New to the Cougar family!

elipton

elipton

Club Member
Jul 9, 2014
988
693
Suffolk/Essex Border
Hey all!

This post has been months in the waiting! I'm Olly, and since coming out of university I've been desperate to get myself a Cougar. I've always loved the looks, and having now bought one, I love how they drive (especially since coming from a Picanto 1.0 [yep.]).

I bought this '98 V6 X-pack today. Good price since she's a relatively low miler and a big smiler. I'm just writing to introduce myself, my car (Rana), and to ask what I should be looking for by way of problems? She's been MOT'd and had some work on the engine done last week, but apart from the A/C, what can I expect to go wrong?

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Here's a snap of her, parked at my workplace. I have a new job starting soon which brought forward her purchase. This weekend I'll be getting her cleaned, waxed, headlights cleared up, the inside cleaned and whatever other little bits I can do.
 
Looking good already mate - we'll have to update the S-XAV list!
Hopefully we'll get to meet you both at some events.:cool:
As far as problems are concerned one of the major ones is underbody rust (mine's just had it's first patch), so a good undersealing session is something to think about.

Must be nice not to have to wind the rubber band up before you want to go anywhere:devilish:
 
Thanks everyone for the warm welcome. Drove her home tonight and she's running nicely. I've seen a couple S XAV's on here, perhaps our cars shared the conveyor belt!

I've not seen any rust yet. Wheel arches look good so far, but that's as far under as I can assess. She has a little repair work on the passenger skirt just before the rear wheel and small scuff in the same area - but it's nothing major. I'm surprised at how nice she is for a 16yo car.

Ahh thanks Pid! Interesting that it's been spotted! Sadly I don't have permissions to that forum yet - but I've been lurking long enough. I'm sure I'll get to know everyone on here and their cats :)

(on the topic of survived XAV's, I think there's one on AutoTrader in the South East area that's being sold)
 
Olly, since you can't see the thread, the context might be lost on you. The first batch of Cougars (all of which were Silver Frost and many of which wombled around Silverstone for their debut) were all XAVs and are the oldest ones in the country.

Yours is a beautiful example and obviously well cared-for.

I am obligated by tradition to tell you to replace the side repeaters with something less orange, please. It also looks like those headlights are yellowing. It's not a terminal condition, but will need some work to fix.
 
Hi Mako. That's really interesting! I'm just looking about at the membership fees. Would membership be required for me to access forums such as the one linked above?

Ahh you've pointed them out and now that's going to bug me! I've found some smoked ones on ebay that look nice. I'll have to find myself a pair of them and try and replace them. I plan to wet-sand the headlights to see if that helps clear them - is that a solution (however temporary)?
 
Olly, if you take out a week or an annual membership that gives you access to the whole forum and will definitely save you money in the long run. (y)
 
elipton said:
Hi Mako. That's really interesting! I'm just looking about at the membership fees. Would membership be required for me to access forums such as the one linked above?
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Yes. There's no manual available for the Cougar, so the members here have fought long and hard to understand the car's quirks. It's those things that are behind the paywall.

You're not under any obligation to pay, you won't be a second-class citizen, and some members have learned things for themselves and will freely share them. But there will be things you can't get access to. It also won't be possible for you to attend most shows because your membership funds our insurance.

elipton said:
Ahh you've pointed them out and now that's going to bug me! I've found some smoked ones on ebay that look nice. I'll have to find myself a pair of them and try and replace them. I plan to wet-sand the headlights to see if that helps clear them - is that a solution (however temporary)?
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Smoked or clear sidelights can be had for a few quid at motor factors. As for your headlights, sanding is usually the way forward but it depends on how bad they are. If they're not too catastrophic I strongly recommend the Meguiars headlight restorer kit for about £20. You will need a power drill though...
 
Mako said:
You're not under any obligation to pay, you won't be a second-class citizen, and some members have learned things for themselves and will freely share them. But there will be things you can't get access to. It also won't be possible for you to attend most shows because your membership funds our insurance.
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This is no longer the case. The rules were changed to allow all users of the forum to attend shows as part of the club long as they agreed to follow the rules here:

https://forums.ukcougar.club/threads/26793-Event-attendance-rules-updated-July-2014
 
Okay, thanks for all the info. I'll have to flog an old Pokemon card collection and buy the membership then :)
It looks like a fantastic forum and from what I've read already, there's quite a bit of info on the cars. When I'm in a financial position whereby I want to modify or repair her, I'll be sure to get the membership.

The light coming out of the headlight isn't too bad. I can drive at night, albeit with less light than a newer car. A sand and polish will improve it, but if I can't do enough good, I don't mind going to further lengths to restore them.

The meets sound good. I've gone through the rule thread and it sounds exciting. Out of interest, are there any other Essex-based Cougar owners on here?
 
Welcome aboard Olly I see you have the significance of the XAV reg highlighted.
Headlights are an easy fix with some elbow grease. Another thing to look for is wear on the front suspension bushes, however the whole arm needs changing and they aren't cheap. However your car is at age that they might have been don especially if it's been well looked after.
 
Welcome aboard Olly,the membership is well worth the money - it opens up everything you need to know about your cougar.
As for the rest of the members on here they are a right motley crew but they have no airs and graces about them, they are some of the nicest people you could wish to meet from all walks of life.Some of them are experts and some are ....... well some shall we say are not, but everyone is treated equal and they will bend over backwards to help each other out no matter how big the job is.
Best way to get to know them is the meets and especially the MFSMs
This is not a club as such its more of a family and the cars are our kids
 
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