The Cougars that Mercury Should Have Built
As Mercury was developing the first-generation Cougar, the development teams were guided by a first-year sales projection of 60,000 units. At that volume Mercury and, by extension, Ford would make money on the model and Mercury would benefit from having an upscale version of the Mustang to offer their customers. But that 60,000 unit projection did not produce enough profit to justify the additional development costs of a convertible so Cougar was planned as a hardtop only model. Of course, history has shown that the sales projection was conservative in the extreme since first-year sales actually hit 150,893* units and second-year sales hit 113,741* units.
In just two short years, Cougar sold nearly four-and-a-half times the initial projection. In 1969, Ford corrected the omission and Cougar was joined by a convertible version but that change also saw a restyling that significantly altered the Cougar look. So, if you’re a first-generation Cougar fan AND a convertible fan, you are forced to choose. But some of us don’t like forced choices, so we identified a third option – do what Mercury should have done and make your own Cougar convertible. A small (but growing) hardy band of souls have done just that!
Kevin Marti Leads the Way
Back when the first generation of Cougars was reaching old used car status and many were probably already heading for the crusher, Kevin Marti saw the potential in a Cougar convertible conversion project and decided to do something about it. More importantly, he documented it and, in so doing, created a guided path that numerous others have followed, including yours truly.
Kevin based his approach on the Mustang convertible, recognizing the modifications that Ford made to the convertible when compared to the hardtop. That provided a clear understanding of how Ford replaced the structural strength of a fixed roof by modifying the understructure of the convertible unibody. Here is the result of Kevin’s pioneering project:
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Anyone who does a Cougar conversion project eventually has to make a design decision – will they retain the Cougar quarter window kick-up line or modify it to follow the Mustang line. Another design decision is whether to use the Mustang’s more notchback-style roofline or retain the swept-back look of the Cougar. In both cases, Kevin adopted the Mustang lines. Whichever way one chooses to go, it’s clear that the Cougar makes for a stunning convertible and that Mercury would have sold more than enough of these to justify the development costs.
CatVert |
 The CatVert conversion story has already been told in depth elsewhere on this website. Suffice to say that it has it’s own unique identity. We followed Kevin’s script for the most part but added our own creative touches – the XR-7C badges, the extended roofline, the custom dash treatments, and the retention of the Cougar body lines. CatVert was created by Greg Zuch, Phil Parcells, and Bill Pratt. It currently resides in Rye, NY in the very caring custody of it’s new owner. |
An Informal Registry |
Owner: Don Rush Barry Margolis purchased this ’68 Cougar convertible (now known as “The Redhead”) on eBay around 2010. It originally resided in the Marquette, MI area., but moved to Florida where Barry lived. It was based on the above-referenced 1982 CCOA article by Kevin Marti. Barry did some work to it that included a five-speed transmission conversion and lowering of the suspension along with the addition of new wheels. The rebuilt 289 has twin 4-barrel carburetors. Although the previous owner said he followed Kevin’s design, it appears he did even more to the frame, including connectors from frame rail to frame rail. The car left Barry and Carol’s garage for the last time about a week or two after his passing. Barry willed it to Sonny of The Florida Old Guys. Sonny drove and showed it as a tribute to Barry. In 2021, Sonny sold the Redhead to Don Rush and the car moved once again, this time to Oregon, where Don owns West Coast Classic Cougars. He has initiated a refurbishment and upgrade project that can be followed here.
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Philip Childers    This is perhaps one of the best-known Cougar convertible conversions. Originally created by Virgil Brown of St. Louis, MO, it is now owned by Philip Childers. Virgil passed away in 2006, having contributed much to the Cougar community. Among his contributions was an unstinting willingness to provide consultation and advice to those who did similar conversions. His advice gave me the confidence to undertake my own CatVert project. The bottom picture at left is a close-up view of the quarter panel kick-up from Virgil’s car that demonstrates the difficulty of performing the convertible conversion. Note that the upper body line follows the Mustang line instead of the shallower Cougar line. This is the most common approach to the conversion, although CatVert retained the Cougar line and masked the window base with a modified version of the Cougar hockey stick trim along the base of the window.  The picture below shows the roof line produced by installing the Mustang folding top assembly as it was installed by the factory on the Mustang. Although the light color of the car in the background makes it difficult to see, one can make out the rise of the upper body line into the roof from the rear. That line creates an appearance of a roof that is more sloped than it appears here. Note also that the filler panel between the roof and trunk is enlarged to make up the difference. One of the neat features of Virgils car is the power antenna, seen here on the driver side rear quarter panel.  |
CopyCatVert”Owner: Jody CopyCatVert was done after CatVert and in the same color combination, but it’s far from just a copy. Jody did this project himself and incorporated a number of creative custom touches that makes this car every bit as unique as any of the others on this page. For one thing, this is a year-round car even though it’s up in Wisconsin. So it has some special amenities like late-model Jaguar power seats that had to be custom fitted to the Cougar interior. They’re even heated. CopyCatVert has a surprise under the hood, too. It has a 6Vcarb setup (Mopar fans might call it a 6-pack) – 3 x 2V carburetors and the engine is mated to a 5-speed manual transmission. |
Floyd Brown This custom conversion was completed in 2009 by Malcolm McMillan and has already begun collecting trophies. Like several others on this page, the conversion was done mostly as it would have been done at the factory, with a few minor exceptions. This Cougar sold at Barrett-Jackson 2020 in Scottsdale, AZ to a buyer named Brian (last name unknown). It sold again in late 2021 to Floyd Brown, bringing two 1st-gen Cougar convertible conversions together in father (Floyd) and son (Charlie) ownership. |
(Also) Floyd Brown Robin started work on his custom conversion roughly 20 years ago (if I’m remembering correctly what his wife told me) doing all the work himself. The result is what you see here. These pictures were taken in June 2015 at the Carlisle, PA All-Ford Nationals where Robin won a second-place class award. Aside from the structural conversion, Robin also upgraded the Cougar to a Cobra engine (see picture below), giving this Cougar some serious claws.  
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“TG7” This ’68 Cougar convertible was recently shown at the Autorama show in Detroit, where it trophied. This car is a factory-like structural conversion with a custom modern take on the classic Cougar interior,. I particularly like the console and seats in this custom.  |
Lucas Hovis           This Cougar conversion resides in the Los Angeles area. It started as a 1968 XR-7 302-4V (J-code). After extensive customization at Grand Collision in Hayward, CA, it is now equipped with a 480HP 351 coupled to an automatic transmission. Structural reinforcements, as described by the owner, include Mustang components in the interior and a Rod ‘N Custom Motorsports kit underneath. Other noteworthy features include a rack ‘n pinion steering system, front and rear coil-over suspensions, power windows and power doors as well as a remote start and Vintage Auto Air A/C. Entertainment while driving (isn’t that entertainment enough?) comes from a full Memphis audio setup. |
Terrance ChristyAlso in Southern California, this 1968 Cougar convertible was built by Terrance using ’68 Mustang parts in the interior and Tin Man subframe connectors underneath. The driveline has been upgraded to a fuel-injected 5.0 from a 1989 Mustang. It sports Dayton wire wheels and four-wheel disc brakes.   |
Brett Pavlov         |
Rex Bickwell This Cougar is a roadster conversion that was last known to reside in Texas. Similar in concept to the Ronster Mustang, Rex had not yet completed the fiberglass tonneau cover for the rear seat area at the time this photo was taken. Nonetheless, his creation won its class at the 2005 Cougar Club of America Nationals West. Recently, this Cougar sold to a new owner and its location is presently unknown. |
Lindsey This is a Cougar that resides in Canada. It has been extensively modified and is now a body-on-frame custom versus the original unibody construction. For the full story of this conversion, follow this link: |
Top Cat
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Don Rush Don has been working on this one for a while and it promises to be one of the best when finished, but progress is slow. Don keeps pretty busy running West Coast Classic Cougars, and the rest of his time is split between family and being an active member of the Cougar community forums. |
Charlie BrownThe story on this conversion starts in 1998 when Cecil Jones took a 1967 Cougar and badged it as a 68. He cut off the roof and grafted a 1967 mustang convertible mechanism in place. To support the car he installed heavy duty square tube frame connectors. The car was shown a few times then it was parked in the shop for about 15 years. Sadly, Cecil passed away a few years ago and Charlie had the chance to purchase the car from the estate with the stipulation that he would get it back on the road. That was done in a couple of months. The drivetrain was a 289 that had seen better days, so Charlie replaced it with a 68 302 and had the C4 trans rebuilt. The top works now and the electrical gremlins have been worked out. The car id Madras Blue with a light blue interior. The rear seat cover was modified to be correct for a Cougar, but fit the mustang frame. |
Unknown Owners           
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