Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Aesthetics Cougar Center Console?

I was wondering if anyone knew if it was possible to swap out a console from a 1999 Contour/Mystique and put in it's place one from a current generation Mercury Cougar? I was looking at some of the brochures from other countries (Germany and England especially) on the CEG website, and I noticed that the center console was identicle to the one in the Cougar. I know that the current Cougar is based on the Contour/Mystique platform and I know they share many parts and components. So I guess it would make sense that they would be compatible. Does anyone know if it's possible to swap the two? Or how hard it would be two make the swamp? I'd appreciate any insight you may all have.

Ok first of all this dude only has one post and he already has a 1 star rating, damn that is some f*ucked up sh1t. :rolleyes:

Anyway Nicholas, I have wondered the same thing. My wife has a 2001 Cougar and I love the way her console looks. And from what I can tell it doesn't look like it would be to difficult to do. The only difference looks to be where the consoule would meet the dash. Other than that it should fit right in as far as the shifter and e-brake go. God how I would love to have an armrest.

Chris - Yeah I agree with you. A console with an arm rest would be wonderful! I thought of the Cougar console while looking through the brochures on the CEG website. If you get a chance, look at Germany and England's Mondeo brochures. My brother has a 99 Cougar and I recognized the console on the Mondeo right away. Do you think it would be easy to make the switch? I think that I'll try to look at some salvage yards to see if I can buy a used console off of them and give it a shot sometime. If you end up doing anything similiar, let me know. I'd like to hear about your results.

If you two are talking about the armrest up to the shift boot, the cougar's is identical to the pre-98 contour's. If you could find a wrecked pre-98 tour, it would work just the same.

sweet a pre 98 has an arm rest, thats why everyones talking about swithing.

Not exactley (sp)? The arm rest on the new cougar consoles are much higher than the ones on the pre-98 console by about 3-4 inches. Trust me on this one. This past weekend I saw Antonio Wright's SVT with the pre-98 console and the arm rest location is much lower than the arm rest location in my wife's '01 cougar.

Plus the new cougar ones are so much nicer (they have functional cup holders) than the pre-98 ones. Although I have to admit the console in Antonio's ride is bada$$. (but now he has no cupholders )

From what I understand, the cougar console is a bit short in the front. It doesn't come up as far under the radio.

So, it would NOT be a direct fit.

[QUOTE] The arm rest on the new cougar consoles are much higher than the ones on the pre-98 console by about 3-4 inches. [/QUOTE

Is it possible that the seats are lower? Or is the actual part higher?

Also, Antonio should have at least one cupholder in the pre98 console. There is a place for two...but the double cup holder comes really close, if not interfers with a MTX in reverse...

Later,
Patrick

Wait, are you guys saying that you don't have an arm rest connected to the drivers side chair? Or is this a different arm rest that you are talking about?
I have a 99 se sport with leather and I have an arm rest connected with the drivers side chair.
I am just wondering----chris

Maybe Patrick has a point...is there any chance that perhaps the seats on the Cougar are just lower than on the Contour? Or perhaps the floor pan is higher in the middle of the Cougar, making he console seem higher? Since the Contour is a mid-sized four door sedan, most customers would probably want a "higher" seat for visibility, etc. Meanwhile the Cougar is supposed to be a sporty coupe...perhaps FoMoCo decided to lower the pan to make the seats lower and give the car a more sporty-coupe feel. Either one of these explanations could make up for the 3 or 4 inch difference. Other than that the only thing I can think of is that the top of the console has a thicker, taller armrest compartment cover. But again, I'm not all that sure...can someone verify this for sure? Does anyone have access to a pre-98 Contour and a 99-01 Cougar who can physically measure these dimensions for sure? --- Nick

You might be right. I never thought about the seats possibly sitting lower in a cougar. I will try to measure the console in the cougar when I get the chance.

As for Antonio's ride. The space for the cupholders are there. But the cupholders are broken and do not work.