1968 XR7-G Hertz Restoration by XR7-Gry

4 minute(s) of a 108 minute read

I have restored a few cars through the years and for my full size Mercurys I have usually a closet full of NOS parts that I put on when I do the final assembly. Not so with Cougars. NOS parts are hard to come by and when you do they are often blemished and not good enough to use. As a result it is even more fun to open up a box with a NOS rear defogger kit, lay the parts out on a towel and inspect them and find that all is there in the same flawless condition as when it left Ford some 45 years ago. I found this kit on eBay and for some reason I was the only bidder so I got it for $100, which I think is nice. Maybe this is not a popular option, but in my opinion it is kind of cool, and I like it when people wonder what this thing in the package tray is for. 

7-4-2013

If someone need an original Bosch pancake sunroof motors I will be more than happy to help you. It might sound strange, but I know about at least a couple of them here. I think the owner want $125 each. Sun roofs were far more common here in Europe back in the 60's so one can still find these now and then.

There is also a few for sale on German ebay

http://www.ebay.com/itm/141006459691?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

http://www.ebay.com/itm/261232195034?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

7-6-2013

It feels like I have been waiting for ever for nice weather so I could take my polishing machine out and get some parts polished before I put them on the car. Finally it seems like we got summer here so here I go. All the aluminum parts for the sun roof were dull and partly corroded, so I started with them. Aluminum is soft and in my opinion easy to work with. First I sanded the corroded parts with 240 grit and followed up with 320 and then I was ready to buff them to remove the sanding marks and finally I polished to make them shine. It helps a lot to have a good polish machine like the one in the picture.



Here is everything back in the car. Luckily I had lots of extra parts and also 2 sets of sun roof cables so I could pick a good set of both cables and aluminum parts. 



I also polished the stainless trim for the windshield and the rear glass. The trim that came on the car when I bought it had lots of dents so instead of spending a lot if time to restore them I found a really nice set of used trim that only needed a couple small dents removed and a good polish to look like new. 
Now it will be interesting to see if I can get them installed without putting dents in them. Wish me luck!