First off, I've been here before but, it's been about 2 years and I can't remember my user name (nor even what email addressed I signed up with ;-(....so, a bit of background:
I bought my baby back in 1994 from her first owner. The only things she really needed were brakes (calipers, rotars, pads, etc.) and tires. She was my daily driver and never let me down. Sadly, when I married in 1997, my EX-boss got idiotic and decided to soap my car - and used LAVA SOAP (you know, that stuff with the PUMICE in it!!). Needless to say, he DESTROYED the clear coat and, after that, I kinda lost interest in keeping her clean and polished ;-( She pretty well sat for a few years just being driven occasionally until I ran upon an ad by a guy who did paint and body work on the side that was wanting to trade his expertise in that field for someone else's expertise in website design for his new party bus company. Well, I answered his ad, sent him some links to some of my previous work and he called me back within the hour to come out and look over my Cat. We struck a deal, he got a new website and I got one VERY unique Cougar. See what you think below.
I just got my baby back from the paint and body shop where she's been for the past year (I told him to take his time ;-(
I'm wondering if anyone knows whether an intermittent wipers lever and mechanism (the part that fits on the steering column) from a 1987 Turbo Thunderbird will fit my 1986 Cougar XR7 Turbo. My husband has been surfing Rock Auto for hours now and we're still just not sure (this is the ONLY option that my baby didn't have on here that I REALLY wanted so he's trying to figure out a way to get them for me --- isn't he sweet?)
Sadly, at some point during the painting and cleaning processes, some doofus broke the seat back adjustment lever thingy on the driver's front seat and now I can't make the seat back sit straight up (which makes running that clutch a REAL challenge) and I'm wondering if anyone might know where I can get one.
I REALLY appreciate any and all help and advice.
(http://www.southerndesign.com/1.jpg)
(http://www.southerndesign.com/2.jpg)
(http://www.southerndesign.com/3.jpg)
(http://www.southerndesign.com/4.jpg)
(http://www.southerndesign.com/5.jpg)
(the console lid is back in it now. it was off being recovered)
Sorry I cannot answer your question about the wipes , but I would like to say ...NICE CAR !!!!!
I love the hood and deck lid blackout
THANKS! The body man and I agnoized about what to do with the rear end to make it blend in better with the rest of the car (it just looked TOO red without the black). It's 70s muscle car flat black over 2008 Ford Mustang Metallic Red. Even after only being moved around occasionally for a year, my girl fired right up and cruised home in style! I LOVE this car!!
The car looks really good but I hate to say your paint guy messed up big time... it should be XR-7 and not X-R7
I know ;-( He told me what he was going to do (mask out XR7 on the hood) and I said "cool". I didn't see what he'd done until he'd already painted everything with the X-R7 and he would have had to go back and repaint most of the car at that point to fix it. Thankfully, the only folks that have even noticed that are tried and true Cougar or Fox Body fans ;-) To have gotten everything done that he did, I guess I can live with the screw up....just makes her more unique (at least, that's what I keep telling myself ;-):rollin:
lol, I know that if it was mine I dont think I would be able to live with that kind of a mistake... otherwise the thing looks awesome ;)
I'm trying to get over it ;-) Too bad that the dash is so long, else I would have just painted it out and left only the XR7.
Sweet car. Good to see yet another Tennessee member. Whats with those headlight covers?
As you've probably noticed, the front end of the '86 isn't very aerodynamic so...to make my Rain-X work, I've had these on the car for about 6 years now. No windshield wipers necessary at 30 mph and above even during the hardest rain ;-)
Nice to see someone from close to home!!
85-88 use pretty much all the same parts for the dash. The seat breaking is a common problem. Post pictures of what you need in the parts wanted section and you'll get some in no time. Nice car.
Thanks. Posted there already and got some excellent advice about more models that used the same mechanism!! Hoping to find some locally so I can take the plastic crate out of the back floor-board!! ;-)
I've never seen any like that before, they look pretty good.
Thanks! Considering they were also FREE, I think I got a deal ;-) The fella I got the new turbo gave me two sets because he said they were just sitting around collecting dust!
I'm not to in to it, the black sucks, specially with the wrong X-R7, Right on the top of the hood. It wouldn't take a whole lot to fix the mistakes , since there in the black area. The black on the bottom is OK , if the words were right. To me to have a totally misspelled X whatever on the hood is not right. Make them fix it. You asked, I'm usually not that negative, towards someones car.
Well, thankfully, it's my car and I like the black. And for what it's worth, my paint and body guy is truly awesome! He's figured out how to fix the mess up with the dash without having to competely repaint everything. Oh!! While he's at it, he's also going to black out the headlight bezels which should really make the front end more dramatic. I LOVE MY Red and Black Cat :D
Hey,I checked.I have the wiper lever in excellent shape.PM me if you still need one.
As far as blacking out the front light covers.I think they would look better clear...as they are.I'd be afraid that if they were to be blacked out,it would really subdue the front of the car.In the end,you have to do what you like,and that's all that matters.I know how that is,it's how I built my own car......my way,for myself alone.Good luck and keep us posted.
Thanks Vinnie for the advice! I've seen several photos on these forums (mainly up at the top of the pages) where the headlight bezels are blacked out and they really look nice (at least, I think so). My paint guy wanted to black them out to begin with (but leave the chrome trim around the outsides) but I was afraid it'd make the headlights seem less bright. I've now been assured by several folks that this is not the case (my bad) so I'm willing to give it a shot and see how it looks. He's going to do it next week when he fixes the X-R7 issues.
Thanks for the offer of the wiper switch but I've gotten one off ebay already. Now I just need the other part to make it all work (the parts that go under the hood - my husband is VERY electricall inclined and thinks he can rig the wiring) if we can get our hands on the additional parts.
I had the dark tinted headlight covers on my first '85 Cougar and I had to take them off at night, especially in the rain. They really limited my visibility. But they looked awesome in the daytime when everyone else could see them. ;)
That's kinda what I was afraid blacking out the bezels would do (except I couldn't take it off! ;-( The covers I've got on there now are clear with a white strip through them so they don't darken my headlights at night. If painting the bezels does make the headlights seem darker, I guess I'll just have to invest in better headlights or keep my driving/fog lights on all the time. Thankfully, when my husband re-wired the lights a few years ago (to stop every blasted thing from running through the same switch), he fixed it so I can turn my fog lights on independent of any (or none) of my headlights.
Nice cougar! Its nice to see something a little different and your car sure is!
I like your Cougar too! NICE!
It's a good thing I don't mind driving something unique ;-) ..now I'll have to be REALLY carefully about when and where I let my 'need for speed' get the upper hand.....this is going to WAY too easy for the cops to spot coming down the road ;-(