Thanks Bill, makes sense.
Just to be clear… This car has a service replacement hood on it. Maybe it flew up from not being latched correctly? Anyway, the cables, scoop and hood are not a reliable source for documentation.
You know any place else and caring about this kind of stuff labels you as a crazy person… LOL! It’s all good .
You know how many times people have said, your freak’in nuts!.. I wear it well.
Ha!
Well, there ya go…
Don, according to Jeff he thought this hood to be original to this car. Your saying this was a replacement hood. What makes you think this? (just coming from an anal mind. lolololo)
Yeah, Don, how do you know it’s a service replacement? Why would a service replacement have what appears to be the correct lime frost paint on the underside and the incorrect color on the top side? I’m going to have to get this car back out in the sunlight this weekend and pay close attention to the finishes. I don’t want to remove the original hood pad since it’s not in the greatest shape and I don’t want to ruin it but that’s probably the only way I can tell for sure on the paint color.
The hood hinges have a couple of marks on them indicating that the hood has been off and may have been replaced or maybe it was just removed for paint and reinstalled.
We know it was in a collision in the right front… See the service replacement RH grille part with the stenciled on part number? I seriously doubt that scoop came with the car originally. See the red oxide primer peeking through in the shot where the cable is fastened? Service replacement hoods would show this but not original. The right fender paint does not match so good, how does the paint on the hood match? Look close for more of that red oxide primer and that will be a tell-tale sign.
I got a couple of pictures of my blue G. You can see that the lanyard is attached directly beside the original hole that the original fastener was in.
Here is a picture of where my G scoop is fastened on this car. Not far off where the Lime Frost G is mounted.
The underside of the hood will be date stamped. May or may not fall in line with the build but would be the first thing I would check
Just looked it over again. There is evidence of rust red primer on both the top side and the underside of the hood. The hood scoop also has rust red primer showing through on a very small spot on the leading edge. The cowl and both inner fenders have a line you can see where it was taped off for painting but as I said earlier, the underside of the hood appears to match the inner fenders and the cowl. The visible portions of the left fender have been painted as well as the top side of the hood and the top of the right fender. The side of the right fender appears to be original paint and perfectly matches the door.
The left headlight bucket has a Ford service replacement sticker on it with a C7WY part number. The right headlight bucket has the C7WY part number stamped on it.
As long as by “an place else” you mean old car forums. Sweating the details is an accepted form of enthusiasm, in my book. I just try to drink it all in.
That’s what I love about these forums, we can all reassure each other that since we are all so much alike, we MUST all be normal… Bill, quit rockin the boat!
I knew someone who used to say all the time, Who has more fun than crazy people! I guess we are all having more fun then anyone else. 
I was over at Jeff’s house yesterday. I took some 180 pictures for Scott of this XR7-G. It is Solid. No rust any where, except surface rust around the jig holes in the trunk. It could be a decent driver with little work. Floors are straght, torque boxes and frame rails all look great.
A 3/4 shot of the passengers side,
[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/badcatt/8039780729/]
DSC_0238 by badcattt, on Flickr[/url]
And a full side shot of the drivers side.
[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/badcatt/8039791320/]
DSC_0233 by badcattt, on Flickr[/url]
What a beautiful car, Would be great to see more pictures if you took 180 of them. 
Is there a color difference with the side view on the front fender?
I have to say, I like the look of the wheels as well, classic!
Yes, there is a color difference. From the cowl back, it is the original paint. The fenders and hood have been repainted.
The wheels are an original set of Rader wheels with cones and G caps. The car will be sold with these wheels.
Scott should be posting in the next day or two with a for sale ad and price. The car is ready to go to a new home now.
Nice work Jeff. Definitely a talent i envy - being able to a detail a vehicle to that level
Thanks, Leon. With the right equipment, proper motivation and some long days, anyone could do it.
For Sale 1968 Mercury Cougar XR7-G
302-4V engine with C-4 automatic transmission, Lime Frost paint, black leather interior, black vinyl roof, XR7-G package, power disk brakes, power steering, Tilt-Away steering wheel, AM/FM stereo radio, tinted glass, door edge guards, heavy duty suspension. This car originally sold at Palomar Garage in Santa Cruz, California in April 1968. It was sold to the second owner almost ten years to the day of its original sale. The second owner drove it home (less than 20 miles) and parked the car. The second owner passed away in 1995 and his son inherited the car, continuing the car’s hibernation until the summer of 2012 (more than 34 years).
The car was then purchased and moved to the Seattle Washington area where it was cleaned up and had some minor mechanical work prior to starting the car. It received a completely new fuel system (gas tank, fuel lines from tank all the way to the carburetor as well as a new fuel pump and brand new Holley 4V carb), new plugs, points, condenser, rotor, spark plugs, spark plug wires, new hoses and a reconditioned radiator. The car runs very well with no blue smoke. The original Autolite carb, fuel pump to carb fuel line, radiator and Carter fuel pump are in the trunk for the new owner to restore, if they choose.
The Lime Frost green paint has a nice shine and is original from the cowl back. The hood and both fenders were re-painted at some point before it was parked in 1978, leading to the conclusion that it was involved in a collision in its early life. The car also has minor body damage to the G front valance and some minor door dings that could be repaired by a paintless dent removal company.
The vinyl roof is completely original and extremely nice with no rips or any other blemishes. The glass on the car is in very nice shape. The windshield has been replaced with a non Carlite one. All of the special G parts are present on the car except the slash cut pipe within a pipe exhaust tips which are available in the aftermarket. The car has a GT-E hood scoop instead of the G hood scoop found on most other XR7-Gs. It is not clear if it was originally put on the car when it was assembled due to a shortage of the proper G scoop, or if it was replaced when the car was repainted. Regardless of what happened with the hood scoop, there are no additional holes drilled in the hood.
The hood pins are there as are the original lanyards although much of the original plastic/vinyl coating is missing. If you choose to replace them, there is a decent reproduction that is available. The pin clips are present however the chrome disks that attach to the hood where the pins come through are not installed. There is one original that comes with the car. These are also available in the aftermarket.
The best thing about this remarkable XR7G is that it has no rust anywhere in, on or under the car. It is the most rust free Cougar I have ever seen in my 30 plus years of Cougar collecting. The odometer shows 131,000 miles, however many parts of this car do not look like they have anywhere near that amount of use. The special driver side “bullet” mirror is in outstanding condition. The interior surfaces are also in outstanding condition, including the dash pad, instrument cluster, and all the interior trim, carpets and seat belts. The XR7-G center console is in very nice condition overall. The console trim pieces are among the nicest I’ve ever seen including the burl walnut on the trim and switch panel. The original console arm rest upholstery has age cracks as one would expect. The original front leather bucket upholstery also has cracking. The rear seats are outstanding. The original G only super puff door panels are absolutely beautiful as are the rear interior quarter panels. The headliner, visors and the rest of the trim is in like new condition.
The original owner also had an 8 track stereo mounted just below the glove box on a bracket which allows it to be removed (sort of like the removable face plates from a few years ago). There is a switch that allows it to switch between the 8 track and the factory radio.
The original owner also had air shocks installed in the car’s early life, perhaps at the dealership (notice the sticker in the trunk pictures).
This G comes with a set of four of the original Rader wheels that most Gs came with, but were recalled by Mercury in mid April 1968 due to an air leakage issue. It also has radial white wall tires.
The car runs and drives and stops well enough to get it onto a trailer, but will require a more thorough mechanical check before putting it into service.
This car is one of 619 XR7-Gs built.
$22,750.00 or best offer.
Delivery may be arranged within 1500 miles of the Seattle area in an enclosed car trailer at additional cost.
Contact the owner, Scott Ferguson in Delta BC, Canada at 604-591-3673 or by email at scott.f@telus.net . The car is located in the Seattle area and you can also call Jeff at 253-350-4353 or by e-mail at jcbingcougar@comcast.net if you are unable to contact Scott in Canada.
Pictures of this car may be viewed online at http://photobucket.com/68-Lime-Frost-green-XR7-G