1970 Mercury Cougar Eliminator

This car is being RE-listed - with no reserve - as the winning bidder opted out due to "lack of finances". The next winning bidder will need to pay a $1000.00 deposit within 24 hours of end of auction.
This Cougar has been in the family for about 17 years and we've only put a few thousand miles on it since. The car has been mostly off the road for over 10 years with only a few hundred miles on it since then. The kids are getting older and it’s time for new priorities (college).
When I found this car it was my intent to drive it and enjoy it as it was and then someday restore it back to its original color. But the time just isn’t there anymore. This year I have had the car back on the road and trying to shake out the cobwebs from sitting. I brought her to a large local car show (about 200 cars) last weekend and it actually took 1st place (1970-1974 division). I consider her to be in slightly better-than-driver quality. Here are the details feel free to ask questions!
Authentic M-code Eliminator
The car was repainted some time in the late 70’s. It left the factory as a competition green Cougar but was repainted comp orange, as it stands. My intent was to bring it back to its original color and rebuild the original motor while enjoying it as a driver.
The original motor 351C is currently out of the car and has been sitting idle in my shop since I've owned it. This is the way I received it. The only information that was passed on to me was that the original motor was taken out because it needed to be rebuilt. In its place is another 351C that I believe came out of a 1971. This current motor runs strong, burns no oil, and needs nothing. Yes, both motors will go with this sale.
When I purchased the car, it had a 750 double-pumper on it which I replaced with a new (less than a year) Holley 650 vac sec carb. Both motors are intact with proper intake and exhaust manifolds, distributors, and valve covers. The current air cleaner (seen in the photos) I believe is for the same 1971 motor. As you can see it is missing some emissions parts.
When the motors were swapped the previous owner matched the motor up to a C6 - which it still currently has. I never picked up the original FMX trani from the previous owner and therefore that is missing. At this time, although the trani shifts strong and tight manually, it is not shifting automatically. We've checked vacuum and the modulator but to no avail. I havent been able to find a ford trani specialist in my area to dig deeper.
The rest of the drivetrain is fine and I believe the original rear gears to be intact. The brakes and master have been replaced this season as have the front coil springs. The car sits really nice and there is no sagging at all. The floors are in good condition but there are signs of patches in a couple of areas.
The paint is shiny and looks great but has plenty of imperfections and shows some age. I consider this to be slightly better than driver quality paint. There are some small chips in the typical places, and some surface rust behind 2 wheel wells, as well as a 1.5” scratch on the roof from storage. The surface rust (see photos), has not changed/grown a bit in 18 years. The car has never seen rain while in my possession and I've washed only a handful of times.
The metal is super straight on every panel with not a single ding to be found. The straight panels are part of the reason I bought the car. There are some normal body panel gaps which have always bugged me but are seemingly typical for Fords from that era. Overall there are very few signs that it used to be comp green as the repaint was done very thoroughly. If you look inside the dual mirrors, behind the actual mirrors, you can see a bit of the green color. There are signs that there has been some metal replaced on the quarters which can be seen if you look underneath but all panels are clean and perfectly straight throughout (see photos).
Most of the chrome on this car is a 10 out of 10. Some of the smaller trim pieces on the hood, trunk, and near small side windows, have imperfections but are still in very good condition. The tinted glass is very good as well although there is a tiny stone chip on the driver's side windshield 3 or 4" away from the edge.
The interior is good to very good. The houndstooth is almost perfect with a tiny bit of wear if you really look in bright light. The vinyl is good to very good. The black dash is pretty good but the center front has a slightly faded area. The door panels are pretty good. The drivers side panel, square-shaped faux chrome trim has slipped off and the entire door panel needs to come off to reinstall it correctly. The rug looks like it has been replaced at some point. I replaced the headliner 10 years ago but unf there are now a couple small holes above the front seats (see pic).
The center console is very good with newish wood panel insert and original wood shifter is tight. The steering wheel has a crack, but the wood grain looks good and the cool rim-blow horn works (although the horns sound weakly). The tilt wheel works well but has some play in it.
The clock was replaced with a re-mechanized version 10 years ago but it is currently not keeping time. Heat works, AM radio works, wipers are fine and actually look like they may be the original set. Back dash is very good and sail panels are fine. There are a few irritating squeaks inside, one of them being the passenger-side window rubbing on the trim.
Front tires are very good, rear tires are good. Rims, including chrome trim, are excellent.
The headlight covers work as they should and do not creep up. The trademark sequential tail lights work fairly well. I would replace current original electronics with an electronic version.
This is a better than average car ready to be driven and enjoyed but there are certainly some things that need shaking out from sitting for so long.
NADA has this car valued at well over $30,000 in "average" condition (see pic). It's certainly better than average but the car is priced to sell in the lower 20's. Make an offer, I need to move it this fall.
Lots of new parts but in the past year:
Master cylinder
Brakes
Alternator
Starter
Front springs
All hoses, belts, vacuum lines under the hood
Coil, wires, pertronics
Carb
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Eliminator Package Plus

Desirable Houndstooth & Black Interior
Black Camera Case Finish Dash
Factory Eliminator 351 4V Cleveland V8
Power Steering
Tilt Steering Wheel with Rim Blow Horn
Factory Styled Steel Wheels
Flowmaster Dual Exhaust

True M-code Eliminator
351 Cleveland 4V
Additional running 1971 351C inlcuded in sale
Full Eliminator Package including Houndstooth Interior, Camera Case Black Finish Dash & Appointments, Full Console with center compartment
Dual Flowmaster Exhaust

BF Goodrich Radial T/A Tires

Factory Build Sheet
Full Marti Report
Owner's Manual

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