New member from Liverpool, England just joined.

[Green Machine]

Hi to all New Edge Cougar owners out there!

My 'Green Machine' is a 2.5 Cougar 2 X-Pack in Amazon Green. Being a Mark 2 it is a VERY rare vehicle in the UK as only 440 were imported and sold over here. The car has only done 23,000 (genuine and documented) miles and has a full Ford service history.

As a Cougar owner in England I'm already a member of the UK Ford Cougar Owners Club (UK Cougar (http://www.ukcougar.com)) even though we have to pay an annual subscription over here for this. So why have I joined the American one?

Well I've had UK Cougars in the past (Mark 1's) and really enjoyed them. They've all been 'British' Cougars with 'Ford' badging (hardly anyone knows them as Mercury Cougars over here) and basically I've not modified them in any way. But with my rare Cougar 2 I'm thinking of some purely cosmetic styling modifications and de-badging the car and replacing the existing badging with Mercury logos.

This is a pretty popular thing to do with UK Cougars and Mk 1 and Mk 2 front grills are available over here as are Cougar head emblems for the boot (trunk)so it's a fairly simple job to do.

For me the issue is the alloy wheels. These are unique to the Cougar 2 in the UK (I am aware that different styles of wheels were available from the manufacturers for US Cougars) and they are different to the standard Mk 1 alloys. Mk 1 plastic Centre Caps with the word 'Cougar' on them do not work with Cougar 2 alloys. Cougar 2's came with plastic Centre Caps with a standard Ford blue oval.

My first question is can anyone tell me what the plastic centre caps looked like on US Cougar 2's (2001 - 2003)? I'm sure that they didn't have Ford badges and am guessing that they had the Cougar head badge in some form?

Are these plastic centre caps still available from Ford/Mercury dealers in the US? and how much do they cost to buy new?

Both Ford and Mercury's websites are useless in finding this information so I am turning to the Cougar 2 owners of America for help

And finally if anyone in the US is considering de-badging their Mercury Cougar 2 and re-badging it with Ford logos then please get in touch as I have the part that you need.

Regards,

Andy

[jaged]

welcome, what is an "Xpack" edition?

[01- coug]

Welcome to NECO :wave:

[MontereyDave]

Welcome aboard. eBay would likely have what you're looking for. A quick search landed these for 17":
eBay Motors: MERCURY COUGAR 01-02 MACHINED CENTER CAPS - SET OF 4 (item 180229840641 end time Apr-09-08 19:05:56 PDT) (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/MERCURY-COUGAR-01-02-MACHINED-CENTER-CAPS-SET-OF-4_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ43961QQihZ008QQitemZ1 80229840641QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW)

and this kind for 16"
eBay Motors: 2001-2002 MERCURY COUGAR center cap (item 280215924237 end time Apr-13-08 20:45:40 PDT) (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2001-2002-MERCURY-COUGAR-center-cap_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ43961QQihZ018QQitem Z280215924237QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW)

[Green Machine]

Hi, The Ford Cougar 'X' Pack model is probably what was simply standard on US Cougars. The Cougar was sold over here in a 3 model range - the 2.0 16V Zetec, 2.5 V6 Duratec (manual) and 2.5 V6 (auto). Equipment was pretty much standard across all three models - but leather seats (driver's one electrically adjustable), a 6 CD autochanger in the trunk and metallic paint was only available as an option on 2.5 models. This option (which had to be specified when ordering a new car) was called the 'X' Pack and cost £1,000 ($2,000) on top of the original purchase price. If buyers did not take this option then they spent £20,000 ($40,000) on a 2.5 Cougar and sat on uncomfortable, unheated and only slightly adjustable nylon covered seats and listened to a radio/cassette.

I hope that this explanation is clear enough.

Regards,

Andy

[Green Machine]

Dear Dave, Thanks for your reply. My alloys are 16 inch ones and your second link to an item for sale on ebay.com is great. Sadly there's only one Centre Cap up for auction - but the listing includes the actual part number. I'll call my local Ford dealership in Liverpool today and ask if the can get me some. Doubtless they will have some dumb excuse for why they can't do this. I'll let you know how I get on.

Regards,

Andy

[MOMO]

Welcome!!

[GTownCougar]

I love my unheated, slightly adjustable seats.

[DanoftheDead]

Welcome.


And since when did cougars have heated seats?

[MOMO]

Welcome.


And since when did cougars have heated seats?

it was one of the options, just like traction control was.

[DanoftheDead]

I was completely unaware of that. Thought I had every extra option on mine. Looks like I missed one.

[jerock03]

Welcome to NECO:wave: