1964 Mercury Comet

1964 Mercury Comet Caliente Hardtop The Mercury Comet, originally developed as an Edsel model, transitioned to a Mercury vehicle in 1960, sharing its platform with the Ford Falcon. It was initially marketed as a compact car and later became part of the intermediate class in 1966. The Comet saw various performance modifications and racing applications, particularly in drag racing, with notable models like the Comet Caliente and the lightweight high powered A/FX versions.  For consignment, a 1964 Mercury Comet Caliente hardtop with the true mileage unknown. This car has been owned by our consignor since 1968 and has been garage kept ever since. At some point, more than $20,000 was spent to build the engine and now you have a Caliente that's not just hot, it's scorching!  Exterior The fiberglass hood, front fenders, and doors keep things light and single stage turquoise paint covers it all, including the side body lines which look like the trailing flare of a shooting comet. Up front, mean looking front intake ducts ride the front of the hood, confronting oncoming air and scooping as much as possible while the vertical front grille takes in some of its own. In back, a grille like panel is in the center and the tail lights bring in some space age patterns of round afterburners backed by a panel of reflective red plastic, totally unique. 15-inch Weld wheels project the potential of a race but the lack of any external tailpipes will have red light warriors wondering. Overall, the paint is full of patina with more pronounced imperfections like chips, cracks, fiberglass repairs on the hood, and other various blemishes. The metalwork on the car could use some freshening as well.  Interior Blue alligator stamped vinyl inserts decorate the door panels which are framed by the exterior's turquoise paint and bordered in black vinyl with some patina setting in. Racing bucket seats and five point harnesses occupy the front and things just go serious at that red light. The rear bench maintains its stock configuration of varying blue tuck and roll patterned vinyl and the alligator extends to the sidewalls in back as well. A three spoke steering wheel front a cluster of gauges and the stock dash, showing quite a bit wear, is back there but obscured by race required readouts, including a large tach and shift light as well as a big speedometer mounted on the column. A triple gauge pod is mounted in front of the dash center and wires are routed through an existing hole. A Hurst Quarter Stick shifter is mounted on a pedestal and the floor has black loop carpet in place, while the white headliner above is loose and sagging. The trunk is clean and lined with various themes and textiles.  Drivetrain Here's the money shot! Under the hood is a clean 347ci V8 stroker fully built and includes an Eagle cast steel crank, Eagle SIR forged rods, Federal Mogul positions, a performance roller cam, AFR Renegade 185 heads with 58cc chambers, 2.02i/1.60e valves, Scorpion roller rockers, and high performance valve springs. An Edelbrock intake wears a Holley DFT Slayer 4-barrel carburetor and the whole package is backed by a C4 3-speed automatic transmission sending power to the Ford 9 in back with 3.73 gears and Positraction. Naturally, headers are onboard to begin the exhaust process. Disc brakes are equipped at all four wheels.  Undercarriage Clean and race ready underneath with shut off switch, driveshaft loop, and Cherrybomb Extreme mufflers at the tail end of the exhaust with tips terminating under the car. There's a deep sump oil pan and a finned transmission and we note some green droplets on the oil pan. There are small spots of rust through on the floorboards but no other rust to speak of. The knuckles are clear and the suspension consists of coil springs up front with leaf springs and Caltracs bars in back with new adjustable shock absorbers front and rear. Drive-Ability Every angle but the front presents a bit of a sleeper,