Projects 1965 Comet Caliente Convertible Project

Roy,

Yes it is looking more and more like a real car and you probably recognize some of those parts from the last picture. Thanks for finding them for me. It does get a little frustrating knowing how close we are but how far away. I guess I just need to put the blinders on and keep going.

 

Question: Does anyone know what those 4 holes are sued for that are in the last picture between the trunk and the convertible top? There are 2 on each side of the car.

Worked a lot on badges and had lots of failure. The barrel clips were either too small for the holes or the badge pins too small for the barrel clips. I came up with a solution but you have to have access to the pins from the back. I used a 4-40 (larger pins 8-32) die and treaded the pins just using the die and my hand to make the thread. I then bought nylon nuts, plastic washers and some clear silicon seal. Put just a small amount of the silicon on the pin and treaded on the nut. It worked great. You can put some silicon around the washer to seal it. I also worked on the dash, hood and trunk.

 

only pic I could find

 

Excellent thanks. Most all the trim for this car came in a box so I think I have those pieces.

 

Jeff;they are rectangular[kind of trapezoidal] pieces with ribs,painted black between the ribs,made of pot metal,usually pitted.I believe the convertibles are shorter than other 65 Comets,mine are 8" long by 11/2' wide.. ROY.

 

Roy,

I do have those in a coffee can in one of the boxes I got only mine are about 5 inches long. They seems like a funny little piece of trim. I would have never guessed it.

I also have two checkered flag emblems that I think are supposed to be for a Cyclone.

 

Jeff;the Checkered flags are for a Cyclone,there would be three and three CYCLONE emblems,one for each rear fender and one for the rear trim by the right taillight.It sounds like I was right on those trim pieces being shorter!!! ROY.

 

Yep I found the trim pieces in the special coffee can full of badges and trim and the pieces fit right in.

 

Straight or DECAF!!! The old ragtop is looking better every time you put more pieces on her!!!!!! ROY.

 

I am really happy this is coming together for you. Its great to see it in paint! I am looking forward to the finale

 

Three of the four pins were broken off the radio cover so I made some brackets and epoxied them on. They work good (picture one). I got the mid top trim pieces on. Thanks all for the help on that. Also finished the rear comet badge (picture 2). Then got the doors back on and aligned. That took some time. Now it’s starting to look like a car.

 

Jeff;what a difference,it is really looking good!!!! I know aligning doors,fenders,etc.,can be a pain but in the end it is all worth it!!! I do not know how many HIGH dollar cars I have seen with crappy panel alignment!!!!! ROY.

 

Roy thanks.

I spent some time trying to fix any badges that I could. When one of the 1/8th inch pins break off one of the script badges I don’t see a way to fix it. I did however fix the pins on a rectangular plaque badge that was missing two pins. I treaded 1/8th inch nails using a 4-40 die then cut it down and drilled the head for better adhesion (picture 1). I then ground and grooved the back of the badge and epoxied the nails in place of the broken pins (picture 2). I used a little clear silicon on the threads and used a nut on the back. You will have to be able to get to the back of the badge to use this method.

I am still working on trim and reassembly. Got the door handles on and I am working on finding and cleaning up all the pieces for the convertible top. I made a bracket for the air cleaner and finished the battery hold down and cover (pictures 3 and 4).

 

Jeff;I enjoy seeing and reading how you tackle repairing parts,Never say Never!!!!It won't be long and the old Comet will be on the road!! ROY.

 

Wow it certainly has come a long way, it looks great!

 

I love the tilter! It is an excellent project, and I hope the rust will not be too much of a problem.
I will have to give it a try. I have a 65 Comet Conv in pieces, but I have so many other projects that I haven't had a chance to look at it to see how much rust I have. Before I even start on it, I will have to re-do my 67 big block Comet Conv. I enjoyed this car a lot of years and it needs to come right apart for a rebuild.
Bob

 

Thanks all as I have said in the past it is a challenge but we are having fun.

Bob: Wow two Comet convertibles. How many Comets do you have? There will be rust hopefully it will not be too bad. These cars were not designed to last this long. It's our job to prove them wrong. Do you have a build page or thread where I could see some pictures of your projects?

 

Got a few things done. All of the outside trim is done except one Caliente badge. More interior pieces installed (picture 1). Got the parking brake put in and will have to make some brackets and an adapter to go from the Comet front brake cable to the Mountaineer rear brake cable (picture 2). Installed the side mirrors and made the gas filler door lock. The lock is a piece of metal bolted to the inside of the gas door that will not allow the gas door to open unless the trunk is open. I thought that was better than drilling a hold and putting in a cabinet lock. A little bit of a pain to have to open the trunk to put gas in it but with the price of gas approaching $5.00 a gallon it will keep people honest.

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Jeff;cable clamps work good for adapting those cables.I have a Mustang2 floor mounted E-Brake handle going to my E-Brake cables,I used 2 clamps on each cable,put them facing opposite of each other,been on for 20+ years,never have slipped or moved!! ROY.

 

Jeff, some people may find this cheap, or sacrilegious on an old car, but those trim items with stripped and broken pins can also be re-installed with quality (3M) trim tape. The double sided foam stuff. It takes some work to trim it around the pieces (a lot of razor blades), but works well and will not vibrate loose, and you won't loose a piece of trim over pins breaking off. I have done the script pieces this way too. Nice progress too, by the way.

 

Good job. Keep it up.

 

Roy: Thanks for the idea. I will use that if my first idea fails. You know me I can’t resist building a bracket or an adapter.

S55mercury66: That’s a good idea I didn’t think of that. I will try that out.

Rui: Thanks

 

I use that tape even if I have the right size barrel clips, and/or correct studs and nuts. It keeps things from vibrating through paint, and keeps vandals from stealing hard-to-find emblems too. You have really come quite a way with this project, I remember when you were first starting on it, thanks for sharing.

 

Hi Jeff.Looking better every time I look in on the thread.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

 

Been working on lots of little things. My daughter requested the ability to put a subwoofer and amp in the trunk so I wired rear speaker wires, line in and power wires to the trunk for that. In my last post I mentioned the locking gas cap. The first picture is of the tab I added to the fuel door so it will not open unless the trunk is open. My version of locking gas cap. Most of my time has been working on the parking brake. I was hoping that just connecting the cable from the comet handle to the cable on the Mountaineer would work but no such luck. The newer parking brakes use leverage from the handle to make them work so I had to design that into my system. Next two pictures are of the parking brake mechanism. Works like a charm. The best moment of the weekend was starting the car. It has not run in months and it started right up. I love EFI engines. Final picture is how the car currently looks.

 

Jeff;a cool idea there on the fuel door latch/lock!!!Good thing we don't get much rain,looks like the top may leak a little!!!!Getting closer to hitting the road!!! ROY.

 

That is a cool idea. If my Comet didnt live in the garage I'd steal that one for sure. Kind of makes you wonder why they didnt come with something similar straight from the factory.

 

Thanks all. The gas door lock design was a quick fix and did not cost anything and I didn’t have to drill any more holes in the car which my daughter hates. As she always says “Dad stop cutting holes in my car”.

Roy yes the top is wearing a little thin. I may try and tackle installing the top myself. So far we have done everything else ourselves so why not give it a try.

 

Jeff;I have A LOT of faith that you two can install the new top!!! Look at what you started with and where you are now!!!! ROY.

 

Jeff,
Saw your thread BNF..(before new format).. still have trouble searching but finally found you again.
Anyway, am doing a 62 Meteor and have really enjoyed what you are doing. Very impressive!
Keep up the good work and thanks for the great pictures and details.
Randy