Looking to buy a 71-73, what to look for

Hey now, easy on the convertible bashing :laughing: Glad you were able to have some extra eyes take a look before you headed out, but like you said you can have a good weekend with the wife even if it doesn’t work out. Much better than having a car delivered that you have paid for not being close to what your thought you were getting. :smoke:

Amen brother! What’s not to like in a (classic) convertible? Personally, I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Classic Cougar?: Sexy! Convertible Classic Cougar?: X2!!

Well I had a 97 mustang convertible for the longest time, and after dealing with a leaky top for almost 7 years it really turned me off to the idea of convertibles, so I told myself I would always buy hardtops for a daily driver.

Well my friends sent me some pictures they took of the car, and so far I notice a slight rip in the headliner in the rear, no big deal, a little surface rust on the bumpers, I see that WCCC can rechrome these, and the XR7 grille emblem is missing ( Already knew this and I have sourced a replacement, these are very hard to track down BTW!). My friends also said the car comes with a second grill thats also missing the emblem .

Well I can’t speak of the headliner (convertible reference) :poke: Looks like you have a rim blow steering wheel. Looks like the door open map light on works, not sure if the 71 had a key in the ignition door open buzzer. Don’t know what the hole next to the windshield wiper switch is for/from. Make sure you check all the gauges, lights, especially turn signals, emergency flasher sequential operation. price seems pretty decent Have a watch of some of Don’s video’s, not that he’s done the 71 yet but gives you a basic background. The vin listed on the website was bogus so couldn’t look anything up on that to see its history. Good luck :smoke:

The Cougar is suppose to be a luxury sports car so why not a convertible?
The reason why I like Cougars over Mustangs is that you get all the performance of a Mustang with the added benefit of luxury touches.
It rounds out the punch with comfort.

The 71 XR7 that I had did not have a buzzer and the hole to the left of the wiper switch is not supposed to be there. As for the headliner, the rear window and windshield will have to come out to put a new head liner in correctly.

Is a rim blow wheel a good thing/desirable?

VIN number was bogus? you mean this didn’t pull anything up?

The rim blow steering wheel was considered an upgrade, although it was a standard part of the XR-7 package. Most people think that it is a better looking wheel and therefore is more desirable.

The door data sticker looks fine to me and I’m sure that the VIN is an actual Cougar VIN. I can see though that the sheetmetal around the sticker has been painted as the tape job on the sticker was not very good. Since it is that way I would look very carefully at the VIN on the dash to make sure that it matches what is on the sticker. I would also look to see if the buck tag is still in place on the radiator support and to see if I could see the VIN stampings on the inner fender aprons to make sure those also match.

The extra hole in the dash piece is not too big a deal as it is in a piece that can easily be replaced. It is in the lower steering column cover and that piece is held in place by a few screws. It’s a small part, easily held in one hand.

Randy Goodling
CCOA #95

i 2nd this !! also keep the seats !

There is a lot of pitting on those headlight rings. I wonder what it looked light before they had it painted?

Well I just got back from Chicago and the Cougar will be coming home to me. Waiting on them to ship it is going to kill me though :confused: . I have a few questions for you guys:

  1. What size are the door and rear tray speakers?

  2. The power windows and locks weren’t working when I got there. I had previously face timed with the dealer and they did work. It was about 7 degrees though when I was there, could that have been the cause? If not what could be the cause? When I pressed the buttons the door light would go on/off while the button was depressed.

3.What guys can you tell me about the emissions system in these cars? I believe I saw a tub going from the air cleaner to what look like the exhaust manifold. I’m thinking of junking the stuff as Alabama doesn’t test for admissions.

Thanks for all your help guys

Was the car running when you tried them? if not, I would say low battery. As for the locks, They did not have power locks. If you are referring to the lock switch with the window switches, that is to shut off the power to the rear windows, so kids don’t play with the windows. The hose that you say is running up from the exhaust to the air cleaner is for the engine to pick up warm air when it is cold. Don’t throw out the parts, keep them if you pull them off or sell them to make some money to put into your new cougar.:slight_smile:

The car was running. Are you sure there was no power locks? So what is the switch closest to the door handle for?

I wouldn’t throw away the emissions parts, but I would just put them in storage.

The switch closest to the door handle was added by a previous owner, it is not factory installed.

Man I just assumed it was factory because of how it matched the rest of the switches. I wonder what its supposed to do? I’ll have to take this panel off first thing when it gets here.

Congrats on the new Cat Yogi, Make sure you post some pic’s when you get it home so we see that Cat off the dealer lot :beerchug: I would first suggest a service manual and a wiring diagram for your cat, as explained to me and I will agree the electrical on these fine auto’s is sometimes like black magic :laughing: Door speakers you have to be careful on as they have to be low profile so the windows clear when rolled down. Rear tray speakers I don’t know the stock spec’s but I assume you have room to modify to your discretion. If I remember correctly reading a post somewhere, be very careful removing the door panels. The additional switch baffles me, have no clue. Once again congrats, welcome to CCC and make sure to update your location map (member locations top left of page) :smoke:

As cougarsj has stated, the switch is an add on, although it is a correct window switch for that year. It may have been turned into a lock switch. The Door light at the bottom of the door is not part of the 71 to 73 ether. That light is from 67 to 70 cougar.
When pulling the door panel off, be carful to take off the window switch bezels carefully. What I found to work was a small points file. It is thin enough but strong enough to push the clips to release the bezels. You will see a small indent or relief on each side of the bezel and this is where you will slide in the points file to release the clips.
Here is what a points file looks like. I use the handle part to since it is smooth. You can use another tool, this is just for an example and what I found to work will.
http://www.ebay.com/bhp/points-file

The rear package tray in the 71-3 hardtops are rather narrow. You might get a 6X9 mounted to the sheetmetal but I doubt that you would be able to fit the grille on top of the package tray.

Randy Goodling
CCOA #95

I believe those window switches are for 69-70. They differ slightly from 71-72. If that is true both the locks and power windows were added by a previous owner.

I didn’t see that, zoomed up close and you are correct.