Welcome to Member Rides, our weekly feature where we showcase the interesting cars of Autopian Members and share their stories. Sounds like fun, you say? You can become a Member by signing up here. We have membership levels starting at just $10 per month, and your participation helps keep The Autopian going. We appreciate it!
This week, we turn our attention to Autopian member Tim Cougar and his quite lovely survivor-condition 1974 Mercury Cougar XR-7. While 1974 was kind of a bleak year for the automobile, it was also the first year for the third-gen Cougar, and Ford “civilized the big cat,” boosting its size and luxury-level on the way to showroom success. Here’s Tim to tell us about how he was captivated by the cat and captured a Cougar of his own…
Tell us a little bit about yourself, Tim!
I live in Northern Virginia, and I’ve been a car lover my whole life. My mom places the blame on my grandfather, a car lover himself. She says I would sit on his lap and we would look at pictures of cars together. He died when I was very young, but we inherited his 1990 Honda Accord coupe that I later learned to drive in.
My appreciation and enthusiasm lean more toward the aesthetics and the experience of driving. I can change the oil, mount a spare, swap out lightbulbs, and even adjust the window glass when it comes off the track, but for anything requiring greater mechanical aptitude I prefer to trust the experts.
I do have an uncanny ability to remember and recognize makes and models (names and faces, not so much), and spend a lot of time identifying cars on the Internet Movie Car Database where I go by CougarTim. I’d love to get my Cougar in the background of a production filming in Washington, D.C. someday to complete the circle.
How did you acquire your Cougar? Is it a model you’ve wanted for a long time?
It all started when I was in seventh grade, when my school hosted an auction. It did not go well; there were more volunteers working than there were bidders, and many lots went unsold, including two cars. One of those cars was a 1976 Mercury Cougar, dark red and somewhat shabby, but to my middle school eyes it was one of the coolest cars I’d ever seen. Long and low, big and not afraid to hide it, with baroque styling that I found inexplicably appealing. It had class. It sat in a back corner of the school parking lot for a few weeks and then disappeared, but it stuck in my mind.
Fast forward to spring 2007, my second year of college. I’d found an internet message board for 1974-1979 Cougars that I kept an eye on, just in case, when lo and behold a listing appeared for a 1974 Cougar for sale in my state! Somehow, I convinced my parents to drive me down to Martinsville to look at it. And then buy it, because I was in love.
Round is the correct shape and 4 is the correct number.
Kitty goes to the opera
What state was it in when you purchased it, and what have you done to restore/maintain it since?
My Cougar was originally a California car and spent her first 30 or so years there, so the condition was excellent, practically no rust at all.
She has some options that make her stand out among ’74 Cougars. Under the hood is the optional 400ci V8. A 351 was standard, and the 460 was available by special order. Inside are the optional leather bucket seats and an 8-track player—I raided flea markets to buy tapes to play in it. Despite having buckets and a center console, mine was built with a column shifter, which is unique. There’s also a rim-blow horn, front and rear cigarette lighters, and tactile controls that are more satisfying than any touchscreen.
I know what I got
I drove her through my third and fourth years of college, around Charlottesville and back and forth from my home in the D.C. area. After college, I sometimes used her to commute to work, or drive to jobsites around the area; I parked in the wrong part of D.C. once and she was broken into—they stole my toolkit but left the 8-tracks. I’ve also driven her once to the Outer Banks and once to Pittsburgh.
The heckblende hides the center fuel filler
Our relationship has had its rough patches. The 1974 Cougars and Montegos are somewhat prone to overheating. In fact, Ford redesigned the bumper in 1975 to improve cooling. Brakes and power steering have both failed and been repaired, the vinyl roof started to disintegrate and needed to be replaced, and mice are constantly trying to move in and so on. The worst was a persistent stalling problem that left me stranded a few times.
In 2018 she, failed safety inspection then died less than a block from the inspection station and came home on a tow truck. Because of my circumstances at the time, she spent almost two years parked. When I had enough savings built up, I brought her to a local classic car garage with excellent reviews to give her the treatment she deserved and that I could not give her myself.
3 more luxurious than an XR4Ti
Since her rebuild, things haven’t been entirely trouble-free, but they’re improving. I’m still paranoid and cautious because of all the trouble in the past. She spends most of the winter hibernating, but now that the weather’s been consistently nice I drive her more. I try to exercise her at least once a week. Sitting is not good for her; she likes to move.
There is always something that needs fixing. This week, an exhaust hanger strap broke. Approaching 50 years old, her paint is starting to show its age and a repaint might be in order soon; or maybe I’ll just keep her as original as possible. My goal is to be a responsible steward of a car of a kind they just simply don’t make any more.
No, the exhaust is not supposed to hang that low
What do you enjoy most about your Cougar?
She goes! I know 1974 was not a high point in Detroit history, but she feels strong and smooth. She’s not a performance machine, just a very nice cruiser. On clear roads I can just put the pedal down and she roars; it’s a great sound. And she’s still gorgeous.
I love driving something that stands out. I’ve loved cars my whole life, and I love seeing rare, old, and/or unusual cars out and about, and when I’m driving the Cougar, I get to be the most interesting car someone might see that day.
Note the rare shifter delete plate on the console.
How do people react to it?
Cougars sold well back in the ‘70s, but there aren’t many left. Nearly everyone of a certain age either had a Cougar or knows someone who had a Cougar. My favorite was a woman at a gas station: “My brother had one just like that. I thought it was the ugliest thing.” There are approving nods and thumbs up from other drivers, pedestrians, and school crossing guards; people are always asking about it or offering to buy it—though I’m not interested in selling.
Longcat is long
What are the most striking contrasts between owning/driving a ’74 Cougar versus a modern equivalent?
So, the day I bought my Cougar, I drove it from Martinsville to Charlottesville. The next day I went out to start it, turned the key… and nothing happened. I was distraught. Turns out, I needed to pump the gas pedal before turning the key. I had never driven anything made before 1990. There was a learning curve.
My current daily driver is a 2009 BMW 328i sedan, and they are two very different machines. The Bimmer is a great car; it is quick, nimble, easy to park, and has heated seats. The Cougar is none of those things. The Bimmer is also, in comparison, boring and commonplace, and doesn’t even have real leather.
Cars today need more jewelry
The Cougar needs time to warm up and time to cool down. I plan my routes to hit as few stoplights as possible, because while she likes to go, she does not like to stop. Even though the stalling issue is behind us, I still get paranoid about idling at long lights or making left turns.
In 1974, this car qualified as midsize, but it’s 18 feet long. I parked next to a smart car once; with our front bumpers lined up, its rear bumper was at my A-pillar. The long, flat hood is one giant blind spot in front. I avoid tight parking lots.
Now all I need is the lavish estate
They don’t make them like this anymore, and as much as I like ‘70s cars I believe that is overall a good thing. I don’t even try to calculate the gas mileage because it’d be too depressing. In a crash I’d be dead. Cars today are better in every objective way. But they can’t match the style or feeling of cruising in a personal luxury coupe.
That’s true! Thanks for sharing your Cougar with us and preserving it for car fans new and old to enjoy.
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I took high school drivers ed in a 1972 Chevrolet Impala. It was hard to tell where the four corners of the car were. Big. Boaty. Floaty. When I got to college, I was pressed into service to drive us all home on a Friday night because I was the only one not drunk. The car: a 1974 Mercury Cougar with 8-track much like this one. Talk about a flashback. It was not quite as big, but still boaty and floaty. There was a road under us someplace. Well, I got us all back to campus to live another semester. Would love to go for a ride in one of these again.
As a teen in the 80’s I can verify that at least two of these were driven by classmates. One was this color, albeit without the upgraded interior.
Young people do not realize that 2 door cars were as long as modern pick up trucks.
It’s one foot longer than the Ford Windstar my parents had when I bought it.
Be careful around cougars. They bite.
This older woman seduced me and now I buy her expensive things.
Damn, she’s turned you into a simultaneous boy toy and sugar daddy. I didn’t think that was possible!
What a thing. That is absolutely magnificent.
I’m a gent of a certain age who had a friend that owned one. His was red with a white vinyl roof. Super comfortable cruiser. I remember that over boosted Ford power steering. So light it was scary! Your car is gorgeous. I especially like the two tone seats. Enjoy!
SEEEEEEW FAAAAAUNCEH
That is an awesome car.
I love its cat like haunches, so fitting to the nameplate.
Big eyes up front.
It looks ready to pounce.
It’s even cougar colored.
I wouldn’t change that. The patina is perfect.
And that front seat looks like a well kept, comfortable place to sit for cruising.
Thank you for sharing.
Agreed. It doesn’t need a respray, it needs ‘shine juice’
Needs Turbine wheels
Whoo! Thank you for letting me share my pride with you!
I’ve been a Ford man since my brother brought home his black on black 1966 Mustang. It was a 289 V8 with a 4 speed on the floor. That was what made me a Ford man. I turned 16 in 1971 and my first car was a 69 Mustang Mach I, it was the best looking Mustang ever made. It was bold and very sexy both inside and out. At that time, Mustangs and Cougars were the same car. Keeping with Ford’s lineup, the Cougar was the luxury version of the Mustang. Also Keeping with Ford’s tradition all their cars would grow bigger and more upscale each year, and the Cougar was no different. The first generation of the Cougar soon grew be a mid-sized Lincoln trimmed in the Lincoln tradition. I was still to young for the Lincoln Mercury style and luxury, but I sure appreciated what they were. Caused by the 73 oil crisis, the rest of the 70s became a very challenging time for the Big Three. I actually felt bad the for American auto industry, who knows where the industry would be today. Since the industry designs are locked down 3 to 5 years ahead of the model year they will become. Ford did a good job of keeping their cars interesting by adding traditional American style to exterior and interiors of their cars, and when the 5 Mile per hour bumpers became manitory that added another challenge to the styling. So Ford ran with the thick, and claded look, and that lead to a very distinct 70s look. I liked it, the look became the American 70s style that defines it’s self many years later. Starting in 74, Ford’s “thick look” really kicked in and for the Lincoln Mercury division the cars had padded vinyl tops and wide textured side moldings, Lincoln grills and full width taillights, and lavish interiors complete with thick shag carpet. Then the downsizing took hold by the late 70s and evolved through the 80s and 90s. There’s no better example of the Ford’s 70s styling than this 74 Cougar, and based on how their are current value seems to be increasing, we the people really like that look. And why not, with today’s popular SUVs that dominate the landscape things have really become boring. No styling, just aerodynamic, blah all look alike, all the same color vehicles are all we have. Even the station wagons are gone.So sad When Ford stopped selling sedans I thought the end was near. But now I hope we can expect to see sedans, wagons and unque styling come back as EVs, which will remove the need of having good mpg, and we can get back to beautiful full-size sedans, and wagons. That’s what we all want, not just SUVs pretending to be wagons. They are not cars the 74 Cougar is a car. They aren’t fooling me. Not at all.
Not even aerodynamic. Just the appearance of being such, with the airflow being disturbed by all the proportions and angles being just slightly off, coupled with all the plastic cladding, trim pieces, and oversized grilles/wheels to ruin the drag reduction made possible by the chosen base shape. The way these things are shaped, with some slight tweaks that wouldn’t impact the practicality of the vehicle, they could have two-thirds to half the drag that they currently do, and IMO, wouldn’t look any uglier and or any more bland than they already do.
Case in point regarding a sedan shape: the current Tesla Model S. 0.20 drag coefficient, whereas the rest of the industry is hovering around a 0.28 for their sedans. Sedans can go much lower. The 2000 GM Precept had a 0.16.
If someone made a modern take on a 70s luxo-barge, with the size/mass of a 70s luxobarge, but it had a drag coefficient of only 0.16, and a massive but modern big-block V8 under the hood, it would very likely exceed 40 mpg on the highway…
Nice ride. I have soft spot for “unloved” cars finding their way to the hands that someone who enjoys it.
Nice you didn’t throw big tires but kept it original as possible.
Very nice! I was always more partial to the styling of the ’71-’73 cars, in particular the ’71, but I will admit the tail lights on the ’74-’76 cars were better. Keep up the good work on keeping that classic on the road!
I’m old enough to remember when these boats were ubiquitous. I never understood them now and still don’t. I guess I’m just that guy…
Don’t let me distract you from your enjoyment though.
Hell yeah, this is an awesome story and car…just makes me want my dream land yacht even more
That is some good Autopian right there. You just don’t see Cougars from that era around any more, although I had plenty of them around me growing up.
The pictures of the opera window, the seats, and the hood ornament are just <chef’s kiss>. I still can’t believe the Cougar is basically the same length as my Suburban but those overhangs go on forever. Objectively they were not great cars or even frankly good by today’s standards but your lovely kitty cat is something that will provide far more smiles per mile than any of today’s competent but forgettable crossovers. Enjoy your ride!
That’s a superb example of malaise brougham there. I imprinted on imports early so personal luxury never did it for me. Also the sheer waste of it. My F150 is 20′ long but that includes an 8′ bed, a back seat only slightly less cramped than a Cougar and 260 hp out of 330 cubic inches, and leather seats, power windows, power mirrors and a CD player:)
Those seats are simply fantastic.
Awesome car, Tim! My dad was a die-hard Mercury man, but somehow never bought a Cougar. He went Cyclone->Montego->Monarch->Colony Park (wagon).
Regarding the exhaust hanger, I got the Monarch after dad sold it to a neighbor. Similar thing happened with the rubber hanger falling apart. Dad fixed it by cutting a replacement piece from the sidewall of an old tire (back when tires had sidewalls). Pretty easy fix if you can scrounge-up an old tire with a big enough sidewall.
I’m not entirely sure the strap that broke isn’t a piece of old tire, heh.
Great car, great story, and I love the vanity plate.
Tim, that thing is majestic! Great story and great car!
Mercury Monday! Now with even more Monday.
I especially like the ground-level, upward canted pictures…they really do the imposing yet fluid nature of the car justice.
And So. Many. Gauges. Just wonderful. I was a little disappointed when cars started combining all of them into pods by the mid-80s.
Nice to see one of these still on the road. Yeah, back when they were new, there were a lot of them, so they blended in – not that unique. But now? It sure stands out in a sea of SUVs and little cars. And how can you not like a car with a hood ornament?
I had a 1979 Cougar XR-7 with a 5.0L engine and although it wasn’t the first car that I bought, it was the first car that I wanted to buy and so I did! I owned it for 2 years before it got totaled when some guy in the lane next to spun out in the snow covered highway and pushed me and my car into the median guardrail! 🙁
Anyway, My Uncle would always tease me when he saw my car by calling it “A baby Lincoln” , which, truth be told, it was!
Happy cruising!
I prefer to think of mine as a Torino dressed for the opera.
Ha! I love that! 🙂 Happy Motoring!!