Had a great time taking advantage of the nice weather and scouring the junkyard for goodies. I was looking for Tbird parts but seems the Cougars were more popular this visit. I came across an 83 LS 5.0 with what I believe was 74,000 originals miles! Here are a few pictures and I’ll post some of the goodies I found next! :-)
Here are some odds and ends...
Check these out.....and one works!!!!! I've had my 83 TBird Heritage from new and don't think I ever saw a TBird version of these 'lamps' in any junkyard. I was actually surprised to see these.
>>>Notice the 2 different styles even though they both came off the same car. The one on the left which looks newer doesn't work but the one on the right which looks older does?? The studs on the chrome trim ring(right) were cut so maybe it was replaced at some time? I never knew there were 2 different styles.
I found this interesting..it was an LS...no cruise control, no vent windows, no cornering lamps but loaded with 2 power seats and the alarm! I'm not a Cougar expert and will have to do some reading. Was the LS the top of the line?
The 1983 coach lamps had their own part number because the reflector was different. If you notice the one on the left has a striped pattern, whereas the other one has more of a dot pattern. That was the difference. Also of note: that was a passenger side emblem on the driver's side of that wrecked '83. Someone replaced it somewhere along the line. Had to drill new holes to do it, too. That would explain what you found.
Cruise control, vent windows and cornering lamps were all options on all models. In fact, all options could be ordered separately, making for very strange combinations sometimes. The LS was actually the mid-level model; the XR7 was tops. But some of the same things were found in the LS and XR7 (thicker carpeting, for example).
Good score on the turn signal levers with the horn emblem on the end. ;)
It even still had a decent set of vintage mudflaps. Obviously someone enjoyed and took care of this cat while they had it. Makes you wonder about the history when you look at it. Was it a cherry car handed down from Grandma to someone who drove it till it stopped?? Did it get tapped in the DS rear quarter and get totaled? Hmmmm ???
Go Back And Get That Owners Manual!
I hope you enjoyed the pictures as much as I enjoyed a day at the junkyard looking past the late model stuff to find those four eyes! I didn’t score too many Tbird parts but the hunt is part of the fun.
Man after looking at that shiny red It makes me want it..
Kinda makes you want to go grab a girl and show her the backseat of a cougar and its uber cool makout lights...
Get that console too.. if it has the lights in the back... and get that tray cause someone broke the piece out.. i can see it... .then you can jb weld it back in.. /bad grammar
Ahhhh Interesting!! Great eyes on the PS emblem on the DS...never would have picked up on that (being a TBird guy!) So do you think the 2 part numbers were due to a early/late part release? Of course..the XR7 was the top of the line...duh..it's been a long (fun) day! :)
Thanks for the info!
Rod
I looked.....nothing there... :(
edit>> oh, if you are referring to the booklet on the PS seat….it was for an ’89 Cougar. Hmmm maybe that’s what this was traded on? and yea I should have grabbed it too but was too overwhelmed checking out all the other stuff.
Yea.. it was RED! Didn't grab the console cause my cars have gray and tan interiors and aren't missing anything. I already have several trays! :)
Buy that console... that was the only year to have the rear lights... and grab the tray so that the piece that someone broke when they removed the tray can be reatached.
Someone here will want that console.
So 84's didn't have the rear lights? If someone really wants it I'd consider forcing myself to go back again! :)
Great score on those parts!
Man,there's been an excessive amount of cool parts being found lately !!! This could become a neat monthly contest "who found the coolest stuff".LOL.Keep up the hunting everyone.
Be veeeeeeeeeery,veeeeeeeeeery quiet....I'm hunting CougarBird parts........................
-i looooovvvveeee going to the j/y. and now that its getting colder so i wont run into mr. no shoulders, i'm looking for a sat. to go!!!!:banana: we (i) have one good yard about 10 mins. from the house that is great about cleaning up peoples yards and stuff. if you find anything newer than 94-95, its amazing. i found a complete xr4ti there one time. no one knew what it was...lol...
regardless, i cant wait!!!
OH! I need one of the LS badges off of the fender on that car!
I was going to grab them but forgot...I'm not sure there was even a badge on the PS, the car was parked real close to another car. If I get back there I'll definitely get them for you. Are you interested in any of the other stuff I found or anything else on the car besides the emblem?
Actualy I would strip that car head to toe.. but no the badge is all I need.....
Hard to find parts on that car are.
basically anything 83! They were totaly different!
Now the seat harness and seat tracks would be nice.. but I'm pointing my wallet at the 88 TC and it already has dual power seats.
Yea, I hear ya... knowing how hard it is to find '83 stuff, I would have liked to grab the whole car. It's ashamed it ended up in a JY and not for sale somewhere for a couple hundred bucks. The DS rear quarter was probably about the worse thing on the car when it arrived. If you think of anything else in the meantime let me know.
Rod
Would you part with the tan end cover clips for the door strap in your first pic?
Sure...PM me. I don't want this thread to become a classified ad.
I have the parts cleaned up and organized so if anyone is interested in any of the Cougar items I’ll be posting an ad over in the classified section later tonight. No sense packing the stuff up if someone can use and enjoy it.
CougarSE,
Where are the lights that you are talking about at on the console?
Brent
those lights he is referring to are on the left and right side of the console near the back. they illuminate where your feet would be
You home from work today Jim? I am too because of a power outage. My phone is at work, i'm going to be getting that later today..
Back in tha day...when I had my '84...I popped those lights out of a console at the boneyard, drilled the holes in mine, glued the lights in and wired them up to that switch. Looked almost factory. This was, oh, maybe 1989-ish. I had a feeling even back then that they were 1983-only but never really confirmed it through literature. They are kinda cool. But it's difficult to read anything by them, which is probably why the reading lights went to the sail panels after that. ;)
Cool, I never knew that they were there on '83's, I pulled out my brochures but there wasn't a picture at the right angle to show anything.
Just so I understand this fully, there are no sail panel lights on '83's and these are the lights that come on with the rear console switch?
Brent
Heh...here's where things get interesting...
AFAIK, for 1983 only the Heritage Edition model had the electroluminescent coach lamps for the T-Bird, and only the LS (and optioned GS) Cougar models. Now according to everything I've ever seen about them, the EL coach lamps required the interior reading lamps on the sail panels because they both shared the same wiring harness. And this is true...I have confirmed this many times in boneyard cars. So...I think it's possible that a 1983 car could have reading lamps in the sail panels IF they also have the coach lamps. No coach lamps, then the console lights were probably the option. In other words, the LAMP button on the back of the console could work EITHER the console "puddle" lamps, or the reading lamps in the sail panels. I don't think you will find a car that has both sets of lamps. And if you do, the sail panel lamps have to be wired in with the dome lamp. IIRC that is indeed what happened. Again, this is 1983 only. For 1984-86 those console lamps went away, and the reading lamps worked off that switch, so things were more "normal". It seems that 1983 cars like to throw a monkey wrench into that which we've always believed to be correct. ;)
Hmm...
The console lamps are there to aid in entering and exiting the vehicle. They come on when the doors open or when the interior lamps are turned on with the switch.
My 83 has both console lamps and sail panel reading lamps. The reading lamps operate off of the switch on the rear of the console, much like any other fox.
Now the coach lamps that my 83 has as well, come on when the headlamps are turned on. Again just like any other car equiped with coach lamps.
That picture of my (only working) coach lamp is realy y, my camera hates the dark.
Wow Eric, that IS a lot to take in but very interesting none the less.
Thanks for the info.
It always seems like the first year of production of a vehicle has a lot of complicated build options that get "simplified" in later model years.
Brent
Ah, okay Claude...that pretty much clears things up. So the lights on the console are more like "puddle lamps" for the rear passengers. And the EL/reading lamps work on the 1983's just like the 1984-86 cars. Cool, glad that's sorted out then.
It's still strange though. ;)
My silver 83 doesn't have the reading lamps, but the old black 83 I had did. Both had the console lamps.
'83 TC - Console lamps, no reading lights
'83 Heritage - Console lamps, reading lights, EL coach lamps
That is the same way that mine work on my '83.
Not mine..but they used to work that way! :( Looking for a NOS pair:)
God my car needs cleaned out!
I'm digging the velor seats:cool:
Oh there absolutely fabulous!
that 83 interior is exactly what would cause me to rape my 87 and trade out. I love the "T" shaped dash and console that travels to the rear seats.
The only new idea i would toss in that would be nice is to create a center console in the rear with rear bucket seats as well. Basically make the rear have the same stuff as the front. No power seats in the rear but bucket separated with a console/arm rest.
that is an awsome find.,,nice pics.