For Sale: 1969 Mercury Cougar in Bradenton, Florida

1969 Mercury Cougar �€" 351 V8, 4-Speed, Black on Black with Ram Air and Flowmaster Dual Exhaust Why This Car Is Special The 1969 Mercury Cougar occupies an interesting and often underappreciated spot in the muscle car era. Built on the same 111-inch wheelbase platform as the Mustang but stretched and refined to appeal to a slightly older, more style-conscious buyer, the Cougar was Mercury's answer to the pony car wars �€" and in 1969, it got more aggressive than ever before. That year, Mercury restyled the Cougar with a longer, more sculpted body, a wider stance, and a front end that dropped the hidden headlights of the earlier generation in favor of a cleaner, more forward-leaning look. The result was one of the sharpest-looking Fords ever produced. The 1969 model year was also the last year of the first-generation Cougar before the car grew significantly in size for 1971. That makes 1969 the sweet spot �€" the most developed version of the original pony car Cougar, before the platform expanded into something closer to a mid-size. Buyers who know the model tend to seek out 1969 specifically for this reason. This particular 1969 Mercury Cougar is finished in black over a black vinyl interior and carries a 351 cubic inch V8 High Performance engine backed by a 4-speed manual transmission. The VIN confirms this is a hardtop coupe built at the Dearborn, Michigan assembly plant. The combination of the 351 V8, manual gearbox, ram air hood scoop, and Flowmaster dual exhaust makes this one of the more performance-focused Cougar builds you will find at this price point. Features List - 351 Cleveland V8 High Performance engine - 4-Speed manual transmission with floor shifter console - Dual exhaust with Flowmaster mufflers - Hood ram air scoop - Detroit Speed electric headlight kit - American Racing wheels - BFGoodrich Radial T/A tires - Auxiliary gauge cluster - Wood grain steering wheel - Wood grain interior trim - Cold A/C - Chrome bumpers, front and rear - Undercoated floor pans Mechanical The engine under the hood of this 1969 Mercury Cougar is a 351 cubic inch V8 wearing a High Performance air cleaner decal and a chrome open-element filter housing �€" a clean and purposeful presentation. In 1969, the 351 Windsor was Ford's standard offering in this displacement, and the 351 Cleveland followed for 1970. This engine presents as a 351 with period-correct high-performance dress, and it runs through the Flowmaster dual exhaust system that exits cleanly under the rear valance. The sound is exactly what you would expect from a built small-block Ford with free-flowing mufflers �€" present and throaty without being obnoxious. The 4-speed manual transmission is a key part of what makes this Cougar interesting. Most Cougars left the factory with automatic transmissions, as the car was positioned as a luxury-leaning pony car. Finding one with a 4-speed on the floor, a ram air scoop on the hood, and dual exhaust puts this squarely in performance territory. The shifter sits in a floor-mounted console, exactly where it belongs. The underbody photos tell a solid structural story. The floor pans have been undercoated, the framerails are straight, and the suspension and exhaust components are visible and intact without signs of serious corrosion. The Flowmaster mufflers are identifiable in the photos and feed into a dual exhaust setup that exits at the rear bumper. The Detroit Speed electric headlight conversion replaces the factory vacuum-operated system �€" a well-known weak point on these cars �€" with a reliable electric motor setup that opens and closes the headlights consistently. BFGoodrich Radial T/A tires on American Racing wheels give the car a period-correct performance look while providing a modern radial contact patch. The A/C system is operational and blows cold, which matters significantly if you plan to drive the car in Florida or anywhere warm. Interior Step inside the 1969 Mercury Cougar and the black vinyl interi