well i have a 84 cougar that well needs a major upgrade in the attitude dept. i was thinking of going with the tc bumper for the cougar. also got to thinking maybe some hid headlights would give it some attitude as well. so for the hid set up what exactly do i have to do? i know get a kit but what kit? and how would i make it work with the glass headlights i have? also how could i make the tc bumper work? and does the 83-86 tc's have a agressive looking bumper on those that will fit the cougar? any help would be appreciated. thanx
how bout this, post a pic or two of your ride, and we can give a few suggestions, i have some ideas, but we dont know what you have to work with
The 83-86 Thunderbird TC bumper cover will fit your Cougar, the turbo Cougars had the same bumper. :D
The turbo coupe bumper cover will bolt on but the molding is different so it mught look a little funny where it meets the body. Also you could get some headlight covers they give you that look you are going for.
(http://www.piranha-fury.com/photopost/data/500/514784birdwshades-med.jpg)
(http://www.foxthundercats.com/gallery/john.jpg)
dosent look too bad.
The bumper cover will fit. Technically you *should* have the TC metal bumper core as well...that allows the fog light brackets to work as intended. If you can't get the TC bumper core then you can still mount the brackets on your stock core; you'll just need some self-tapping screws and some thread-locker.
For the headlights...real HID's are very expensive (last check anywhere from US $400-up). The simulations are very good and provide usable light at a non-premium cost. Consider doing an H4 conversion. Baxo did, I did, we're not looking back again. The housings will run about US $100 total, bulbs another $25 or so. You would need a special H4 wiring harness as well; that's about $50. H4's can run much higher wattage bulbs but your stock wiring isn't up to the challenge of that, so you must add this harness. It totally substitutes for the stock wiring; has a relay for each side of the car; and draws power directly from the battery so you are sure to get a full 12v at the lights. And you still have low/high beam switching...everything functions like stock. So for about $200 you have a real-world usable setup that simulates HID's. If you're ever in a wreck you're not out much, look at it that way.
huge discretion though: if you plan on doing the h4 conversions DO NOT get those housings that are on ebay for $15 or whatever. they suck.. i had one start fogging up just 3 hours after I got it.. and now the chrome inside it is completely off the bulb has even burned out. I sure learned my lessson, you get what you pay for.
P.S. it's nice you want to have the front end of your cougar look like mine ;)
well i just whant something more agressive. here are some pix. and the paint job on it now is close to what im gonna do when i take it off the road and can strip it. these are old i know but the headlight surounds are now black. thanx for the help. also where can i get those h4 conversion parts for the cougar?
Mine is an 84 also. Where can you find the gts headlight covers for these?
I dont know how much difference there is between the cougar and t-bird. but heres a set http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Head-Light-Cover-Ford-Thunderbird-T-bird-83-86-smoke_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ42611QQitemZ4575086323QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW
for some reason i can't go to ebay won't load up for me but idk how to fix it so i can view ebay.
I got my Vent Shade brand light covers at Oreilly auto parts.
you could always pick up a can of paint or two, and do something similar to what ifixyawata did to his thunderbird, might have to dig up a pic or two
if anyone whants to photoshop something to show how it can look with certen parts that you sugest then go ahead and if you need better pix let me know.
this is my idea
also, try to find some 10 holes or turbines or something, that would help your car considerably
one step ahead of ya. already painted the headlight surounds to black. also i plan on doing some costome(sp) grill look. possibly adding the grill emblem off of a 87 cougar.
Yes, put some turbines on it. That would make a HUGE difference.
yeah it would but the fun part would be finding them at a good price.also i was thinking of finding some aftermarket rims that would look good as well. also in black :D
yeah check the finned reproduction rims that the mn12 t-birds had. Those come in black and would look killer if the car was done right.
also someone should photo chop that blue t-bird up there to a cougar just to see what it looks like.
hell, if you know where to look, you can find snowflakes, turbines and 10 holes dirt cheap
i got my turbines for 100 plus shipping
I got my 10-holes for $50 and refinished 'em myself. Stock Mustang wheels (aside from Ponies) are usually cheap and easy to find. Even if you spend $150 on a good set it'll be the best $150 you can spend to make your car look different. Wheels make or break a car.