Everybody thinks of the Mustang when Fox bodies are brought up. When you tell them to move past Mustangs, they go to Fairmonts. Everything else seems to be second field…but in the grand scheme of things, maybe the “box” Mercury Cougar got the worst of it. Technically, there were two different versions of the 1980-82 Cougar: one was the “box top” two-door sedan, four-door sedan and the station wagon that all smacked of “tarted up Fairmont”, and then there was the XR-7 coupe, which did exactly like the Thunderbird did: take the styling traits of the better-selling 1977-79 model, and shrink them down until they fit onto the Fox chassis. The result? Not pretty, not in the least. The reason the Thunderbird and Cougar got a restyle in 1983 was because then-Ford President Donald Petersen asked VP of Design Jack Telnack if he’d actually own one…and the answer was “no”.
It’s easy to rip on the Cougar XR-7 for it’s funky styling, but it does have two things going for it: the ability to house a V8 and it’s underpinnings. For once, badge engineering actually works out and the Cougar can actually get to stomping…once you get to work on this 1981, anyways. It’s a six-cylinder car that looks relatively straight, though we aren’t so sure about that hood. What we are sure of is that there’s a spare hood, a Thunderbird front clip with the hideaway headlights, a 302 and automatic ready to get shoved in, and 305-series Mickey Thompsons out back. Surely, for an asking price of $2,600, you can figure out the rest, right?
Facebook Marketplace link: 1981 Mercury Cougar XR-7
It’s amazing what people will waste money on.
This body style was better than the previous one. Trying to find 80-82 Cougar or T-bird is really tough these days!