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Topic: Just brought home an '86 Cougar! (Read 3859 times) previous topic - next topic

Just brought home an '86 Cougar!

5.0, white with blue interior 112,xxx miles. Runs and drives good, got it for $1200.

It needs a bath and polishing very badly, it was sitting under a tree for a while.



Town Coupe' carriage roof GAAH! :yuck:
Is there an easy way to remove this thing!? There isn't is there lol.


At least I can replace the wire hubcaps lol.




Gonna need driver's armrest, dash cap, and a serious cleaning lol.
















Engine is filthy.
Matt
1984 Thunderbird - 89 302 HO, GT40 heads w/ Trick Flow springs, E303 cam, Edelbrock Performer 289 intake and 600 cfm 4bbl, Mustang headers, Jegs o/r H pipe, Dynomax lers, Mustang AOD and shifter, Mustang 8.8 w/ 3.73s, 3G alternator, Mustang front and rear sway bars, KYB 87-88 Turbo Coupe shocks and struts, and 11" front brakes.

1988 Mustang GT - GT40 heads, Explorer intake, 70mm throttle body, 70mm MAF, Crane 1.7 rrs, E303 cam, Kirban Kwik shifter w/ Pro 5.0 deluxe handle, aluminum clutch quadrant and firewall adjuster, o/r h pipe, Dynomax lers, 3G alternator, aluminum radiator, and 3.27 gears.
 
1986 Cougar 5.0, 1989 Mark VII LSC 5 speed, 1980 Mercury Zephyr 4 door (sold)

Just brought home an '86 Cougar!

Reply #1 –
Looks decent , congrats man .
Fox-less at the moment

Just brought home an '86 Cougar!

Reply #2 –
Congrats Matt and good to see u back in a 4eyed foxbody dude. :headbang:

Just brought home an '86 Cougar!

Reply #3 –
Nice score. I have no idea why you would want to take that awesome half vinyl top off ;).
88 Thunderbird LX: 306, Edelbrock Performer heads, Comp 266HR cam, Edelbrock Performer RPM intake, bunch of other stuff.

Just brought home an '86 Cougar!

Reply #4 –
the roof actually looks good on that car for some reason..... or I'm not awake yet
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
***** Project "EVOLUTION" 1987 Cougar LS  & 1985 Cougar Convertible *****
[/COLOR]
5.0 HO 306 roller block, machined GT-40P heads, Wiseco dished forged pistons, Eagle forged floating I-beam connecting rods, Lunati pushrods, ARP bolts, Scorpion aluminum 1.6 rockers, Comp Cams Magnum 266HR, Explorer intake, 65mm TB, MAF Conversion, 19# injectors, Ford Racing stainless P-headers, 2-1/2" cat-less exhaust w/ Flowtech Afterburner lers , SC AOD with 2800 BDR torque converter, 3.73 T-Lok rear, CHE rear control arms, full 2-1/2" frame w/1" jacking rails & seat supports, Rear disk brakes, Turbine wheels, All original interior w/ floor shift upgrade .......
Pretty much every panel on my 87 is new, rebuilt, or re constructed. :D
Join us on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_137541156293768&ap=1

Just brought home an '86 Cougar!

Reply #5 –
I have taken one of those vinyl roofs off an 83 cougar. It was a pain, and I didn't care for the results. I would just leave it on.

Mine was all torn up, so I took it off. Getting they vinyl off isn't real hard. Getting all the padding off underneath sucks. Then, you have to fill the rivet holes from the track all the way around. Then, you don't have the chrome trim or clips for the back window, and you probably broke your cat emblems too (well, I did). Mine also had major rust under the vinyl. It must have held water. I ended up having to paint the top. Ugh. Yeah, I would just leave it alone.
CoogarXR : 1985 Cougar XR-7

Just brought home an '86 Cougar!

Reply #6 –
Thanks guys, it's good to be back in a fox again! I'll get some more pics after I give this car some much needed TLC.

Quote from: CoogarXR;366140
I have taken one of those vinyl roofs off an 83 cougar. It was a pain, and I didn't care for the results. I would just leave it on.

Mine was all torn up, so I took it off. Getting they vinyl off isn't real hard. Getting all the padding off underneath sucks. Then, you have to fill the rivet holes from the track all the way around. Then, you don't have the chrome trim or clips for the back window, and you probably broke your cat emblems too (well, I did). Mine also had major rust under the vinyl. It must have held water. I ended up having to paint the top. Ugh. Yeah, I would just leave it alone.

 
What if it's a cloth top? Because that's what it is.
Matt
1984 Thunderbird - 89 302 HO, GT40 heads w/ Trick Flow springs, E303 cam, Edelbrock Performer 289 intake and 600 cfm 4bbl, Mustang headers, Jegs o/r H pipe, Dynomax lers, Mustang AOD and shifter, Mustang 8.8 w/ 3.73s, 3G alternator, Mustang front and rear sway bars, KYB 87-88 Turbo Coupe shocks and struts, and 11" front brakes.

1988 Mustang GT - GT40 heads, Explorer intake, 70mm throttle body, 70mm MAF, Crane 1.7 rrs, E303 cam, Kirban Kwik shifter w/ Pro 5.0 deluxe handle, aluminum clutch quadrant and firewall adjuster, o/r h pipe, Dynomax lers, 3G alternator, aluminum radiator, and 3.27 gears.
 
1986 Cougar 5.0, 1989 Mark VII LSC 5 speed, 1980 Mercury Zephyr 4 door (sold)

Just brought home an '86 Cougar!

Reply #7 –
It would look even better with the 15" Cougar turbine tires and wheels I have in the parts for sale section

Just brought home an '86 Cougar!

Reply #8 –
Thanks, but I'm already on top of that. My dad has a set of Mustang turbines with my name on them, I just gotta ship them here.

Update: I'm still working on getting the car cleaned up. So far I washed the exterior and engine bay, and vacuumed the interior and trunk. I also found where the squirrels were living. :hick: I still gotta clean the interior. After that I'll get some more pics.
Matt
1984 Thunderbird - 89 302 HO, GT40 heads w/ Trick Flow springs, E303 cam, Edelbrock Performer 289 intake and 600 cfm 4bbl, Mustang headers, Jegs o/r H pipe, Dynomax lers, Mustang AOD and shifter, Mustang 8.8 w/ 3.73s, 3G alternator, Mustang front and rear sway bars, KYB 87-88 Turbo Coupe shocks and struts, and 11" front brakes.

1988 Mustang GT - GT40 heads, Explorer intake, 70mm throttle body, 70mm MAF, Crane 1.7 rrs, E303 cam, Kirban Kwik shifter w/ Pro 5.0 deluxe handle, aluminum clutch quadrant and firewall adjuster, o/r h pipe, Dynomax lers, 3G alternator, aluminum radiator, and 3.27 gears.
 
1986 Cougar 5.0, 1989 Mark VII LSC 5 speed, 1980 Mercury Zephyr 4 door (sold)

Just brought home an '86 Cougar!

Reply #9 –
I know that I am in the minority, but I don't mind the wire hubcaps.  I mean, as hubcaps go, they aren't so bad.

Back in the day, I ripped the vinyl half roof off an old Cutlass Supreme that was one of my first cars.  It was a mess under there.  But maybe it is different with cloth.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

Just brought home an '86 Cougar!

Reply #10 –
I'd leave the top alone. I bet there's some funky stuff under it......

As a side note a $1,200 Cougar here would be a rust bucket. You southern people suck.
88 Thunderbird LX: 306, Edelbrock Performer heads, Comp 266HR cam, Edelbrock Performer RPM intake, bunch of other stuff.

Just brought home an '86 Cougar!

Reply #11 –
Congrats on your purchase.
2003 Marauder 300B
1996-97 Cobra wheel straight but weathered (For Sale)
84 TC manual shifter handle no  (For Sale)

BTW, I had a 1988 T-Bird Sport way back when. I found out that it was totalled shortly after trading it in. It still has the ignition switch recall to date.

Special thanx to EricCoolCats for showing me to this site.:bowdown:

Just brought home an '86 Cougar!

Reply #12 –
Quote from: thunderjet302;366491
I'd leave the top alone. I bet there's some funky stuff under it......

As a side note a $1,200 Cougar here would be a rust bucket. You southern people suck.


Muahahahaha. :evilgrin:

I bet you're right, I think I'll leave the roof alone for now. It probably looks better than all the glue and rivet holes that are probably under it lol.
Matt
1984 Thunderbird - 89 302 HO, GT40 heads w/ Trick Flow springs, E303 cam, Edelbrock Performer 289 intake and 600 cfm 4bbl, Mustang headers, Jegs o/r H pipe, Dynomax lers, Mustang AOD and shifter, Mustang 8.8 w/ 3.73s, 3G alternator, Mustang front and rear sway bars, KYB 87-88 Turbo Coupe shocks and struts, and 11" front brakes.

1988 Mustang GT - GT40 heads, Explorer intake, 70mm throttle body, 70mm MAF, Crane 1.7 rrs, E303 cam, Kirban Kwik shifter w/ Pro 5.0 deluxe handle, aluminum clutch quadrant and firewall adjuster, o/r h pipe, Dynomax lers, 3G alternator, aluminum radiator, and 3.27 gears.
 
1986 Cougar 5.0, 1989 Mark VII LSC 5 speed, 1980 Mercury Zephyr 4 door (sold)

Just brought home an '86 Cougar!

Reply #13 –
Update since last time:
New passenger side window motor
door lock actuator on pass side was frozen so I removed it to get the lock working.
Put a new fan and clutch on
new thermostat
new temp gauge sender
washed the debris out of the radiator
pass side arm rest was broken and held on with sheetmetal screws so now I need both arm rests lol.

Also do these cars have known problems with the temp gauge? Mine reads hot on the line after the M, but after driving 30 miles today the water temp in the radiator was 180* F. I've been chasing it around all week, and that's why I did all that work to the cooling system. Now I'm starting to think the gauge is just reading wrong lol.

After a nice bath and almost 2 cans of carpet cleaner. I didn't get the carpet completely clean, but it's better than it was.






















Removed a tint mess from the passenger window.


This is close to the end, but I eventually got it all.


I noticed my hood insulator was sagging a lot, and it was in bad shape so I removed it and this is what I found. :hick:



It's amazing where squirrels will build a nest lol.


Matt
1984 Thunderbird - 89 302 HO, GT40 heads w/ Trick Flow springs, E303 cam, Edelbrock Performer 289 intake and 600 cfm 4bbl, Mustang headers, Jegs o/r H pipe, Dynomax lers, Mustang AOD and shifter, Mustang 8.8 w/ 3.73s, 3G alternator, Mustang front and rear sway bars, KYB 87-88 Turbo Coupe shocks and struts, and 11" front brakes.

1988 Mustang GT - GT40 heads, Explorer intake, 70mm throttle body, 70mm MAF, Crane 1.7 rrs, E303 cam, Kirban Kwik shifter w/ Pro 5.0 deluxe handle, aluminum clutch quadrant and firewall adjuster, o/r h pipe, Dynomax lers, 3G alternator, aluminum radiator, and 3.27 gears.
 
1986 Cougar 5.0, 1989 Mark VII LSC 5 speed, 1980 Mercury Zephyr 4 door (sold)

Just brought home an '86 Cougar!

Reply #14 –
There's been some progress on the Cougar since last time.

New plugs, wires, and cap & rotor.
Did a compression check and got 145-150psi on all cylinders.
I replaced all the vacuum lines under the upper intake.
The IAC was installed upside down, and was causing it to idle too fast so I flipped it back around.
New left front wheel bearings and dust cap because the dust cap was missing, and dirt ate the outer bearing up.
Installed chrome lugnuts
Polished the taillights
Threw in some floormats, I had to get grey because you can't get blue anymore apparently.
Replaced some burned out bulbs in the gauge cluster and outside the car.

My Mom came over and sewed up the 3 inch hole in the driver's seat bolster and a small burn hole in the back seat, so that was awesome of her to do that. :bowdown:


I compounded the whole car, you can't really tell it in these py cell phone pics, but it made a lot of difference. It went from chalky to shiny and reflecting.

This is half and half with polished on the driver's side.




My Dad found some interior pieces I was needing at a junk yard in Oklahoma. A pair of armrests, the tilt steering lever, power window switches, a steering column cover from a TC, driver's side visor, a pair of door pulls, and a bunch of hardware and other small pieces. He got all that for $40, and I paid him back.


The arm rests my dad found were tan so I had to find a way to make them blue.

So what I did was strip the carpet off and paint them navy blue. The area under the carpet is the same grain as the rest of the armrest so it would be hard for anyone who doesn't know these cars to tell it was supposed to have carpet.

I don't recommend repainting armrests unless you absolutely have to because removing the 25 year old glue was really tedious. It took about 3 hours to remove the glue from the armrests using laquer thinner and a gasket ser. Once that was done however, repainting them was really easy. I suppose if you had carpet from your old broken ones to glue on the new armrests that wouldn't be much trouble, but I didn't have any for the driver's side.

Here's how they turned out.



Put in a Sony CDX-GT440U CD player with USB.


Repainted the front bumper rub strip.






And here's some new pics, she's starting to come around now.

















Matt
1984 Thunderbird - 89 302 HO, GT40 heads w/ Trick Flow springs, E303 cam, Edelbrock Performer 289 intake and 600 cfm 4bbl, Mustang headers, Jegs o/r H pipe, Dynomax lers, Mustang AOD and shifter, Mustang 8.8 w/ 3.73s, 3G alternator, Mustang front and rear sway bars, KYB 87-88 Turbo Coupe shocks and struts, and 11" front brakes.

1988 Mustang GT - GT40 heads, Explorer intake, 70mm throttle body, 70mm MAF, Crane 1.7 rrs, E303 cam, Kirban Kwik shifter w/ Pro 5.0 deluxe handle, aluminum clutch quadrant and firewall adjuster, o/r h pipe, Dynomax lers, 3G alternator, aluminum radiator, and 3.27 gears.
 
1986 Cougar 5.0, 1989 Mark VII LSC 5 speed, 1980 Mercury Zephyr 4 door (sold)