Projects 1965 Comet Caliente Convertible Project

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Ditto

 

Just went through your thread, great build.

 

Comets make great drivers. I dorve mine 60,000 miles. I sold it, beucase I wanted a truck to knock around in. The father-daughter projects substatiate my su****ion that it may have been a chich car.

Just wanted to encourage you that it will be a good car on the road.

 

Thanks all for your interest in our project. I took about 2 months off to landscape my property. That is a lot of work but as part of it I widened the driveway where I work on the car so all is good. The first two pictures are before and after. I have gotten a little work done on the car mostly wiring. I put the front shocks in and mounted the engine bay junction box and am working on fitting the wiring to its new location. I will cover the loom that is in the wheel well with a steel shield to protect it. Hey Roy thanks again for the hood. I put it on and it clears everything in the engine bay so I will not have to cut anything out of the hood.

 

Jeff;glad to hear you at back on the Comet!! I bet it is a lot better working on concrete instead of dirt and broken concrete!! Happy the hood worked out,one less item to mess with!!! ROY.

 

With the exception of light connectors the wiring in the front of the car is done. First picture is before and the next two are after and yes it still starts. Picture 4 is what is next. Picture 5 I found that the Mountaineer gas tank fits in the trunk so the gas tank issue is solved. A couple of bungees and the gas tank is installed. The bungees are a safety feature. They hold the tank in place but if the car is hit in the back the bungees will stretch and keep the tank from crushing.

 

I got some work done this weekend and besides mowing the lawn I didn’t do any other landscaping. I think I am done pulling wires out of the harness. The first picture is the box of wires I removed. My dog is thinking the same thing as me … I can’t believe I cut that many wires out and yes it still starts. I wired the master cylinder sensors thru the fire wall and I installed the ignition key and switch fabricated from the mountaineer column (picture 2). The actual switch is the white box behind the steering wheel. The cylinder itself just turns a lever that is attached to a linkage that is attached to the switch. Using this setup allows me to keep the PATS security system active. My daughter finished cleaning up, painting and ***embling the heater and we installed it (picture 3). Thanks for the Heater Roy. Does anyone have a picture of how the heater attaches to the vent box above it? I have a feeling what was there was rotted away before I got the car

 

Jeff,

I've been watching and enjoying your build. No one has chimed in so I will. Please rethink your gas tank solution (if you we're serious about it). A bungee strapped in gas tank scares the **** out of me...... especially with the precious cargo that's in the car.

Allan

 

Jeff;there is a rubber flex connection and a metal ring that attach between the cowl opening and the collar on top of the heater.New ones are available,National Parts Depot has them 65/66 Mustang are the same as our Comets. You are making progress,that is a GOOD thing!!!! ROY.

 

Allan: Sorry I didn’t mean to alarm anyone. That sort of setup scares me too and I have seen things like that in the past. The Mountaineer tank is only temporary and there for testing. Once the harness is done and the car still starts I will remove the Mountaineer tank and install a stock Comet tank with modifications for the internal electric fuel pump all of which bolts to the ch***is. Thanks for your interest and concern.

Roy: Yes it’s good to get going again on the project. Thanks for the info on the heater. I hope you haven’t had any more plumbing problems.

 

Keeping the Mountaineer tank is a great idea if it fits properly. That is hot rodding at its' finest, using what is cheap and available to solve problems! However, mounting it with bungee cords is not so hot. They're made from elastic material and cloth, both of which deteriorate over time, especially when exposed to the elements. I suggest using the late-model tank if possible. Converting a rusty old tank for use in a modern EFI situation is complicated. But mount it using steel straps. You can get them for about $20 from most auto parts stores or Summit/Jegs. Or you can scrounge them from a junkyard. Maybe you still have the straps from the Mountaineer?

Love the progress man!

 

Whew.

Keep up the great work. I can imagine your daughters face when she takes that first drive.

 

Gotgas: Thanks for the info. The bungees were a joke. The Mountaineer gas tank is not even close to fitting so it’s out and you’re right that the stock tank I got with the car is junk. It’s almost rusted thru on the bottom. I got a good used tank from a friend that I will use and modify using parts from the mountaineer tank to install the in tank fuel pump. The stock tank bolts to the car so it does not need straps but the top of the tank is also the bottom of the trunk which I don’t like. I will isolate the tank from the inside of the car. Lots of plans and lots of work ahead but that’s what hot rodding is all about.

 

Jeff;you had me worried that my old stock tank was no good!!!! ROY.

 

Roy,

Your tank is good I just haven’t had a chance to get to that part of the project. I am currently working on installing everything in the dash and wiring it.

 

Lots of interruptions so the progress has been slow going for the past few weeks. I spent last Saturday at the Factory Five show with my FFR Roadster. I have the fibergl*** shell removed so it is easier to show people who want to build a car what is involved (first picture). As for the Comet my daughter is working on door cars and I finally got the surround for the gages done. I made cardboard templates and then used those to cut and bend the plexiglas into shape. I used Lexan for the clear. I put the old dash pad in place just to see how it looks. The dash pad will have to be replaced it’s too far gone to repair. Now onto wiring switches.

 

Been watching the build. Nice job on the dash and the wiring........Man that's a lot of wires!!!!

 

Thanks for watching the build. Yes there are lots of wires and that’s after I took out a big box of them. I’m down to the wires that I need and might need so I think I am done pulling wires out. Next I have to wire up the stock switches to the harness and then on to primer I hope.

 

Jeff;looking good!! That bunch of wires would scare the S_ _ _ out of me!!!!! ROY.

 

Roy: Thanks the wiring will be much more manageable once I mount everything and wire all the dash switches. By the way is there a color coded wiring diagram for a 65 Comet anywhere. The manual I bought did not come with one. I will PM you about a part I am looking for.

I worked some on the car this weekend. I got the convertible top motor wired. I realize that the motor takes at least a 50 amp fuse so I had to go back to the engine bay fuse box here I had an extra 50 amp fuse and wire that into the switch in the dash for the top. Hopefully that will do it. I worked on the chrome work for the dash and My daughter and I worked on the door cards. The arm rests are complements of “Wagner March 1994”. This was in pencil on the back of one of the arm rests. These are the arm rests that came with the car although they were in a box with a lot of other parts. The arm rests are handmade of oak. Unfortunately there did do not go with the color scheme so I covered them with gray vinyl.

 

Jeff, It may already be too late, but if you haven't already run the top motor circuits you might consider switching a lower amperage control circuit and mounting an ice cube relay someplace handy to keep some of those 10 guage wires out from behind the instrument cluster?

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I was wondering why the newer cars run so many relays. There were probably 10 to 15 relays in the Mountaineer I got the engine from. Is that a safety consideration or efficiency or … ?

 

Jeff;it is both,safety and efficiency!!!Any high draw accessory should be on a relay! ROY.

 

Hi Roy,

I'm hoping the fires were not close to you.

I have LOTS of extra relays from the Mountaineer I just have to find some that are rated for this kind of draw. Since the original switch has two wires that go from it to the motor (one for top up and one for top down) I am ***uming that should operate two different relays. I will look into it this weekend.

 

Jeff;not sure about the top but on power windows the switch changes direction by changing polarity to the motors. Fire was about 5-6 miles East and South of me,got very smokey here but no fire! The various Fire Departments were AWESOME,a few out buildings on some of the Farms and Ranches,but NO HOMES!!!! I have not got ahold of Will[he donated the bumpers],he is out of town. ROY.

 

Roy is correct, the DC motor rotation reverses with polarity so you'll need an "UP" and a "Down" relay. Depending on how the motor is wired they may both need to be wired so that you use both the NO (normally open) and NC (normally closed) contacts. In the de-engized condition the NC contacts would both ground the motor power leads, if the motor does not use the case ground for this function. The NO contacts would supply power to one motor lead when energized, leaving the other lead grounded through the de-engized relay.

 

Roy: It’s good to hear that no homes were lost and that you are safe.

Fan Attic: Thanks for the info. The motor has two hot leads going to it from the switch one or the other gets power when the switch is up or down. The motor itself is grounded to the ch***is. So I am guessing two relays one for each power wire going to the motor.

 

This is a awesome thread. This in my eyes is what the hamb is all about as far as craftsmanship ship and build a cool ride . Great job and nice car!

 

Correct. I'd run a #10 +12VDC through a 50 amp circuit breaker to the common of each relay and a #10 from the NC of each relay to the motor leads. Your dash switch will only be swiching a few milliamps for relay coil excitation.
And thanks for sharing the build! I've been watching since just after you started, mostly because I really enjoy a good parent/child effort, and your persistance and skill will teach your daughter a lot about life. You've shown her you can do anything if you set your mind to it! A great project!

 

Jesse1980 and Fan Attic: Thanks for the kind words. It’s nice to hear others appreciate the hard work.

I have found the relays on Amazon and will wire this up before the completion of the car.