77 Mercury Cougar Villager Wanted (only alive)

Hello Everybody,

I am from Germany and used to have a 1977 Mercury Cougar Villager dark green Woody. I can’t remember if it was a Brougham or not, his was back in 1988. I did sell it after 36.000 Miles of drive almost all around the US in Nevada Las Vegas to two English guys who did travel around the US also.
I did live in the car for almost 6,5 month.
I really did love this home.
Now I am looking to see, if I can catch one of them somewhere for a reasonable price.
He will be not alone and would be with his friends in a dry and clean place.
I also have a 72 Mercury Marquis Brougham, 68 Caddy Eldorado Coupe and a 59 Buick Electra 225 Riviera Sedan.
By now I know what these cars all about and would love to give a 77 Mercury Cougar Villager a good home.
The one in Australia used to be for sale, but I do not know if it is still.
If anybody knows one 4 Sale, please let me know.
Either here or directly to my email address.
US-Classics@gmx.de
I am just a private person not a dealer, so this will be a car just for me and will never been sold again. ;-)))

I will drive or fly almost everywhere.

Thanks for your help
Chris

 

to the wagon train, Chris. That's kind of a tough one for even over here. There was one around awhile back but it seems it is gone now. You don't see too many of those wagons for sale....or on the road. But they DO exist. Be patient and stick around...one will pop up sooner or later. Nice group of American Iron you have there! Thanks for joining our wagon family.

 

I got to thinking about this wagon, Chris.....I THINK that the 77 Cougar Villager Wagon was a one year model. AND....it looks to me like an LTD wagon with a Mercury Cougar badge. An LTD wagon would likely be a little easier to find. Unless you want the Cougar because it IS rare.
EDIT:
Here's a link to pix of one of our members, FordWagonNut's wagon....a 77 Country Squire. The Country Squire has the hidden head lights with the wood......IIRC, the regular LTD wagon did not have wood and the head lights were not hidden. I THINK the LTD Ford was a 3 year model. FordWagonNut would know more about these than me.

http://www.stationwagonforums.com/f...php?i=1318&catid=searchresults&searchid=50330

I believe there are other pix in our Gallery.

 

Chris, I sent an email to a fellow in Australia to see if he still has his 77. It's in like new condition. I'm sure he'll contact you if he's interested in selling.

 

@ Silveryfox: The Cougar and LTD II wagons were 2 year models, 1977 and 78. These were the mid sized wagons, on the same platform as the Thunderbird and XR-7, but along with the sedans, on a 3 inch longer wheelbase. The Country Squire was related to the full sized LTD and the Country Sedan to the Custom 500. The latter were downsized in 1979.

 

Thanks, Mike....I was going by memory which ain't so hot anymore. I appreciate the update as will Chris. Guess you can tell I'm not a Ford guy. I like so many brands, though, and grew up during the days that wagons were woodies and then transformed. Maybe I'm wrong about the availability factor, too. Perhaps there were as many Cougar wagons made as there were LTD's. Kinda doubt it since the LTD had 2 models of the wagon.

 

Wow, what a nice hello..

Thank you all for that very nice and friendly hello.

@silverfox
do not worry, I also do not know a lot of my cars I have.
I have them because I did like them back these years and I can't give them away.
My 59 Buick I also bought back in 1988 as I did have the 77 Merc Villager, the 68 Eldo I bought in 1992, the 72 Merc I got 4 years ago as a daily driver for the sommer time.
Just today he did get his space near my apartment back so I am ready to drive if I want to.
It is almost like a flash back where you feel 30 years younger just in a second.
Almost without any side effects


@tbirdsps
That is great, that you did write the email.
Thank you very very much.
Years ago I guess I did talk to him already, but my computer died and also my emails went, so I lost the contact to him.

@ MikeT1961
Always good to know who does know the details....
Thanks for all this information.



All in all I can say I will be patience to get the one I really want, because I do not want to sell it again, so it has to be the right one.
I do not want the Merc Villager because it so seldom, I want it, because I did spend so much time with this kind of car I guess I will not find exactly mine so I have to take at least the same style.


I wish you all happy cruising and let the good times roll.
See ya
Chris

 

The LTD II wagons are not common, and the Mercury Cougar wagons, even less so. What I love about these cars is that with some work, extremely good fuel economy is very possible. Matching a new Honda Civic is a cinch. Matching a Toyota Prius on the highway takes work, but can be done. My daily driver, summer and winter, is a 78 Thunderbird, my 4th of this generation. I love the way they drive, and how reliable they are.

In terms of production, there were about 1,000,000 Thunderbirds built in the 3 years, and about another 1,000,000 other midsized Ford and Mercurys built. The wagons were discontinued after 78, as the new Country Squire and Colony Parks were on the same frame, and slightly smaller outside, but with more room inside. That leaves the surviving Cougar wagons very rare in any trim level, and the Villiager even rarer. What's worst is that the salvage yards have pretty much decided that these cars are not worth anything, so they crush them as they come in, no matter the condition! Drives me nuts, does that.

 

Here's a web site that may help in the search. The owners of each of the cars have email posted and you never know one may wish to sell.

http://www.cougarsw.flacarshows.com/

 

Welcome,Chris.

To be clear, here's wnat Chris is looking for (this came from our gallery):


Back end....

 

hmmmm....so.....the Mercury woody did not have the hidden headlights.

 

and good luck with your search

 

In these years, the only mid-sized Ford or Mercury to have the hide-away headlamps was the Thunderbird. The Mercury Cougars all had the horizontal quad-rectangular seal beams, and the LTD II had them stacked vertically. The Thunderbird had the dual 7 inch round lamps. There were also slight differences in the front fenders between the Thunderbird and the others. The T-Bird had a horizontal crease over the front wheel wells and 'gills' behind the front wheel wells. The other Ford models used the same fenders as the Cougar models. No crease and no gills. The bumpers were common among the lot. I believe the hoods were as well. For certain, the Cougar and T-Bird hoods are interchangeable. Not sure of the LTD II. It's a long time since I saw one. All the mounting points are common, however, so the Thunderbird front clip is a fairly easy install if you really want to make the front end different, even if just changing the front fenders. If adding the hideaway headlamps, you will need the switch, vacuum lines, one way check valve, and vacuum reservoir that is tucked into the left fender. The vacuum motors are normally found attached to the header panel. I wish I'd been able to find an LTD II wagon when I was car shopping. That's exactly what I'd have done. As well as adding the Thunderbird springs and shocks, since they are a little shorter and stiffer than the other models.

 

One of our members (SquireDon) has done this conversion....

 

wasnt there one for sale in our classifieds a while ago???....

...like Foxy ...my brain aint what it used to be

and good luck on the hunt