cougar buying guide

[tricky]

thought i start a thread for people that are looking for there doner cars
parkers review is an un-bias opinion
http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/reviews/ford/cougar-1998.aspx

whats the best doner to get?
we have a 2.5 v6 and a 2.0 version to choose.
the 2.0 will be cheaper to tax, and fill up with petrol, and for me,cheaper to park in my area ( i have to buy a residents parking permit based on co2 level and engine size!)

[krispoppleton]

I have posted this before, but just incase anyone missed it.

www.v6cougar.com

This site has loads of info on the Cougar and PDF Manuals.

[CdRsKuLL]

I would defo go for the v6 version.. the difference in sound alone would be worth it. From what I've read the 2.0 is under powered. I would also go for the X pack version or whatever its called. With all the extras :-)

I would however make sure the car I was buying DIDN'T have a sunroof.

Any colours good but black or the end colour your going for would prob be better. I wouldn't worry about any of the panels, the mechanics I would be more interested in. Wheels / tyres don't matter either. If you intend to get the seats recovered then I wouldnt even bother with leather.. If you get some good seats and are recovering them then I would try and sell them in a part exchange deal on one of the forums, this is also a good place to get rid of unwanted parts. You could prob make £300 in parts you dont need if in good cond. Just be careful when taking bits off.. lights / bumpers etc.

[the.cape]

if you are going to do a scudo then a 2.5 V6 seems like the sensible option. The 2.0 is way under powered and even the V6 is not lighting quick but clearly the better engine. Also had a great grunt in standard form and with the DNA Scudo exhaust has an amazing rasp.

I Have a genuine very low milage(35K), full Ford serviced V6 cougar which would be perfect for the 5cudo.....if you are going to do this car then get the best platform possible and i guarantee you wont find a much better donor car out there. Contact me via pm if interested, i'll post more details on the sales/wants section soon.

[sbsport23]

Here in the states they are Mercury Cougars not Ford Cougars. They were produced from 1999-2002. V6 is good but lots of these have automatics and/or sunroofs. Both you don't want. From what I can tell on ebay the average cougar here is listed in the 6k-7k price neighborhood. But I noticed in the completed listings on ebay that a few have sold for under 3k.

Here's an example (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Very-Nice-Red-Cougar-V6-/320543262123?cmd=ViewItem&pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item4aa1de05ab), this one sold for 2,965.00 and it's got the V6. It did have over 70k on mileage but that may not be avoidable as most of these cars are your average daily driver.

[spannermonkey]

OK. After 8 years of Cougar ownership and writing most of the FAQs about this car on the owners forum, I feel I am in a pretty good place to give potential buyers a full and frank description of what to look out for when purchasing a Cougar.

Lets start with the basics:

2.0 ZETEC is not available with the X pack, and is not available with the automatic gearbox. Does not have front fog lights or Traction Control
2.5 V6 is available with or without X pack, and with or without the automatic gearbox

X Pack = Leather interior, Heated front seats, CD Multi-changer in the boot

Optional extras = Heated front windscreen - Sunroof

The sunroof has plastic runners which break and when they do, you are looking at £600 for a new one from Ford with metal runners.


What to look out for:

You have to bear in mind that these cars were made between 1998 and 2001 so the majority of them are over 10 years old. Thus, like most cars of that age, there are certain things you need to look out for.

Wishbones. If the rubbers go in the wishbones, then you have to replace the whole wishbone. You can't just replace the rubbers. Cost is just over £300 for the parts if you use Ford Parts On-line.

Rear sub frames. These get rusty and whilst normally it is just surface rust, more and more members are discovering they need to replace theirs due to rust issues.

Alternators. For some reason these need replacing more often than most other cars. Whilst not very expensive to replace (Just over £100), they are a complete pig to do as it is buried under the engine.
You can tell if the alternator is on it's way out as the headlights will flicker at high RPM's and in extreme circumstances the dials will do a full sweep on start up. The latter being a sign of a poorly charged battery.

Make sure the CAM belt has been done on the 2.0 Litre. No need to worry about the V6 has it has a CAM chain that should never need replacing.

If you notice the lights on the dash flickering, that is a Cougar trait and caused by to small a sensing wire on the alternator. There is a relatively simple fix for this for a few pounds so nothing major to worry about.

Idiosyncrasies of the Cougar:

The owners manual has the order of the rear lights incorrect
At some point the overhead console was changed form 7 warning lights, down to 5 for later cars
As above, the fuse boxes were changed and thus might not match the owners manual
All the wires are in place for any extras the car might not have had from the factory i.e Cloth interior will still have the wires under the seats/carpet  for heated seats. You will just need a couple of relays to retrofit
Same for the heated windscreen. You just need a couple of relays and the switch (Available from any breakers yard) and the screen itself.
The brakes just don't feel great.

Performance Upgrades

ZETEC
If you are after silly amounts of power, then funnily enough the 2.0 Zetec is the way to go. There are quite a few upgrades for this engine simply as it was used in the Focus. Only area to watch out for is clearance issues as the Cougars bonnet is much lower than that of a Focus.

V6
Whilst the V6 has more power as standard, there is just hardly any room in the engine bay. A few owners (inc myself) have managed to squeeze in a supercharger but it is a big job and involves quite a bit of cutting and re-routing of other things. Not for the faint hearted.
A "simple" upgrade is to get hold of an ST200 engine. These drop straight in and take you from 165bhp to 200bhp.  Stick some fast road CAMs on and a sports exhaust and you should see close to 220bhp
As mentioned above the Cougar has 3 catalytic converters.  
If you remove the 2 pre cats the car will still pass an emissions test. Same if you only remove the main cat but leave the pre-cats. Just don't remove all three. Doing either of those options will increase bhp
Replace the current manifolds with sports ones will net you an extra 20+bhp as the OE ones are very restrictive.

Suspension/Handling

Pound for pound the best mod you can do if you like "spirited" driving is to swap out the rear anti roll bar. the OE one is 16mm  If you can source (from America) the uprated 21mm item, you will be amazed at the difference in handling. It reduces understeer dramatically which for a heavy front engined V6 can only be a good thing.

Replace the shocks and springs with an Eibach sports kit. These are not made anymore, but you might be lucky to find somewhere that still sells them.
Failing that, import some KONI sports shocks from America (KONI UK don't sell Cougar ones)
Front strut brace tightens up the front end nicely.

Brakes
The standard Cougar brakes are quite frankly, crap. Upgrade to drilled or grooved discs with red stuff pads.

A quick note about making money from selling the parts you will be removing......don't hold your breath. There are soooooooo many Cougars being broken daily by scrap yards etc that there is no shortage of spares whatsoever. Some members have bought complete cars for less than £300 !!!
If you are lucky enough to have one of MK2 variants (Different front bumper, fogs, headlights and interior bits and pieces), then please PM me as these parts ARE worth some money due to the fact they are rare. Less than 500 of these cars were sold over here. I am after some of these parts myself, hence asking if you could PM me.

I think that covers the basics but if anyone has any questions whatsoever relating to the Cougar, please feel free to ask.

[Burton430]

OK. After 8 years of Cougar ownership and writing most of the FAQs about this car on the owners forum, I feel I am in a pretty good place to give potential buyers a full and frank description of what to look out for when purchasing a Cougar.

Lets start with the basics:

2.0 ZETEC is not available with the X pack, and is not available with the automatic gearbox. Does not have front fog lights or Traction Control
2.5 V6 is available with or without X pack, and with or without the automatic gearbox

X Pack = Leather interior, Heated front seats, CD Multi-changer in the boot

Optional extras = Heated front windscreen - Sunroof

The sunroof has plastic runners which break and when they do, you are looking at £600 for a new one from Ford with metal runners.


What to look out for:

You have to bear in mind that these cars were made between 1998 and 2001 so the majority of them are over 10 years old. Thus, like most cars of that age, there are certain things you need to look out for.

Wishbones. If the rubbers go in the wishbones, then you have to replace the whole wishbone. You can't just replace the rubbers. Cost is just over £300 for the parts if you use Ford Parts On-line.

Rear sub frames. These get rusty and whilst normally it is just surface rust, more and more members are discovering they need to replace theirs due to rust issues.

Alternators. For some reason these need replacing more often than most other cars. Whilst not very expensive to replace (Just over £100), they are a complete pig to do as it is buried under the engine.
You can tell if the alternator is on it's way out as the headlights will flicker at high RPM's and in extreme circumstances the dials will do a full sweep on start up. The latter being a sign of a poorly charged battery.

Make sure the CAM belt has been done on the 2.0 Litre. No need to worry about the V6 has it has a CAM chain that should never need replacing.

If you notice the lights on the dash flickering, that is a Cougar trait and caused by to small a sensing wire on the alternator. There is a relatively simple fix for this for a few pounds so nothing major to worry about.

Idiosyncrasies of the Cougar:

The owners manual has the order of the rear lights incorrect
At some point the overhead console was changed form 7 warning lights, down to 5 for later cars
As above, the fuse boxes were changed and thus might not match the owners manual
All the wires are in place for any extras the car might not have had from the factory i.e Cloth interior will still have the wires under the seats/carpet  for heated seats. You will just need a couple of relays to retrofit
Same for the heated windscreen. You just need a couple of relays and the switch (Available from any breakers yard) and the screen itself.
The brakes just don't feel great.

Performance Upgrades

ZETEC
If you are after silly amounts of power, then funnily enough the 2.0 Zetec is the way to go. There are quite a few upgrades for this engine simply as it was used in the Focus. Only area to watch out for is clearance issues as the Cougars bonnet is much lower than that of a Focus.

V6
Whilst the V6 has more power as standard, there is just hardly any room in the engine bay. A few owners (inc myself) have managed to squeeze in a supercharger but it is a big job and involves quite a bit of cutting and re-routing of other things. Not for the faint hearted.
A "simple" upgrade is to get hold of an ST200 engine. These drop straight in and take you from 165bhp to 200bhp.  Stick some fast road CAMs on and a sports exhaust and you should see close to 220bhp
As mentioned above the Cougar has 3 catalytic converters.  
If you remove the 2 pre cats the car will still pass an emissions test. Same if you only remove the main cat but leave the pre-cats. Just don't remove all three. Doing either of those options will increase bhp
Replace the current manifolds with sports ones will net you an extra 20+bhp as the OE ones are very restrictive.

Suspension/Handling

Pound for pound the best mod you can do if you like "spirited" driving is to swap out the rear anti roll bar. the OE one is 16mm  If you can source (from America) the uprated 21mm item, you will be amazed at the difference in handling. It reduces understeer dramatically which for a heavy front engined V6 can only be a good thing.

Replace the shocks and springs with an Eibach sports kit. These are not made anymore, but you might be lucky to find somewhere that still sells them.
Failing that, import some KONI sports shocks from America (KONI UK don't sell Cougar ones)
Front strut brace tightens up the front end nicely.

Brakes
The standard Cougar brakes are quite frankly, crap. Upgrade to drilled or grooved discs with red stuff pads.

A quick note about making money from selling the parts you will be removing......don't hold your breath. There are soooooooo many Cougars being broken daily by scrap yards etc that there is no shortage of spares whatsoever. Some members have bought complete cars for less than £300 !!!
If you are lucky enough to have one of MK2 variants (Different front bumper, fogs, headlights and interior bits and pieces), then please PM me as these parts ARE worth some money due to the fact they are rare. Less than 500 of these cars were sold over here. I am after some of these parts myself, hence asking if you could PM me.

I think that covers the basics but if anyone has any questions whatsoever relating to the Cougar, please feel free to ask.

I have heard of this being done but how difficult is it to swap the 3.0L Duratec 24V SVT Contour motor? How powerful is it?

[DNA AUTOMOTIVE]

when you are talking about suspension and dropping the car we are dropping the cars far more than you could with any off the shelf suspension we supply custom made coil overs that fit and work they have been developed for this car/kit

[Burton430]

when you are talking about suspension and dropping the car we are dropping the cars far more than you could with any off the shelf suspension we supply custom made coil overs that fit and work they have been developed for this car/kit

Sounds good!

Does the 5cudo use really wide tires to fill in the body or are large hub spacers utilized (if so, how is handling affected)?

Is it longer than the DNA 4thirty (wheelbase/stance)?

[DNA AUTOMOTIVE]

Yes its a bigger wheelbase and it uses spacers all round and the handling is fine

[DNA AUTOMOTIVE]

cheap cars

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1999-FORD-COUGAR-V6-SILVER-/140440727420?pt=Automobiles_UK

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1998-FORD-COUGAR-V6-SILVER-/200507511991?pt=Automobiles_UK

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1999-FORD-COUGAR-VX-V6-BLACK-/140440015277?pt=Automobiles_UK

[spannermonkey]

Yes its a bigger wheelbase and it uses spacers all round and the handling is fine

I had 45mm spacers on my Supercharged Cougar and whilst I had other suspension bits on it, the car handled like it was on rails. No probs at all with having spacers....just get all the tracking and alignments checked.
For peace of mind I went for German TUV approved ones rather than the ones Halfords sell etc 

[STRDAL360]

What about sun roof, chaps?  Is it best not to have it on the donor Cougar for the build?

[DNA AUTOMOTIVE]

sunroof not a problem weld it up or leave it !!

[STRDAL360]

Thanks, DNA!