The Cougar debuted in 1967 as Mercury’s version of the “pony car”. It was positioned as an upscale companion to the popular Ford Mustang. With a styling update for 1971-73, the Cougar’s migration to a personal luxury car had begun (though mechanically, its Mustang roots were still in play). Located outside Surrey, British Columbia, this rare project convertible comes without an installed drivetrain; however, an engine and transmission are offered at full price. Which is only $2,000 here on craigslist (USD or CDN?). Here’s another tip brought to us by prolific barn finder “Curvette.”
In the heyday of the pony car, Mercury and Pontiac (Firebird) usually jockeyed for the third sales spot behind the Mustang and Chevy’s Camaro (all of whom came out two years after the Ford). When the Cougar moved upward into Thunderbird territory, the Capri captive import from Germany tried to fill those shoes. A 351 cubic inch V8 was standard in the ’71-73 Cougars, and one may have once lived under the hood of the seller’s car.
This ’73 XR7 is one of just over 3,000 built, but has been reduced to a roller, and the seller is short on photos. The body may be okay, but the likely once redone paint is dull, and we have no idea of the state of the passenger compartment. To sweeten the deal, the seller will throw in a rebuildable 390 V8, not correct for this vintage of the Cougar. A transmission (automatic?) comes, too, if you agree to the full asking price. Which certainly seems reasonable.
don’t you dare haggle about the price!
What color is that? Mustard? As much as I love the Mustangs and Cougars, I just can’t like the 71-73 models. It seems Ford/Mercury lost their way on these.
Especially on the Merc. That front end is just too much for a “Pony Car”. 1970 was the size limit for my tastes. I do think the Mach Ones of this vintage look pretty cool though. That said, this Cougar appears to be a pretty good deal.
I’m totally with you about the 71-73 Cougars, especially considering what they followed. However, think about this: Build the 390, source clutch pedal and linkage from a Mustang and put a 4 speed in it. Between that and the fact that it’s a convertible…might turn out to be pretty cool.
In 1994 I bought a similar gold ’73 standard Cougar convertible from my high school english teacher, who looked a bit like John Lennon. It was rusty, had 173k miles, and within 500 miles a lifter collapsed and it split a pushrod in half at the tip.
I rebuilt the engine and drive it through college, and later parted it out when the rust got too bad. I still have the engine in another Cougar though.
Years later I came to find out that the car’s odd color combo – light gold with brown carpets and dash, and white vinyl seats with houndstooth cloth, made it a “one of one” car.