Mercury stopped producing the factory Cougar convertible in 1973. After that, there were none to leave Ford Motor Company from the factory as a convertible Cougar model. However, that does not mean that they don't exist. The 1980's saw quite a boom in aftermarket conversions for the Fox-chassis Cougar. In fact, these cars have become a sort of "holy grail" for Fox Cougar collectors because of their rarity and value. While not really true factory droptops, they are nonetheless an important part of Cougar history from the mid-1980's.

The information below is the best possible at this point in time. In the future, we will be spending a lot of time and effort into finding out much more about these cars. Please keep in mind that this information is based on TRUE convertibles --- those cars that have retractable roofs (a car that has no fixed or retractable roof is a roadster, and none have been documented for this body style).

To date, we have documented well over a dozen Fox Cougar convertibles. While difficult to find, they are out there and the Internet is providing an excellent way for owners to meet. If you own one please contact us with your car's information.

1983
This is the first known year for the convertible Cougar model on the Fox chassis. Approximately 10 were built. We have been contacted by a former owner of an '83 droptop and he gave this information to us. At present time, the conversion company is unknown. We have no other information for this car, nor do we have any photos.

1984

	The 1984 Cougar convertibles were offered by Coach Builders Ltd. in High Springs, FL, near Gainesville. At the time of production, CBL was converting nearly a dozen types of cars into convertibles, and even shipping them overseas. Their header design (the part where the top meets the windshield) is unique, as it sites lower and helps seal out water and wind. Along with the structurally reinforced body, all factory-installed features remained. A full custom headliner and an extra-thick top with matching boot were luxury touches. Note how the smaller side windows are treated; they're very slim. This differentiates the CBL cars from others. The top boot appears to have snapped on. (NOTE: The rims on the black car at left were not factory). Total production remains unknown. Recently a person at CBL was contacted and he confirmed that they do not have the records on Cougar convertible production, and that even though they advertised that they'd convert Thunderbirds, they never did because of the back glass area.
	LEFT: The owner of this white 1984 CBL Cougar convertible contacted us several years ago. This particular car is all original with under 10,000 miles on the 5.0 V8 and a full Canyon Red leather interior.

1985-86
The 1985-86 Cougar convertibles were produced by Car Craft Company in Lima, OH, in the greatest number of any aftermarket convertibles for the Fox-chassis Cougar. Only 89 of these rare Cats were ever produced in 1986; figures for 1985 are still unknown but at least 16 were made.

After an interested customer paid for the conversion, the dealership sent the brand-new Cougar to Car Craft, the conversion was done and then the car was shipped back to the dealership for completion of the sale. Cost of the conversion was between $8000-10000 US, a very high number today but extremely high back in the mid-1980's. Relatively speaking, the cost of a new converted Cougar would exceed the cost of a fully loaded Lincoln Mark VII LSC at the time.

The 1985-86 Cougar droptops were made from the base (GS) model, a loaded LS (V6 or V8) or XR-7 (4-cylinder turbo) model, depending upon what the dealers sent to Car Craft. The interiors could be either cloth or leather/vinyl.

	The original plan was for Car Craft to produce around 1,500 convertibles, but due to budget and time constraints, and straying from the company's main business (limousines and hearses), production was ended abruptly. Unfortunately no conversion records of the 1985-86 Cougar convertibles exist anymore, but the production totals have been confirmed from a former employee of the company. The company has since dropped the Car Craft name but is still in business making limos, hearses and other custom Cadillacs in Lima, OH.
	LEFT: This 1986 convertible has a real glass back window, as denoted by the very small visible area. It is estimated that about half of the 89 convertibles made in 1986 had the glass back window option.
	LEFT: This 1986 convertible has a plastic back window, as denoted by the very large visible area. The third brake light, relocated to the trunklid, was a generic aftermarket piece and is not a Ford piece. Note the slant of the backlite---this is a dead giveaway for a true convertible.
	LEFT: This is one of the few XR7's to be made into a convertible. It is an automatic...at this point it's unknown if any 5-speed XR7's were made.
	LEFT: Most of these cars seem to have had the factory-optioned vent windows for increased ventilation, but several have been spotted without them, like this one.
	LEFT: A special sticker is affixed to the driver's door of the 1986 Car Craft convertibles and contains a conversion date and serial number of the conversion. It also states that at the time of conversion, it conformed to all U.S. laws.
	LEFT: The easiest way to spot a true Car Craft convertible is the silver brushed aluminum CAR CRAFT badge on the trunklid.

Almost all of the top components--including the top itself, top skeletons, top motor, cylinders, and latches--are adapted directly from a mid-1980's Buick Riviera convertible that Car Craft also produced. The small side windows therefore do not have the traditional Cougar "C" shape. Even the weatherstripping, window motors, window switches, and related wiring are from the Riviera. A heated glass back window was optional.

There was a considerable amount of bracing added to the car by Car Craft, most notably the massive welded subframe connectors underneath. Most of the car's original outer body panels were modified to fit the convertible top. A custom chrome lip surrounds the modified rear seat, providing a spot to attach the top boot (some had snaps on top, some let the boot slide under). A full custom chrome piece caps the windshield.

Inside, custom panels were built around the rear seat area. Interestingly, the seat belts were simply cut to make them lap belts only, which was apparently legal for those particular model years. The rear seat was chopped and narrowed to fit, eliminating the center section and requiring only a new sewn-in panel at the top. Aside from the small headliner panel above the windshield, virtually everything else in the interior was left stock. The A-pillars have been strengthened with metal on the underside.

In all, Car Craft did an amazing job converting the cars, especially when considering that it was all done with the limited resources of mid-1980's technology. As a result these cars are known for their sound build quality.

1987

	There were approximately 24 Cougar convertibles made in the 1987 model year by Coach Builders International of Gainesville, FL (presumably the same company that built the 1984 convertibles). An interesting feature of these cars is that the small side windows are physically attached to the roof. Note the very low profile of the roofline, and a great attempt at keeping a "C" shape to the small side windows. The top boot appears to snap on.
	LEFT: The build quality does not seem to be as thorough as that of the earlier CBL cars (as one owner attests), as some corners may have been cut. For example, there is no chrome cap over the windshield. But the cars seem to have held up quite well and no apparent defects have been found.

Misc. Convertibles
There is one CBL 1987 20th Anniversary Cougar convertible known. It was bought brand new and the owner had it shipped to Florida on a trailer to convert the car. It was then trailered back to his home in MI. To this very day, it has been on and off trailers its entire existence and has under 50 actual miles! The owner has told us that when his car was being altered, the company was converting a 1988 white XR7 that was to be delivered to a sheik in Saudi Arabia. This is a good example of how one-off Cougar convertibles can slip out into the world. Be aware that there are some convertibles were made by other aftermarket companies in Florida and California.

Spotting A Fake Let's face it: just about anyone can take a Sawz-All and hack off a roof and call it a convertible. Likewise, anyone can have a fake convertible top added to a coupe (left top, left middle) to simulate a real droptop. Some cars end up being very convincing to the untrained eye. So how do you spot a real one at a quick glance? With the roof up, the rear backlite on true convertibles is NOT vertical like the coupes (left bottom), but rather angled. That's the easiest way to tell a real one from a fake one. On 1983-86 cars, look for a badge on the trunklid.

[ top ]