Was looking on CL and saw a nice one 5.0 Cougar for $2500. So I wondered if there was any fans of that unique body style.
Was looking on CL and saw a nice one 5.0 Cougar for $2500. So I wondered if there was any fans of that unique body style.
Hell yeah! Especially the ASC McLaren versions.
In reply to pinchvalve (Forum Supporter) :
Nice. I had forgotten there was more than one Fox bodied Cougar. (Oops, the blue car is s Capri)
Unfortunately, I was looking at an ad for a 1987 Cougar.
This unique body style. On another note, is there a way to remove the rubber baby buggy bumpers from the front and rear bumpers to smooth them out?
I like foxy bodied cougars!
Oh, wait....
I like all the fox bodies
waiting on Gumby in 3........ 2......... 1..........
1980-82 for Fox body Cougar. They even offered a wagon version
That first picture is a Capri, basically a Mustang. The Cougar is basically a Thunderbird, but yeah, still Fox platform.
My grandpa had one when I was very young, I only remember it was white with leather interior and I loved riding in it.
They could also be had with the Turbo Coupe drivetrain. https://barnfinds.com/manual-and-turbocharged-mercury-1986-mercury-cougar-xr-7/
I think they look best in black.
The blue car is a Mercury Capri, not a Cougar. They're kind of cool in their own way.
An '80 to '82 Cougar, which is on the Fox platform, seems like they might be interesting to tear into. They need a lot more side glass instead of that 2 foot long C-pillar though...
In reply to slowbird :
That looks much better.
I have a hard time with it only because of the ride height. I much prefer the look of the MN12.
I am a huge fan of the basic car, but in the 87-88 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe or Lincoln Mark VII LSC form.
The Cougar was a square fox from 80-82, and an aero fox from 83-86 and updated for 87-88.
The 83-86 XR-7 shares the same year Turbo Coupe drivetrains (2.3T, T-5 manual, LSD) but they are not great (I had an 84). There's no intercooler so expect 145-155 HP, the T5 is a non-world class, so it will shatter at about 200 Ft/Lbs of torque, and the rear axle is a 7.5" unit. It also has puny 10" front discs and rear drums to haul down it's portly (3400-3800 Lb) weight.
The 87-88 XR-7 went to 5.0 V8 power, but dropped the manual altogether, and it's the 175 HP "SO" version. Again, it's kind of a slow turd.
That said, they look unique, ride fantastic, and have really great interiors, especially in leather and with all the options. Parts availability is scarce but most fox / SN95 Mustang parts can be used to jazz them up performance wise. I wouldn't take one around corners though, the MN12 bodied 89-97 Cougar (especially the Superchraged XR-7 5-speed ones) will destroy the fox car. Makes a decent drag racer if that's your thing. Makes a much better cruiser/highway hauler.
noddaz said:
On another note, is there a way to remove the rubber baby buggy bumpers from the front and rear bumpers to smooth them out?
Not really. Side trim between the wheel openings is glued on, ahead and behind the wheel openings is bolted on, but the front and rear parts are a molded in feature of the bumper covers
They make grest sleepers with some small block love. A fairly famous Mustang racer had a 10 second sleeper Fairmont in the 90s.
The rear side window suffers from the same designer that ruined 68 and 69 Chevelles. If you disagree, that's fine...
They are a Fox chassis. If you like the looks, it is an easy receptacle for all the hot rod parts made for every other Fox, quite possibly in a cheaper shell.
I'd hold out for a Fairmont wagon, but thats just me.
Fairmont 2 door sedan >>> Fox Cougars. That's a scientific fact.
pres589 (djronnebaum) said:Fairmont 2 door sedan >>> Fox Cougars. That's a scientific fact.
Well, yeah. The Fairmont is at least 500 pounds lighter, so...
Streetwiseguy said:The rear side window suffers from the same designer that ruined 68 and 69 Chevelles. If you disagree, that's fine...
Don't forget a lot of late '60s/early '70s AMCs. The Ambassador and Rebel had that same goofy quarter window design
Javelin (Forum Supporter) said:pres589 (djronnebaum) said:Fairmont 2 door sedan >>> Fox Cougars. That's a scientific fact.
Well, yeah. The Fairmont is at least 500 pounds lighter, so...
Fox bodies are like Legos. What you can do to one works on them all. A Fairmont and Cougar are far closer in weight than 500#. Don't force me to look it up.
Dang, I love those cars. You almost never see them. Just as an aside, two svo mustangs showed up on CL. Feast or famine with those.
Did someone say Fox Body Cougar???
I KNOW ABOUT THESE!!!!
In high school, I had two 1987 XR7's: a white one and the one you see here. That right there is the "car that got away". I never should have sold that car. I still want another one.
Ok, so they built these in the funky roofline body style from 1983-88, just like the Aero Thunderbirds. Much like the Thunderbird, 1983-86 have quad sealed beam headlights and a slightly different roofline than the 1987-88 cars. As far as the 5.0 goes, 1983-85 came with a throttle body injected 5.0, while the 1986-88 cars came with a MPFI 5.0 with speed density EFI. All 5.0 equipped Cougars were of the low output variety; non-roller cam, and good for about 150hp on their best day.
The best ones to get IMHO are the 1987-88 XR7's. Yes, they had the low-output 5.0, but the styling is a little better and they drive a little better than the earlier ones. The XR7 package in those years got you the following:
-Alloy 15" wheels (Mustang 10 holes in 1987 and Mustang turbines in 1988)
-Special exterior styling (gray/black lower stripes in 1987 and body colored bumpers in 1988)
-Sport interior with buckets (leather or cloth available), console w/floor shifter, one of two sport steering wheels, and full digital dash with digital tach and fuel computer (1988 cars could be had with an analog cluster)
-5.0 with AOD 4-speed auto (no manual available)
-7.5" Traction Lok rear axle with quad shocks (rear drum brakes only)
-Bigger sway bars and better springs
There are some drawbacks to these cars to consider:
-Like the Mustang, they have 4-lug wheels/hubs. Like Fox Mustangs, there are many avenues for upgrades here.
-The stock 5.0 is a boat anchor. Swap in a 5.0 HO if you plan on making any power. Mine couldn't even spin the tires unless it was raining.
-The 7.5" rear is a weak point. The 8x8" axle swaps in easily. If you get a Lincoln Mark VII parts car, you can grab the rear disc 8.8 AND the front brakes which are 5-lug. Hell, grab the 5.0 HO while you're in there!
-They are extremely thin on the ground, so body parts are tough to come by. Last 1987-88 XR7 I've seen with my own two eyes left my driveway 20 years ago. YMMV depending on where you live.
-There was a recall that addressed a trans problem: There's a little rubber grommet on the TV cable that goes bad and causes weird shifting until the trans blows up. Hopefully this has been addressed by this point.
Other things of note:
-The digital speedometer caps at 85mph. Found that out the hard way.
-The cool Turbo Coupe vented hood bolts onto the Cougar, if you can find one.
These are super cool cars. Compared to the GM stuff of the same vintage (like the G-Body), they feel light years ahead quality-wise. Interiors are nice, quiet, and comfortable, even by today's standards, and the fit and finish is decent. The biggest drawback is that you pretty much need a Lincoln Mark VII LSC's worth of parts to make it perform better, and at that point, it may be better just to start with one of those. The comparable Turbo Coupes are also better equipped. But if you want something different, these are a great choice.
Also, one of the oldest car sites on the interwebs is dedicated to them: CoolCats.net
Lots of solid info there. Also, the "Reader's Rides" section is a relic, with such sweet rides as this:
Love me some Boxy Fox Cougar.
In reply to Cooter :
In 1982, they even made a wagon!
AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) said:Javelin (Forum Supporter) said:pres589 (djronnebaum) said:Fairmont 2 door sedan >>> Fox Cougars. That's a scientific fact.
Well, yeah. The Fairmont is at least 500 pounds lighter, so...
Fox bodies are like Legos. What you can do to one works on them all. A Fairmont and Cougar are far closer in weight than 500#. Don't force me to look it up.
They are indeed like Legos, I should know I have had most of them (82 Fairmont, 83 TBird TC, 84 Cougar XR7, 86 Capri, 87 Cougar XR7, 87/88 TBird TC, 85 Mustang, 89 Mustang, 96 Cobra). The 83-88 TBird/Cougar are definitely 500 pounds more than a Mustang/Capri/Fairmont coupe and in ways that can't be Lego'd out (manual seat tracks, aluminum bumper beams, etc). They have large doors with framed windows, the bodies themselves are about 10" wider (seriously, that's why they are 5-seaters instead of a 2+2), they are longer, taller, and they have more metal in the internal unibody structure for NVH. Yeah, you can strip them down (fiberglass hood, fenders, decklid, gut the interior, tubular k-member, etc) but you'll never make them lighter than a Mustang/Capri with the same mods. Plus there's things that are nigh on impossible (manual windows for example, which are mythical if they exist at all) or aren't easily doable (replacing the rear window with lexan for example, it's flat in Mustang hatch and available off the shelf for a notch, the TBird and Cougar both use unique double-compound curved windows that are nearly impossible to recreate in lexan, the TBird Pro Stock cars famously had much flatter rear windows because of this).
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