62 Mercury Comet build thread "Street Gasser"

Been pondering a gasser style street beater for a few years. Was torn on what body to use although I knew it would be a Ford of some type. Or a Stude , maybe a lark. I knew it had to be a cheapo buy in so I kept my eyes on the local ads and Craigslist.

After several upgrades on my Mustang I had a shelf full of Ford parts, but after an inventory I found that I had an entire driveline!

So,, I have a fully balanced stock bore 289, with forged flat tops and an old fireball cam. probably less than 100 miles on it (it was an NOS 66 block and crank) "Say Why and" Tunnel ram with 2 500 Carters. Oh yeah... and a pair of trick flow aluminum heads!! and M/T valve covers.

A toploader 4 speed, centerforce clutch, vintage lakewood safety bell and a Verti-gate shifter. Also there is a low hour, 9 inch center with 4.30 gears in a WAR case.

Spent alot of time thinking of what body to use, I am a fool for early Mustangs and got a real woody with the thought of one with a straight axle!

I eventually came across a 62 comet, decent body needing little work but the floors are toast. Came with 80 percent of the patch panels. and above all the price was right.

This car is going to be built in the spirit of the cars I remember as a ten year old. A true gasser/ driver/ racer. And club it hard!!! (this one is gonna get me in trouble!) With none of the stuff that makes me nuts. no crazy nosebleed stance, no 6 foot ladder bars, etc.

Here is what I started with. This is gonna be fun!!!!!!

Dave

 

Sounds like a blast--There was one on ebay that was real ratty, but had a wicked stance and attitude. It was pretty interesting IMO.




here it is. like i said- pretty ratted- but cool.

 

Ratty and not cool.

 

Sweet...are you done yet? No? How about now?...any chance you'll paint the aluminum heads so they don't stick out like a sore thumb next to the rest of the 60's parts? The setup sounds pretty bitchin, especially for a street driver and not a fake barnfind clone

 

DITTO!

I can deal with primer, most of the cars I drove as a teenager were in primer. But they were on the way to paint.

Yes, the heads will be Ford blue as the rest of the engine.

Dave

 

So, I sold all the original driveline to a falcon restorer guy, and bought a speedway 46 inch axle kit.



So, cut cut cut and cut some more..............


By the way, the front is planned to tilt so I kept it together. (got a thing for tilt front ends!


Dave

 

I seen that ebay car last year at beatersville, and its not any better lookin in person either. they just slapped it together for looks , if you tried to race it the fenders would eat into the tires! if they brought it back down it would a nicer looking car being chopped in all. My first car was a 62 comet so I will always have a soft spot for these cars, good luck with yours.

 

Engine placement mock-up. was gonna set it back into the cowl but will keep it simple. gotta build the motor mounts, will be going hydralic clutch so it can go anywhere.

also mocked up the springs and axle (alot of jokes from buddies about the zip ties!) going to mount it 2 inches forward of the original wheelbase. Axle will be on top of springs.

Dave

 

In reference to the black rusty one shown, I'm sure those huge shackles make for some great handling.

 

Looks promising....I'm gonna follow along for sure.

 

Really looking forward to this build. Great concept!

 

Wow this brings back memories. Flashback to 1972 or so. Dumbass teenager just out of highschool in Chicopee Mass pumping gas at the local station and hanging around at the Red Barn Speed Shop in Ludlow. Gas station not far from the one I worked at had a red 62 Comet former gasser for sale. Plexiglass windows, straight axle front end if I remember correctly & set up for a big block Chevy but with no motor. $200. Of course for a kid making 65 bucks a week that was alot of money. Gas station next door to the one I worked at had a Candy apple red & pearl white 55 Chevy drag car called "Happiness Is" Anybody remember either of those cars ? At the time I had a red 57 Chevy 4 door coupe with a 396 & a 4 speed I would wrench on after hours at the Mobil station where I worked.. Got my first exposure to motorcycles working there as well. The owner Ron Pare, had an old BSA he dragged in one day and he showed me the crossed rifles emblem on the gas tank & had me convinced that "BSA" stood for Bolshevic Socialist Army and that it was a Russian military bike. Damn I was stupid.... Many years later after owning a few BSA & Alot of Triumph motorcycles I finally learned that it meant Broken Shit Again...

 

Todays project,,,yes I am jumping around a bit,,,,

add one 57 ford 9 inch housing (bolts right in!!) and cut the quarters!!

64 comet front fender openings (Thanks ALGON!!!) gonna have to strech them a bit

Dave

 

pics 15 x 8 with 27 x 10 tires, nice size for it ( tires are trash but good for mock up)

 

cool, i will watch this...

 

Okay, so here is the mock up! pretty inspired and really like the stance. Things are gonna slow down a bit as I fab the motor mounts, trans mount. Will also engineer the tilt front end comlete with an openning hood.

Lots of cleaning and some welding to do.

I will update as I make additions.

Dave

 

looking great so far keep the pics coming.

 

Looking good! Makes me want to go bug one of the neighbors for the Falcon sprint he has sitting in his field..

 

Any time.... it looks really tough and it's good to see the car. That's exactly what I was using them for...

I really wish I would have finished the 64 404, but with too many projects and not enough storage it had to go. I traded some gauges and an Econoline axle for it even up but it was a shame, the car could have been bad ass...This is the only picture I could find of it with the oldest kid playing with the steering wheel. The body, rockers and everything that matters on an A/FX car was clean (not even a pin hole) but the floor, trunk etc was gone. The clip itself buckled and nearly fell off the car with the fenders peeled off. I couldn't give it away, funny how things change. Even better are all the exact same guys locally who laughed at it then, are building A/FX clones now out of pricey, beat up, and rotted out hulks... Bandwagon posers, serves them right!

 

Hey Daddy-O, can't wait to see it out and screamin'. If you have a shot at April, like to see it at the Choppers Show. If not, see ya' at the strip(s).

 

Hey man, cool to see you here!

No chance making the show with this one. Maybe I will have the 55 F100 ready for it.

need to finish it and a triumph-yama chopper this winter.

 

looks great.but what about the cougar?

 

Cougar broke last time out,,,,,,,, waiting for the new pistons!!!!
Plan on having paint on it too!!

Gonna be a long winter of wrenching!!

Dave

 

great build, similar to what i did on my rear quarter's (1964) i had to add 6 inches in the center to make the 30" slicks look right. going with a tilt front on mine also, building it from glass parts from crites.

thanks for sharing the build, george

 

Hey no fair yours is welded and looks altered!!!! That is gonna be bad ass!

I am going to build everything off of the front bumber brackets since I am keeping the bumper. This way the bumper will tilt with the nose

 

i know it was running hot.what happened to the motor?

 

Ran to 240 plus degrees!! had massive blow by and was pushing oil out everywhere! I had bought the shortblock assembled and when I took it apart i found the cheapest rings and the cylinders were polished like glass! DON'T USE CHEAP RINGS!!!!

Soooo, since it is apart I am going to step up the compression with some dome forged pistons,,, still +.030 and 466 cubes,and I WILL use plasma moly rings. The rotating assy should be balanced and ready for me to assemble by Feb.

Dave

 

Any new updates on the build?

 

Thanks for the support,,,,,,,, project got pushed back,,, way back, but I will be doing some small stuff like the motor mounts and tilt front,, just stuff that costs nothing!!!!


Haha
Dave

 

tilt front are cool