One day hot day in 1964 0r 1965 I was riding my bicycle to town. It was almost 100°. Local guy stopped beside me in a 64 Maroon Caliente. "Put your bike in the trunk kid, I'll give you a ride". I was 9 or 10. His name was Marvin Sizemore. His was a 289, 271 hp hypo motor. Man, did that thing SCREAM! I'm 67 now, and have always been a car guy. A lot because of that very day! The word "caliente " means HOT. That ain't no joke. I often think of that day. It made an impression on me FOREVER! Thanks for making my day! Wow. Wow. Wow!!!
Our family had three boys and each of us have had a 64 Falcon two were Sprints with 4 speed and the other had a three speed on the tree, which was changed to a floor shift. The last one Futura.
Pretty awesome looking car. Love seeing Jack learning from you and his excitement. I helped my dad, well handed tools and held things for him, when he restored his brothers 1926 Model T. When I was a child, now 66yrs old, dad would take us riding in it when we went to visit our uncle and grandparents in Lynchburg VA. Love that you are making amazing memories with your boys that they will treasure forever!
Mercury Comet, a little upscale version of the Ford Falcon. 210hp 289. Nice having that trim, they can be hard to find. Probably a Rochester or Motorcraft Carb. Were the spark plugs "R" (resistor) spark plugs? They are nice project cars, I had a friend who had one back in the 70's, was his first car. My first car was a Ford (1966 Ford LTD, 352 4v) Jack I had a Craftsman similar to yours, mine was a twin cylinder, with a six speed transmission, parts can be hard to find, so if you're looking for a different tractor, that one would be good to sell for parts. Hydrostatic transmissions are expensive to replace. Good luck with your new project car.
@@SpeedBumpGarage It would have an "R" on the box and thr plug. They were made to supress electrical interference in the car radio caused by the spark plugs.
Tried to pull distributor on one of these, It is still in there somewhere. Hate the way they put the fuel filter into the carb. Each time you change it there is the risk of damage.🦇
Had one just like this same color. Motor blowed up that's when I put a 66 289 hp out of a 66 Ford Mustang in it and it ran pretty good. My second car at 16 years old back in 1971. Best motor Ford ever made.
really enjoyed this one. I remember when we were kids my dad had a black falcon and they do look similar. looking fwd to part II. :) get the mower running and sell it for the kind you want Jack!
First car I bought with my own money was a 1965 Comet 289 2 speed automatic. In 1975 it cost $200 it had 51,000 miles on it. When I retired it it had 114,000 miles on it. My Dad and I worked on it, I learned so much from that car. Love that you and Jack are working on this one together.
1:46 hydrostatic is better for that. The 4-5-6 speed boxes are prone to exploding when abused like that. Gears too weak to handle that sort of shenanigans. Hydrostatics are much MUCH more robust. I used to have a mower similar to that with a pedal operated hydrostatic and a 16hp Briggs flathead boxer that would EASILY lift the front end if I pinned it while at 3600RPM.
@@SpeedBumpGarage Yep. And it's worth noting that my mower was not hotrodded in any way. That's just how it was. Reverse --> slam it forward on pavement --> wheelie.
Do my eyes deceive me? This here Mercury has the aluminum 15" wire wheels from 1981-89 Lincolns, intact and with all four center caps! Which was more than what could be said for the wheels on my '81 Mark VI Givenchy back in the mid 90s.
Just a note: These are considerably longer than a Falcon or Mustang of the same year, even though they shared platforms. 181" for the Falcon 195" for the Comet
Mid '60's Fords: 1/2" & 9/16 and you can take apart the whole car! A buddy and I had a '65 Mustang we drag raced and it was easy to work on compared to all the techno toys of today.
Hey guys.i have a 1964 Mercury comet.i am looking for a pitmon arm but the trouble is too the car came out with power steering.the car is a 202 body style.it is a 2 door post.can you help me out?any suggestions?
Nice video l think they were built for the dragstrip that's why the trunk hangs over the rear wheels but it's just a guess thanks for the video it looked painful 😬
Fireworks! Nah, those aren't fireworks. What are they then? Looks like they're butt connectors. BUTT CONNECTORS! HA HA HA HA! --- That little exchange had me just about peeing my pants! Too funny!
Beautiful condition for '64 ! My Dad always had spare parts for his old cars in there trunks. He'd make sure to purchase a couple of parts each month to have on hand, just in case. He told us girls to purchase oil filters, relay switches, battery cables, thermostats, carburetor rebuild kit, spark plugs, wipers, vacuum hoses etc. He told us that way you never have to wait for them to be ordered. And the price with never be cheaper. He taught us girls to be self sufficient. Sounds great, just think it will be purring by the time you are finished. Stay happy, healthy, hydrated and safe.May God continue to bless you, your family and your adventures.
That is probably why it is so common to find good parts in the trunk of these old cars. There are so many switches and computers on today's cars I don't even know what parts a guy should start to keep on hand! I guess that is why I keep buying the old ones! Thanks for watching
I know that you will get haters bitching on what to do. I am a miserable seventy three year old man who owned the ford sprint version of this very car and my neighbor across the street from me had this very same car with one exception... it was factory four speed and the 427 badges makes me think he did order it that way as he was into drag racing like myself. Mine was a 390/C6 posi. I did it that way as my wife was a terrible standard transmission driver. For what ever reason, he traded it in on the Torino Cobra Jet dual fours an four speed with posi. Jeanne was a hell of a good friend an he showed up at my place many years later with a pick up that needed a new engine. We rekindled our friendship an drank a few beers together. I am so sorry that you are hurt and can not do the different fluid changes it really could use. Antifreeze is a gel base and so it causes pistons when running to stick just like a engine that had been sugared. I haven't seen any of my old friends from down south continental states... I live in alaska where no danger of anyone coming around. I see a lot of me in you as I never really fell in love with any rigs I built or just bought from the factory ordered ones. I would go to a dealership, look at the different folders for all the options that you could add on. Back then you were labeled a chevy person or ford or mopar. You just didn't mix company an drag race occurred quite often. So knowing this generation very little, I see you drive what you like at the moment an not so much by any brand as ford or chevy... Volkswagen. The different companies where still finding their feet in those times. For me being old, its not the money its worth but getting a car/truck to a good fit with its new owner. My own brother knowing I could never be able to drive again sent all of his cars/trucks/big equipment to the scrapper who had no problem crushing rigs... he laughed when he crushed the 36 ford roadster with all the bells and whistles... it was a frame off new restoration, we parted on very difficult feelings at that point because he was offered real big money for it. I am praying that if you don't have any feelings for these old rigs like when you sold the pick up, I think it was the 78 model rig that your never going to find again with that package. This Mercury you just got is a rare find, not impossible but tuff to find and keep it as it is, a survivor instead of restoring it.
The old Mercury would definitely be more fun with a 4 speed. I’m definitely not brand loyal lol, I just like stuff that is interesting or looks cool. Thanks for watching
That's a nice looking car. My ex brother-in-law had a Mercury Comet when he was dating my sister in early 70's or late 60's. Hope your heel feels better soon. Great you got to spend time working on it with your boys. Glad you got it going. Take care and stay safe out there. GOD BLESS Y'ALL.
Yea, y’all are back. I have been patiently waiting. Great car. Just wondering what you do for a living. I’m sure your foot has held you back. Hopefully it’s better soon.
If the 5th digit of the VIN is an "F" then the original engine was a 260 CID 2-barrel. If it is a "K", it was a 210hp 289 4V. I believe you'll find that the original engine has been replaced in that car with a newer engine as the valve covers look newer and the original engine would have had an generator as opposed to the alternator- best figure what motor you have first as it will help you make decisions about what you may want to do to make more power. The service manuals for the Comet/Falcon are still commonly available on Ebay. There were like at least five assembly plants building Comets and prior to May 64, the front end parts (tie rod ends, drag link. etc) were not standardized - they differ not only based on manual / power steering but also by plant. Last piece of advise- the front struts on the 64 were not adjustable but the struts from the 1963 were and if you install them on your 64 you can correct the position of the lower control arms and get a better alignment.
My first car was a ‘60 Mercury Comet, 3speed on the column. A friend did a tune up on it. It was fun to drive. Thanks for sharing what you and Jack did for the 64!
Pretty cool project. I have a 4 door Comet of the same year that i've been enjoying. Unfortunately mine has the 200 I6 and Merc-o-matic transmission (2 speed) so its quite slow. I'll be shoving a modern linear 6 into it within the next year or so.
Jack that was funny, AJ is trying to figure out those aren't firecrackers so what are butt connectors? He laughed at that one and so did I. Great job Kent, it sounded like it might have a bigger cam in there to. What a nice car to have at Speed Bump Garage. Good luck with it. Hope your foot is feeling better real soon so you can get back on this car.
In 1968 I bought a 67 Comet Caliente with the 225 horse 289 and a 4 speed. It had an Autolight 4300 0n it which I replaced with a Holley from a 66 390. i put a used set of Doug headers on and got the valvetrain from the K code 289. I then replaced the factory shifter and linkage with a Hurst Competition Plus and proceeded to blow the fenders off my buddys new 383 Road Runner. those were the days.
In 1963 Ford Motor Co conducted a publicity stunt in which they ran several Mercury Commets around a track, averaging 100 mph for 30 days. If I recall, the cars used were almost identical to the car in this video, being two-door hardtops. I've loved this model Comet ever since. 😎 Does anyone else out there remember this event?
This was my very first car. My dad restored 65 comet's and came across a brownish/gold one. I completely cleaned the inside and painted the panels for the roof. And it was immaculate inside. But the day he got it running. He gave it away to his friend. (I was already 18 buy then). I want to say that mine has a generator instead of an alternator.
@@SpeedBumpGarage cool I had asked my dad if we could switch it to alternator and I think he said yeah probably. (I was 14 when he got it. I would sit in it for hours and clean it. I even took a straight pin and cleaned every slit in the window winder knobs.
It's great. Parts from a 64&65 Falcon will interchange. Doors and Fenders off a 64 or 65 Falcon will fit right on the Comet . If you had to you could put a 351 Cleveland or Windsor. Can be a powerful car. Antifreeze wouldn't hurt it, 260 V8 in 1964… For sure.
We built the 260 V8 that was in my brother's 1964 Falcon and put dual points, full race cam, two 4 barrel carbs, high rise intake. Race a lot of Z28's with the Falcon and GTO's and never lost a race.
I know someone who restored 1940 Woody. All handcrafted wood SOLD. He was a sailing yacht craftsman,teak deck with brass and teak interiors. Currently restoring a 1939 Woody.
Such a good Father Kent and wonderful sons Jack and AJ it is such a joy to watch the teamwork Im an Okie and love everything about the Channel your so lucky to have such rust free cars even the 1960 station wagon looks pristine even with no glass love the 68 F100 this Caliente’ is just beautiful and the oklahoma red dirt and black 1960 Starliner is a beauty too I had a 67 Ford F100. Miss that tough old truck Oklahoma is awful good to Cars I will tell you Sleeperdude sure gets ahold of some really rusty vehicles yet perservers these oklahoma cars are pristine compared to lots of other places other than the VW Bug for a t-shirt and cap loved the linotype at the Mooreland Paper lived down the street from a Champlain, Mobil, Kerr Mcgee, Phillips66 and a Conoco and a Sinclair all fighting for your fillup at 21.9 cents a gallon for Ethyl aka Premium I could barely carry the dollars worth of lawnmower gas back home with out having to rest when I was 5 or 6 years old maybe 7 anyway it was too heavy to ride my bike and get the gas at the same time my Mom would roll the window down and say fill it up with Ethyl and give the attendant 3 or 4 dollars and he would clean the windshield and check the oil and tire pressure in a pretty clean uniform while others worked on neighborhood cars or fixing tires battery’s oil changes and all the stations where really busy and people where happy the service station guys had hotrods and we all knew each other or they were the older brothers of friends and cars were plentiful esp really affordable used ones and people worked and wanted to work Oklahoma is a really great place I can say that from experience having lived there during my younger years red dirt is just beautiful to me as well as the names of the towns and the views maybe one day I will return Im hoping sooner lol rather than later ❤ keep up the great work guys
Just be sure you add some zinc additive when you change the oil, because today's oils don't have enough of it for flat tappet cams. Otherwise it will grind the cam out of it! I use Lucas Oil zinc additive myself. Nice car. Would have loved to have that 42 years ago when I was in high school! Wishing you a Speedy recovery too! Been there riding one of those myself! Broke a bone in my right foot and didn't walk for 4 months! Major PITA! Great to see you teaching your son! Great to see a boy his age interested in cars!
That's a good point on the oil. I have flattened a few cams in my day unfortunately. I have read that quality diesel engine oils such as Rotella have better anti wear additive packages that are more suitable for flat tappet engines. Thanks for watching
27:04 the antifreeze diet that thing tried out is gonna ruin every rubber part in the fuel system. Every rubber line, every gasket, the diaphragm in the mechanical fuel pump. They do not like that high an alcohol concentration. You will need to do a total fuel system replacement on that car before itt'l run right.
@@SpeedBumpGarage Yup. The nice thing is it's a simple old car and not too difficult to fix that. Not like it would be on an EFI rig. Shouldn't be much to worry about, degredation wise. Fuel pump, carb kit, new rubber lines around the fuel pump and at the tank, and maybe a new seal around the giant stopper nut that holds the pickup/sending unit in. Be a great video for when your leg's healed up. Or maybe even before since a lot of it can be done laying on a creeper underneath the car, or sitting on a stool at the workbench.
I love this . I am thoroughly enjoying this video. I watch your gardening videos Jack but you are a natural in the car garage. You are great at this video adventure also. You two have a new, very old fan!! 😊
