here’s a little before and after of the interior opera lighting, all i really did with these is clean with Purple Power and then polished the outer rim with Blue Magic. turned out pretty good, still kinda broken, but i’ll use any pieces i have that are still technically in one piece until i can afford to buy new.
i’ve got some more to show you guys! stay tuned! few more pictures i still need to take to get you guys up to speed on what i’ve been working on 
i’ll get pictures of the car today because i’m going over that way!
alrighty, so here’s more of what i’ve been working on…
all of these parts are cleaned up and shining as good as they’re going to. some i will probably replace when i get to that point, (i’ll be replacing all the lighting gaskets for sure) but for now anything that is in good shape will be used, and made to look as good as it’s going to, until i can afford to buy them. right now the main focus is the body of the car, so that’s what i’m going to be spending my money on mostly.
i have 7hrs in this piece alone, the part that goes over the headlight on one fender…before and after pic… and i didn’t even use Jeweler’s Rouge on it yet. 
it looks very nice. i can’t wait for all the trim to look like this!!!
here’s some pics of the car, and i know it might look rough to some of you all, but i assure you i’ve checked this car over quite a few times now and all the really important stuff is SOLID, even though there are some things that are really bad. I don’t know, maybe this isn’t BAD for a north eastern car. you be the judges:
anyone know if this door dent is poppable? looks like it can be saved…and i’m all about salvaging what you have if you can get it to look good as new.
annnnnnnnd the rust…cover your eyes 
floor pans are kinda sucky. driver’s side is the worst, naturally. this goes up kinda onto the firewall, i may just buy a whole floor-to-firewall piece and cut what i need off of it.
frame’s good though, it’s just the floor pan rusting away from it. frame’s nice and solid.
outside kick panel… you can’t really see it too well in this picture but there’s some rust all the way through by the splash shield. splash shields need replaced too. they’re shot.
correct me if i’m wrong, but this seems like the original color for this car (Saxony)? i see little bits and pieces and things allllll overrr this car painted this color…pretty good evidence if you ask me?
http://www.collectorcarsforsale.com/images/extended/190643639939/18.jpg
Looks like a good project,…I smell restomod. Luckily all of the parts that are showing rust damaged are being reproduced,…including the trunk panels,…thanks to the guys at John’s Classic Cougars http://www.johnsclassiccougars.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=JC-203 That door dent looks repairable to me,…only one compound bend in a workable area. Are the taillights, extensions and bumpers somewhere in that parts mix??
well it’s good to know at least one person thinks it’s not a lost cause. that’s what i was thinking, all the panels that are trash are being repro’d. so that’s a general good sign.
problem is, i’m trying to locate a place that sells OEM or better gauge steel. i don’t want to put something any thinner than OE if i can help it, on this car. i know the floor pans i’m just going to make, and i may put a brace or two, in places.
i’m glad the door dent looks repairable. 
oh yeah, all the other parts are in boxes, haha. i’ll make a list of what i have, please let me know what i’m missing if you don’t see it in my “STILL MISSING” list. although i found a bag of hardware that says “KURT BUSCH RULES 97=”…so you can imagine the type of crap i’m dealing with as far as how this was taken apart. lol. all the XR7 stuff is gone… and it looks like at one time someone bondo’d over the holes for the XR7 emblem in the “C” pillar…which is stupid because that’s one of the cooler small details on these cars. i hate when people do stuff like that.
okay guys, since this thing was taken clear apart, i’d like to take the time to put together a “loose parts list” for the parts that have been taken off the car, besides the body panels. so here we go, here are the things i currently have, in my boxes. a couple of these things are from memory, including the list of things i think i still need. but if there’s anything that should be on this list, that isn’t (i’m gonna buy all new hardware, don’t worry about that part) please let me know. i realize this might be a vague question i’m just trying to see if i’m missing any important trim pieces or brackets, stuff that’s OBVIOUS. thanks guys.
again, this is a list of things i DO HAVE in boxes, keep in mind, this is a 1968 XR7:
front driver’s fender extension
rear driver’s fender extension
front passenger’s fender extension
rear passenger’s fender extension
center core support brace
center “Mercury Man” emblem holder
hood latch assembly (i think i need a new one though)
both front fender splash shields (i need new ones though)
windshield washer bottle (buying a new one still)
all four door hinges
2-piece strut tower brace underhood (buying a one piece)
window regulator (not sure which side it goes to yet)
bumper “seal” pieces, 4 of them
door sill plates
2 front fender extension trims
2 hood trims
2 medalion holder trims
2 rear fender extension trims
1 trunk lip trim
2 “hockey stick” trims for the rear quarter windows
2 “Cougar” script emblems
1 “Mercury” script emblem
1 broken red reflector
2 white sidemarkers with lenses
2 backup lights with bezels (one’s broken)
2 front turn bezels
1 front turn lens
1 headlight vacuum reservoir
1 front bumper w/ brackets
1 rear bumper with brackets
1 bumper filler plate (between grille and back side of front bumper)
1 front valence
1 rear valence
1 dash pad (duct tape was this P/O’s friend, wow)(gonna make my own)
1 “light saddle” or “parchment” moonskin headliner
2 sunvisors
2 interior opera lights
1 overhead console w/ light bar
2 interior door exit handles (in need of one new one)
2 armrests (bad condition, buying new ones)
pair of front door panels
pair of rear quarter interior panels
pair of trim pieces for the upper right corners (upper left on the pass side) of those panels
pair of front window cranks
pair of rear window cranks
4 door pull trim pieces
1 main guage cluster/bezel etc (plastic part partially broken, needs to be replaced)
1 secondary bezel w/ oil gauge and switches (partially broken plastic as well)
1 glovebox liner
1 glovebox door
1 heater controls w/ knobs
1 “wiper” knob
pair of tail lights
pair of headlights complete (or pretty complete)
pair of headlight grille bezels
one rear quarter glass with regulator (all the other original glass is on the car, unbroken)
pair of interior door frame trim
1 center console base
1 jank looking center console pad (gonna make a new one)
1 chrome/silvery console plate
1 chrome/silvery radio plate (for behind the radio/clock pad)
1 radio/clock pad (gotta make a new one of those too)
pair of kick panels (needs new ones)
lisence plate flip door
gas tank filler tube
1 fender brace (not really sure where this goes but i’ve seen it on WCCC’s catalog)
1 pair of front seats (back seat is sitting in the car)
1 auto gear indicator
1 jank steering wheel pad (i’m going to have fun trying to find a good one of these, lol)
2 wiper arms
1 gas tank sending unit wiring
2 interior trim pieces that i don’t know what they are
headliner trim pieces (windlace?)
1 chrome auto shift knob (won’t matter, probably getting a B&M ratchet shifter anyway if i keep automatic)
2 interor “pad/trim” pieces that i have no idea where they go. assuming at the moment that they are “A” pillar pieces.
set of front lap seat belts (yyyyeah. hate lap belts. getting replaced with something else.)
1 driveshaft
THINGS I KNOW I NEED (some i’m buying new, some pieces i’d take good used):
2 new red reflectors
1 interior exit door handle
2 new door pulls
2 armrests
1 hood latch assembly (the release is broken, i’ll either fix it or buy another)
one turn signal assembly for front
trunk lock cover if i don’t already have one (haven’t looked at the trunk lid really hard)
1 passenger side tail light (just the lens)
door rain gutter trim???
washer bottle & lid
pair of kick panels (havent’ really decided if i’m going the modern speaker route or not… probably not. we’ll see.)
XR7 C pillar emblems
possibly the XR7 trunk lock cover assembly
wheel arch trim
rocker panel trim
if anyone sees any REALLY obvious pieces that i’m missing, feel free to post about it, and possibly a picture if you can. i think this car is pretty complete, just in pieces.
been workin on the straight pieces of trim, pictures of this stuff soon!
I don’t see rocker moldings or wheel well moldings on your list or in the pictures.
good point. forgot about those. but i know they are non-existant. so if i decide i want those, which i may, i guess i’ll be buying them. thank you sir!
As you think of things you have or dont have, or if someone like Al points out something, go back into your above post and edit your lists. Keep The list upated. It might turn up some parts or leads to parts for you… the more people that can see the lists, the better for you. Also, freach out to the guys who have finished or near finished projects. You never know who has what laying around.
I read that you have a saddle headliner and you believe that your car might originally have been Saxony. Sounds like a VERY sharp car. There is a member of this forum that has a car with that same color combo… cant recall his user name BUT! I know chicks dig him and he’s ONE HELL of a fine American. Let me see if I can link you a pic. http://www.classiccougarcommunity.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=1240
THERE IT IS!! Post #4, 
(long as your there, feel free to vote 
)
These are good quality floor pans; http://www.mustangsunlimited.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=FLP1+01 and here’s the torque boxes to be considered; http://compare.ebay.com/like/130700649465?var=lv<yp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar&_lwgsi=y&cbt=y
Anyone can tear a car apart,…takes a real man to build one. Don’t listen to naysayers,… winners never quit!
Do yourself a huge favor, reassemble the car as much as possible,…even if the part is only held on by a couple bolts. It’s easy to get discouraged when a car is in pieces,…especially when financial or personal priorities arise… and they will! Glitz and glitter is for the guys with deep pockets. Bet you could find an early model '70s Ford product with a functioning drivetrain, thinking big-block, for peanuts. Get it to go, stop and turn,… you get past that hurdle and it’s all downhill.
that’s true i need to put those on the list, sorry for any confusion!
and that’s another good idea, hopefully i can get a few trim pieces used. it doesn’t matter to me where it comes from, as long as the price is reasonable and it’s straight.
and hahahaha, well i’ll consider the color scheme. i may go with a black interior. i haven’t totally decided. i have some colors in consideration at the moment.
so you’re saying you’ve used those or something?
and from what i can tell, my torque boxes are pretty solid. i need to get the car home to clean all the junk out of it and inspect everything further, and get to poking and prodding the rusty spots.
yeah see that’s the plan. get it functioning mostly how i want it and tweak it from there. i may need a new rear frame rail, and honestly if i’m going to spend $150 for a frame rail, i’ll probably just spend the extra $150 and just get all the frame pieces for a 4-link system. Summit has a Competition Engineering universal kit, and with the dropbar crossmember it’d turn out to be around $300…4 link kit is another $220… integrate it into the stock springs and yeah, sure, it won’t be as good as having a coil-over shock suspension system but it will be a lot more rigid and a lot much more versitile. plus i can buy Competition Engineering’s subframe connectors and stiffen it up even further.
i love this car and i love building things, and plus with this being a build that’s also for my dad, i can’t give up on it now.
i’d like to fix the rust before i just bolt it back together of course, if you get what i mean.
EDIT:
frame rails i just realized aren’t that expensive. lol. but anywho. i’m CONSIDERING 4-link… but i just don’t know. if i’m going to do it, i’m going to do it before the car is painted and everything. i don’t wanna cut it up after i have it finished or something.
another option is just to weld in the 4-link components to the stock rails, and stiffen them up a bit, add some frame connectors, etc. it would be a lot cheaper, and while it may not work quite as well as if i had welded in some thicker frame rails, i’m not making it a full on drag car either. i would just like better traction, handling, etc. and i can get the bars and heim’s ends pretty cheap, and the brackets from Summit aren’t all that expensive.
so here are my thoughts on colors, tell me what you all think? i mean i suppose it’s my car, but just curious as to what people may say about these color choices:
first one, is Saxony, the stock color. i’d probably do the vinyl top too:
http://www.mercurycougar.net/gallery/data/502/108968wire1_copy.jpg
second, i REALLLY like this blue, and i’m not much of a fan of blue on cars, but Volkswagen’s Blue Graphite Metallic really pops in person. you’d have to see this. my dad probably would have dug this color pretty hard. haha.
http://people.umass.edu/lehnert/GolfCloseup.jpg
silver and black “pro touring” look (my dad may have honestly dug this too, i don’t know):
http://image.mustangandfords.com/f/featuredvehicles/1964_1973_mustang/mdmp_0912_1965_mustang_coupe/25495103+pheader_460x1000/mdmp_0912_02_+1965_mustang_coupe+front_angle.jpg
another shot of a “two tone” look… i’ve thought about maybe doing the two tone with that VW blue. (the girl’s not bad looking either ):
http://image.popularhotrodding.com/f/26897606%20w750%20st0/1003phr_01_o%201966_ford_mustang_project_street_fighter_paint_job%20front_right.jpg
other choices include Glacier blue, Black, and just straight up Silver. i know i’m probably boring, but yeah. haha.
Yes,…those exact ones, plus I’ve held in my hands the lesser quality pans. Now to the rear frame rail,…as long as the inner reinforcement has not broken loose,…the rail can be patched. Cut out the areas where the rust has expanded and ruptured the metal and weld in small patches. A lot easier than trying to splice-in a Mustang frame rail,…which is not the same as the Cougars rail. Same goes for the trunk floor panel directly above the rear frame rail,…cut back to good metal and patch. Unfortunately as shown in your photo of the drivers side floor pan,…http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z235/Heindl345/IMG_20120523_161052.jpg
the top of the torque box is rusted through,. Dynacorn sells a torque box which is a two part unit,…top and bottom separated, if your bottom section is good, you may get away with just replacing the top portion.
thank you for the info on the frame rail, as that saves me some money, and good thing, because i was thinking of picking up mustang frame rails.
EDIT: i did a little research and checked out some pictures and i see what you’re saying the torque boxes are…my gut feeling tells me to just replace them anyway, unless they’re super solid under those floor pans. which i doubt. so i think i’ll probably still buy the torque boxes and just try to find someone with some good experience to help me weld them in (STRAIGHT)…
i’d rather not take the chance, that’s a pretty critical piece.
is the Dynacorn piece better than what you can get from MustangsUnlimited.com? theirs say it’s stamped out of 14ga steel…what’s Dynacorn’s made of?
THANK YOU FOR ALL THIS INFO ITS HELPING SO MUCH!
glad to know there are people out there that are willing to share knowledge.
i’d rather not put tin foil parts on this only to have it fall apart months after i finish it.
JMO, but the only thing that looks good in those two tone paint jobs is the girl in the second one.
