New Here (Looking For Parts)

E

EPratt

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Joined
Feb 16, 2025
Messages
5
Location
Colorado
Vehicle Details
1997 Cougar XR7 Sport
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Hey, I am Eric. Currently live in Colorado Springs. I inherited my grandpa's 1997 Cougar XR7 Sport with ~80000 miles a couple years ago after he and my grandma passed away on the same day. It’s a CA car that's been mostly kept in the garage or under a carport it's whole life. Minor issues with the paint and the chrome is pealing on the trim. Nothing crazy but I'll fix it as I go.

I've been through the forums a few times.

I am currently looking for a radio bezel. I am looking to make it a double din so it doesn't have to be perfect. Saddle tan is a plus. I just don't want to modify the original one so I can revert back to factory if I want to later down the road but will be driving across country in the cougar. Carplay would be nice to have.

Things I've done so far:
Rotors/Calipers
Window Regulators
PCM
Radiator

Things I plan to do:
Front suspension (eyeballing the supercoupes kit)
Headliner
Fix the seats
7.3 or coyote swap (he wanted to do a 5.4)
Hub swap
 
Welcome Eric. So sorry about the loss of your grandparents.

Glad you found us here. Nothing but spam bots and tumbleweeds at the old Canadian site.
 
Welcome!

For the bezel, assuming your car is a model year '97, you're actually looking for Prairie Tan. Saddle was model year '96 only. They're similar, but in direct comparison the Saddle would be a darker brown while the Saddle seats are more of an orange-beige as opposed to the Light Prairie Tan's yellow-beige.

I am one of the resident junkyard regulars, and I sell radio bezels usually for $60-90 depending on condition. I actually have a tan as a backup for myself, but it comes from a smoker car.

Heads-up: to remove the radio bezel, you must first remove (or at least loosen) the cluster surround, which is very fragile and expensive. The safest way to remove it is by lowering the steering column.

Your cheapest way to parts is finding them yourself in "u-pull" junkyards. Some sites are:
  • LKQ
  • Row52
  • Fossupullit
 
Is there a certain head unit you have your eyes on? Back in the day there were single DIN head units that had a double DIN faceplate that didn't require any kind of modification, but I'll admit it's been 10+ years since I've looked a the market, so I'm clueless. :)

IIRC @97 30th built a custom double-din radio bezel. It looks like it could have been factory - and I'm pretty picky. Maybe he'll share some of the pics of what he did to give you some ideas.
 
Something not on your list that I'd recommend finding is a '93 mark VIII driveshaft,or aftermarket.
Other jy items to look for: an 02 trans (merc gran marquis or crown vic non-police),a set of pbr brakes (04 mustang), and a set of wheels in a larger size; sticky tires are hard to find in 15".
If the trans fluid is original,change it, drop the pan, see if there's a top-looking plug in the pan; if it's there, the fluid and filter is original. use Mercon V only!

Welcome to the club!
 
Welcome Eric, I see you made it over here! :biggrin:

Joe
 
Welcome.

You don’t need double din to have Apple CarPlay, I have a single din with Apple CarPlay, I just installed it while my interior was apart for my manual swap, I haven’t had a whole lot of time to mess with it, but it seems to work great, I even have a back up camera on it too.
 
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