1973 Mercury Cougar

1973 Mercury Cougar XR-7 Convertible For 1971, Lincoln-Mercury released the second-generation Mercury Cougar. To expand potential competition for the model line, Ford benchmarked the design of the Cougar against the quartet of GM A-body coupes, placing the model line in competition with the Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme. Again sharing much of its body shell with the Ford Mustang, the Cougar began to shift away from a plush pony car, taking on aspects of both sporty cars and luxury cars. The second-generation Cougar is the final version derived from the Ford Mustang and the final version offered as a convertible. A light blue/white 1973 Cougar XR-7 convertible was the last convertible assembled by Ford Motor Company; at the time, American manufacturers ended assembly of convertibles during the 1970s in anticipation of increased rollover safety standards. For consignment, a rare kitty with it being only 1 of 64 Cougar XR-7 Q-Code 4-speed convertibles built for the 1973 model year. Sporting a full blown restoration performed at some time in the past with new upholstery and a newer top, this cat surely won't last, so hurry up and grab it by the tail before someone else does. Exterior The Cougar is quite different from the Mustang in the realm of styling and for 1973 the two platform shared cars split further apart in theory and style. Leading the way is the adopted from other Mercury vehicles split grille treatment with a prominent center section and waterfall style grille. In a break from the previous generation, 4 exposed headlights replace the hidden headlights of yore. At the rear, inset into the bumper, are ribbed and trim highlighted sequential tail lights. A respray of Bright Red covers the panels which show a few inclusions and flaws, but one must look closely to find them. Rust is nonexistent and the gaps remain well minded. A newer white canvas convertible top with a glass rear window is now on and is tear and leak free. Chrome bumpers and all trim retains its shine and shows very little wear. Dual exhaust with turn down chromed tips peek out the back at the bottom of the chassis. Standard 14 Mercury wheel covers adorn the 4 corners and are wrapped in deeply treaded whitewall radials. Cue the cat growling. Interior Swinging one of the two doors open we are met with 2 sporty recovered high back buckets with white textured inserts and smooth white vinyl bolsters. In back is a matching bench stretching across the back. These seats are recovered with standard vinyl upholstery instead of the upscale XR-7 leather. Molded white vinyl makes up the door panels with nice chrome trimmed leather inserts, window cranks and a mirror joystick on the driver's door. Being a XR-7 the dash has a nice burl walnut applique with 4 deeply inset gauge pods. This appliqué panel continues partially across the dash and surrounds some auxiliary gauge pods as well as heater/AC vents. Below is a black horizontal panel that has a few toggles and chrome pull knobs. In the center dash we note the temperature slides and the factory AM/FM stereo. This central part of the dash cascades down to meet the short black center console complete with the chrome armed Hurst shifter. Clean black carpet floods the floors and is looking factory fresh. Drivetrain Under the hood in the restored but lightly patinaed engine bay is a number matching Q-Code Cobra Jet 351ci Cleveland V8 topped with a single 4-barrel carburetor. This mill is bathed in Ford blue and is topped with a factory single snout air cleaner assembly. On the back is a Toploader 4-speed manual transmission which sends power back to a Ford 9-inch 3.25 conventional rear axle. A strong heart for this kitty. Undercarriage Some surface rust is seen, but only on areas that were overlooked during the undercoating process. The unibody, flooring, rockers and torque boxes remain solid and rust free. Independent coil spring suspension is on the front, meanwhile br