Classic Cougar Parts

Cougars instantly raised the status of pony cars to a new level, combining luxury and performance for the first time in a modern personal "sporty" car. In this sense, the Cougar carried on a Lincoln-Mercury heritage begun with Mercury's introduction in 1939 and made famous by the Continental Mark II.

 

To most enthusiasts, the term "classic Cougar" refers to the model years 1967 through 1973. The reason for this distinction is that the first seven model years of Cougars were based on the Mustang platform and somewhat similar in appearance and design. With the demise of the original Mustang in 1974, the Cougar was redesigned to share a common platform with the Thunderbird.

 

 

The Cougar '67 have that combination of engineering, styling and market timing that when perfectly enjoined do together creates an industry trend.It was awarded the coveted "Car of the Year" by Motor Trend Magazine. Cougar remains "safe," yet distinctive and exciting. The 3-inch-longer wheelbase was put to practical use with the added rear legroom. GT option uni_includes 320 h. p 390-4V (S code) engine, low restriction dual exhaust, power booster fan, power front disc brakes, wide-oval nylon F70-14 white sidewall tires, special wheels with 6" rims, performance handling package, GT badge on front fenders

 

The Cougar 1968 was acclaimed as "the best equipped luxury sports car you can buy for the money." It has a long list of new performance and luxury goodies to choose from. Its GT package uni_includes 325 h..p 390-4V (S code) engine, bright engine trim, low restriction dual exhaust, power front disc brakes, wide-oval nylon F70-14 white sidewall tires, performance handling package and GT badge on front fenders.

 

Mercury's Top Cat entered its third model year with a whole new look and about 200 additional pounds of sheet metal and a horizontal grille design. Larger in all dimensions (except height and wheel base), the '69 Cougar has a new 250 h.p. and 351-2V (Windsor) base engine. It was the first Cougar convertible.

 

The 1970 Mercury Cougar was called "muscle car" which is a specialized vehicle with far better total performance than the typical family car designed and built to excel in acceleration, handling and braking. Cat Standard and XR-7 hardtops and convertibles were essentially unchanged in 1970 . There were the new Cleveland engines and a different front-end treatment (back to vertical bars in a split grille), but everything else was basically the same right down to the taillights, which used '69 lenses and a similar chrome bezel with some of the vertical bars removed.

 

The 1971 Cougar Standard Hardtop was completely redesigned, most of the qualities that excited Cat buyers were replaced with more sheet metal, chrome and simulated wood grain plastic. With the exception of sequential turn signals and the XR-7, most of the features that made Cougars stand out from the pack were gone, most noticeably, the Cat's sporty performance image. In their place were massive chrome bumpers, luxury interiors and larger dimensions. Yet it has a new GT option package that included such goodies as a simulated hood scoop, heavy-duty suspension, racing mirrors, a performance cooling system, high ratio axle, gauges, and a few appearance items. The threshed manual transmission was still standard, there was still a Hurst shifter available for the four speeds, and the simulated hood scoop can be functional by ordering the CJ 429 4V engine with Ram Air.

 

Under the hood of the 1972 Cougar were only two versions of the Cleveland engine to choose from: the 2V standard and the CJ 4V, which was introduced late in 1971. Also, the three-speed manual was still the standard transmission, with a Hurst-shifted four speed optional. GT option also still available consisting of a nonfunctional hood scoop, "racing" mirrors, additional instrumentation, a (numerically) higher rear axle ratio, and a towing package cooling system.

 

In the six years since Cougar's birth, the 1973 Cougar had gained almost 400 pounds and grown nearly ten inches in length. It has a slightly different front-end treatment and a Select-Shift automatic standard transmission. The GT performance package was also gone, replaced by a longer list of luxury options, including an electrically operated Moon Roof.