'68 Cougar XR7 G

[CSX 4133]

I know there are aficionados on SAAC of these early Mercury's, this one is on Bring A Trailer.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1968-mercury-cougar-xr7-g-2/

[6s1640]

Hi Steve,

Please tell me what you mean by G2?  I own a XR7-G as well, cardinal red J-code.  I have never heard or seen these cars referred to as "G2".

Thanks

Cory

[JD]

Phillip aka "Propayne" is on here and is knowledgeable on Cougars, hopefully he'll see this thread and comment.
or send him a PM.

Here's a link to his profile:
http://www.saacforum.com/index.php?action=profile;u=134

his signature reads:
President, Delmarva Cougar Club - Brand Manager, Cougar Club of America

[6s1640]

Hi JD,

I am going to take a guess, but I think you added the "2" because it was in the URL address after XR7-G.  I could not find anything in the auction description that I could find to justify the "2".  The only "2" I can think of is it is a two barrel engine, F-code, but this is not typically included in the moniker XR7-G.

Very cool this car was on the cover of the NPD Cougar catalog.

Take care

Cory

[CSX 4133]

Hi JD,

I am going to take a guess, but I think you added the "2" because it was in the URL address after XR7-G.  I could not find anything in the auction description that I could find to justify the "2".  The only "2" I can think of is it is a two barrel engine, F-code, but this is not typically included in the moniker XR7-G.

Very cool this car was on the cover of the NPD Cougar catalog.

Take care

Oops... yes the "2" is indeed a mistake on my part. Sorry for the confusion.

Cory

[propayne]

LOL, Gs are so confusing already, I'm sure it won't hurt!

Perhaps Royce will chime in on this - he is the XR7-G Registrar and the recognized expert on these Cougars.

But, yes, technically, it is "XR7-G".

You'll see XR-7G often and in one of the few pieces of advertising produced by Mercury that featured the G, the copy read "XR 7-G".

This G is well known to me having passed through several owners in our club, the Delmarva Cougar Club. It is a very nice, solid car with some of the typical stuff not working like the air and the fog lights - very fixable items I would think.

Interior has been changed from green to black and it is a factory F code 302 2v.

To me, this would be the perfect Cougar to throw a bunch of Shelby parts from the "How To Sharpen A Cougar's Claws" catalog.

This Cougar also has a fascinating back story - We had a member of the DCC who nobody had met as he had never attended any club functions. One day our then president got a call from the GT-E Registrar saying that word had gotten to him that someone from our club had just sold a W code GT-E for WAY under what would be considered market value. Said president soon found out that this club member's wife had been embezzling from her place of employment, been caught and convicted and the authorities were liquidating all of the ill-gotten-gains. Which, among other things, included quite a few rare, vintage Cougars.

In fact there were three XR7-Gs, of which one was this black G being offered for sale now. Here is a link to the story:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2004/09/18/remorseful-embezzlers-get-3-years/54aeaf39-0148-4056-a912-b93d64d48f83/

We also had this Cougar at SAAC 31 at VIR. Attached are a couple of pics.

- Phillip

[Royce Peterson]

I've never seen this particular car in person. But it is a nice candidate for driving or perhaps enhancing. If it were mine I would have fixed all the mechanical ills before sending it to auction. The factory A/C in particular is a nice thing to have. But also can be tricky to repair, and potentially expensive to repair.

Most XR7-G's came with the 390-4V GT engine. Any of the other engine choices are relatively rare.

LOL, Gs are so confusing already, I'm sure it won't hurt!

Perhaps Royce will chime in on this - he is the XR7-G Registrar and the recognized expert on these Cougars.

- Phillip