continue to do so. We are always learning more about this Cougar, the introductory cars in general, the muscle parts program and the performance parts that were installed.
If you make it to the end ... Thanks for watching. :)
UPDATE: I now have one more piece of the puzzle. I have been contacted by the gentleman who built this engine. I've always tried to be careful with my words when discussing this engine because we didn't know who, why or when it was built like this. In the beginning I believed it was done in the early 70s (see my old videos). After some more research and talks with people we started to lean towards it being built from new at the dealer. Well folks, it turns out that I was on the right track the first time. This engine was built by the owner in the early 70s. He was very much a Ford performance enthusiast and instead of hopping up his engine with parts from Crane, Edelbrock, etc. He collected parts needed to build the engine using all the performance parts available from the Ford muscle parts and the Shelby performance catalogs. It's so awesome finally knowing the history of this engine. So a big thanks to him for building it and to everyone who's owned this car and kept the engine together. It's a great piece of history showing every part that was available for this engine and now knowing that it was built by the owner, it shows that it could be built in your garage. For me, this is a great outcome for this engine's history. There will be an updated video about this and more about the car as I continue to get more information from the previous owner of this car. Thanks everyone for watching and following the story of Sweet 16

[@markloustau8730]

Fantastic Rare CAT Story! I am a Once & Future '69 Cougar 'Vert Owner. LOVE the 15"? Staggered American Racing Torque Thrust mags . . . will have to source a set for my CAT!

[@grandpar468]

Enjoyed your article . I was the owner of this car in the early seventies. Removed the engine & rebuilt it . Had the heads machined for the screw in studs . Added the intake , , headers , crane Fireball cam & Mallory dual point distributor . Got the yellow traction bars as a birthday gift . Was going to install posi , but never got around to it . Traded it at Russell Motors in Winnipeg on a 1976 Aspen . Last I saw this car was in the late 70’s & was painted white . Look. Behind gas door , I drilled 2 holes for the air valves for the air shocks .

[@robturner110]

I hope to get more info from you so we can do an updated video. Thanks for contacting me. It's great to finally know this. Ps. It still goes like crazy. It would be really quick with the right rear end gear.

[@GearheadRob319]

Cool story. Thanks for sharing.

[@frankv5514]

Absolutely Great Story!… is it for sale?

[@robturner110]

NOTE: There's an update in the description about this engine now. I have been contacted by one of the previous owners who built this engine. There will be an updated video with this new information. Another piece of the puzzle solved!🙂👍

[@grandpar468]

Forgot to mention , have photos of me & the engine just prior to installation . The headers if still the ones I installed are Appliance brand . They were the only brand that came painted white & they had 4 bolt collectors instead of the more common 3 .

[@65Gamerguy]

Wonderful story on your Cougar! The very first Cougar was sent to Canada as well. Canada seems to be the place to find rare Cougars. I own 2 Cougars myself, a 1968 XR7 that I have owned since 1984, and a 1970 that was recently restored.

[@robturner110]

Thank you. It's been 6 years of research and we will keep working on filling in the blanks. During the research I found that almost all the first cars from this era came to Canada starting with DSO A1 and working there way west. Out of the 8 built like mine I know of 3 others. 1 later serial number and 2 that are earlier numbers, including car #3 which was the first serialized convertible. I stay in touch with the owner of that one even though it may be too far gone to restore. My Cougar is the first one I've owned but we bought a couple after. A S-code 69 XR7 hardtop to restore and my mother bought a beautiful 73 Q-code but has since sold it. Thanks for watching. I appreciate the kind words. Have fun with your Cougars.