History 64/65 Comets old drag cars lets see pictures

Three great pieces of Mercury's effort to dominate to drag strip in '64/65!!! Great stuff!!!

 

Alan;that is an amazing collection,to have all three Comets in what looks to be very restorable condition,WOW!!!!Were they raced mostly in the Texas area?Match race type cars? Looks like a lot of work but it is just unbelievable that you have all three!! ROY.

 

All 3 have the code on the door plate for them to be Cyclones. None of them have where the Caliente trim holes would have been. Two came Red with Red interiors. The center car was originally Black with Red interior. The 2 we have are VIN numbers 31 cars apart. The center car is later production and for some reason the roof moulding is different and has the added strip on the pillar.

 

They were raced in southern California before 1974 when the man that owned them moved to Texas. Not sure if they were ever raced here.

 

I don't know how true it is but I was told the pillar strip was added because of warranty issues with cracking in that area.I have lived in So.CA. all my life[except for my Army time],frequented Lions and others.I do not remember the Comets,waaaaay too many years and slaughtered brain cells I guess. ROY.

 

He told me he raced Lions quite a bit. The one Comet was bought new by him and he began racing it around 66 or so. It wasn't painted with the Kendig logo until 71 or so.
We also have a 65 Fairlane Les Ritchey/Mel Burns Ford car that was raced there also. Let me know if you remember it. This picture was taken at Lions in 66.
Interesting about the pillar strip.

 

hey Roy, havent been on in awhile, hope all is good way over there.

Armageddon is coming along slowly, rear 9 inch is done and in w. 457 gears. all the metal work is done, working on the ladder bars and wheelie wheels on the rear.

my goal is to have it done, painted and lettered, by the detroit autorama in feb.

been working between that and 2 other customer cars that have turned into real projects. so i think i'm gonna look for a bigger shop. funny how fast we run out of room. at least its colder here so the carshows are winding down and i'll have alittle more time.haha

george

 

Alan, that is great that you have saved those 3 comets from the weeds. Saving old Fords and Mercs is my Lotto dream job. I hope to go look at a 63 Merc 2drht that was raced locally in the 60s soon. I was chasing down a 64 caliente for a friend and found out the comet onwer also has 63 merc that he race long ago.
Brain, my comet is put away for the winter. First thing is to do the shock tower braces and then fix the front suspension. Some new parts and better alignment. The wheels toe in bad when I launch.
Roger

 

Alan;I remember the 65 Fairlane,but if the Comets were raced after early 66 I was off playing Army for Uncle Sam. ROY.

 

George;it sounds like the Comet is getting close!! I hear you on the running out of space issue. ROY.

 

Roger. Are your shock towers cut back? What are you going to change on the front suspension? I did not realize how goof my front end looked until I saw a recent picture now that I am getting some weight transfer. If you come up with a cure let me know.
A couple things I did do to mine that helped were suggestions from Roy. I used Mustang front coil springs and roller front spring perches. Roy Had some bushings made for his but the effect is the same. I also welded a couple tabs to the perches for a Camaro front shock. The stock shocks bolt solid to the perch and really bind up the front suspension. I used Calvert front shocks and those changes really helped but as you said the toe is sure goofy. Here is a picture of my old nasty engine compartment. You can sort of see the shock towers. Brian

 

You know, guys? A new front straight axle would cure all your problems, and give you so much more room, you'd actually crack a smile while changing spark plugs!!!!! Might save you a few pounds too!!!

 

Brain,Here is a pic of engine compartment. I have not replaced the stock shock tower supports. I will build a set of adustable bolt in braces . I will notch the towers when I move up to a 408 or FE.




Dale, maybe on my next comet I'll go straight axle and move the rearend forward.
Roger

 

Brian,Roger,anyone else who cares to know.I have my lower control arm moved forward about 1/2" at the strut rod[redrilled the rod],and I also have the "Shelby Drop"on the upper a-arm pivots[lowered 1"],besides what Brian did,and I also run a limit strap to only allow a few inches of droop,my front tires barely tuck at the top during launch. ROY.

 

As far as I know,all 1965 Comets and 1964 (mid-year and later) Comets have the pillar strip.There was cracking in that area and the pillar strip was added to cover up the problem.I have never seen a 64 Cyclone without them.The build date code should be no earlier than April 1964.Fantastic job getting all three Comets.What a find....Steve.

 

Steve,
The 2 Cyclones we have are both date coded 04A and don't have the moulding. The last car has the moulding and is dated 05E. I was told by the man we got them from that the early cars were ones of the very first Cyclones delivered in the Los Angeles area.
The later car has a code for a 3 speed manual trans while the other 2 show to have been 4 speeds originally. I thought all Cyclones were 4 speeds. All 3 have the Cyclone body code.

Alan

 

Here is a "Back in the day" picture that was sent to me by a friend in the FCA. It is not my picture, but I would like to share it to keep the thread going. Plus I really dig '64 Comets and all things Ford. I'll get one soon. Too many projects right now. Anyway, the picture. SS/O car.

 

cobrajet2;that was a long time ago!!! 65s are rare in SS as the 5 extra HP was a killer as it moved you up one class over the 64s with the same combo.I tried for many years to get a noted west coast SS racer to help me put my 65 into SS,he repeatedly talked me out of it.I stayed in Stock until it got into stupid money,went bracket racing. ROY.

 

The date codes are January 04,1964.Cyclone was a mid-year production,April 1964.Your body code should be 63E.The date code 05E is May 05,1964.And therefore is probably a Cyclone.

 

Maybe I'm missing something here...I believe the Cyclone model debut in April of 1964.If the build date is 04A,isn't that January of 1964,before the Cyclone came out?

 

Late night Comet TV

Almost Finished. Just some detail work and some small stuff and I'll be on the road.

 

I know this is a just little out of the date range, but here's mine.
I'd love to have a 64 or 65 as well someday though.

 

Well that just gave me goose bumps, Sounds really great.

Jon

 

Ken;who let that hoodlum into your garage,and why is he touching your Comet? ROY.

 

Ken: great to see your 65! How about some info on your Cammer.

Who's block & heads? I wonder if they are originals? Auto or do you have to shift it?

Not to jinx you but are they DOVE? & no water leaks--- ????

I've got too many other Fords to build so all of mine are measly FE rocker arm OHV blocks.

Movin/on

 

Roy

I definitly have to keep an eye on Fast Eddie,He has been trying to steel that engine for years.

Heres some pics.

 

The Block and Heads Are Orig. Ford.The intake is a DOVE piece ( And as much as Ive heard the horror stories and seen some the intake was perfect). Valve train all ford.Aftermafket rods and pistons.Carbs orig.Ford 780's.Heres a link to a Dyno run.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ayxJ-brr3M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2Yp_m9Pelk

4 speed car

Sorry I havent written sooner.

 

Ken the car looks great!!!

 

Ken, comet looks awesome and the vid of the comet running, well just cool. Is the Marauder the next project?
Roger