Best Muscle Car for Beginner

lol

v8 comet http://charlotte.craigslist.org/cto/3583817575.html

Coldsnap wrote: v8 comet http://charlotte.craigslist.org/cto/3583817575.html

That's pretty baller if it's rust free. I personally don't like care for the lines of the Comet (that generation) or Maverick that much, but to each his own. Neat paint job, though, and factory v8.

yea sorta an ugly look, but V8 cheap and looks fun and could be fast

that bumper is hideous

That's honestly not too bad.....doesn't look very different than a late 70's nova. Plus that 302 and probable c4 auto should be pretty good.

could be cool. will it be fast feeling? i thought the nova 4 door v8 felt fast.

Depends on how much smog crap is on it and rear end ratio as to how "fast" it should feel. FWIW, converting that to the fox body efi shouldn't be too hard if you ever wanted to go nuts.

smog crap, so you mean like emission regulations? It is a later car so i guess it will have stuff like that..

Coldsnap wrote: smog crap, so you mean like emission regulations? It is a later car so i guess it will have stuff like that..

At this point, to see any still on them is unusual. If that comet has that stuff on it, that'd be my first advice to get rid of it all. It'll run better and wake the 302 up a good chunk. Plus it should be a rather easy process for a beginner. If you wanted to get into welding, you could modify those bumpers to be flush mount and clean up the appearance tenfold.

that comet might be the one

but that god ugly bumper, it looks like a nova with braces on its teeth

but this comet looks cool as hell http://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/curbside-classic-a-blazing-mercury-comet/

I dig the rims on the craigslist comet too, i guess those are stock?

They appear to be stock.....they're magnum style wheels a lot of things back then got.

Whoa and a strong challenger appears http://raleigh.craigslist.org/pts/3602989375.html

I haven't seen a Comet like those in decades.

It's the angle the picture is taken on. The orange Comet will have the front bumper sticking out as far as the Craig's one. Welcome to the '70's and 5 MPH bumper technology.

You should be able to pull that bumper in closer to the body by pulling the filler panel out and modifying the mounts. Or maybe using mounts from an earlier car. Something around '73-74 might still have the big crash bumpers, but might be in tighter to the body.

The wheels on it appear to be the stock Magnum 500 style wheel. I've always likes those. They would have been 14" diameter stock.

If you like the look of the Comet, look for its better looking Ford cousin the Maverick.

Coldsnap wrote: Whoa and a strong challenger appears http://raleigh.craigslist.org/pts/3602989375.html

No title might be a problem. But it could also be a donor combined with that Comet to make a good looking car out of it.

That comet could be my cheapest way to get into a v8 and have something to play around with. I see potential in it too if I ever want to take off those stripe detail thing and paint it another color. I could probably find something in the car too that will allow me to talk him down to $1,500.

Just look over the underside really well for rust......that'd be my biggest concern with one of those.

okay. I should probably ask him about that on the phone, save myself a 2 hour drive.

The stripe detail is a bunch of trim attached to the car. Probably by lots and lots of clips and studs. It can still all come off to clean up the lines of the car, but it's going to be more than a hair dryer and a few hours pulling vinyl.

and the 302 seemed to be the top option of the comet in 77

Hmm, 77 was the last year for the comet. That 302 should be a 200ish HP 2bbl.

I finally breezed through this entire post this morning. Good grief, the OP has automotive ADD.

Lots of good choices. Be patient, and don't buy anything that has rust issues. Oh, and don't buy a 4 door. You'll get absolutely zero respect at any car event you go to, and you'll have a terrible time ever selling it when you get tired of it. A 2 door body is worth any price premium. Unless it's a wagon; then all bets are off.

Be careful with the Maverick/Comet. I've seen otherwise solid looking cars have rust on the front frame rails where the steering box mounts. Very difficult to fix. Parts availability is only mediocre, and the engine bay is really tight for a V8. However, still very cool cars.

yamaha wrote: Hmm, 77 was the last year for the comet. That 302 should be a 200ish HP 2bbl.

Nope. It was a miserably low compression boat anchor with 134hp.