Ryan St. Arnold/KCØJEX's
1987 Mercury Cougar LS
PHOTOS:
My Cougar, about 2 months after I bought
it:
Here is my Cougar, photo taken in
April, 2003:
Click on image for larger graphic
The Cougar in April 2005: Dead (Since Feb. 04)
GENERAL INFORMATION
Original
Cost: $600
Total Miles: 99,000 when
received, currently 110,000
Engine: Ford 3.8L (232 ci) 6-cylinder Throttle-Body Injected
Wheels: 15" XR-7/Mustang 10-hole Alloy Wheels
Transmission: 4-Speed Overdrive AOD
Factory Horsepower: 120hp
Factory Torque:205 lbs. ft.
Fuel Capacity: 22.1 Gallons
Cargo Capacity: 14.6 cubic feet
Wheelbase: 104.2"
Overall Length: 16.7 ft.
Curb Weight: 3133 lbs.
Cougar Production stats:
LS - 85,888
XR7 - 14,957
20th Anniversary - 5,002
TOTAL - 105,847
THE STORY
I purchased this car back
in September of 2002, for a good $600, right out of my pocket. It had been in
a fender-bender, the left fender was from a different car, colored gray, along with a missing wheel cover directly below
it. The corresponding molding piece was also gone. The header panel was hatched, and to go with it
a broken headlight casing. Paint was massively stripped from the front bumper-cover, with a couple cracks. Originally, the front-left wheel had a
dent in it, with a horrible wobble as I drove it down the road. The interior was anything but clean,
with the seller's junk filling the trunk and rear seat. The previous owner also wasn't the best for maintaining this machine. The oil was black as
night, air filter expectedly dirty, bad starter, junk ignition module, and bad battery cable and terminals. And don't even mention the
rust problems - it infested both rocker panels, doors, and quarterpanels.
The afternoon I drove it home, the work had to begin. I started
with a throrough cleaning of the interior and trunk, and made an effort to
abolish the cigarette ash and scattered change around the car. After vacuuming,
throwing out the floor and trunks mats, and giving the dash an armor-all job,
the interior looked close to new. I received multiple compliments on the
cleanliness of the interior, for the fact that it was
a 15-year-old car.
The day after a new wheel was located to eliminate the wobble. The next
job was changing the oil, new air filter, adding a bit a power steering fluid,
and checking the brake fluid, which was fine. By this time I had to start
searching the local salvage yards for a header panel and headlight casing. In a
week or so, the parts I need were located at an out-of-town auto salvage at
relatively low prices. The header panel, headlight casing, front license plate
holder, car manual and a few other small things were collected. Within a month
or so, it was time to start the header panel work. I attached the many nuts
required for it, and junked the old one. Thankfully, my father, a professional
painter, was willing to accept the job. He sprayed the fender and header panel,
along with the bondo-sealed bumper cover, which now looks brand new. The car
looked fantastic after this work, and other minor projects were done. Battery
connectors were replaced, a new ignition module, fender molding piece, and other
additions. A new pioneer stereo was installed (by me) in the dash, and a
RadioShack HTX-212 2M 45 watt Ham Radio was mounted on the console, along with a
1/4 mag-mount antenna on the trunk.
In February 2004 the Cougar failed to start after I was leaving the school after a basketball game.
I had it towed to the house, and about a month later brought it to a shop. The "mechanic" could not
determine the problem, but hey, they still got $90 for telling me that. I tried multiple parts--computer, ignition coil, module, etc. to no avail.
The car turns over but has no spark. The Cougar remains in the back yard behind a '71 Cutlass parts car.
COUGAR RELATED LINKS
CoolCats: 1983-88 Cougar - Most comprehensive cougar site
I've found (inludes info on MN-12 cats)
Mercury Cougar Forums
Mercury Official Homepage - No info on older cougars, but I
might as well put the official page up
Page Created by Ryan St. Arnold, 2002, 2003
