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Greetings fellow Cougar owners. It has been quite some time since I last had a "muscle car"
my last being my 1977 Black/Gold "Smokie and the Bandit" Trans Am T/A 6.6. I bought my 1989 XR7 w/supercharged 3.8 V6 and 5sp manual, with every available option, including
the drivers choice ride control and the opening sunroof, in bright red. She looks almost like she did when she rolled off the end of the line at the factory, the only signs of her age, the cracks on the dash, only in the 3 inches right up against the windshield, and the red paint on the side mirrors looks like it was sandblasted just on the top side. Other than that, it looks like it was well cared for. The one thing that even after 2 weeks of driver her the 110 mile round trip to work that I am still not used to and it still puts a huge smile on my face, is the simply incredible acceleration when the tach goes over 3000 RPM w/7-8 LBS boost in practically any gear! Especially when going about 55 behind an RV or semi, on our 70 MPH speed limit roads, I drop into 3RD and FLOOR it, WHAT A RUSH!!!! By the time I had passed 2 full doubles (2 48 foot trailers with the tractor as well) and that RV, I had shifted into fifth, and as I was pulling in front of the RV, my speedo was bouncing off the stop at the 120 mark! I dont know what the previous owner did to it, other than that they obviously maintained it well, but a ford mechanic, after I tok it in because the "check engine" light stays on all the time, he said it was because the exhaust system had been replaced with a true dual stainless steel w/converters in place, but the o2 sencers were gone, and it had been "chipped", whatever that means. without a dyno, he had to guess, after he took it out on the freeway, that it was at least 15% oer stock in HP and tourque. There are some items that I hope someone with an 89 or 90 model (the only 2 years of Cougars w/supercharged 3.8 V6 w our body style) that know what I should be watching for (she has 147,000 on the clock, and uses zero oil) I see by a sticker on the windshield that the oil was changed 1500 miles ago, with valvoline dino oil, and I want to switch it ti Mobile One asap. What weights would be best? The gauge says "premium fuel only", and that is what I am using (91 octane) is there any belts or chains that I should be inspecting at these miles (my chrysler had to have the belt that ran the water pump replaced at 100,000 miles in the manual, and mine broke at 97,000) any info along these line would be very much welcome! In closing this thread, All I can say, is Ford really did make one hell of a "sleeper", as although I have seen these on the roads for years, I had NO idea just what they really were capable of! The fit of that racing seat with it's air bladders, the great dash layout, the great ride and handleing, and the sheer fun that the supercharged 3.8 V6 can easily provide, and, when I tried for one whole tankfull to stay out of the "boost" on the s/c gauge, I got 30 MPG! Looking forward to hearing fom some,
well, as many who will respond. And any helpfull info also. From Gods Country, here in southcentral Montana, Glenn Merideth, AKA: Montanaghost.
my last being my 1977 Black/Gold "Smokie and the Bandit" Trans Am T/A 6.6. I bought my 1989 XR7 w/supercharged 3.8 V6 and 5sp manual, with every available option, including
the drivers choice ride control and the opening sunroof, in bright red. She looks almost like she did when she rolled off the end of the line at the factory, the only signs of her age, the cracks on the dash, only in the 3 inches right up against the windshield, and the red paint on the side mirrors looks like it was sandblasted just on the top side. Other than that, it looks like it was well cared for. The one thing that even after 2 weeks of driver her the 110 mile round trip to work that I am still not used to and it still puts a huge smile on my face, is the simply incredible acceleration when the tach goes over 3000 RPM w/7-8 LBS boost in practically any gear! Especially when going about 55 behind an RV or semi, on our 70 MPH speed limit roads, I drop into 3RD and FLOOR it, WHAT A RUSH!!!! By the time I had passed 2 full doubles (2 48 foot trailers with the tractor as well) and that RV, I had shifted into fifth, and as I was pulling in front of the RV, my speedo was bouncing off the stop at the 120 mark! I dont know what the previous owner did to it, other than that they obviously maintained it well, but a ford mechanic, after I tok it in because the "check engine" light stays on all the time, he said it was because the exhaust system had been replaced with a true dual stainless steel w/converters in place, but the o2 sencers were gone, and it had been "chipped", whatever that means. without a dyno, he had to guess, after he took it out on the freeway, that it was at least 15% oer stock in HP and tourque. There are some items that I hope someone with an 89 or 90 model (the only 2 years of Cougars w/supercharged 3.8 V6 w our body style) that know what I should be watching for (she has 147,000 on the clock, and uses zero oil) I see by a sticker on the windshield that the oil was changed 1500 miles ago, with valvoline dino oil, and I want to switch it ti Mobile One asap. What weights would be best? The gauge says "premium fuel only", and that is what I am using (91 octane) is there any belts or chains that I should be inspecting at these miles (my chrysler had to have the belt that ran the water pump replaced at 100,000 miles in the manual, and mine broke at 97,000) any info along these line would be very much welcome! In closing this thread, All I can say, is Ford really did make one hell of a "sleeper", as although I have seen these on the roads for years, I had NO idea just what they really were capable of! The fit of that racing seat with it's air bladders, the great dash layout, the great ride and handleing, and the sheer fun that the supercharged 3.8 V6 can easily provide, and, when I tried for one whole tankfull to stay out of the "boost" on the s/c gauge, I got 30 MPG! Looking forward to hearing fom some,
well, as many who will respond. And any helpfull info also. From Gods Country, here in southcentral Montana, Glenn Merideth, AKA: Montanaghost.