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 * Home
 * Photographs
   * My 351 Cougar
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 * Cougar Warranty
   * Cougar Warranty 1967
   * Cougar Warranty 1969
   * Recall due to a seat defect
 * Advertising Gallery
   * Advertising Gallery 1967
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   * Cougar Road Tests 1967
   * GT-E Prototype
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   * Cougar Wrecks 1967
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   * Cougar Wrecks 1968-1
   * Cougar Wrecks 1969 1
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   * Paint Samples 1967
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 * Special Cougars
   * 1970 Mercury Cougar El Gato
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   * Sports Special 1969
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   * One Of A Kind Find
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   * Eliminator Defined
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   * The GT-E prototype story
 * VIN Decoder
 * Dataplate Decoder
   * The Warranty Plate
   * Body Type (from Door Tag)
   * Exterior Color
     * Exterior Color 1967
     * Exterior Color 1968
     * Exterior Color 1969
     * Exterior Color 1970
     * Exterior Color 1971
     * Exterior Color 1972
     * Exterior Color 1973
   * Interior Trim
     * Interior Trim Color 1967
     * Interior Trim Color 1968
     * Interior Trim Color 1969
     * Interior Trim Color 1970
     * Interior Trim Color 1971
     * Interior Trim Color 1972
     * Interior Trim Color 1973
   * Date
   * DSO
   * Axle
     * Axle 1967
     * Axle 1968
     * Axle 1969
     * Axle 1970
     * Axle 1971
     * Axle 1972
     * Axle 1973
   * Transmission
 * Other info
   * 1969-1970 Mercury Cougar
   * 380HP For Less Than $2,000
   * Cougar Rarity
   * A close look at the 1967-1968
   * Benchmark Cat
   * Classic Cougar FAQs
   * The Cougar Eliminator
   * Definition of Horsepower
   * Braking System
   * Mercury Cougar 1967 - 1973
   * Traction Control Systems
   * The Holy Grail?
   * Motor Trend Car of the Year
   * Miss Teenage America Cougar
   * FE Oiling Mods
   * 1967 - 1968 Cougar Tune-Up Charts
   * 1969 Cougar Tune-Up Charts
 * Restoration and Repair
   * 1969 Door Windo Glass Repair
   * Restarting an Old Engine
   * Tail Light Restoration
   * Restoring Brake Valves
   * Troubleshooting Sequential Turn Signals
   * Repairing power steering
   * Convertible Inner Rocker Repair
 * Paper archive
   * Accident form
   * Warranty Application
   * 1971 vehicle inspection form
   * Gulf Safety "CAR-CHEK" SERVICE
   * Colonial Lincoln-Mercury receipt
   * Boomershine Pontiac
 * For Sale
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 * Guest book


THE GT-E PROTOTYPE STORY

The story of Cougar GT-E serial number 8F93W500038 begins on August 21, 1967.
This vehicle is one of the earliest known “true” GT-E's, that is not an XR-7S.
It was built as an Introductory Show car, intended to be used for factory photo
shoots, and to travel the circuit from Dealership to Dealership to let people
see the new Cougar offering first hand.
It is a well-optioned car: PS, PDB, Tilt, rear defogger, Front & Rear shoulder
belts, Headrests, AM / FM Stereo, space saver tire, console, clock.



If its history stopped here it would be unusual enough, with an 04G (July 4,
1967) scheduled production date, and appropriate six character DSO code.
But there's more - On the inner fender apron, it has two, yes . . . count ‘em .
. . two serial numbers stamped. The other serial number is 7F91F500013,
indicating that the car started life as a 1967 Standard Cougar with a 302 V-8
engine (which was not in regular production until the 1968 model year). It is
now believed this 1967 VIN is a misstamp, since there is no evidence on or in
the body of this car of ever being a 67 Cougar.
Still, it seems as if this was a proverbial “factory mule” of the first order,
since as you'll see as you read on, it was used as the test platform for the 428
CJ Ram Air drivetrain, with which it is currently equipped. It certainly was not
intended to have been sold to the general public.
But luckily it was!



The car was originally built in August of 1967 along with 10 other prototype
Cougar GT-Es with a 427-4v engine, and was used for evaluation, press coverage,
sales literature and advertising. Then in December 1967, Ford engineers used
this car as a mule to test the fit and function of the soon to be announced
428-CJ in a Cougar / Mustang platform. This occurred slightly before the 50
Wimbleton White Mustang 428CJ Fastbacks "Lightweight Cars" were built on Dec 30,
1967.



Car Craft magazine was invited to road test the new power train offering. The
road test was conducted in mid-February of 1968 by Detroit Hot Rod Club "The
Mill Winders" and was published in the May 1968 issue. See below: 428 Super
Cougar.



Changes to the car's configuration include: Add 428CJ, add functional Ram-Air:
including cutting hole in hood and adding 68 1/2 functional hoodscoop, add PS
oil cooler, paint satin black stripe on hood, and delete 7.0 litre fender
badges.



Note: Rear bumper guards, no vinyl top, no 7.0 Litre GT-E badges.



Note: jagged hole in hood cut for the Ram-Air setup.



Later, another period publication, Hi-Performance Cars, did a road test of 038
during the summer of 1968 and published in their Sept 1968 issue. The car turned
in 14.52 sec @ 101.52 mph on the Onondaga strip in central Michigan in showroom
trim and street tires for this road test. This article contains very detailed
pictures of the engine compartment, hoodscoop, and interior - all of which
proved to be invaluable in the restoration process.









In late 1968, there was a UAW strike in progress that shut down the Ford Motor
Company. New cars were on allocation and were hard for dealerships to get. So
the dealers sent their salesmen to the auctions to buy late model used cars for
the dealership. It was Ford's standard procedure at he time to destroy the
introductory show cars after their tour of duty of the country's dealerships was
complete. Perhaps due to the UAW strike, 038 escaped this fate, as did 3 other
known introductory show cars 036, 045 and 050.

038 surfaced at a used car auction in Columbus, Ohio. Steve Kashman, a salesman
for Slater Ford in Stoneboro, PA was at the auction buying cars for the
dealership. When 038 went up for auction, he purchased the car for the brother
of the owner of Slater Ford - Gene Amos. Gene was a mechanic at Slater and stock
car driver and wanted the car for it's 427 Engine.

Upon receiving 038 back at the dealership, Gene discovered the engine was not a
427, but a 428, and no longer wanted the car. They renegotiated the price, and
Gene kept the car for a daily driver. His wife primarily drove the car up until
1976. However, per Gene, during this time this car was the undisputed "king of
the road" in Stoneboro in the red-light-road-race arena. In 1976 with only 18xxx
miles on the clock, it was taken off the road and parked in a field in
Stoneboro.



Early in the car's life, it burned a valve. This was repaired at Slater Ford
under warranty, but not until after some negotiations. At first, FoMoCo wasn't
going to honor the warranty due to the prototype heratige o this car, but after
a few days, they returned to Slater and agreed to cover the entire cost. The
Ford Rep told Gene "This is a unique car, and it should be taken care of. It
will be worth something someday." The mechanic who did the repair had a big
problem to find gaskets that would fit this engine properly. Gene still works at
Slater, and says he can kick himself for letting the car deteriorate so badly.

Dave McCartney bought 038 from Gene in approximately 1990. He stored it in a
barn on his property. Jim Pinkerton learned of 038's existance and in 1995 Phil
Parcells visited Dave to further investigate this car.
As found in 1995 in PA:



On 11/12/00 Phil Parcells purchased GTE serial # 8F93W500038 from Dave Mcartney.







^ Engine in 2000 ^          v Engine back in 1968 v



Update 3/2003: bodywork and paint complete.





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