The Mercury Cougar of 1970 had a revised look that was designed to retain the untamed spirit that Mercury had built in to this model. The new look was sleeker in silhouette, longer in line and sportier in its flair throughout. The car was available as a convertible or hardtop and was meant to convey the hand-tooled appearance of European Grand Touring cars of the era. It was a full-grown, full-fledged sports machine with “impeccable road manners and a serenely smooth ride.” With many options and performance packages on offer, the 1970 Cougar could easily fall into multiple categories from wild to elegant.

The beautiful Competition Gold (code U) with Black example being offered comes with an Elite Marti Report and is one that falls on the wild side. Factory writings of the period declared: “Cougar Eliminator…spoilers hold it down…nothing holds it back.” The Cougar Eliminator was presented to the public as a hardcore performer that had the hardware to match. The front and rear spoilers provided an immediate clue, as did the racing-style mirrors (with driver’s side remote), blacked-out grille with hidden headlights, hood scoop and full-length Eliminator side stripes.

The Cougar Eliminator could be custom ordered with a wide variety of performance options that ranged from the 351-cid two-barrel carb V-8 to the Boss 302 (as seen in this car) to the 428 Cobra Jet with Ram Air. This Cougar is truly set apart by being reported by Keith Marti as one of the rare Super Drag Pak cars. This moniker was utilized by Ford Motor Company as their marketing name for Ford / Lincoln / Mercury performance cars in the late 1960s and early ‘70s that are thought to have included an oil cooler and a higher ratio rear axle gear as the main ingredients.

The oil cooler set-up consisted of the oil cooler assembly, upper and lower mounting brackets, an oil filter block adapter with special mounting bolt and oil adapter inlet and outlet hoses to and from the cooler assembly. It started with the 1969 428 SCJ Mustangs. This is seen at the front of the car as the oil cooler mounts on the driver's side in front of the radiator support next to the hood latch. Putting the oil cooler on the radiator support required both horns to be mounted on the passenger side of the hood latch. There is a reinforcement bracket in the radiator support behind the horns to support the horns being mounted side by side.

Eliminators came from the factory with standards that included full competition suspension with heavy-duty shocks and springs, plus a rear stabilizer bar. The cabin is in character with bucket seats, full instrumentation that contains a 8,000-rpm tachometer, oil pressure gauge, rally clock with sweep second hand and E.T. indicator, two-spoke steering wheel and a “visual check panel” that houses a door-ajar and low-fuel signals.

Built in Dearborn, this Eliminator is further shown as a retail order that was constructed in early 1970 and lists Johnson Motors – Iowa Falls Inc. in Iowa Falls, Iowa as the receiving dealer. The restored car is presented in its correct colors and the Marti Report also confirms the Eliminator Package, four-speed close ratio manual transmission (with Hurst “T”-handle per factory specs), tinted glass throughout, Traction-Lok differential with 4.30:1 gearing, raised white letter tires, AM/8-track stereo radio and heavy-duty battery. This exceptional and most uncommon muscle machine has also been fitted with the factory optional styled steel wheels of original design and seen in the period factory literature. The spare matches and the trunk floor is covered with the proper plaid vinyl liner.

The owner reports that in 2013, the original 300-code engine block, cylinder heads, crank and carburetor were located and reconditioned. The owner states that these components are ready to be assembled and installed in the car. These important items are included with the sale of the Cougar; along with the original wheels and tires.

Already rare with the Super Drag Pak option, the Elite Marti Report breaks down the numbers as follows: 72,365 1970 Cougars built; 49,479 were the hardtop; only 2,267 received the Eliminator Package; 468 came with the revered Boss 302 V-8 engine; 323 came with the close ratio four-speed; only 45 were presented in Competition Gold; just 16 were fitted with the standard Black bucket seats; only three had the 4.30:1 locking rear axle and one was ordered with a heavy-duty battery – this is the sole Cougar reported built in this configuration.

Ford was one of the vanguards of the musclecar movement in the 1960s and ‘70s and the special cars from this era continue to be coveted nearly 50 years later. The performance engineers and designers of the Ford / Mercury Division created a proud pedigree that is evident to even a glance; authoritative and rarely seen, this Super Drag Pak Eliminator will be a welcome addition to any garage.