[cloudswinger]

My parents have a 68 XR7 which they have said I could have. They bought it new in Texas, then move to Louisiana and then Florida. It's been sitting in a garage for the last 15 years, not run or touched really. It was green with a black vinyl top. My mom pulled the vinyl top before there was too much rust. There are some holes in the body, right at the bottom of the rear window, also at the front of the hood. She also had it repainted, but I don't think it was such a great job, and the paint has flaked off to bare metal in spots, although they haven't started rusting yet. I don't need it for a driver, but also don't have a lot of extra money right now. My husband is into other cars, so I was actually thinking of working on it myself. He's got all the tools, just not enough time with all the cars he's acquired. The interior doesn't look too bad, although there is some warpage probably from the Florida/Texas sun/heat and the headliner is falling down. I know the seats are cracked, Mom made seat covers 20 years ago. And I vaguely recall that they might have needed something done with the timing, hence the parking and new car purchase.

Just wondering where to start. Is there a checklist or spreadsheet of things to be done?

Is there more than one color of green for that year?

 

[Don Rush]

Step one you have completed by joining this forum, welcome! Step two is to engage the members here by telling the story of the car and submitting some vintage photos. Once you have done that you will probably qualify for the WCCC original owners program which gives you 10% off everything for life. Here are a couple of sample stories to get your (your parents?) creative juices flowing. Step three is to post all the door data tag codes (visible on drivers side door when opened, under latch) so we can tell you exactly what you have got. Step four is to tackle one or two small, inexpensive repairs. A little success under your belt will really make you feel empowered. Share some pictures and we can suggest a few small projects to get you going. Thanks for posting, we all love to hear a good original owner story, most of us just lament about the car we should not have sold...

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</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td width="600">Harry Unruh / 1969 Eliminator / White Rock BC

(Click Here for More Information or to Order)​

Do you know of a person who purchased their 1967-1973 Mercury Cougar New? Send them our way! We would love to document their story and honor them with an across the board, lifetime 10% discount. This story actually begins in 1967 while still in college. I fell in love with the ’67 Cougars and before my graduation that year, ordered a new 1967 Standard Cougar. It was a fun car and served me very well over the 2+ years I owned it. Then, when the 1969’s came out, I was impressed with the new styling and had the urge to make a trade. But since we were then living in a remote northern community of BC, there was no Mercury dealer nearby so...
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</td></tr><tr valign="top"><td width="600">Tom Fogarty / 1970 Eliminator / Green Bay WI

(Click Here for More Information or to Order)​

It all started in August, 1969. I was looking at a car magazine featuring the 1970 cars coming to the Dealer’s showrooms in September. That’s when I saw it! The clean lines, blacked out grille with...

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[Mercury6768]

Yes, welcome to the forum!

There were three shades of green on 1968 Cougars: Seafoam Green, a very light green/offwhite; Lime Frost, a light silver green metallic, and Augusta Green, a dark green metallic. The most common color Cougars were painted in '67, '68, and '69 was Lime Frost.

 

[catman]

cloudsswinger, you also may want to check out http://www.sunshinestatecougarclub.com/. There are members in your area that could steer you to the right people in case you need work done locally.

 

[bosselim69]

Also register your Cougar in the national data base. You can fill out the form here: http://www.cougarclub.org/registry/registrationform.aspx All the info you need is on the driverside door jam.
Some pictures of the over all condition will also help us help you. That will give us a good idea what the condition of the Cougar is, and how much work needs performed. What is your goal for the Cougar? Full restoration, Show car, weekend cruiser, just get it road worthy....

 

[johnboy]

Welcome !

 

[68PUMA]

Welcome to the insanity!!!! John

 

[1967 S code]

Welcome. This is a great place for info.
Steven

 

[mopardon]

Welcome to the madness !

 

[cloudswinger]

Thanks for the welcome. The first memorable event in this car was when we were driving somewhere in Texas. It was hot, probably summer, and late afternoon. Mom was driving. I was asleep in the back seat, and remember waking up when the car was driving on two wheels. Mom had fallen asleep and somehow we recovered. I don't remember how old I was, maybe 3 or 4. I don't think Dad let Mom drive in the afternoon any more for the longest time.

I took some pictures, and found that you can only attach 5 per post

These are the front end and engine. Mom also hit an outdoor art piece rather then do a head on when someone was driving the wrong way. I think it moved the bumper sideways.

I don't know what the string is doing in the engine compartment, and that plastic tank needs replacing.

 

[cloudswinger]

More Pics: Tail and underside

 

[cloudswinger]

Trunk and door plate. The trunk had some bottles of transmission fluid and other assorted car stuff. The transmission fluid bottle had cracked and leaked. I think that's what the black sludge is, but I didn't have any gloves to clean up with. Is there a liner in the trunk? It looks like my mom put in a green piece of vinyl, but that was sludgey. I could clean it if it was original, but it's pretty oily. Also I suppose the car was last driven in 97, based on the tag. There's a rust hole in the trunk, I don't know about the other side since the black stuff seemed soaked in oil.

 

[cloudswinger]

Interior shots - it seems that we have the dark green interior, and a mildew problem. It does seem like the mildew cleans off. I guess that will be my first project! The headliner is falling down at one seam, so does it seems feasible to reuse that? Take it down, resew at that seam and reinstall it? All the chrome bits look pitted though. My mom made a seat cover for the back seat, I think it was cracking at the top, but the seats themselves don't look so bad. I know the front seats are cracked in the seat, but she also put seat covers on them so no pictures.

I took a picture of before and after cleaning the mildew with just water. If there's some product that would work better, let me know.

 

[68XR-7Cat]

What you have is a '68 XR-7 with the 302-2V (2-barrel carburetor) engine and a C4 automatic transmission in Augusta Green and possibly Ivy Gold interior. From what we can see in the pictures, it will need a fair amount of rust repair as well as some panel replacement, but it's certainly saveable by East Coast standards. For the moment, the key will be to focus on the mechanicals so that it can run and drive. After sitting so long, it will require some specific steps to clean out the fuel system and get the engine turning over by hand. The brakes will likely need to be redone and the transmission may need some work to shift properly. There are a bunch of folks on this site who can detail out for you exactly how to go about resurrecting a car like this one.

I assume there is sufficient sentimental value in this car to make it worth restoring, at least to driver grade, for you but be prepared to put more money in than you'll be able to take back out. The more you can do yourself, the more you can keep that difference down. And patience is definitely a virtue; keep on eye out on-line for parts that come available locally at reasonable prices. Especially large items like the hood that would cost a lot to bring over from the West Coast.

Good luck with it!

 

[bosselim69]

First of all great pictures! that helps...

Here is the break down informatiom from the data plate.
65B: XR7 Hardtop
I: Lime frost poly exterior color
6G: Dk. Ivy Gold Levant Grain Vinyl & Dk. Ivy Gold Leather
27E: Built May 27 ?
22: Selling dealer area: Dallas, TX
2: axle ratio 2:79
W: Transmission C4

1. To clean mold off the interior. Go to dollar general and buy some "Mean green" cleaner. Delute it down some with water and scrub with a plastic bristle brush. I just did this on a white interior last fall with mold from sitting, and it brought it back to like new condition. Buy a new headliner. The reproductions are very nice.

2. Trunk. Throw the green vinyl away. The tar mat is the original under layment and would be worth saving if in good condition. Being oil soaked and old you may want to throw it away as well. You can buy new reproduction to replace. Rust in the trunk doesn't look that bad. The quarter panel side reflectors have studs that go into the trunk area. On the driverside I see it has black rubber bumper protectors over the stud. KEEP THEM that is a hard Cougar item to find.
3. Exterior rust. The Cougar will need a new hood. On the underside of the hood is the hood blanket. Carefully removing it and KEEP THE HOOD BLANKET that is a hard item to find especially yours looks like it is in very nice condition. The worst rust looks like around the rear window which is common on a vinyl roof Cougar. looks like it has been re painted a different color of green. Look at the bootom of the floor pans on the underside of the Cougar for rust as well.

What I would do first: Seeing you are female, clean the interior, so you don't feel nasty sitting it it..lol. Get a good battery in it. Clean the carburetor, change the oil and filter, and replace the gas tank and clean out the fuel line. Then try starting it and checkout the condition of the motor. That will keep you busy for awhile then on to tires and brakes and the transmission.

Neat story and I'm sure you have lots of good memories with the Cougar.

 

[cloudswinger]

Thanks for the short list. I have more pictures, but that was about where I had patience to post. I was leaning towards getting it running first. But mold is just bad for you to breathe in, the spores cause all sorts of problems and it's quick and cheap to do.

 

[bosselim69]

You can e-mail the pictures direct to me. [email protected]

 

[cloudswinger]

I talked to my mom, she was the one who bought it. I'll have to get more details, but she was happy that I was thinking of restoring it. Hopefully she'll be able to see it completed. She had my dad send some pictures. The flower sticker covered a parking lot ding. That's me in the second pic.