To start a build of any kind, you need to have some kind of inspiration or vision. I had neither when I dragged the Dirty Cougar home. I had enough money to purchase the Mercury and a suspicion that I could do something with it that could be fun. It’s a Fox body after all…surely, there is a way to take an Aero Cat and have a little fun, right? Well, outside of the King of the Heap racing team, I haven’t gotten many positive sensations from people I know, just a lot of “that’s nice, dear” head nods as I talk about the car. Even my wife isn’t thrilled about the Cougar…I’m pretty sure she is only tolerating it because it’s dirt-cheap and if the whole thing goes to hell, it’s more parts for the Mustang at the ready.

Would you be shocked to find that there isn’t a lot in the way of hot-rodded 1980s Cougars out there? There’s a small handful, but I found two that really work in my eyes. The first one is a car I’ve seen in person before. It’s actually about an hour’s drive away if the information is still correct. The owner is Greg Mayton and the Cougar itself is a twin-turbocharged small-block Ford-powered psycho that has been well into the nines. You’ll never miss the orange-and-black Mercury, because if there’s another one out there that color combination, we’re pretty sure Mayton will have something to say to the imposter.

The part of the Cougar that gets us is the rear view. The front is the typical Ford Aero look, and your opinions on the quarter-window treatment I’m sure are varied, but that rear-quarter shot is something to behold. Apparently Cougars look good with a bit of meat out back. Oh…wait a minute. Dammit. I’m sorry…I guess I need to be careful of “cougar” comments now, don’t I?