This section deals with the rumors, and actual facts, behind the 1983-88 Cougars. No matter what you've heard, this page will dispel the rumors and cut to the facts, plain and simple.
RUMOR: There were some 1983-88 Cougars that came equipped with headlight covers from the factory. |
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RUMOR: There were some 1983-88 Cougars that had factory spoilers. |
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RUMOR: There were some 1983-86 Cougars that had painted headlight buckets (in a color other than argent). |
A: Uncertain. We have seen some painted headlight buckets that do look factory, although there has never been any Ford literature or material that has ever depicted factory painted buckets. What cars received paint and what cars didn't is not totally clear. The painted color is usually a dark grey or black. It may be that painted headlight buckets were part of dealer optioned packages as well. |
RUMOR: There were some 1983-86 Cougars that did not have a passenger side rearview mirror. |
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RUMOR: There was a factory 140mph speedometer offered on 1985-88 Cougars with the analog gauge cluster. |
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RUMOR: There were a few 1986-88 5.0 Cougars that snuck out of the factory with the HO package. |
A: FICTION. All 1986-88 5.0 engines were of the non-HO variety. If your Cougar has an HO motor, it was either upgraded or transplanted somewhere along the line. |
RUMOR: There were some convertibles made between 1983-88. |
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* Power moonroof option was not offered until early 1987 (around November 1986 build date). Factory power moonroofs slide into the roof, and are made of smoked glass with a bright (chrome) ring around the outside. Also, a plastic vented cover could be found inside to slide over the moonroof when necessary. Last, a factory overhead console was placed between the sun visors with two map lights and the power moonroof switch. It was popular back in the day to have ASC or other aftermarket companies to install a moonroof in a Cougar.
** Factory sunroofs had a storage bag in the trunk that affixed to either the trunklid or the spare tire well via tethers, upon removal of sunroof. Cars with full spare tires would tether bag to trunklid. Storage bag also had instructions on how to store the glass panel.
*** There were a few companies offering modified trunklids for the 1983-88 Cougars (right) that had the identical half-round hump found on the Lincoln Mark VII. We've also seen them on newer Continentals, Town Cars, and the Grand Marquis. Someone is still producing them, and in fact may have done the ones for our cars.
† See here for more information on Fox Cougar convertibles.