Projects 64 Comet Build for Sema.....Its build time....

OK-

I couldnt resist the ole' from this to this pic!

From the rear end rack,

to chopped up and rewelded,

and finally "Alainized" to perfection.

SWEEEET!

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Happy 4th everyone!

God bless America!

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Aaron;WOW,makes the one I did for a roaster project look like a rough old junker!!!! ROY.

 

To go along with Alains fantastic rear end (you know what I mean......the 9 inch...oh man that sounds even more wrong...well, again you know what I mean) is the set of Welder Series triangulated 4 link's. When a color was needed to powder coat the bars we went to Gary over at Monterey Penninsula Powder Coating. Gary does all of our powder coating and it always comes out perfect! When we saw the color it was perfect. It rolls along with our theme of natual metals and good contrast.

The color also really fit the theme of the car. It is called VEGAS GOLD!!! Perfect huh! Anyway, we were so happy with the gold and slight magnesium colored hue of the bars. The look fantastic in the car as well. Thanks Gary!

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Hey Roy, you'll love this. Alain is so detail oriented that when we were fitting the Welder Series bars he noticed that the shine on the axle wasn't quite to his standards. So he keyed up the ole' buffer and got after it. Iv'e never seen whats captured in the attached picture. A guy under a car buffing components. Thats awesome and I'm glad iv'e got Alain in my corner! By the way, imagine buffing a rear end---its all corners and round edges. Very hard to do.

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Im looking forward to seeing this car at sema

 

It was time to drop in the 9" center section with the 3.89.1 locker gears. I had to go with the traditional red oxide primer on the center section just as another nod to the vintage aspect of the build. It has a billet yolk and a pinion pulley as well just, well, because I thought it was kinda cool just in case I wanted to use it for an add on later.

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While Alain and I were fiddlin with the rear end he had a great bit of knowlege that we used. In the off chance that we will have to pull the center section there is really no simple way to pop it away from the housing without prying it off with screwdrivers and pry bars, scrathcing the hell out of the great looking axle. Until this tip from Alain. I drilled and tapped the mounting/sealing ring with a bung. It seals up along with everything else as well as when the time comes to pop the section out you just grab a hex key and screw in the hex to break it free. Great Idea!

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Its real easy to see you guys are having some fun doing this!! Looks good...Al

 

We were waiting for a the rear brakes from Speed Warehouse ....again, so I decided to work on the fuel system. Were using a fiberglass fuel tank so there are some issues I had to deal with to make sure it would last. Firstly, I had to make sure it would be able to stand up to modern fuels and not break down as most of the fiberglass tanks do these days. My solution was to coat the tank with a tank sealer. The trouble with that was most tank sealers say that they aren't compatible with glass tanks. When I called the tank manufacturer Crites, they recommended I use the Eastwood to seal the tank as they have in the past. I looked at the tech sheet for the Eastwood product and saw that it was exactly the same as the product KREEM tank sealer that we had at a local cycle shop. So we used it with great results. I wanted to pass this info along. It took me a day or two to figure it all out. Hopefully I can save somebody some time. Anyway, after appluting the product to the tank the sloshing and drying process took a few hrs. Put aside the better part of an afternoon for applying this to your tank properly. End result was a good sealed tank with no soft or melted fiberglass. Very happy.

At this point Brian blasted the fuel inlet tube in preperation for some fabrication.

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Thanks Al! Yeah, its alot of work but we try to have as much fun during the process to make it worth it. All the guys at the shop are really vested in it and I guess its kind of a bonding deal for us to.

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Due to using the fiberglass tank we didn't want to alter the tank by drillin placing fittings and reglassing the tank. Se we used a method that has worked for us in the past. Thats two bungs in the filler neck. One for an air hose/breather into the tank and one for a return line from the engine. I had to weld the bungs in at the right location and in line to slip it into the relieved external body hole and still only have enough reliefed that the filler flange covers it when installed. After welding it all in I sealed the inside with KREEM sealer. Outside I filled it with a sandable fuel resistant metal material for extra toughness. Then I let it cure for a day before I cleaned it up enough for me to shoot it.

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Then I shot a semi gloss black over the filler. After the lines are ran the filler will be buried underneath Denny's uphostered trunk work.

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Finally the rear brakes came!!! It only took Speed Warehouse 6 weeks for me to get the brakes. Seriously waiting for parts is the worst part of this thing. The car couldnt get on the ground until the we got the brakes. Thanks Speed, you killed about 5 weeks for us, waaaaa, thanks for letting me vent a bit....Anyhow I use only Wilwood at this point. Wilwood 12" 4 pistons with internal emergency brake part number 140-7139D.

The brakes took me about 1 hr to put on the car. They couldn't be easier and actually very fun to get on the car. I love these Wilwood brakes!

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FINALLY ITS ON THE GROUND!!!!!

We dropped the car on the ground today with the new suspension and the bags aired up and down. As always there is always a question if the car will sit level or if the car will list or inflate even. We are happy to say that it sits perfectly level and airs up fantastic!

The Welder Series bars went back in the car perfectly and functioned just as they are supposed to as we aired and released with zero binding and zero resistance. Perfect!

Now now with only minor adjustments that are needing to be made to even out and center the combination we are very close!

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I taped up the wheel a bit so they wouldnt be tore up by tools, dust or anything. Thats something I would do. I seriously love these Bonneville g wheels! Wilwood should be stoilked that the wilwood is seen through the wheel window. It was a great day! Now were all beat, even Daisy-Time to roll home.

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A bit out of order though here is a better look at the bars going in. These pics are all pre-adjustment so things arent set yet here. But it gives you a better idea of the painted contrast.

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Neat idea with the filler neck!

 

Finally the car rolls out into the sun after what seems like forever on its own suspension. Before you ask...

NO- the wheels on the front are just rollers. The other wheels are being safely stashed until fender fitment. (I do like them for another build though! they're Rocket brand wheels.)

With about 5 inches of air ride travel in the rear the car should be able to find the perfect ride height for any situaltion.

Next the engine and trans gets dropped in.

We pull the wiring,

Fenders and hood get final fitment and the car gets the paint final detail and cut/buff/polish-

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Tons to do but were getting closer!

 

Aaron;the Comet is looking good,except for the BIG wheels,I'm not a fan of large diameter wheels on older cars!!! It is your car and if you like them then go for it,just had to express my feelings!!! ROY.

 

Sorry. Pardon the brief hijack. Did you really say two Huppmobiles?!

Okay. Back to the Comet build.

 

Aaron nice to see it in the sun. Lets me finish visualizing mine with yours low and same color. Although the only air ride I want is with the front tires hanging like Roys! Its gotta feel great seeing it rolling on the suspension, I just got to see three more parts(fenders,hood) painted today and am excited......Al

 

Remember when it looked like this ??????????????

 

Hey Roy-

Were all really traditional guys on here 100%. This was the main battle for me was to mesh the old and the new and still have the build speak to both points of interest. We went with these hoops because they do mold the old and the new in a good way. True most of us are tride and true nostalgia guys, though when pushing the boundries to do a new style build that has a new feel and has not been done to this extent I decided to walk the old/new line. I felt a traditional guy like me could pull it off best, with all of your help. Trust me, this wheel choice for me took the better part of a year and was not taken lightly. When you see the car i'm sure you'll find the some of the best large hoops youve seen. Purly based on the nod to the past they give.

By the way, I DO value all of my buddies opinions on here. Thats why we did the build here vs some other thread like "pro-touring" or some other thing. I love the guys on here cause we all feel the same way. Thats why I figured you all would value and respect the build and "get" all the cool nostagia stuff we are all so into.


Kinda long winded I guess but we take this nostalgia stuff really seriously.

Thanks for the compliment too Roy, I appreciate the ongoing support. More than you know!

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I cant wait to see yours with color and stance. Its a great looking car!

It felt so great getting it out in the sun after so much time! Truthfully I was just beside myself that the Welder Series parts were perfect and with all of the extensive fab we did to the car it sat down great and with no issues. Yeah, for measure twice cut once!

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Yep, and by the way I love the way that looks! Sweet!

Now i'm jealous and want one like yours........too...........

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Just got the gas tank back from Alain......It looks as good as the rear axle. Amazing!
I'll post pics soon!

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I think we all have an idea in our mind of the perfect Comet. Though for each of us it may be different. I like most of what you have done to your car and enjoy following the build, keep it up!

 

Aaron;your Comet is coming along nicely.My comment was not meant in a derogatory manner,just my opinion[which is how you took it]!! I can not wait to see the finished product,should be a KNOCK OUT!!!!! ROY.

 

The measure twice method will save time and money for sure. Thought it was cool when I read about you using color for contrast on rear suspension parts. I did the same although I used Gloss Gray to match with my cage. Keep it going Aaron, it will have the SEMA attitude! Mine won't see the suspension until brake, fuel line etc. are installed, the stilts I have it on are so nice for moving it around...... Later Al