I went to check out the sheet metal progress getting done on my 67 last night. (It’s looking very “OPEN” right now!)
While I was there, the question came up about the colors of the “7” against a vinyl top. Is it year specific, or vinyl top related? Were they all black in 67, and then changed in 68? What is the deciding factor there? And while I am thinking about it, what is the deal with the trunk lock cover for XR7 too? Year, or color, or combination decides if the trunk lock says Cougar or XR7?
The XR-7 fill paint is black for both 1967 and 1968.
The XR-7 trunk latch decal is not found on earlier 1967 XR-7’s but was included later in the model year. I don’t know exactly when it was introduced but perhaps by March 1967 would be a good guess. The XR-7 option wasn’t introduced until January 1967 so it was a mid model year addition.
I would swear I’ve seen some that are red, is that just an owner done mod?
They (Mercury) used the same badges in 1974 - 76 with the fill in red.