On the last day of February in 1967, our friend Rod’s parents; Roscoe and his wife Carthell stopped in the local Ford/Mercury dealership. They trade a ‘62 Comet, and a ‘62 Corvair Monza as a down payment on this ‘67 Mercury Cougar XR-7 GT fully loaded with all the options.
For more than 50 years, the car has been in the family. When mom couldn’t drive it anymore, she gave it to Rod. He took it to his buddy’s shop that prepares race suspension and had it adjusted with lowered spindles and moved the A-arms to a more aggressive stance. He also swapped the steel 5-spoke wheels for a set of PS Vintage Ribbed Kidney Beans. Knowing the optioned wheels are rare, he kept one for the spare.
Inside the car features all the bels and whistles such as the “Tilt-Away” steering wheel, AC, original Kenwood 8-track stereo, and black leather interior. The 390 FE block is original to the car with power steering, power brakes and C6 Automatic transmission.
The car still proudly displays the window sticker as Motor Trend Magazine’s Car of the Year in 1967. A time capsule for sure, but better yet, it still sits in the same garage it came home to over 50 years ago. Be sure to check out the interview on BlacktopTV on YouTube.
