1987 Mercury Cougar XR-7

[MY70GT]

Hey all, i haven't posted here in a while, lost the last year or so to Hurricane Sandy flooding us out of our home. Now that things are returning to normal i just purchased a new car to hold me over til i can make my Thunderbird roadworthy again. (Flooded by 4 ft of water) Hope you all like her.......

I posted this in the "American Cars" section too, but i thought it would be seen more here........

This car is going to be a light use daily driver, local in town a few times a week, and double as a hobby, cruise night car until funds permit me getting the Bird back together post flood. Its a 1987 XR-7 Well equipped, and only 72,000 original miles. Needs nothing, cold AC, new tires, recent tune up, no mods, and Leather Interior with full console, floor shifter, dual power seats etc. As far as i can tell, it only is missing the factory EQ, and Sunroof. Here are some pics,




















Picked it up tonight, here are a few night pics, and quick evaluation of the car:

Here are my overall impressions of the car.

The Good:

1. Drove like a brand new car.
2. Car was as nice or nicer than described by the seller.
3. Shifted tightly and perfectly.
4. Heat was awesome
5. Stereo is all stock and sounded perfect with the cassette adapter for my iPod.
6. Power everything worked perfectly.
7. Leather is perfect, near flawless, lumbars worked perfectly.
8. Gauges were spot on, speedo was in perfect sync with the speed on my GPS.
9. Not a single rattle or squeak on the inside.
10. Doors opened and closed perfectly and with a solid thud.
11. All weather strip is perfect, i mean PERFECT, window sweeps, felts etc.
12. Beltline moldings were flawless and the chrome strips were perfect, no oxidation anywhere.
13. Rims are super clean, no rash.
14. Alignment was near perfect, car drove laser straight.
15. Cruise Control was flawless.
16. Trunk is mint, has rubber mat also! :-)
17. Console plate is perfect and intact, no lifting and no screws through it to make it flat.
18. Perfect Headliner, carpet, floor mats, and vanity mirrors. Dash looks like showroom new, door pulls are tight and perfect, and rear package tray is perfect. Interior has almost no discernible fading.
19. 2k all in.
The Bad

1. Rearview Mirror needs to be re-silvered
2. Seat belt receiver plastic is toast as with all these cars.
3. Needs a new power antenna, works ok, just won't go up and down.
4. tiny crack in plastic trim above the passenger door where it meets the headliner
5. One tine nickel sized rust spot, (no rot) on the passenger rear quarter just above the moldings.
6. One horribly touched up scratch on passenger door, with the wrong color silver touch up paint pen.
7. Hood light wiring was torn out at some point.
8. Cougar Trunk badge is missing. XR-7 Badge is fine.


Overall i would say that this car rates this way:

Overall a solid 8 of 10

Paint 7 1/2

Interior 9

Mechanical 9

cool factor 15 +


Here are few snaps with my iPhone on the way home near the local Mercedez Dealership. (They have good light)

[Polyal]

Thats an acquired taste, coming from an AU owner

[Mighty Reds]

I can honestly say I have never seen one of those before.

[MY70GT]

Originally Posted by Mighty Reds

I can honestly say I have never seen one of those before.

It's the sister to the Thunderbird. 1983-1988 were Fox Body constructed cars, the same platform as Mustang. The Birds/Cougars were a little bigger, luxury oriented. The Thunderbird Turbo Coupe and Cougar XR-7 were the performance versions.

[4vxc]

I spent a fair bit of time in the states but pretty sure I never saw one.
Is it the same spec 5.0 Windsor as the '87 Mustang?

[4stanger]

That certainly looks different,
But if you seen some Australian cars, you would think the same,
They used the T/Birds of that era (83-88) for Nascar didn't they?

[Bossxr8]

I've seen the Mercury Capris from that era that were Fox body and heavily based on Mustang, so how does this fit into the picture if it is also Fox bodied. Did this replace the Capri or sell alongside it. But then again the Australian made Mercury Capri convertible was probably on sale by then. Did that Capri slot into the range and the Cougar replaced the Fox body Capri?

[malazn mafia]

XR7 means 7 Cylinders??

[XR Martin]

XR7 initially referred to a dealer option code back in the 60s, and had nothing to do with cylinder count.
XR came back in the early 80s with the XR4 Sierra, XR3 Escort XR2 Fiesta

It didnt start referring to cylinder count until South Africa did a V8 version of the Sierra in the mid 80s

[MY70GT]

Originally Posted by 4vxc

I spent a fair bit of time in the states but pretty sure I never saw one.
Is it the same spec 5.0 Windsor as the '87 Mustang?

The Mustang/Capri received the 5.0 HO motor as did the Lincoln LSC. Thunderbird/Cougar had the non-HO EFI Motor for its whole life. I suppose Ford was trying not cut into its Mustang sales.

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

I've seen the Mercury Capris from that era that were Fox body and heavily based on Mustang, so how does this fit into the picture if it is also Fox bodied. Did this replace the Capri or sell alongside it. But then again the Australian made Mercury Capri convertible was probably on sale by then. Did that Capri slot into the range and the Cougar replaced the Fox body Capri?

The Thunderbird/Cougar went after a slightly older and sophisticated buyer than Mustang/Capri. These all sold alongside each other until they stopped building the Capri in 1986. Mustang soldiered on until 1993 in the Fox platform. Thunderbird/Cougar went from 1983-1988 as Fox platforms.

Originally Posted by malazn mafia

XR7 means 7 Cylinders??

XR-7 has been around on the Cougar since the 1967 Intro of the Cougar, and 1997 was the final year they marketed the name.

[2011G6E]

Never seen one before.
Saw the first pictures. Said "Yecchh!!'.
Looked at a few more. OK.
Got to bottom ones, and by then I was going "Hmm...you know, it kinda grows on you..."

Nice find! Certainly something different.

Can we ask what you paid for it?

[MY70GT]

Originally Posted by 2011G6E

Never seen one before.
Saw the first pictures. Said "Yecchh!!'.
Looked at a few more. OK.
Got to bottom ones, and by then I was going "Hmm...you know, it kinda grows on you..."

Nice find! Certainly something different.

Can we ask what you paid for it?

These were quickie photos from the seller, i am a pro photographer, stay tuned for better pics.

[Moby Vic]

Capri died here after the 1985 model year. The last Capri RS had a carbureted 5.0.

[SumoDog68]

Originally Posted by 2011G6E

Never seen one before.
Saw the first pictures. Said "Yecchh!!'.
Looked at a few more. OK.
Got to bottom ones, and by then I was going "Hmm...you know, it kinda grows on you..."

Nice find! Certainly something different.

Can we ask what you paid for it?

It says 2k in a good points...

[Franco Cozzo]

I really like the digital dash, I love all that digital electronics, especially from the 80s when everything went "futuristic", like the XF Falcon digital dash.

80s futuristic is heaps of square numbers and blocks

[max_torq]

Nice car, I'd love one of those MkVIII Lincolns, but I am not sure the LHD cars that 'young' are allowed.

[aussie muscle]

pretty boring looking, but i like the digital dash.

[MY70GT]

Originally Posted by Big Damo

I really like the digital dash, I love all that digital electronics, especially from the 80s when everything went "futuristic", like the XF Falcon digital dash.

80s futuristic is heaps of square numbers and blocks

The super cool part of the gauge package on this car is that the electronic tach on the left, has a toggle switch to go back and forth through the different instruments, fuel, temp, volts, oil.

[MY70GT]

Originally Posted by aussie muscle

pretty boring looking, but i like the digital dash.

Loads of different opinions on these cars. They were aimed squarely at an older and more mature buyer, and it was kind of like luxury muscle. Much more refined than a Mustang of the same period. Fit and finish and materials were way better.

[ozpacman]

Oh dear - she's not really my cup of tea I'm afraid!

That's a rear pillar and roof line treatment that only a mother could love.

Each to his own though and I'm sure she's a damn good car and probably drives beautifully. Enjoy!

Russ.

[MY70GT]

Originally Posted by ozpacman

Oh dear - she's not really my cup of tea I'm afraid!

That's a rear pillar and roof line treatment that only a mother could love.

Each to his own though and I'm sure she's a damn good car and probably drives beautifully. Enjoy!

Russ.

Hey, it's all down to taste as you said, no offense taken. I just like sharing with you guys over here, as its something you don't see everyday, and makes for interesting chat.

[Moby Vic]

'87 and '88 had the best rooflines of the aero years. The ones prior to that were an even sharper contrast to the rest of the body.

[MY70GT]

Originally Posted by Moby Vic

'87 and '88 had the best rooflines of the aero years. The ones prior to that were an even sharper contrast to the rest of the body.

My feeling exactly.....way more graceful, that being said, these cars are not everyone's cup of tea. All the better, more for me to pick from, ;-)

[Polyal]

Well thats the thing, come another 10 years and it will be a cool thing to rock up at a show with.

[MY70GT]

Well my 83 Thunderbird is over 30 now, and the Cougar isn't far behind. I seem to forget how old these cars are getting, as its from my youth and they still feel current to me.

[MY70GT]

Here are a few shots of the Thunderbird/Cougar. The 1st are the 1983 Model year intro for the Aero birds/cats The second is the 1987 slightly modified design. These were sister cars and shared the same engine, interiors and most of the body panels from the doors forward.

[BENT_8]

I agree, those first few pics do nothing for it, but you have captured it perfectly.

I would be in the red one above (pic3) in a heart beat, nice look that.

[Moby Vic]

The red one is a Thunderbird Turbo Coupe. It had a 2.3L four cylinder, but sadly not the same one as in the Mustang SVO.

[MY70GT]

Originally Posted by Moby Vic

The red one is a Thunderbird Turbo Coupe. It had a 2.3L four cylinder, but sadly not the same one as in the Mustang SVO.

Partly true, the 87-88 Turbo Coupe was the same motor as the SVO.

[Moby Vic]

Originally Posted by MY70GT

Partly true, the 87-88 Turbo Coupe was the same motor as the SVO.

No, it wasn't. It made less power.

From http://www.autotraderclassics.com/ca...0s-78609.xhtml

For the 1987 model year it was given a facelift with a new aero nose and an intercooler was fitted to the turbo four, resulting in 190 hp and 240 lb-ft of torque.

Ford elected to give the Mustang SVO more appeal by dropping the price and adding flush headlights halfway through 1985, along with minor trim changes and a more powerful 205 hp engine.

I forget what the actual differences were (maybe stuff like cast vs. forged crank and pistons), but the engines were different.