New (to us) 1964 Caliente

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jas280z
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Joined: Tue Jul 25, 2017 5:52 am

New (to us) 1964 Caliente

Post by jas280z »

This past weekend my dad and I purchased our second classic Mercury, a 1964 Comet Caliente convertible. The car started life in Peacock Blue, with a Turquoise interior. The original drive train was a Mercury K code 289, C4 transmission, and 3.25 open 8" rear end.
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In the years since it rolled of the assembly line, it has stay fairly stock cosmetically, save an unfortunate color choice on replacement convertible top. It is a very solid car. It does not appear to have ever been comprehensively restored, but it purportedly spent the majority of its life in the southern US, so it avoided much of the salt and corrosion that affected its northern siblings. The interior appears mostly original, save for a Mustang style floor mounted automatic shifter, more on that later. The door panels do not appear correct, or they have lost the embossing over the years. That is one of the first things my dad plans to replace.

Mechanically, the suspension, brakes, and rear end are still OEM spec. The engine and transmission are a different story, they were swapped by a previous owner for a late 80s/early 90s 5.0 HO (later MAF style injection) and AOD. The swap appears to be very well done, wiring is neatly routed and relays/other "modern" electronics are well placed. I am not a huge fan of the cosmetics of the HO intake, I'd rather swap in an Edelbrock intake and Holley Sniper EFI, in order to put a stock air cleaner on, but it seems to work very well now, so we will leave well enough alone for a while. From our test drive, the engine pulls strongly and the transmission shifts well.

We purchased this car, and it had to be a 1964 specifically, since it was the first car my late grandfather bought new in the US after moving my dad's family to the US from Italy a couple years earlier. My dad loved the "mini-Lincoln" grille from day one, and has been wanting to get one back for quite some time. That original Comet was a not a K code convertible, but we figured this would be a fitting upgrade.

The plan for this car is to drive it as much as we can. It will share a garage with some significantly better "investments" as far as classic cars go, including a 1967 Cougar restomod that is still a work in progress, but this car was bought to be a goer not a shower. Long term, we plan to improve the brake setup, dual pot master cylinder at a minimum, probably front discs as well. Eventually, we may build a up performance 289 to replace the 5.0 HO and make it more like an original K code, but that would be a winter project a few years down the road. The AOD will likely stay, unless we decide to do a 5 speed swap.

Pictures can be found here: http://imgur.com/a/6lwD2

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Groover
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Re: New (to us) 1964 Caliente

Post by Groover »

jas280z wrote:This past weekend my dad and I purchased our second classic Mercury, a 1964 Comet Caliente convertible.

The plan for this car is to drive it as much as we can.
I like that last line. Welcome aboard.
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1964 Comet Caliente Convertible
30,000 miles on our rebuild

All Comets start out as dreams...

lavron
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Re: New (to us) 1964 Caliente

Post by lavron »

Welcome to the Forum and I like that Comet a lot thanks for sharing.

You will find a lot of information here and even more helpful people.

See Ya,
Mike
Mike's build thread
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=13058
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Santa's Comet
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Re: New (to us) 1964 Caliente

Post by Santa's Comet »

Got to Love those 64 Comets!
Welcome!
NP Dave
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poboyjo65
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Re: New (to us) 1964 Caliente

Post by poboyjo65 »

Welcome on! :D Nice car !! K code does not mean hipo for comets, it only means 289 4v, 210 HP. not the 271HP hipos the fords got. It is often used as a sales pitch on 64 comets, which has probably been going on since 64. :roll: You're right about that top color,what were they thinking? :? maybe you could dye it? Love the wheels!they are perfect for the car! you can get merc head center caps for those in red,blue or black. nice shop too! I have some big phillips 66 letters that would look good on that wall.
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Johno

jas280z
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Joined: Tue Jul 25, 2017 5:52 am

Re: New (to us) 1964 Caliente

Post by jas280z »

poboyjo65 wrote:K code does not mean hipo for comets, it only means 289 4v, 210 HP. not the 271HP hipos the fords got.
Yeah, luckily both we and the seller knew this to be the case. WAYYY too many K code Comets are still marketed as HiPo, and have asking prices that would go along with a HiPo car.

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Jims65cyclone
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Re: New (to us) 1964 Caliente

Post by Jims65cyclone »

Welcome aboard! Great looking car (except the top...what were they thinking? :shock: Like John said, maybe you can dye it. Just keep it down when you're out cruising. :lol:
Jim
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lavron
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Re: New (to us) 1964 Caliente

Post by lavron »

Ok so I had to go look at the pictures, well, hmm, maybe they got that top for free or something. :roll:

I know you will make it right eventually, still a sweet car.

See Ya,
Mike
Mike's build thread
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=13058
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popscomet
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Re: New (to us) 1964 Caliente

Post by popscomet »

I LIKE EVERYTHING about this 64,,,,,includeing the top....why be like ALL the rest and have a white or black top....BE DIFFERENT AND STAND OUT IN THE CROWD,,,DON'T BLEND IN :!: :shock: 8) :) :wink: altho..TTD'S wheels would make it POP :wink: ............pop
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pop/glenda

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