I think mine came with the all the g stuff.
Mine has a build date of Feb 28th 1968, and has the single hole. It has the original Lucas Lamps as well. They were already off the car when I bought it but I assumed they just routed the wires around the valance. There is room…
The fog lamps are Lucas, but the valance looks like it was designed for the Marchal lights.
Yes, marchal valance, seeing that you have Lucas lights will they fit with the up and down dimensions of the valance buckets, the wire out in the open can’t look to good, the marchals would look a lot cleaner.
After looking at the pictures a little closer the buckets appear to be bent up in the center.
I’ve never tried re-installing them to see how they fit. If you look closely at the first valance photo, you can see the imprint of the square mounting base. Another thing if you look really close, one tab is welded above the valance while the other is below… Guessing these types of issues were what prompted the quality letters back and forth between A.O. Smith / Ford / and Shelby American.
I didn’t notice the tabs, mine are below and not spot welded
Tony, I don’t think those Lucas Square 8s you posted pictures of are of 1968 vintage - I think they are later. One give-away is the large grey grommet where the wires come out of the the body. Original G and Shelby Lucas lights have a small, black grommet and the lenses should say “ENGLAND”.
I wonder if your G came originally with the Marchals?
- Phillip
Both lenses say England… I really don’t know. These are what came with the car and were already off when I got it. Owner said they were the originals, and again, You can see the marks where the the square bases mated to the valance… I’ll have to look closer and see if there are any other marks or signs of something else having been bolted to the valance.
And Randy is correct… the tabs are not spot welded… so I’m guessing one popped up top when the car was hit ( minor punch in the nose ). Fortunately the valance is in great shape and salvageable.
So I just read up on WCCC web site that the Marchal’s were re-called. This car would have had the recall work done because it was not sold until near the end of the Hemisfair. Sold to the first owner on Sept 30th 1968. It also had the styled steel wheels, but was likely originally built w/ the Raders.
What I’ve learned from the Shelby and California Special guys is the original, as installed by the factory (A.O. Smith in the case of the Shelbys and Gs) Lucas fog lights have the small black donut shaped grommets where the wires come out of the chrome bodies.
And in fact, because the fog lights were essentially hung upside down on the XR7-Gs and the '69 Shelbys, it became apparent that the black, donut shaped grommets were not able to keep water from leaking inside the lights so the design was updated on later lights. The solution being the grey, cone shaped grommets which sealed better.
It could very well be that your G was taken back to the dealer for the recall at which point the Marchals were replaced with the updated Lucas units - maybe Royce can shed some light.
- Phillip
If the original Marchal lights were recalled, I doubt that the valance would’ve been changed to properly fit the Lucas lights. The original Lucas light valances were also notched up where the lights were mounted. Only the second generation of the fog light buckets I had made had the mount tab welded (for ease of production and assembly).
A copy of the original window sticker, or Marti version reproduction, will confirm if the car was originally equipped with Rader wheels. It would call out “styled wheels with spoke design”.
^^^ Correct me if I’m wrong Tony - but the mystery surrounding Tony’s Hemisfair G started when the G package and sunroof did not show up on the Marti.
See Don Skinner’s book, “The Luxury Sports Car: Mercury Cougar XR7-G” for the full story.
Tony, considering the unusual circumstances surrounding the construction and sale of your G, is Marti even able to supply you with a reproduction window sticker?
- Phillip
The Marchal lamps were originally intended for the Shelby Mustangs. The Lucas lamps were originally intended for the Cougar XR7-G. When several states banned the Marchal lamps, swaps were made. We don’t have any documentation of how or where it happened, but there are fairly well documented examples of Shelby Mustangs with Lucas lamps, and Cougar XR7-G’s with Marchal lamps, both early and late in the 1968 model year. I suspect that swaps occurred everywhere from the point of manufacture to the individual buyer. There is no pattern to it.
Correct Phil. My original Marti report did not include the G package or the sunroof. After the research was done, I did not get a new report. Just a letter from Kevin confirming that the car was a special order and a G. I had hoped for an elite report / thought that was what I had ordered and was getting… but was not the case. It took so long to get what I did that I just gave up. In his defense, both Bullitt Mustangs, Lil Red, and a proto type 71 Boss 302 all turned up during the time I was waiting on the paper work for my car. Guess we were trumped by the Mustangs again. I did get a Marti report for the twin and there are mistakes on it. I am not going to pursue any more paperwork for the car. What I have will do.