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Topic: 1986 cougar xr7 (Read 2999 times) previous topic - next topic

1986 cougar xr7

any info on how many are still on road or where I could  research  info for the 86 cougar xr7 2.3l turbo 4cyl 5speed vin w

1986 cougar xr7

Reply #1 –
Sal, its doubtful anyone knows how many survivors are still on the road or in barns.  I can say they were very low production and Auto trans cars are more rare than 5 speeds.  That is not to say that a Auto is more valuable or desirable, just fewer made.  1984 - 1988 XR-7 total production.


T u r b o  C o u g a r  (  X R - 7  2 . 3 L  T u r b o  )  P r o d u c t i o n
Model Year   Cougars Produced   T-Cougar's Produced   T-Cougar% of Total
1984   131,190   6,171   4.7%
1985   117,274   7,860   6.7%
1986   135,904   6,504   4.8%








1983 FORD THUNDERBIRD HERITAGE 5.0
2008 SAAB 9-7X AERO 6.0 (LS2) 1 0f 554 Made
2011 FORD FLEX SEL Family Hauler

1986 cougar xr7

Reply #2 –
Quote from: salrock54;445005
any info on how many are still on road or where I could  research  info for the 86 cougar xr7 2.3l turbo 4cyl 5speed vin w

I also have a 1986 XR-7 turbo-charged 5-speed and have been wondering the same thing.  Everyone that sees my car tells me that they can't remember ever having seen one of the Cougars, only the Thunderbirds.  Needless to say, my lady is quite the attention getter around here.
1986 Mercury Cougar XR-7 Turbo-charged 5-speed.
Owned 22 years.

1986 cougar xr7

Reply #3 –
watched an 83 coug turbo 4cyl 5spd decay in a local  yard

black exterior, gray interior

was a pitty but didnt have the ambition to extract and restor it.

1986 cougar xr7

Reply #4 –
Even back in the heyday of these cars (when they were new), I never saw many 4-eyed XR7's around. And this area was just chock full o' Cats and 'Birds. Saw many TC's though; a friend of mine had a silver '84 5-speed with charcoal leather interior. When my parents and I were car shopping for me in the spring of 1987, we took an '85 XR7 auto out for a test drive. With 4 of us in the car, plus the salesman, it was so sluggish that mom nixed the idea of a 4-banger for a daily driver. Plus insurance would have killed us. I think that was a big reason why we never really saw them around...insurance rates were crazy back then.

1986 cougar xr7

Reply #5 –
My experience was the opposite in that I used to see several in my area. I grew up in a small community two towns that are separated by a lake and between the two of them.
They have a population less than 3,400 people and yet back when these cars were fairly new, there were five XR-7's ('85 & '86) just in these two towns. I knew all of the owners and three of them were automatics and two were 5-speed cars.

It wasn't until the summer of '87 before I saw my first 4-eye XR-7 in the flesh which is what caused me to begin my search for one. Of course it was only after I had purchased mine 5 months later that I started to see more of them running around my area. :punchballs:
1985 Mercury Cougar XR-7 - 5-speed 
One of 1,246 built

1986 cougar xr7

Reply #6 –
Quote from: MY83T;445006
I can say they were very low production and Auto trans cars are more rare than 5 speeds. That is not to say that a Auto is more valuable or desirable, just fewer made.


Do you have any specific data for 1984 or 1986 models?

Based on the Marti report I received for my car, more than 2/3 of the Cougar XR-7’s built for 1985 were equipped with the automatic. 

Total 1985 Cougar production - 117,274
1985 XR-7 production – 8,103 - 6.9%
2,614 XR-7’s with manual transmission – 32.2%
1985 Mercury Cougar XR-7 - 5-speed 
One of 1,246 built

1986 cougar xr7

Reply #7 –
Quote from: BCA;457913
Do you have any specific data for 1984 or 1986 models?

Based on the Marti report I received for my car, more than 2/3 of the Cougar XR-7’s built for 1985 were equipped with the automatic. 

Total 1985 Cougar production - 117,274
1985 XR-7 production – 8,103 - 6.9%
2,614 XR-7’s with manual transmission – 32.2%

I don't dispute the figures you got, that said, 95% of the XR-7 4 eyes i have seen in person or online, are 5 speed manual.  on TC the auto was not an option till 84, and i think it was a mid year addition.  Those are also very uncommon in auto trans.








1983 FORD THUNDERBIRD HERITAGE 5.0
2008 SAAB 9-7X AERO 6.0 (LS2) 1 0f 554 Made
2011 FORD FLEX SEL Family Hauler

1986 cougar xr7

Reply #8 –
Quote from: jcassity;457905
watched an 83 coug turbo 4cyl 5spd decay in a local  yard

black exterior, gray interior

was a pitty but didnt have the ambition to extract and restor it.

This makes me sad :(    My baby had to sit for about 14 months one time because I lost interest in her.  I had just had all the body and paint work done and two weeks after I got her back from the body shop, a line split on our gas grill and scorched the left front corner.  Melted the headlight bezel and marker lights, melted or bubbled off the brand new paint.  I was SICK!!  Took me a few months before I could even bear to look at it but, I finally came back to my senses, and started on getting everything repaired and/or replaced.  I just can't imagine letting one of these just sit and rust away :(
1986 Mercury Cougar XR-7 Turbo-charged 5-speed.
Owned 22 years.

1986 cougar xr7

Reply #9 –
atleast your not running around in a car that looks like a tennis shoe.. yours is different and its paid for!!!!!

1986 cougar xr7

Reply #10 –
Quote from: jcassity;457984
atleast your not running around in a car that looks like a tennis shoe.. yours is different and its paid for!!!!!

A couple of things that I keep telling myself!! LOL  It's PAID FOR!!  Every time I have to spend 5 or 6 hundred dollars on her, I remind myself that for only $400 a month I could be driving around in generic recycled tin can with zero personality :O
1986 Mercury Cougar XR-7 Turbo-charged 5-speed.
Owned 22 years.

1986 cougar xr7

Reply #11 –
LOL after 50 years of vehicle ownership(this month in fact), I like to brag in that time I've financed exactly FOUR... AND I still own two of those... One is the Cobra Jet(had to finance $850) and my '07 Grand Marquis that I bought at one year old and saved over $10K vs the new '08s parked beside it... Sure a new this or that might be nice but I ain't like my grandad, he financed a new car every two to four years... And that was just for him, grandma didn't drive...