The fourth-generation Mercury Cougar (1977-1979) broke from the personal-luxury-coupe formula and became a full model range on Ford's body-on-frame LTD II/Thunderbird chassis, replacing the Montego as Mercury's intermediate. It sold as a two-door coupe, four-door sedan, and, for 1977 only, a station wagon offered in base trim or as the woodgrain Villager. The XR-7 coupe remained the flagship and the volume seller. Power came from 2-barrel V8s only: the 302, the 351 (Windsor or Modified), and a 400 through 1978, all rated in net horsepower and all driving the rear wheels through a three-speed automatic.
Other Mercury Cougar generations
Platform
For 1977 Mercury moved the Cougar onto the intermediate chassis shared with the new Ford LTD II, the same basic frame that dated back to the 1972 Torino. It is body-on-frame construction with an unequal-length control arm coil-spring front end and a coil-sprung four-link solid axle in back. Two-door Cougars ride a 114 inch wheelbase; the four-door sedan and the 1977 wagon use a 118 inch wheelbase. These are heavy cars for their footprint, generally around 4,000 pounds, and the frame is the first place to look for rust when you inspect one.
Engine lineup
- 302 cu in (5.0L) 2V V8, rated 134 hp net in 1977 and 1978; published 1979 figures range from about 133 to 140 depending on calibration. The base engine in coupes and sedans.
- 351 cu in (5.8L) 2V V8, roughly 144-161 hp net depending on year and version. The 351 Windsor (149 hp in 1977) was standard in the wagons, while the 351 Modified (161 hp in 1977) was the option in coupes and sedans. They are different engine families; check the block before ordering parts.
- 400 cu in (6.6L) 2V V8, 173 hp net in 1977 and 166 hp in 1978. The top engine, dropped for 1979, leaving the 351 as the largest option in the final year.
All ratings are SAE net figures. None of these engines is fast in stock 1970s smog trim, but the 302 and 351 Windsor respond well to conventional small-block Ford upgrades.
Drivetrain and transmissions
Every fourth-generation Cougar is rear-wheel drive, and every one left the factory with a three-speed SelectShift automatic; no manual was offered. On this chassis the 302 typically got the C4, while the 351 and 400 used the FMX or C6, and Ford's application charts show some overlap by year, so check the door-jamb transmission code on a specific car. Rear axles are conventional Ford solid units, and this chassis carried the removable-carrier 9 inch. Verify the axle tag on any specific car, because towing and trailer packages changed ratios.
Year-by-year changes
- 1977: The full range debuts: two-door coupe, four-door sedan, and a station wagon sold in base trim (4,951 built) or as the Villager with simulated woodgrain (8,569 built). Base and Brougham trim series covered the coupes and sedans, with the XR-7 as the premium coupe with its own roofline treatment. Total production hit 194,823, and the XR-7 took the majority at 124,799.
- 1978: The wagon is gone after a single year, dropped to make room for the new Zephyr wagon. Coupe, sedan, Brougham, and XR-7 carry on with trim shuffles. This was the best sales year in the history of the Cougar nameplate: 213,270 cars, 166,508 of them XR-7s.
- 1979: Final year on this chassis. The 400 V8 is dropped, so 1979 cars run the 302 or 351 only. Production of 172,152 was almost entirely XR-7 at 163,716 cars. For 1980 the Cougar XR-7 moved to the smaller Fox-based platform shared with the Thunderbird.
Trims and variants
The lineup ran base Cougar, the Brougham series (two-door and four-door, with opera windows, full-length bright moldings, and a full vinyl roof on sedans), and the XR-7. The XR-7 was coupe-only and carried the half-vinyl roof, opera windows, and upgraded interior trim, and it is the body style most people picture from this era. If you are shopping today, the XR-7 coupes are by far the easiest to find, the sedans and Broughams are scarce, and the 1977-only wagons rarely turn up; the Villager is the one worth holding out for.
Asked all the time
What engines came in the 1977-1979 Mercury Cougar?
The fourth-generation Mercury Cougar (1977-1979) offered three 2-barrel V8s: the 302 (134 hp net in 1977-78), the 351 (roughly 144-161 hp net, built as either a Windsor or a Modified; the Windsor was standard in 1977 wagons), and the 400 (173 hp in 1977, 166 hp in 1978). The 400 was dropped for 1979, so final-year cars came with the 302 or 351.
Was there really a Mercury Cougar station wagon?
Yes, but only for 1977. Mercury built 13,520 Cougar wagons that year: 4,951 in base trim and 8,569 Villagers with simulated woodgrain. The wagon was dropped for 1978 to make room for the new Mercury Zephyr wagon, which makes any surviving 1977 Cougar wagon rare.
What platform is the 1977-1979 Cougar built on?
The 1977-1979 Mercury Cougar uses Ford's body-on-frame intermediate chassis shared with the Ford LTD II and 1977-1979 Thunderbird, derived from the 1972 Torino. Two-doors ride a 114 inch wheelbase; the four-door sedan and 1977 wagon use a 118 inch wheelbase.
Which year of fourth-generation Cougar should I look for?
A 1977 Mercury Cougar XR-7 with the 400 V8 gets you the strongest engine of the generation at 173 hp net (the 1978 version was rated 166 hp). Parts availability is good across all three years since 1978 alone saw 213,270 cars built. If you want the one-year body style, the 1977 wagon is the rarity of the range.
Did the 1977-1979 Cougar come with a manual transmission?
No. Every fourth-generation Cougar (1977-1979) came with a three-speed SelectShift automatic: typically the C4 behind the 302 and the FMX or C6 behind the 351 and 400. If a car claims a factory manual, it is not correct for this generation.
What replaced the 1977-1979 Mercury Cougar?
After 1979 the intermediate chassis was retired and the Cougar name continued for 1980 as the XR-7 coupe on the smaller Fox platform shared with the Ford Thunderbird, shedding roughly 900 pounds in the process. The four-door and wagon body styles did not carry over.
The wall · registered 1977–1979 Cougars
Sorted by depth of documentation. Click any vehicle to open its permanent record.
