My Comet is coming home...

I've actually had this '63 Mercury Comet S22 for 20 years, but it's been in a carport at my dad's near Seattle for the last 16 due to live doing it's usual and me moving to Baltimore back in '98.

fast forward to this past week and my dad was clearing out his property and selling off a lot of his project cars. He called me up and wanted to know if I wanted to sell the Comet. I did some quick checking and found that it was only going to cost me $800 to get it from Seattle to here, so I asked if he could find a way of pulling it out and prep it for travel. Well, he got it running! So now, it's getting loaded on a truck today to be delivered to me in about a week. Needs a healthy cleaning after sitting there for that long, and I'll have some things to replace to make it safe...

It's the original 6 cyl with a Mazda 5 speed manual adapted to it. It was originally a 4 on the floor car, but the original trans blew out 3rd gear, and they were hard to come by even then. It's basically a rust free western car, with only a couple small quarter sized holes in the floor. I'm probably going to update the engine to a later 6 (like a Fairmont 200 cid version, which is a bolt in) and adapt the 5 speed over. Also will swap out the drum brakes for 5 lug discs to get modern stopping power. A little lowering, some 15" American Racing Salt Flat wheels and subtle custom red pearl paint, like this photoshop:

Easily brought back to stock if necessary.

SWEET ! ! I totally love those early cars, like the four door sedans even more than the coupes for some weird reason. You might be concerned with the condition of the forward rear spring perches though as it looks like it was stored on the ground. Hit 'em hard with a sledge and a chisel when you get your hands on it.

Luck !

Man that photoshop looks awesome.

kick ass!

Very cool!

Puuuurty....

This is very cool. My dad had a '63 S-22 when I was about 10. It was already an old car and was an awful shade of green. I hated it at the time but I'm really starting to like them now.

The original 4 speed must have been a Dagenham. They weren't very strong when they were new. Nice upgrade to the Mazda five speed.

I think modern Mustang V6 wheels with spinners would look great on that car. They always remind me of Halibrands.

Rare care here, as you know. The Falcon club does a nice show every year near Maryland and it would be welcome there.

Very cool.

driving up to meet the truck yesterday:

Nice! Looks like a very worthy project.

That actually does look like it will buff out.

I have a new goto guy detailer freakin obsessive , get it washed and polished . then hit t he mechanicals drive it unrestored . 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 to restore ? drive it now

Cool...

Regardless of what you do (or don't do)to it, keep us updated.

I've got to at least redo the rubber bits. For example, the tires on it were on it when I got it 20 years ago, so they need replacing, as well as the brakes need to be gone through, and the gas tank needs cleaning out or replacing (I think that replacing it will be cheaper). So there are some immediate concerns other than just cleaning it in order to drive it.

who did you get to transport this? Thanks

It's Quality Relocation Services out of Spokane, Washington. I went through a broker who listed it on the transport boards, but after research now, I probably should have dealt with them directly. I put it out to bid as an inoperative car just in case it wouldn't start and run when they came to pick it up, and considering I knew my dad had to keep the battery in it. The broker listed it as a running car, so the transport company was under that assumption, and ended up charging me extra once it was loaded up and my dad took the battery out of it. Still came in under a grand to move it on an open truck.

dang dude, seattle to bawlmer for under a grand? that seems pretty cheap to me.

and FWIW, i think you do nice work. i can't wait to see how this one evolves.

I need to see if any of our Aussie members can source an '83-93 Falcon XE or XF 4.1 liter EFI engine and trans. The 4.1 is the sme basic block as our 200 and 250 cid small six (think Maverick, Mustang, and Fairmont) and is a bolt-in in place of the six that is in the Comet. But it gives an alloy crossflow head and fuel injection. I think that's the direction I'd really like to go with the car, instead of a V8 or even a later American Ford six. The Falcon XE and XFs are pretty cheap down under, so I'd think that finding a running engine woudl be fairly inexpensive before shipping (which I still need to work out).

BTW Chris, awesome car. I am sure it will be a beaut once cleaned up...

That should be a nice set up Chris -- love the idea of sticking with a six, and with the Aussie parts, you can put together a nice combo. If you want a bit more, a small turbo that spools early and is all done by 4500-5000 rpm with low boost would make it a blast to drive on the street. I've always wanted to take an early Falcon or Comet and drop a BMW six into one.

Very cool car. I like it. I was looking at one like it not too long ago. Look like the time was pretty kind to it. Those ford straight 6 motors are stupid simple and reliable. I never had a motor related issue with mine. Only transmission issues. All of the 6 cylinder manuals were made out of paper.

Well, it finally arrived. Last night. At 11pm. It was supposed to be delivered in the afternoon, according to dispatch, so I took time off work to wait for it. Guy finally arrives, and since he's got a semi with the car carrier trailer, he can't park anywhere near my house. So he parks up on a main street a mile away and calls me to come meet him. In the dark.

So I take the new battery and a gas can, and head up there. Unload the car, which had a flat tire (and no way to fill it. That's ok, I'll drive on it, since I was going to replace them anyhow). Put gas in it, put the battery in it, and it fires right up. Cool. Flick on the lights. Hey, look at that, all the filthy lights light up. So I drive it slowly back from there to my house, past the cop shop, with the flat rear tire flapping against the bodywork. Parked it in the driveway and got pictures this morning.

Gonna clean it up this weekend and start taking inventory of what parts it still has and what I need to locate. All the trim is inside it, though. But the inside is rougher than I remember from a decade ago when I last saw it. Gonna need a lot of work in there.

That is going to be a very sharp car! It looks like you have a great starting point.

Keep us posted on your progress Chris!

washed up. Still kinda dull, but I'll hit it with a buffer tomorrow to see if it'll come back...