Ahhh that new car smell - 1964 Mercury Comet Caliente hardtop!

I'm a sucker for anything in the form of a 60's era two door hardtop. And obviously I have a particular interest in the Falcon and Comet. While I was wrapping up the rehab on my blue 64 convertible, this little gem popped up on my local Craigslist looking for a sympathetic new home. Now, seeing as I haven't bought a car in at least 5 months, clearly the planets have aligned and brought us together. It's a cosmic thing.                          

"Bruno," as the old German lady who owned him for the last 30 years called him, has been weathering out in a field for the last decade. Ingrid parked him in 2004 due to what she described as "death-wobble" in the front end whenever she'd hit a bump in the road. When I found him he was/is in pretty rough shape. It's unclear how much of the degradation occurred during dormancy, and how much was already there leading up to his 2004 mothballing.                              

 He was sitting on 4 flat tires and stitched to the ground by spiderwebs too numerous to count. His corners are bashed and his soft parts are all hard and cracked. The good news is that he's virtually rust free, short of a little non-obtrusive surface rust. I had in mind to purchase Bruno with the intent of harvesting some of his nicer trim pieces for my convertible, than give him a quick "refresh" to make him a driver. I may practice my panel beating skills to straighten some of his dents, and strip out the shot interior.

But I'm getting ahead of myself...Today I am heading out to make him run again. I will flush the fuel system, rebuild the carb, change the points, condensor, cap and rotor, change the engine oil and filter, prime the oil pump, drop in a new battery, and voila!

When he's moving under his own power again, I'll tuck him away in the side yard for warmer days. With the completion of the convertible, my focus has once again shifted back to my beloved wife's BMW 2002, which I will be completing hopefully by this summer....But stay tuned, as Bruno here will be the subject of future posts.

                                  
            I enlisted the help of a friend to replace Bruno's wheels and tow him out of the field.

 Luckily, Bruno rolled freely and his brakes worked good enough to safely extract him from the soggy terrain.

               We tugged him a block down the road to my waiting truck and borrowed trailer.

 I towed Bruno home without incident and he's presently brightening up the neighborhood from my driveway.

                                                   Grill and front bumper dented

                      drivers fender hammered...this will be challenging, if not impossible to fix...

                                                 Rear bumper and trunk lid damaged.

 Passenger quarter panel pushed in, also a challenging repair. This will definitely put my humble body skills to the test.

     Engine is complete and looks about as good as can be expected given it's storage conditions.

                                                       Gratuitous spider web shot.

                                           Cracked dash pad, peeling instrument panel

                                                                     seat...

                                                                       headliner...

                                          Factory Power brakes! A nice luxury option!

Lichen everywhere. I think I'll give him a bath first. Yes he looks pretty roached out, but when I look at him, I see what he's capable of becoming, I don't hold his faults against him. At his core, he's a rare, sporty, classic V8 powered two-door hardtop Merc coupe with crisp styling and low-cost of ownership that will eventually provide lots of driving enjoyment and the occasional smokey burn-out.

Incidentally, I also occasionally see this when I look at Bruno long enough...Hmmm.

(Google "rally comet" or "afx comet" to learn more about these cars' legendary racing prowess)