Past Cars

As humans tend to do, it’s easy to look backwards and see what shaped us, what we drove, why cars were important to us at that particular moment in time. Below are the past cars that became an influential part of the COOL CATS world, for one reason or another. We don’t believe any of them still exist today but we’ve got plenty of great memories and photos to share.

1987

This is the car that started it all: my very first car, a 1984 Cougar GS V6 in Light Cadet Blue Metallic, purchased in May 1987. While not a stellar performer, it had everything in the looks department and we were inseparable. It took me through college, back and forth to my first job, a few vacations, and many in-town excursions with friends. There were a few instances where the car left me stranded but otherwise the car remained trouble-free for over 100,000 miles. When it was time to move on, I found a family that needed a first car for their daughter, and the transition couldn’t have been smoother. Essentially everything on this site is the culmination of knowledge that began with this very car.

Not long after purchasing the car, I did what everyone cool back in those days did: bought a front-end cover (aka the “Bra”) and found a set of used Mustang-style TRX rims with 4 relatively matching tires from salvage yards. Now it was beginning to look sporty.

Eventually I went a bit further, adding a full ground effects kit painted silver. I also painted the mirrors flat silver and sandblasted the chrome to create a flat metallic finish. I hand-made a set of clear headlight covers with the Cougar logo etched on the inside. One last touch was an illuminated hood ornament, courtesy of one of the C-pillar coach lamps I found at the salvage yard.

Out back I swapped in a pair of ’85 taillights—not an easy thing to do, it turns out. I filled in the reflectors and painted the section light blue. Also, I airbrushed the cat head on the backup lights to simulate the 1987-88 taillights, and painted black “laser stripes” (similar to those on the Topaz and Grand Marquis) on the lenses. The MERCURY and COUGAR letters were airbrushed onto the trunklid.

The interior held up quite well after 6 years. This car ended up being a real experiment for the Cougars to come and I owe it all to this blue gem.

1992

This 1986 Cougar GS V8 was my second car and it become a daily driver immediately after purchase in 1992. It’s also the first factory V8 car that I’d ever owned. Although the car had seen better days it was reliable enough for daily duty. And it provided a platform for experimentation, both mechanically and visually. But it was truly a “black Cat” in every sense of the phrase. I was glad to buy it and just as glad to see it go.

I didn’t intend to create an evil-looking car but after an accident (not my fault) in January 1996, the repair shop was able to install all the cool parts I’d been accumulating for the car: Turbo Coupe hood, front air dam and rear valance. Prior to the accident I had experimented with the Tempo mirror conversion. On went a pair of ’83 clear turn signals, and installed Marchal fog lamps.

A custom grille, painted side markers and blackout headlight covers completed the ominous transformation. It wasn’t fast, it wasn’t loud, but it looked m-e-a-n. The car’s paint finish was actually very bad (cracks and peeling) and didn’t look nearly as nice as it does in these photos.

Inside, an XR-7 2-spoke sport steering wheel, console, painted dash and console panels, carbon fiber-simulated dash trim, and a Turbo Coupe instrument cluster all got installed.

A work-in-progress shot of the interior. Notice the rotary heater panel conversion, Taurus cupholder assembly, Taurus rear window defroster switch, and light-up Cougar nomenclature above the glove box.

One of my last photos of the car before it got banged up in yet another accident (also not my fault) in November 1996. It was disheartening to see the accomplishments that I’d put into the car get destroyed. At that point, I did not feel like putting more money into this car and promptly sold it. Can’t really say I miss it. I’d like to think that it inspired a few people though.

1998

This white 1988 Cougar XR-7 was purchased in February 1998. It desperately needed wax but otherwise was in decent shape for daily driving duties. As such, I vowed not to sink too much money into this one and I kept that promise. It turned out to be one of the most trouble-free Cougars I’ve ever owned. While the body wasn’t perfect, it was good enough for daily driving duty. It was sold in October 2001 with 154,000 problem-free miles on the odometer.

2001

In the fall of 2002 I happened upon this Twilight Blue ’88 Blue Max Cougar V8 locally via eBay. The original plan was to use this car as a daily driver. When I got the car home I discovered that it needed a lot more work than planned. It spent the winter of ’02 and spring of ’03 in storage, and in the summer of ’03 I finally got a few things fixed on the car in time for show car season. As time moved on, though, I reassessed my vehicle situation: I liked this car but was never really in love with it. In the summer of 2006 it was sold to a very worthy family.

I installed a pair of good used buckets from a parted out ’88 XR7, along with its console, dash panels and matching sport steering wheel. The car was converted to floor shift when the replacement transmission was installed. The stereo system was rewired and upgraded as well.

A set of 15″ turbine rims made the exterior look fantastic.

2002

The only non-Cougar daily driver Fox that I owned was a 1988 Ford Thunderbird V8 Sport. It was a great deal—sitting in the salvage yard with a clear title, mostly complete, my offer was accepted, and I got it towed home. I didn’t know the transmission was completely shot. But I quickly found a new one, got it replaced, and just drove it as-is. While it ran pretty well, it was definitely lacking in the power department. In February 2002 the car was treated to an HO conversion with a modified exhaust system. My mechanic had the HO parts literally laying around, and he did the engine and exhaust work himself. The car idled so smoothly that it was sometimes difficult to tell that it was even running. The car saw daily driver duty through summer 2005. With a shift in priorities in life, I decided to sell the Thunderbird in September 2005.

This car was absolutely loaded, with every option except leather seats.

2004

As much as I loved (or tolerated) the cars above, I also knew that continuing to buy and drive them in our northeast Ohio winters was just a recipe to kill them slowly with rust and body damage. And I just didn’t want to keep repeating that cycle. So I made the decision to just keep the two Cougars that I really wanted, and buy something else to drive on a daily basis. That’s what I did beginning in 2004 and I haven’t regretted it one bit. It’s practically the only way to keep saving them.