I have wanted one for a VERY long time. I have found one very local that looks to be rust free but not perfect. The important parts of the interior and chrome are all there and everything for these cars is available so getting it back to factory is not that bog a deal and really is not an expensive project either.
Now comes the real problem. I really don't want a completely stock one I mean bringing it back to factory spec is cool and is in a way preserving some history but I also have two other paths that I have wanted to try with one of these.
Option A. I was thinking of updating the drive-line with modern parts. Including suspension, brakes, trans and motor. Pay no attention to the past and get what works well. Adjust the altitude a bit. Add wider tires and rims of some sort. Basicly abandon 1960's technology for something with in the last 10 years or so. Make it a good driver that you can just jump in and go with a bit of mucele to back it up as well as a little bit of "resto-mod" attitude.
Option B. Would also be a update but it would be to a standard of say the early to mid 1970's. Drop a 302 in it. Update the brakes to better but not modern stuff. Period correct wheels and tires (but maybe a tad wider) but probibly sticking with steel rims and dog dish caps. This would be a car that would be modified to a standard that ti would have been when it was say 10-15 years old back in the mid 1970's. What I call period correct modification of a car.
What would you all do. I like both paths and hell if I stumbled on a 2nd S22 I would probably do both.
S22's are not that rare but they don't pop up ever day of the week either. It is by far my favorite option package for the early Comet's. By 1964 they started to get big and boxy loosing the more sporty feeling of the early cars. For some reason I think of Cortina's of the early 60's that were tearing around Europe when I look at the early Comet's. To me the early Comet is sort of the Americanized Cortina
If it were me I'd do option a if I had the funds and or talent. Life is too short to care if other people are pissed at you for doing something g to your car. And if it is more pleasant to drive you will use it more. Enjoy it.
I am also thinking that if I modernize the drive-line and what not that my wife will be more apt to drive it. EFI is a huge part of this as it means turn the key and go and let the ECU make the adjustments until it is warmed up. It also hopefully would mean that once it is setup it would just work. I would try and go with the complete motor and trans from a much more modern ford of some type. I know this may cause issues with the gadges but if I had to I would modify modern gadges to fit in the stock dash. I would even bring across the OBD2 port to ease diagnostic's in the future. This would not be an all out speed monster but more of just bringing the performance up to that of a factory Mustang GT of the early 2000's.
This is not the car I am looking at but wanted to show others what I am talking about. This is an S22 optioned Comet.
This one is for sale. They are asking 5K so as you can see they are not big money compared to many other of the 60's cars these days.
Modern efi and overdrive. Brakes and chassis to use all of the available traction of fat 15s on widened steelies. Pie pans and proper stance. Ac, ps, pb, cruise. Think late 80s mustang wrapped in s22 body.
Something a good mix of a and b.
Gary
Dork
9/27/15 6:48 p.m.
These are very cool cars. A new family just moved into the neighborhood and they have a standard 4-door sedan, white with red roof. Wavy body panels, probably a lot of bondo, but cool just the same. Sounds great. I think it's a six with glass pack muffler. I have to meet them. As far as your situation, either Plan A or Plan B would be appropriate, but I think I'd personally opt for A ... or maybe B! Have fun!
Its comet nobody is going to fault you for cutting up a good one. I would do a foxbody drivetrain and some very mild suspension and brakes and have fun with it.
My dad had a 1963 Comet S=22 for a short time back around 1978. I think he paid $100 for it and drove it to work every day. It was a really faded metallic green, original paint. Probably a 170 with a two speed. I had no appreciation for the car at the time. I'd recognize that center console any day. I wish he'd kept it.
My dad had also bought a 1963 Mercury Meteor sedan. It was his first brand new car and he always tells me how he had to special order seatbelts in the car.
There was an S-33 Meteor, but his car was not one of them.
My earliest memory (I was two years old) was riding in the Meteor for the last time when he drove it to the dealership and traded it in on a new Montego. I specifically remember riding there in the white Meteor and coming home in the green Montego.
Dad's not a car guy, but he's always been a Mercury guy. He had three more after that.
My dad was a mercury guy as well. He had a 63 comet 4 door (that very light brown cream color). I remember growing up in it riding all over the place in that thing. No belts just flopping all over the back seat. What fun!!!! It burned a piston in 73 so he traded it in on a 73 comet. Brown with a white top. For some reason I did not like that car as much as the 63.
I am going to see about the s22 locally in the next day or so. My problem is I will need to find a place to store it for the winter as I will not be able to touch it until spring. I also need to get rid of three cars from my yard before any new ones come home.
I just had another "idea" It came from watching Fast and Loud. They seem to have made a little buisness of putting the front cross member from Crown vics into other ford vehicles. I wonder if I could do this with the comet and then stick the 8.8 from a explorer in the rear. Put an EFI 302 from teh same Explorer in it as well.. . .. .. Hummmm that sounds like it would be relatively easy and provide a good upgrade all teh way around with modern steering geometry and a upgraded rear end that is designed to take the power of the V8. I could maybe put rear disks on it as well. I don't remember of the explorers came with them at any point with the solid axle.
The only thing that may be a problem with all that is the width of things.. .. . . Hummmmm
I would take a path right to purchase one of these. One of my favorite unknown, relatively unknown sixties muscle cars. Even cooler as a convertible!
We had a '66 Comet station wagon when I was a kid, so I have a soft spot for Mercury's of the period (and owned a big block '67 Cougar), but it wasn't as cool as the early cars. I'd love to have one of those!
I can see option B trending toward option A over time. So, straight to option A
http://news.boldride.com/2014/03/gas-monkey-garage-headed-to-pikes-peak-in-500-hp-custom-ford-falcon/45516/
Ohhhhh I had forgot about that GMG car. I am going to have to go look up the build for that and see what they did with the suspension. I dont want to go with the full on custom but would rather "upgrade" to more modern ford rolling stock. A beefier rear end with 5 lugs and disks. A front cradle that would improve the steering geometry and hopefully make a "modern" motor bolt in. If I played my cards rite I could get a doner car of some sort and just move the cradle, motor and rear end across but I am not sure I could get that lucky. The biggest benefit would be to get rid of the stock front end setup that intrudes so far in to the engine bay.
Tim,
I have an idea for a future project. It would be to build one of these early comet/falcon's but only using OE parts from doner cars or from ford. I don't know if it is doable completely but it would make for an interesting project and you would end up with a great car that if thought out a little in advance could net a fun car for some open track practice days while still being able to take out to a cruse night or GRM/CRM event.
I did some looking around and found that the Explorer rear ends are to wide from the factory and have offset axle tubes. The good is that you can swap out the longer side with the short side from another rear end with the axle and it brings it in to spec. If you get one from the 99 and later explorer you get rear disk and 5 lug. Another thing I need to look at is the rear ends out of the rangers. I believe these are leaf spring setups so a bolt in may be much easier and those look to be narrower. I just need to get out to the local junkyard and start measuring things and see what would be the beat / easiest option.
As for the Crown vic front swap like GMG has been doing those apear to be much wider (by 10 inches) than the track width of the comet so that would take some thinking. I am betting that a mustang one is probably the way to go.
The Crown Vic suspension swap is done to a lot of vehicles with frames, but the Comet is a unibody car so I don't know how well it would work (besides the width issue.) It's basically the same underneath as a Falcon or Mustang, so I'd look at suspension upgrades offered for those cars.
If I remember correctly, the commets and the Faclons are closely related. So for the front, you could do a simple rack & pininon swap, or do a Mustang II crossmember (or the aftermarket equivalent) - this allows you to remove the shock towers and prety much install whatever engine you want. But there are haters of the design for all out handling. I think it can be made decent for a cruiser and maybe even an autocrosser, but not an open tracker...for that you'd be better off starting from scratch using circle track and/or corvette stuff. For the record I have a Rod & Customs mustang II kit with coil overs for my 67 mustang that I bought and started cutting out years ago, just not completed.
For the rear, if my research is correct, if you have an 8" rear (should be stock in that car if it is a V8 and good up to a fairly healthy 302) or the small bearing 9", you can fairly easily adapt the rear disk brakes off of a Lincoln Mk VII and/or Crown Vic/Marques (I think you have to make a spacer and figure out the e-brake cables).
Ixnay the leaf springs.
You want coil overs and a three link kit.
Full Custom Garage did one also
FCG Falcon Pt1
But do they come with a "full custom price"? I am old school leaf is fine with me unless going coil over makes the swap out easier or allows me to use a better rear end (say one with a closed dif of some sort).
You can put power down with the 3 link without mucking about with slapper bars, pinion snubbers, etc. I know there are also some gains to be had in terms of handling, I'm not well versed enough in suspension dynamics to explain them though.
Unless I am going to make it a full on race car I dont think that is necessary. That I am sure would fall in to the "next step" of the cars evolution.
