A few weeks ago I sold my Harley Davidson motorcycle of 6 years. 20 minutes later I was sweeping up the garage, wad of cash in pocket, and fate brought one of my distant neighbors over for a visit. This would be no ordinary visit though, as he was there on business. He wanted to sell me his project car, a car which had been solely in his family since new- a '64 Comet convertible. He had undertaken a mechanical restoration years ago, but life interfered and the project stalled on him...for 15 years. Now I don't need another car, nor do I need another project, but I am a sucker for a cool 60's FOMOCO product and I can't resist. So we made a deal and pushed the shuttle a few blocks from his garage to mine. Follow along as I perform a sympathetic mechanical and cosmetic restoration of the Comet. It is my ambition to have her back on the road by November(ish)...we'll see about that (as I write this it's August 9, 2015).
Here is my first glimpse of the '64 comet. The engine and transmission have long ago been removed
Second glimpse, not too revealing, but for the fact that it hasn't seen the light of day since the year the last millennium.
Comet enjoying a little sunshine uncovered and in my driveway. It was necessary to fix the master cylinder and bleed the brakes to safely push/coast it to it's new home.
Nose up in the air due to lack of engine and transmission weight.
Boxes of replacement and upgrade parts were included in the car deal
Perhaps controversial in styling, but to my eye, time has been kind to this body style and it will make a very respectable cruiser with the right stance and exhaust note
The engine bay had already been seam-welded as the prior owner was planning to hot rod the car a bit and needed the extra structural strength.
This rebuilt and bored-out 289 came with the deal. It features a torquey street/strip cam and a 4 bbl manifold. Never been fired. The C-4 automatic has been rebuilt with shift kit and a custom built stall converter. Fingers crossed that 15 years of dormancy hasn't had any ill effects on either.
This wall of new parts were included as well. A complete MSD ignition system, sanderson shorty ceramic coated headers, Edelbrock carb, pulley kit, radiator, mounts, fasteners, etc, etc...
In the trunk are all the original parts for the car, save for the original engine block.
It's not all peaches and cream, though. The interior needs a fresh rug and rebuilding of the front seats, some new dash wood grain and a little general freshening, but overall I've got a lot of goodness to work with.
The rear bumper took a whammo in the past and this is going to be hard to find and/or expensive to repair
The structural rust on this vehicle is zero, however, the driver's side quarter panel has rotted through the outer skin due to a lack of proper drainage over the years.
After a quick bath, the original paint shows promise of returning to brilliance with a little careful buffing. I haven't looked at the convertible top yet- it will remain an unknown until such time that I am ready to use it. Time to get to work...
