How about a reasonably priced 1960s V8 powered convertible with a 4 speed? Perhaps you’d like something a little different from all the cars at the show? This 1965 Comet Caliente Convertible could be a contender with it’s 260 V8 and factory Hurst 4 speed. It’s shares the Mustang’s platform. It looks like it’s all there waiting to be refreshed. The seller’s asking price of $7500 seem kind of high, don’t you think? Hopefully, being a California car, there’s not much rust beyond the rear fender wells. The owner has done a lot to revive this car, including windshield, fuel pump and fuel lines, so it’s a running, driving car. What would you do with this convertible? You could drive it and restore it over time, perhaps starting with a top and exterior. All the Mustang performance and suspension mods will work for this Comet as well. It’s south of San Jose a bit and listed here on craigslist.
Muy caliente! Also, if one can judge by the photos, a good candidate for a straightforward and relatively inexpensive resto. I’d certainly offer less to the seller, but would guess some haggling would get it for a fair price.
The Comet’s direct relative was, of course, the Falcon. I don’t know how rare the Comet convertibles were, but Ford made a zillion Falcon convertibles, many in “Sprint” form, and I’m pretty sure such things as tops and a lot of interior bits are direct swaps.
You could, of course, beef up the suspension and engine a bit using Mustang hop-up pieces without damaging the car’s originality beyond repair.
I like it!
It has potential. 4 speed makes it alright with me. Check out this for inspiration:
http://hollywoodhotrods.com/1963-s-22-comet-convertible/
Minor detail… ’64 Comet. Anyway, this one looks to be in good condition but the price is a bit strong in my opinion.
Hi JW454, HA, good one. That didn’t look right to me either ( only because I didn’t care for the “stacked” headlights of the ’65). I believe this is indeed a rare model and probably was the Mercury equivalent to the Falcon Futura Sprint.
ANYONE WILLING TO COMMENT……Unrelated to this car, but a question. I am a GM guy so bear with me…..I just ran across what I believe is a 65 Comet. It has badges on the rear quarters that say Cyclone and has a hood on it like the one at the bottom of this page with the two rectangular openings in it. 4 speed manual. not sure on engine. hood pins. What can you tell me about that car?
Hi Tom,
The Cyclone was Mercury’s performance model. The Comet is essentially a Ford Falcon, with a few visual tweaks and different trim. Adding the Cyclone option gave the Comet the same V8 powerplant found in the Mustang, with the Hi-Po K Code 289 as an additional option. There weren’t many Comet Cyclones built in ’65, so if it is indeed a ’65 Cyclone it is one of about 400 built. I would want to have a look at the car’s numbers to see if it’s a real Cyclone or a clone. If it is real, you found yourself quite the find! If you’d like to send me some photos, I’d love to post it on the site for everyone to have a look at!
Thanks,
Josh
Nice candidate for restoration, I do like the 4 spd and V8 version. A nephew of mine had one similar he sold awhile back, said he is sorry he ever sold it. He called it his Vomit with a Throw Up Top, just had to do it…I do think this ride is a bit over priced. I would go maybe $5k tops.
Lots of potential, but I like it a lot more for 5 grand.
if the rust is not too bad this would make a nice project/driver. looks like it has power steering. nice find.
This looks like a great starter and one that someone can at least drive around the block to stay enthused while working on it. I’d sure want to make sure the title says ’64 and everything is legit paperwork wise.
Rare…with the others – 4 speed is rare in a Comet….and the buckets – console as well…price is maybe a little high – he would maybe take $5000 for it….where can you find a Mustang convert 4sp for that and it looks all there ? If my 64 Sprint would have had the 4sp I would have kept it.
The very first car that I can really remember from my childhood was a ’64 Comet 4-door. My father bought it as a rebuildable wreck, and after he finished we used it as a family car for a while. It was a six-cylinder with automatic and a/c (I would think very unusual in this price class, and very welcome in summertime Louisiana) but no radio. We rode around with my sister’s transistor radio on the front seat.
Every time I see a ’64 Comet, I smile.
About the price–this car is a very complete, drivable V8 convertible; unusual compared to some of the hopeless junk often seen here. I don’t know if $7,500 is out of line as an asking price. That leaves plenty of room under, say, a $20,000 ceiling to pretty this old girl up. Think about what it costs to get into any kind of modern rolling stock these days.
Any knowledgeable person re:65 Comets, see my question (reply above) below “JW454” and Howard A. Thanks !!!!
Hi Tom, while I don’t think it’s as rare as Josh says, according to this site, there were about 7,454, ’64 Cyclones and 12,347 for ’65. Still, I’m sure it’s not seen too often. Many were raced and trashed. http://auto.howstuffworks.com/1964-1965-mercury-comet-cyclone.htm
The 260 was not available in 1965.