(note: Mr. Pastor’s COAL series is not in chronological order. ED) I was looking for cheap transportation. It was the late 1990s and my wife and I had just plunked down too much money for a Chrysler Town and Country minivan to shuttle all the kids around. I perused the transportation for sale section of the classified ads. There it was: “For Sale 1985 Mercury, broken windows, runs good. $400.”
You can sometimes glean information about a seller by reading their ad. Someone who actually put “FOR SALE” probably did not sell cars too often. In those days there was a charge for each letter in the ads. So the ad was about eight words long and one fourth of those words were unnecessary. Oftentimes ambiguous ads with too little information are a waste of everyone’s time. Other times you land a fantastic deal because the ad is written so poorly, no one else bothered to call. I hoped this one was the latter choice. I had replaced auto glass before, and because of the age of the vehicle I knew I could likely get used glass at a salvage yard. I was trying to think of scenarios where a car (that had not been in an accident) would have multiple broken windows. Vandalism? Hail storm? I called and got the address.
When I arrived in the subdivision I smiled. In the driveway was a nice looking Cougar.
These Cougars were very similar to their Fox-body Thunderbird corporate cousins, but the nearly vertical backlight gave the car a completely different vibe. I always thought they were cool and unique. I was about to become the owner of one. Bonus points for being an early model, I personally thought the mid-cycle refresh in 1987 made them look worse.
This one had a “For Sale” sign taped on the drip rail of the half-opened driver’s door window. All the glass seemed to be in great shape. Overall, the car seemed to be in good condition. The body was straight and there seemed to be no rust. Florida cars, if they have any rust, usually have it on the hoods, roofs, and trunk lids because over time the paint can get baked off. Unless it is a northern transplant, we Florida folks don’t get cars with rusty rocker panels, wheel wells, and rear quarters.
This car wasn’t the sporty XR7 version, but it did have the nice factory wheels and the interior was also in great shape with bucket seats and a center console. “This window is broken” was the first thing the owner said to me, pointing to the driver’s door glass. “You mean it won’t go up?” I asked. “Yes, and when it rains the carpet gets wet.” he replied. “Lots of options, including power windows, I thought to myself.
The Cougar was obviously garage kept for at least part of its life. The dashboard was still soft and the plastics were not dried out. This was a nice example. The 302 (5.0 liter SFI V8) fired right up and idled smoothly. A quick ride revealed no smoke or unusual noises and the transmission shifted smoothly into all gears. We struck a deal, I got the title and the keys and was on my way.
I tested the passenger side door window regulator on the drive home, it worked just fine. This was a quick purchase. Typically, when I am looking at a car, I check all the fluids for level and condition, and have a look underneath to check for leaks and rust. Incidentally, the components on the underside of the car should not be body colored, and if they are, it is a sign of a repaint, which means the possibility of a previous accident.
It was a great car, and was a pleasure to drive. Wonderful cruiser, and plenty of power. I did end up replacing the carpet, because of the mildew odor. That was a bigger job than replacing the window regulator. I didn’t keep it long though, another car piqued my interest. But the unique, even daring styling of the ’83 through ’86 Mercury Cougar is one of the high points from Mercury in this era.
I always found that back window hideous, but for cheap transportation you can’t see it when driving the car, so no problem.
I also like to buy stuff from incorrect ads. I picked up a set of winter tires for my Dad’s Escape, the ad was in the Wanted section of Kijiji but if you read the ad they were trying to sell them. I don’t buy stuff from rude or illiterate ads though.
Me as well. I preferred the Thunderbird roofline.
+1
I’m going to gander a guess – rear seat headroom was better because of no slant.
I really liked the Cougar re-do in ’83 despite the rear window. It was such an improvement over the 2 previous generations. But I am a sucker for Cougar wagons…
I’m not sure about this generation, but in the ’89 redesign (which maintained the vertical rear backlite for the Cougar but not the T-Bird, though with a less controversial rear quarter window shape), the Cougar not only had more headroom than a Thunderbird but also more legroom and a longer seat cushion, because the Cougar roofline allowed the rear seatback to be positioned rearward of where it was in the T-bird. Very roomy and comfortable back seat in the ’89 Cougar LS i rode in.
I had one of these as well. Loved that roof cut in on the B pillar. Comfortable cruiser was over 10 years old when we got it. Made vacation trips to Canada, and Chicago from Central Kentucky, with no problems except one, when condenser needed replaced. Other wise, never let us down. $400?That was a great deal!
I think you meant the C pillar?
Anyway, include me amongst those that didn’t like the rear quarter window and pillar shape which reminded me of an AMC Gremlin, which for me at least isn’t a good thing. I’m fine with the roofline itself though, and a similar Cougar-specific roofline looked better on the ’89 and later model than the swoopy Thunderbird roofline from the same years IMO.
Agree, that Cougar was hideous. The roof was just so wrong.
But bad taste can have its upside – cheap ride.
This is my favorite kind of older used car. An older car in a nice neighborhood owned by an older person who has reasonably high standards. Minor things on the car that don’t work make it damaged goods in their minds so they want to be rid of it. They will be reasonable on price.
I had the same reaction, at the age of 14 when these first came out, as Mitchell Gant(Eastwood) did, in ‘Firefox’, the first time he saw the MiG he was sent to steal! I. was. STUNNED.
…but sadly the rear-firing weapons pod was only available as an extra-cost option: Mercury Package 6B; Luxury Anti-Tailgating/Deluxe Carpet and Trim/Styled Wheel Covers/Russian Thought Control Group.
???!
James I could not agree more. The 87 and up Cougar ruined an otherwise neat and taut design by adding bloat and moar of everything. Same with the Thunderbird.
I love this roofline and the rear window. I think it made the Cougar unique and not look like everything else on the road. When they rounded them off they ruined them IMO. I almost got one of these – a loaded 1984 in 1988 – but when I went back to put the deposit on it, it was sold.
I always love hearing stories about a great deal that someone gets on a car that has a minor issue that can easily be remedied. Someone’s trash is another’s treasure!!
Great find. At least the window regulator lasted 14 yrs. Today many of the light weight cable driven regulators fail shortly after the vehicle warranty.
Your comments on the ads were spot on. A 20 word 2 week ad in a local trader paper would cost me $25-$28. For some darned reason the words No calls after 9pm seemed to be a waste of money.
Some yrs back I had a similar find answering an ad. 96 Plymouth Grand Voyager.Theft recovered. Broken ignition and transmission. The owner warned “I have the parking brake on. What ever they did to the transmission it grinds and won’t even hold in park. A quick check underneath revealed a broken cv joint. I had these parts on one I was junking so I bought it for 500 and soon sold it for 1800.
A savey cat catches a canary every now and then.
I like the Cougars with their near vertical backlights better than the corresponding Thunderbird.
On the window regulators, my current car had infamously bad regulators where they had a plastic part that eventually broke and the window would fall into the door..happened to mine, they fixed it under a recall and warranty was extended for 7 years on them. The problem is that I now have problem with power locks on same doors which I need to remove the windows to get at (a circuit board that they also infamously have problems with cold solder joints). I’m down to 2 doors with working power locks. Of course they also eliminated the key locks in all but the driver’s door…if they had to do that, at least make sure the power locks are reliable, otherwise you end up with lots of unhappy owners. I’ve been too lazy to fix mine so it has remained that way for several years (before my Dad passed away I spent more time with him than working on automotive projects, so things got ignored, but not too bad a tradeoff on a 16 year old vehicle).
You talk about wording of newspaper car ads, one time a friend of mine was reading one and asked me what “OBO” meant…without thinking I proffered “Owned by owner?” and soon had the “duh” look on my face realizing how stupid my response was, not one of my more considered moments. I still like reading car ads in newspapers, for some reason better than online…guess I’m old fashioned.
I read an article a long time ago where the author originally interpreted “OBO” to mean “Or Bug Off.” Cost them quite a few good deals, they decided.
As opposed to owned by someone who isn’t the owner? IDGI….
When I bought my first (used) car through newspaper classifieds, I occasionally saw the initials “R&H” and had no idea what that meant. It meant “radio and heater”; this was in the late ’80s by which time all cars that weren’t antiques were assumed to have those two items. (What was the last car sold in the U.S. that didn’t have a heater? And don’t say air-cooled VWs or Porsches…)
While I would prefer a Thunderbird every time. For $400 and a 5.0, I would probably still own it. It is true, I still have the 97 Mustang that was given to me although I seldom drive it.(True it is a GT convertible with 73k miles on the clock that I put $4k worth of top, paint, and interior into.. plus a million or so hours of personal labor /the car and it’s history itself are probably worthy of a coal), so the Cougar would still be around with the odd rear window and all.
As a side note: I drove the Mustang over to my Mom’s place in Albuquerque two weeks ago for storage while our house sells here (sold and moving to Tacoma). The old lady ran like a top all the way without a problem…although she do drink like a fish…
I bought my 1986 Mercury Capri 5.0L over Labor Day weekend in 1986. Not two weeks later did the 20th Anniversary (1987) Cougar arrive in their showroom. I was bummed, but I wasn’t going to trade out my V8 Capri!
Personally, I liked both variations of these cars (and the corresponding Thunderbirds). I didn’t find the styling had changed all that much. I’ve definitely seen worse updates of cars…
Back in the mid 80s when this car 1st hit the showrooms a guy in my squadron showed up at work one afternoon in a “biscuit-colored”(Mercury’s name for pale yellow) Cougar. Until that day we had never had more than a “nodding” acquaintance, but that afternoon we become fairly friendly. As a past owner of a similarly colored 68 Cyclone I felt like I was seeing my old Mercury’s reincarnation.
I think my biggest turn-off with these cars isn’t the rear-side window and squared-off roofline, but the digital instruments that Mercury put in a few of these and IIRC, the Sable.
My Wife and I bought a 1994 model as our first brand new car, It replaced my ’77 Coupe de Ville. Ours was a base V6 model grey outside with a plush, soft grey interior. White walls and wire wheel caps, my Wife insisted on that. I tried to steer her to the fastback T Bird, but she loved the formal design roof. The smooth “aero” front end and the cut off rear window seem like a styling mish mash, but for some reason it worked. I liked it myself, and the car was very smooth, quiet and comfortable.The build quality was much superior to the Monte Carlo and it’s cousins. We used it for our frequent runs from the LA area where I worked, to see the family in the Bay Area. A great traveling car. The TV ad that featured the old Sinatra song, “I’ll be seeing you” was a very classy, popular campaign.
I remember seeing a spy photos of the ’83 Cougar. I don’t remember what magazine I had seen it in, but I do remember my reaction. It was the equivalent of “OMG – what were they thinking!”
Then I saw one in person and I thought it was gorgeous. Other people did as well as it was a real sales success. Look at the ’80 Cougar and then compare it to the ’83 redesign.
To me it’s still gorgeous. I also think the refresh in ’87 ruined the design.
The problem with the 1987 restyle was they pulled the roof too far back, terminating over the end of the wheel opening, giving it a bustleback Gremlin effect at certain angles(not helped by the even more exaggerated upswept greenhouse). The 85’s roof terminated in the inside the wheel opening which works much better proportionally, and they later went back to that with the MN12. I like the aero front end better though, or at least the original 83-84 design with the more traditional electric shaver grille. The mini Mercedes grille on the 85-86 I find gross and the headlight buckets look way too similar to the Tbird, I was surprised when I first realized the valance and buckets were totally different parts between them.
I think these were one of the best badge engineering examples there were, all panels ahead of the doors are identical to the Tbird, and it shows, yet the personalities are totally different. The last Cougar that that could be said about against it’s corporate sibling were the 73s, but even those shared no sheetmetal. Getting past the polarizing roofline what I find most striking about the original 83-86 design are the rear hips it sprouted with the sculpting leading up to the quarter window, the same line after the door is ruler flat on the Tbird and disappeared on the 87s. That detail alone sells me on these since that was simply not done on 80s cars and looks much more timeless because of it
Interesting. Your comments and James’ lead photo have opened my eyes to the ’83-86… I used to maintain that the ’87-88 was the better looker. Now I’m not so sure. The ’83-86 does seem more graceful? More… styled?
Comparing 86 to 87 with the Thunderbird as well, I think the earlier model is the better looker. Although this platform could have done with a longer wheelbase or shorter overhangs, that’s the only thing stopping the cars from being truly beautiful.
And look how generic it became a decade hence… Only a rounded notch and a fastback distinguished the Ford and the Mercury.
Hey now!
The differentiation was the basically the same outside – different front bumper cover, header panel, headlights, grilles, quarters, roof, quarter and back glass, trunk lid, and taillights, just like 83-88s – in fact the 89-95s also used different hoods which were interchangeable and unchanged between all 83-88s.
I had one of these in high school. Mine was an ’86 with the 3.8 V6. Paid $350 for if off a friend whose dad was a salesman at the local Lincoln-Mercury dealer. Apparently it was a one-owner trade in that his dad picked up cheap and gave it to his son. Within 3 months my buddy lost control of it while showing off or something and hit a stop sign. There was some damage to the plastic bumper cover, light cage (?), and passenger fender. $150 at the junkyard and it was almost as good as new. Boy did that car take a beating from me in my nearly four years of ownership. Everything from parking lot donuts to dirt trail off roading.
I like the Cougar roof line, for both the 80’s and 90’s style. Along with the Thunderbird, these were perhaps the first cars that really stood out to me when I first became interested in cars. Realizing they were basically the same car was a break-through moment.
I’m surprise no one has mentioned the mash ups. Put the T-bird front end on a Cougar: Thundercat! Put the Cougar front end on a T-bird: Mountainbird, maybe Catbird…this one doesn’t flow as easily. I recall seeing a few such jobs in the late ’90’s and always got a laugh.
Preferred the T-Bird roofline as the Cougar’s always looked like they turned the window upside down. We sold several of these during the 90’s and got screwed on several 3.8 V6’s that came back with head gasket issues and or bottom end complications as a result and thereafter looked mainly for 5.0 examples which were less common in the earlier years. The best ones were the 87-88 T-Birds which used the SFI 150 HP 5.0 V8 as the 83-85 Throttle body versions were not as quick and used more gas.
A few things that they could have done better were an actual floor mounted shifter instead of the bucket seat/console column shifter setup that 99% of these had (I assume it was floor shifter on the XR7 at least) sportier alloy wheels instead of the wire wheels or polycast ones which always seemed dull and faded and looked cheap (just like in the picture above) and a honest optional full gauge package option instead of the idiot lights. The XR7 offered some of this but you were stuck with the obnoxious turbo 4 until 1987 when the 5.0 became available and just try finding one in this trim level. The 83-86 dashed were also rather tach silver and looked almost the same as the 1980 squared off version.I did drive a 1988 Cougar XR7 and it had the floor mounted console shifter so apparently they corrected that over time but I will have to research that one.
The vertical backlight on these Cougars was kind of a nod to Mercury heritage, wasn’t it? Mercury had the vertical opening rear windows back in the 1960s, although it wasn’t on Cougar. But still, it seems like a family thing to me and was a neat way to give buyers who might have liked the formal-roof Cutlasses and Regals at GM a similar alternative.
I’am interested in purchasing an 85 cougar.
Is this for real.$400.
Wgat about the rest of the car, what dose the interior look like.
Where can I see this vehicle.