We replaced the upper and lower rad hoses and the rad cap before I sold you guys the car. It is not rare that a rad cap would be the source of your problem, but very doubtful it is the hoses. If the hoses are still nice and firm, then I would suggest hanging on to them as spares.
Car looks good and I’m glad Dennis is enjoying the G. Did he figure out the 8 track?
It’s all good Scott. It could have been just the cap but the way the lower hose was sucked flat it was just as easy to replace it. As far a the 8 track, yes and no. Yes it’s playing music…tapped into the plug so the iPod/iPhone music can be played over the speakers. The 8 track is on a removable tray and on the top of the player was a warranty repair sticker from 1970 or 1971. Dennis took a picture of it, I’ll have to get it out of email and post it. Pretty cool to see.
Steven
Nothing like a modern media player in an old car. I have been puting in one of those Secret Audio SST systems into Heather’s 69 XR-7 convertible. Tested it today and it works pretty well. The car will be going back together tomorrow with the new seats and stuff (new top and hydraulics in April).
Yesterday I finally hit pay dirt. After using different resources I found and contacted the original owner of our XR7G’s son. I explained why I was contacting him. I went on to explain the reason for the call was that my brother and I purchased a car we believed belonged to his parents. He immediately asked if we had the green Gurney Cougar with the black top. I had not even made it to the point of telling him what car I was inquiring about. I thought, jackpot!
We had a very pleasant conversation. He passed on the story about how is father first saw the car in the showroom window at the dealership. He said his father stopped in and spoke to a salesman about the Cougar. He said they wanted much more than the sticker price and his father was unwilling to pay “their” price, so he left without the Cougar. He went on to say that his father watched the Cougar sit in the window and went back two more times until he received “his” price and purchased the car. He went on to tell me how his mother enjoyed driving the G until the gas embargo in the early 70’s. He went on to say that his mother felt guilty driving it during that time so her and his father kept the G but purchased a Chevy Vega. He said his parents gave the G to his brother to drive.
More to come so stay tuned…
Steven
That’s a nice story Steven. That’s neat that the persistence of the original owner got the car at “his” price. 
John
I agree, great story and looking forward to hearing the rest. Don’t hold out too long to tell us the rest of the story though, you know how we cougar owners can get. 
…When our phone call was nearing the end I was able to get two phone numbers to contact this gentleman’s brother. He stated that his brother would be able to provide much more information than he could about the G. At this point I was thinking WOW, this gentleman knew the salesman’s name that sold a Cougar 45 years earlier how much better can it get than this. Well the answer to that, much better. Just before I hung up I thanked him for his time to take my call and answer my questions and he replied it was his pleasure. He then stated that he was going to call his father. It was welcome news that his father was still living and it was also his 92nd birthday. He said his father will be excited to learn that the G is still around and in good hands. He asked me to call back if there were any other questions that I could think of.
When I hung up the phone I called the first of the two phone numbers that I received. I got voicemail so I left a message. I called the second number and again got a voicemail. All I could do then was wait.
…Stay tuned there’s more to come.
Steven
That would have been great, to give the original owner a ride in the “G” for his 92 birthday. How many years has it been since he has seen it?
Very cool Steven. Thanks for sharing. I can’t wait to hear more.
I agree! Such a cool story! I can’t wait to hear more! Remember, I am trying to get my '68 completed by the end of May for my Dad’s 80th birthday…he was the second owner of my car, so this story was even more interesting to me!
I have the name of the original owner in my owners manual…maybe I should track him down!?
…After waiting I received the return phone call I was hoping for, the 2nd son of the G’s original owner. This telephone conversation started very cautiously compared to the first. The gentleman told me his name and said he received my message from the day earlier. I thanked him for taking the time to return my call. He asked me a series of questions. What was his brothers name, his parents names and where I thought he lived. I guess he was trying to feel out what my intentions were. I answered each question. I told him how I was able to compile the information that I had and what I had was just very general information about him and his family. I relayed the story about the XR7-G that his mother and father purchased and how that car was purchased by my brother and I. He still seemed very cautious about giving out any detailed information to me. After all he had really no idea who I was and what my true intentions could be. How could I blame him, it’s not everyday that you get a phone call about a that is 45 years old. At least at this point he confirmed that he owned a 1968 Cougar.
In a hope to place his mind at ease I gave him a brief history about myself and my brother. Our current ownership of Cougar’s as well as past models. I told him how my father was contracted to build the Lincoln Mercury dealership during the mid 60’s where we had grown up. I told him about how my grandfather bought a 1967 Cougar when the dealership was complete. He still seemed cautious with his information at this point. So I figured I had to mention something special that only he would know about the XR7-G. So I took a deep breath and told him I respected his privacy. I reiterated my interest in his information was for only documenting the personal history of the XR7-G and nothing else.
I asked my special question. I asked if he had ever owned a German Shepard? After a brief pause he replied yes, and he told me that I had his attention. That was music to my ears. I told him my brother Dennis found a photograph negative under the rear seat of the G shortly after the car arrived in Miami. This negative was a single photograph of a German Shepard. His reply was cheerful, really! He ask, you really have a picture of this German Shepard? I told him we did. I could hear the excitment in his voice.
More to come so stay tuned…
Steven
You are killing me.LOL
ARE YOU KIDDING ME! Im just starting to get wide eyed and sitting on the edge of my seat and then, a commercial,… More to come later!! AAAAAHHHhhh!! 
This is worse than the radio serials before TV 
yer killing me smalls!!!
STEVEN!!! WTF ARE YOU!!??? I HAVE A BOWL OF POPCORN AND A BEER SITTIN’ HERE! WE ARE ALL ON THE EDGE OF OUR SEATS!
Ed Zachery!!!
Steven is a master of suspense and is just patiently sitting and waiting and waiting aannndddd waaaaiiitttiinnggggg… 
Now back to the program without commercial interruption. 
…The gentleman said that the German Shepard in the photo/negative was his K-9 service dog while he was in Vietnam. He had brought the dog home with him after he was discharged from the Army. He told me the story about how the dog saved his life while he was on night patrol. He went on to say that he did not have any photos of his dog and would really like to get a copy or the negative if it would not hurt the Cougar’s documentation. I told him that was not a problem and that he could get negative. This decision was made by Dennis before any of this process started. Dennis said that if I could find the G’s original owner and if the dog was theirs they could have the negative after copies were made. I thought what are the chances of that happening.
Now the information about the G’s personal history began to flow. He told me that he was discharged from the Army in 1970. When he returned home he needed a car because he had sold his '65 GTO when he went into the Army. He said he spoke with his father about getting the Cougar from him. Which he did.
He asked about the cars current state, was it restored or original? I told him it was mostly in original / survivor condition. He asked what the plans were for the car? I told him that it would only be original once. So just the basic safety and road worthy issues have been done so far along with a good cleaning. The car is being driven and enjoyed. He said he was happy to hear that.
He went on to tell me that he drove the G throughout his college years. He reminisced about the sleek lines of the Cougar, it’s exhaust pipes coming out the rear, the fog lamps and the hood pins. He said the styling of the car was better than any of it’s time and even nicer than some of today’s models. He said that his father taught him to take care of his cars so the G was never raced or modified. It was at this time I asked if it was ever in a accident while he or his parents owned it. He asked why with a chuckle. I told him that there was a difference in the paint colors on the front of the car. I said maybe from being painted after an accident. He said it was funny I should mention the accident, he in fact was driving when the accident occurred. He said he was driving on a winding mountain road during the winter. He said it had just snowed and he went off the road and slid into a ditch. He said the fender was indeed damaged. I asked about the hood and the scoop. He said no they were not damaged. I asked if he was sure? I told him about the difference between the scoops for a XR7-G and a GT-E. I then said that the car has the GT-E style scoop. He said he was sure the hood and scoop were not damaged during the accident. He stated that the hood, pins and everything were ok. He said repairs were made and the fender was replaced due to the damage. He said the paint at the time did match well with the rest of the car.
He said sometime after he finished college the time had come to sell it. He placed an add in the paper and sold the car shortly after. He said that the man he sold it to paid by check and after the check cleared the car was his. He drove it and dropped it off to the new owner a short drive away from his home. He said that was the last time he saw the Cougar. So he was interested in seeing pictures of it today. I told him I could email some pictures to him, but he did not want to do that. He preferred to use the US Postal Service.
Seeing that it was Easter Sunday when we spoke he said he would call me later this week and we could exchange information.
So that’s the story up to this point. No commercial break.
Steven
Great story! I’m glad to hear that you’ve been lucky and persistent enough to track down these folks and get the history from them.