Belated introduction. I've been on the HAMB since my senior year of college. I've posted here occasionally, but this site is mainly a place to enrich my dreams during the cold New York winter months. Most of my threads are spurred by vehicular fantasies which never come to fruition. In fact, my first thread on here was titled "Connecting Tops to Bottoms," in which I was seeking advice on how to reconstitute a 1939 Plymouth I had picked up a few years prior. The story of that car is one for another day. This thread is dedicated to my 1961 Comet, my twelfth old car and the first I was determined to rebuild from the ground up, doing all my own work. If there are too many words, I'm sorry, but want you to know as much as possible, especially if you're considering following a similar road; hot rodding an early Falcon/Comet. If I am too long winded for your fancy, you can do what I do when I get tired of reading, look at the photos. It all started at around 12:22 A.M. on May 15, 2009. Bored and unable to sleep after being used to my finals sleep schedule, I turned to craigslist. I found a vague, picture-less ad for a 1961 Comet which wasn't too far away. I responded, never having seen a 61 Comet before, and very curious about it. (This is the same way I ended up with a 72 Chevelle, I hadn't seen one and decided to respond to an ad.) When I showed up, the owner had all of the extra parts that came with the car crammed inside of it except for a rebuilt 6 that he said I didn't need since this one ran like a top. He said the only thing wrong with the car was a broken spring. I did some light research and then started to bug my Dad over whether I could take up another spot in the driveway. I began to price things, and took the owner at his word on what it needed. The prospect of doing this car seemed within my budget. She seemed to need someone to care for her, and I thought I could be that person. My plans called for me using the car as a way to learn mechanical, body work, and welding skills that I could use to restore my 65 Impala (someday). Every time I brought up the topic of the Comet, my Dad told me it was ugly. Nothing more and nothing less. I ended up buying it two weeks later and had it brought to the house after promising I could finish the car in two weeks. Immediately I began emptying out the passenger compartment searching for the keys supposedly in it. Although I had all the parts on the ground after a few hours, I realized the entire car was filled with mold when every breath I took burned. That night I could barely breathe and I began to realize I may be in for some trouble with this car as it was already fighting me. It rained nearly every day for the next two weeks before I left to go to Las Vegas to meet up with my Sister and then to upstate NY for a wedding. I managed to empty the car, gutting it entirely. Every inch was scrubbed and sprayed down. The headliner and carpet were the first things to go. Once they were gone I realized where all the mold had came from; the two broken springs let ample water soak in through the many holes in the floor while it was sitting floor deep in the seller's backyard. My heart sank realizing I couldn't get this car done in two weeks and I couldn't shake the feeling I was taken advantage of. When I couldn't find the keys anywhere, I decided to try a bar on the crank to make sure the engine would at least spin. This 'top' was seized tighter than anything I could imagine. Here she is the first day I brought her home:
Scouring the HAMB and other sites, I began to find out some of the popular modifications to the Falcons and Comets. I also found many pages about 61 Comets in which each of their owners had big plans for the car. Each one ended the same way, the owner became discouraged and stopped updating the site (Edit: 1/11/2017: Interestingly, this is kind of what happened to this thread too). All signs pointed to this being a cool car, but it was hard to find one that was ever finished. I decided that rather than going with my impossible original plan of enjoying the car with the 170 in it, I would begin her transformation. The best choice seemed to be to going with a V8. Specifically, I wanted a 302 mated to a 4 speed and an 8.8 inch rear. Over and over again, I read every source available. Adding fuel to my fire was the July 1960 issue of Hot Rod attached here.
Seeing as the engine bay could fit the 260 from the factory, I began to wonder what I could actually stuff between the shock towers without trimming them. Considerations of FE motors, Clevelands, and even a Clevor have all been made. Since the car was sitting on two sets of broken leaf springs the rear was my first priority. The first rear I came across was an 8.8 out of a 4x4 ranger on Craigslist. I hoped to find a Maverick 8", but as they proved elusive, I settled on this rear. The first articles mentioned it had a decent enough flange to flange length that it could fit into the car without requiring oddly offset wheels. What I didn't know, because I didn't find all of the appropriate threads that many people who use these rears change one of the axle tubes to avoid the pinion being offset too far. (Edit 1/11/2017- since I bought the rear and swapped it in, the Internet has now come to the conclusion that the best rear to use is the 2x4 ranger rear as it does not have the same large offset as the 4x4). I had no idea how far the center section was offset on this rear until need the spring perches needed to be moved to the bottom of the axle tubes. Our neighbor did this for me, although I wanted to learn how to weld, I didn't think this was the right place to start. Here is a photo of the 7" out of it and one with the new 8.8 mounted on new springs from ebay. I lucked out finding the bushings at Hackensack Spring. It turns out the axle tubes on the 8.8 rear are much thicker than those of the 7" rear. I'm thankful for that, but I ended up having to go back to Hackensack Spring who made the set of new U bolts for me while I watched. Although two trips down there would have seemed a waste of time, it let me go to White Manna Burgers twice. The photo of the car with the yellow wheel is it's first step toward becoming an rg171352 dream machine. Yes, it does have the long spring shackles in it jacking up the rear end. The original shackles were shot and I couldn't find a replacement set, so these are perfect for me. If you've never been to White Manna, it's a small hamburger place in Hackensack, NJ. The place can fit about 20 people and the grill can hold about 100 burgers. Each burger starts out as a small ball of ground beef and is mashed onto the grill over a bed of onions. As they cook, the onions caramelize. To top it off, each burger is set into a potato roll. Add a little keptchup and you have about four bites of wonderful. Although the people at Hackensack spring are great, these burgers are the only thing that makes the shelp worthwhile.
hey bro,nice write up.cool car.im doing something similar..those burgers look good but lets see some more pics of the car.
Among the parts and pieces I got with the car was a passenger side door to replace the rotted and tattered original. While some people don't enjoy it, for some reason, I really like swapping doors. I think I've had to swap doors on almost every car that I've owned, so through experience I've become quite good at it. Perhaps it's time I start buying cars with good doors? What do you think of my bumperettes? I'm not a fan. I haven't seen any other cars with these, but perhaps that is a good thing. They really detract from any smoothness that the front of the car can have, just like some of the other fender trim.
Howza Brutha- These early Comet's are so damned cool. They were intended to carry the Edsel nameplate and the proof is many dash pieces are similar to the Edsel and the early production Comet's did not even have a Mercury nameplate on them anywhere. S-22 huh? Does it have the fancy steering wheel, buckets and console? Good luck on the project. Don't get overwhelmed!
so the engine in it is locked up?..you guna try to find a replacement or just jump right into a full build?what are youre plans?
Once the door was on, I got brazen and decided to finally pull the 170 out of this car. Remember in 1961, for the Comet, the 170 was the high horse power motor. The original owner ordered this car with bucket seats, a console, and neck snapping 101hp. One of the cool things I found in the car was the original window sticker: I wish I could have found this for my other cars...
Thanks! They are cool, I'm finding out that although a lot of these 60-61's have survived they really don't get much love at all. The "C" looks mysteriously like an E missing the center horizontal line. It has all of those and the back up lights. When I got the car, it came with a rebuilt 170, but by the time I had gotten to to the engine I had already swapped the 8.8 in. I could have put the 170 in, but I figured the trans was probably cooked too. So yeah, it's been in full build mode for a few years. Oh, they are good! More to come (photos of the car, not the burgers).
As the project came together in my mind, I decided I wanted it to be the "ultimate upgradable car." I figured with a 302, 4 speed, and 8.8 rear being swapped in initially, the possibilities would be endless. Although a 351 would be a tight squeeze, any of the new hi-po windsor options could always be bolted to these mounts and behind the 3 core radiator. Once the clutch pedal was in with a cable clutch set up, it seemed that any of the mustang II and newer Ford trannies would probably bolt right in. Most people seem to recommend swapping out the entire stock front end suspension in order to accommodate for the v8. This is entirely possible with a mulititude of options. I could go for 60s mustang style pieces, Granada parts, or even early falcon v8 suspension. The thought of this car as a blank canvas excited me. I found the weights of fully dressed 302's, and 170's. Then figuring the weight of the lighter manual trans and moving the battery to the rear of the car, I decided to stick with the stock front end even though the new set up would be a few pounds heavier. If I recall correctly, the difference is about 25 lbs, most of such weight is located towards the center of the car. With the 170 out, the nose came off. I started media blasting the engine compartment. This was the same summer I learned that you can fill your shoes with sand without ever setting foot on a beach. I also learned that my little sears sandblaster from the late 70's was better than a much fancier looking unit from harbor freight. Here are some photos, please note each year another headlight has begun to droop out of its socket.
I agree totally! These two photos kept my spirits up during winter while I was far away from my Comet with my nose back in the books. I found them on here on a lunch break at my internship. Fortunately I was able to get to thehamb at work.
The next summer, actually one year and two weeks from when I bought the car I got to paint the engine compartment the color I am planning to paint the lower body. Seeing this color, even though only under the hood, is reassuring that this car will someday be a car again. I installed a dual master which I believe was originally intended for a 67 Mustang. Here you can see the paint and the new brake lines. Edit (1/4/2017): Looking back, I wish that I had held off on painting the engine compartment. It had a small rot hole which I should have repaired and I should have painted the engine compartment a trim black which would be easier to touch up with future upgrades. Especially since the 302 in it needs to come back out, I really should not have painted the engine bay yet. Hindsight is 20/20.
What are you putting together? I have to resize the rest of my photos, I'll try to get them on tonight
im building a 60 falcon..guna do the gasser style.i dont have any pics up yet.havnt done anything cool to it yet..i got it a couple months ago.i got it running with the 200 straight 6.now im collecting parts.i got the rear end and im working on putting a front together and im guna put a 430 mel in it.tranny will most likely be a c6..i hope to have everything i need by the end of summer and start the real build in october
Here are the photos I mentioned a couple of posts ago. Thanks to the jalopy journal support staff for helping me get in the right direction! Edit 1/14/2017: I love the color all of these years later. I can't tell you how much I want to see it applied to the rest of the body.
yeah i got a pic but its nothing special.just looks like a grandma car..i just got some chrome hairpins over the weekend and i picked up my straight axle last night from "voodoo kustoms" in santa ana..right by my work..the owner is super cool..i work nights and he agreed to meet me at the shop at midnight last night..
I'd love to see it! Also that's great service! After the car sat for the winter and I was away studying in school, it was time to finally put the engine in the car. Here a photo of the motor getting pulled from the donor car. After the motor sat out of the Mustang for a couple weeks, I got the new two piece mounts in for the motor. For anyone looking to do this swap, I can only say DO NOT USE the new two piece mounts made in China as they take forever to straighten and line up. It took a full day to wedge the motor in as well as my dad, his 6'5" friend, and me. His friends long arms ended up being just what we needed! Edit: When the engine comes out again, I'm considering switching to the earlier style mounts. If you have any thoughts, please chime in.
right on.thats cool..well its not much to look at but heres the axle. sorry for the crappy pics..(cell phone)
Wow. I can't wait to see what you do with that axle. Those are some nice welds there. Great start for the car.
yeah its nice...me too.im gettin pretty anxious to start this build..i got the axle and hair pins with side work(tattoo money)so it didnt come out of my check..i got 1 more pay period then i can start buying stuff for the build..
It's been almost 4 months since I last posted anything about this comet. I just spent a while resizing a bunch of photos so I can post more. Hopefully, I'll update this thread soon. in the mean time here is a preview of what you'll get to see next.
So, as you can see above, this car wasn't the gem I hoped it was when I first saw it sitting in the seller's back yard. From a curiosity, she became a nightmare. Faced with a heavily rotted truck, and an unwillingness to fiberglass the trunk into the right shape, I tried desperately to find a replacement floor plan. I contacted a bunch of people, and each time I realized that I was in for a lot of work no matter what way I went. So, even though this car has its original window sticker, and everything I had done could be undone, I decided that I would try to make my own floor and fit it in. Note, Falcon trunk floors are not the same. My first step was to stare at the diseased floor and get out my trusty grinder with a cut off wheel. Armed with gloves, ear muffs, a radio, and goggles left over from sophomore year chemistry; I began to cut away everything that looked bad. As you can see, there wasn't much left when I was done.
So, about a year before I had the nerve to actually cut the floor out, I had tried to make the floor to fit into the spot. I made a template from the floor while it was in the car. All my life I have known the man who taught my Dad to appreciate these cars and to work on them. I always hoped he'd teach me how to work with metal too. I mentioned my project to him, and he told me to come over with the template and my metal. Later that day I had gotten to help him with the shear, the break, and the bead roller. The floor didn't look exactly like the original; but I was very happy with how it turned out. We had made the center section and two side drop offs. The plan was to make the corners at some point in the future. Besides getting to form the metal, I also got to see first hand how metal can warp when using a bead roller. Next time, I'll try to prestretch the panel before attempting to roll the beads. That evening, I got home and showed that trunk pan to my Dad almost like a 5th grader showing off an A+ on a book report. I was so excited, and would have been thrilled if we could have stuck the floor to the fridge to show it off. Here you can see how I was trying to figure out how to get these pieces to fit. I was pretty sure I never would. To be honest, I got distracted by some other parts of the car, and spent a few months brooding over how to finish the trunk. In fact, these pictures were taken in either november or december; and I didn't get back to work on the trunk until April of this year.
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