The seller of this 1965 Mercury Comet claims it was found in a barn just 40 miles from the Woodburn, Oregon Drag Strip. Someone had started building it for drag racing, but never finished it. After the seller found it, they replaced the floors and got the engine running. It looks to be period correct, but will need some work to be driven or raced. It can now be found in Portland, Oregon or here on eBay.
This dragster is currently powered by a 289 cui V8 with a four barrel carburetor and a three speed manual transmission. The seller is also throwing in a Ford four speed top loader transmission with a Hurst shifter. The 289 was the top engine option for the Comet in ’65 and was rated at 271 hp. This is the same engine found in the Mustang and it shouldn’t be hard to find performance parts to upgrade it further.
To keep this Comet light, it has been stripped to the bare minimum. The back seat has been pulled, the carpet is gone, as is the headliner and door panels. To fill the holes left by stripping it out, the seller has installed aluminum panels, which give it a unique look. If we were going to use this for any serious racing, we would want to have a full roll cage and some seat belts installed. We would also want to make sure the new floor pan was installed properly.
Much of the major work has already been done on this Comet, but it will still need a few things done to it before it is road worthy. We would want to go through the brakes and also make sure that the frame is still solid enough to handle drag racing. If this was your Comet, what other modifications would you make to it?
A friend in High school had one of these (40 years ago) I drove it, it was a really fun car to drive. Remember, these were pretty small cars in the day. His was also the 289 4sp. I’ve said it here before, I’m a Chevy guy, but this would be a fun Ford. Put the 4 speed in, any safety stuff, I am not familiar with “raised ball joints” like the ebay ad says, but a straight axle would be pretty fun
Mercury raced the Comet in the East African Safari Rally and did well. They kept asking
for stiffer shocks until the shocks were breaking their mounts. I had a Comet wagon in the early 70’s, nice car.
Bigger engine and an Aod.
Anyone remember “Dyno” Don Nicholson from the sixties? I believe he drove this same type car. Probably faster, though!
I wonder what she sold for? Did you notice it featured a K Code 289? Rare bird.