Car Talk: Comets


Roofline I’ve always liked the early Comets with ’63½ roofline. I really came close to buying a new 1963 Ford Galaxie with a 427 and a 4 speed toploader. But, alas, the payments would have been about $20 per month more than my entire monthly salary as a new recruit in the US Army. So, fast forward about 40 years and I’m looking for the roofline as much as any particular car. There were the big Ford and Mercury examples, as well as Falcons and Comets.

These two, a 1965 Cyclone and a 1964 Caliente, are examples that I’ve found. I really like the looks and the small V8 is great. The 221 to 302 cubic inch small Ford V8 has about as many options and opportunities as any engine except the small block Chevy.

65 Comet
It is hard to decide just what to do with these cars. Yes, I will sell them if my price is met. The price is $3500 for either one, just the way they are. Neither of them run. Both have significant rust in the front floors. Both need some frame repair around the rear spring perches. Beyond that, I haven’t removed the interiors to continue checking. The ’64 also has some crappy repairs in the quarter panels that will need some work if not total replacement.

Why so much for barely repairable cars? Well, first they are pretty well complete and can be completed without parts cars or a NOS/New replacement bill that would break the budget. Also, they are a bit special.

64 Comet
The door tag for the 1964 Caliente reads, (I know you can’t really make this out in the picture) 63D 5 (or S?) 37A 13D 45 1 5. This translates as a 2Dr. HT with bench seat, (a 5 in the 65 models is dark Turquoise (there is no 5 or S color in the information I have for 1964), 37A is Light Turquoise interior, 13 D is April 13, 45 is Twin Cities district, 1 is 3:00 – 1 rear axle ratio and 5 is four speed transmission. It was manufactured in Lorain, OH with a 260 V8 engine (code F).

The 1965 plate reads as a 1965 Cyclone 2Dr. HT with bucket seats and a 289 engine (code A) which is a 4V Prem. The rest of the code is X (maroon met.) ?16 (Black fabric with white vinyl), 2?G is in July from the (T) Metuchen, NJ plant and delivered to the (42) St Louis district. The rear axle ratio is also 3:00 – 1 and the transmission is a C-4 automatic.