Projects 1965 Comet Caliente Convertible Project

Check bolt pattern on those, seems to me some had a 5on5 pattern.....Al
late 70s cougars elites montegos had 15s

 

Ec164: Thanks for the info. I will keep my eye out. I was hoping to get something from the Pick Ur Part in town which would not have that year. I will be taking a lug circle template and measurements with me when I go. This may take a while but I like junk yard.

 

I got some work done but some pictures would look like what I already posted. I finished up the new (old) transmission pan and torqued down the drive shaft so I have power from the engine thru the transmission to the drive shaft to the differential. All I need is wheels and tires. The First pictures are the difference between the ground clearance for the stock transmission pan and the older pan. I finished making and installing the ignition wires. The third picture is before and the fourth after. Got the throttle cable thru the fire wall and I am working on making the gas pedal. I guarantee there is nothing like what it need for a gas pedal out there.

 

Jeff;it is looking better every time you post pictures!!! ROY.

 

Roy,

Thanks for your support. As you know as you get closer to the first start there are at least 100 little things that have to be done. So I am working my way thru that list. I have talked with my friend at wirediet.com and he will be coming over sometime in January. Getting it started may be the biggest milestone in this build (besides driving it down the street).

Jeff

 

Jeff;I should be able to get up in the garage in the next day or two and dig out the tank and check on the heater core!!!I may need to take a road trip and check out you labor of love!!!! When is the next LB Swap Meet? ROY.

 

Lookin great Jeff!

 

The next swap meets in Long Beach are January 6th and January 27th. Come on down if you have the time.

 

I put the driver seat back in the car and it seems really high. I am not that tall and with the seat all the way back the pedals are the right distance and my head is even with the wind shield. Is this normal for a convertible? I made a gas pedal for the car that uses the stock Mountaineer cable and I spent a lot of time at Pick Your Part trying to find some rims. I decided on the rims from a 96 crown Vick. I am ***uming these are the rims that came with the car because there were two Crown Vicks there with the same rims but in a junk yard you just don’t know. A plus to all of this is it was 50% off everything at Pick Your Part today so $50.00 and I have a set of rims. I really like the size. It fits around the calipers and in the tubs and it’s hub centric on the axels . The tire in the picture are 205 70 R15 and it fits well. I will probably try some other sizes like 225 60 but if all else fails the 205 will work. These rims may work for other builders. They are 15 inch diameter, 2.8 axel hub size, 4.5 lug circle, 6.5 inches wide with 3.75 inch back space. The only problem is the hub cap nubs are 10 7/8 inch diameter. This works for me since this is a Mercury and the 50’s Mercury dog dish hub caps are10 7/8.

 

Jeff;that wheel looks like it should be perfect! I think you will find the 70 series tire looks better than a 60 series on a 6.5" rim,I switched on my wagon from 60s to 70s on 7" rims,but that is just my opinion,the final say is you and your daughters!!! I run 225X70s on the rear and 205X70s on the front!! ROY.

 

Roy,

Thanks for the info. I will try a 225 70 15 next. I usually get a used tire and see how it fits and looks. Is there a reason you have a 205 on the front or is that for the look? Do you know if a 225 70 15 will fit up front?

 

Jeff;just for a 'RUBBER RAKE'!! I believe a 225X70 will fit at stock ride height,my Comet wagon is LOW but the 205X70 fits with no issues.Is there a size in between a 225 and 205? ROY.

 

Roy, Yes there is a 215 70 R15. I have been playing with the tire calculator on the Americas Tire site. Jeff

 

I bought some spray paint from Pep Boys that was close to what the car will be so we could take a look at rim colors. The spray paint is pretty cool its colors from major manufactures and come in metal flake. I bought a Toyota gun metal gray metal flake which is close to what we will paint the car. The paint looks great but it’s not very durable. Good for mock up but not for final application on the rims. The rear rim is the gun metal gray center and a maroon outer rim. The front rim is an all-black rim. I think we will combine the two with a black rim and a maroon pinstripe on the outer part of the rim. Thanks to Roy I got a 65 gas tank to replace the rusted out wreck I had and a complete heater. The heater will replace the road kill heater I have. I’m Still prepping for the first start of the engine. I filled fluid today and I connected the gas pedal and the shifter.

 

Jeff;thanks for the tour of your projects and the nice visit with you and your daughter!!!We made it back to Camarillo fairly quickly,only a few slowdowns!!The defroster piece that is missing is cardboard on originals,the repops are plastic and much nicer!!I'll get those contacts put together and PM them to you. ROY.

 

Hi Jeff..... Hope you had a GREAT HOLIDAY and ALL is well with you & your family,

I have been looking at your thread each time you have posted something new but haven't replied lately.

ALL is well here.... STILL working "ON" the workshop instead of "IN" it. I made a "New Year's Resolution" (for 2012) to NOT start on any serious work on the Opel until I have the workshop's remodeling (door widening, add-on electrical work - lighting - painting - garage art hanging - organizing & a wall to wall cleaning before starting ANY work on the Opel and the "tube ch***is" that unexpectedly was practically "given" to me.

With having to work "full-time+ hours" instead of the "part-time hours" I was hired for has slowed things down to a crawl. So far I have been keeping my resolution but I am getting VERY anxious to get working on the car.

As I mentioned before, we are still planning to come to L.A. in March when our grand-babies (twins) will be born, Luckily for me we'll be there for Hot Rod Magazine's 65th Anniversary at Pomona. Not sure which day we plan to attend but if all goes as planned we will be there. Probably on Saturday.

Hopefully we can meet some if not all of my HAMB & hot rod friends there....

 

Roy: Yes it was a nice visit I’m really glad you came by to see my project I’m also glad your trip home was not too bad. It’s funny that the heater I got with my car was in such bad shape but the cardboard defroster piece is in really nice shape so I will use the heater you got for me along with the defroster piece I have. It will work out great.

John: It’s good to hear from you. Work is a good thing to have and I’m happy to hear your work has picked up even though it gets in the way of progress on your garage. Keep me up to date on your projects and post some pictures of your progress on your garage if you have any.

 

Well it’s time to try the first start. I had my friend Art from Wirediet.com come over to help me out. He has worked on wiring for lots of different cars and diets stock harnesses for use in Factory Five cars as well as street rods. He first went over the entire harness and looked at how is was hooked up looking at grounds and connectors and reading the Helms wiring book as he explained the steps he was going thru. He then made some changes and adjustments and checked the computer with an ****yzer. We then tried the first start and there was a large arc at the negative battery terminal. So we started looking for the cause like stripped wires that were grounding or wrongly grounded wire and then Art took a look at the negative battery terminal. It was the one that came with the donor Mountaineer and worked fine when I started the Mountaineer 2 years ago. It’s one of those bolted clamp down on the wire kind of terminal. The wire was badly corroded. Once we cut back to fresh wire the car started right up.

I apologize to Art. I thought I had a video of him starting the car for the first time but I screwed it up and it didn’t record. Below is a picture of Art and me working on the car and a video of me and my son starting the car. Sorry Art. This was my first try at a video and a new phone so lesson learned. Below is a picture of Art and me working on the car and then a video of me and my son starting the car

 

Jeff;that was great!!!That 5.0 sounds solid,should be a good running Comet when you are done!! Those battery ends are really just for emergency fixes,not meant for long term use!!! ROY.

 

First starts are the BEST!

It's like a new baby being born.

 

Roy: Thanks that’s how it sounds to me too. I will be looking for new battery cables since the positive side has the same end on it.

Mike: It is like a child birth not as painful but very exciting. It breathes life into the car that arrived in my stable without a heart.

 

amazing work

 

Jeff.Great thread.It`s nice to see a Father/Daughter/Son project.Loved doing things with my Dad.Miss him a bunch.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

 

Jeff: Here's a link to the birth of the 302 that I put in my Falcon:

http://youtu.be/WmboEJKAG9o

 

Gasolinedeniz: Thanks. The Rebel Wire site has some interesting stuff. I will keep it in mind.

Leo: We are having a good time. Thanks for the complement.

Mike: That’s a great feeling when it fires up. Thanks for the video.

 

We have not gotten a lot done but we did get the springs swapped out in the front. We did the Shelby drop and cut a coil out of the spring and it was too low so we installed new spring and it is the perfect height. No more Jack stands to hold it at the desired ride height. Now I’m off to read wiring diagrams to see what I can get rid of out of this harness. So far I have been able to delete about 20 wires out of the rear harness.

 

Jeff;any new news on the Comet? Which coils did you use? ROY.

 

Hey Roy,

Good to hear from you. I have been plodding along with the wiring. It is interesting work and I like it but it can be time consuming. Went to a Softball tournament the weekend before last and had a great time. My daughters team was not very good but we still had a good time. Most innings we had to get 7 outs to get 3 … brutal. The coils I used I bought from RockAuto. I think it cost 65.00 delivered. Putting those in is not a job I want to do any time soon again. I built a special spring compressor to make the job easier. I like how the car sits so we will see how it goes. I’m still changing left handed parts from the Mountaineer to right handed parts for the comet and removing lots of wire. The car still starts so all is good. How are you doing? Got any work done on your wagon?

 

Jeff;I got the fuse block and relay strip mounted,got the wires strung in the direction they need to go.I'll have to lengthen a few wires as I put the fuse block on the hump between the seats.I will be building a center council anyway,so seemed like a good place for it. ROY.

 

Jeff;I hope all is well,haven't seen any new posts on the convertible!! Anything new to report? ROY.