Rare 1968 Mercury Cougar Looks Like a Barn Find, Hides Nasty Surprise Under the Hood

Although it was nowhere near as successful as the Mustang, the 1967 Cougar far exceeded the company's sales projections with nearly 151,000 units delivered. This prompted Mercury to add new equipment lines and powerplants to the lineup over the next few years.

The Eliminator is arguably the most iconic. But before this version arrived in 1969, Mercury offered the GT-E in 1968. What made it special? Well, on top of the redesigned grille, unique badging, and quad exhaust layout, the GT-E also got a very special engine. I'm talking about the 427-cubic-inch (7.0-liter) side-oiler.

Born in the early 1960s, this mill powered quite a few outstanding vehicles, including the 427 Cobra and the Thunderbolt. And the race-spec variant also found its way into the GT40. In 1968, the 427 FE pumped 390 horsepower into the Cougar, notably more than the 428-cubic-inch (7.0-liter) Cobra Jet that replaced it (335 horsepower).

The 1968 GT-E is also a rare gem. Ford built only 394 examples that year, which makes it notably scarcer than the 1969 Eliminator (2,250 units). Mercury built 357 cars with the 427 engine before the Cobra Jet unit arrived. The latter spawned just 37 GT-Es.

The 427-powered GT-Es are now worth a lot of money, fetching more than $100,000 in restored, all-original condition. However, not all of them soldiered on as unmolested survivors. The example you see here had a rough life and needs a lot of work to shine again.

Missing a few components and sporting its factory Grecian Gold only on the front clip, this GT-E looks like it just emerged from a barn. But it's most likely a restoration project that wasn't finished. Thankfully, the body is almost rust-free, while the interior is complete, apart from the replacement front Mustang seats and the missing carpet.

But does it still have the rare and desirable 427 side-oiler under the hood? Kind of. As in, the original block is still there but the mill was rebuilt into a modern beast. The V8 is not fully installed, but our host claims it's been dynoed at 772 horsepower. That's mighty impressive, given that the lump is still naturally aspirated.

Granted, it doesn't mean much right now since the car doesn't run, but this Cougar could morph into an unassuming sleeper. Rebuilding the engine to its original specs is also an option since these 427 GT-E are very rare. Either way, this Cougar deserves a second chance. Check it out in the video below.