COMET CENTRAL

Well we've finally gotten to dig in on the Comet. Day one we got the engine all ready to pull and on day two (with some generous help from the folks who are letting us use the garage bay) we got it out and started tearing it down. Never seen so much gunk inside an engine, but I'm sure somebody else has. Stopped early today (since it's Christmas Eve and all). Back at it on Monday.

http://s1231.photobucket.com/albums/ee5 ... 20and%202/

Merry Christmas all

You weren't kidding,that is a lot of gunk!!!It doesn't look like much maintenance was pulled on that engine! Great to see a father-son project,I helped each of my two sons build their first cars,a 65 Caliente Hardtop and a 65 Ranchero.Keep us posted. ROY.

Well it's been idle for 20+ years, but they sure did a pretty re-paint job somewhere along the line to give it a "second-life." Looks like somebody even took the valve covers off once and scraped the tops free of some gunk."

nice Project ,Enjoy those Father and son project days.Cant wait til my son gets old enough to start on his car

Days 3,4 and 5 are in the books. All major components are out of the Carbondale Caliente.

Most of day 3 was spent just trying to get the intake manifold off! In the end (and against my better judgment) we went with my son's idea of chaining the engine and stand to the floor via foundation beam, then using the floor jack, a pry bar and a 3 foot breaker tube to apply upward pressure on the front main water passage (thermostat end) from below. With who knows how many pounds of pressure now applied, we followed with several strategic hammer hits on the underside of one of the 4 manifold overhang points and it eventually popped up.

If anybody has any other clever ways of getting an incredibly stuck intake manifold off, I'd love to hear them before the next time I tackle this?

After that the heads came off much easier as did the pistons and caps. Timing gears were a bit stubborn, but came off and we got the block, heads, intake, crank and cam to the machine shop on Thursday. Should know this week whether we're good to go or need to start searching for a new block. We're assuming the block will be fine, but not going to spend any more money on major related items until we know.


My son did the carb rebuild last week on a "day off"

Today we got the transmission out as well as the gas tank so now it's something like this. Have the radiator and fuel tank checked for leaks, re-cored, etc. Rebuild the generator (or more likely have this done) and power steering pump. Soaking and cleaning all the parts that need to be re-used (timing chain cover, fuel and oil pump) as well as anything that needs to be painted for re assembly (valve covers, oil pan).

Transmission... haven't decided whether we'll tackle this or take it in. Haven't done a trans rebuild before. Anything I should look for?

With the load significantly lightened, we'll get Super Dave the Body guy to come back and see what needs to be done to make it safe. She needs some frame work in the back and some support plates in the front corner as well as floor pans all around.

Tomorrow should be a day off and then back to school on Monday so it'll be more weekend work for a while now.

looks like yall are making fine progress. and sound as if yall have a great plan layed out. not sure on what to tell you on the trans, i never done one either. good luck with the rest and keep us posted it keeps the rest of us motivated.

What a cool project, nice solid looking starting point. Can't wait to see it done!

WOW do you guys move!
Nice to see it's a 6 bolt belhousing
For the cost I'd probably toss the old oil and fuel pumps for new.
All the crud that has gone through that oil pump will have probably opened
up the tolerences.
While your waiting on the motor and ya have nothin to do(haha) don't
forget the brakes ,new is cheap and if JR is anything close to normal
he'll be all over them more than once!!
Hope the undercarriage isn't worse than expected.
Looking forward to more updates
Fred

Cool project and keep the pics coming. Common for 64/65 comets to have rot in the frame right under the firewall and even more likely for all 60's ford amd merc convertibles.
Roger

"Working fast"? guess that's relative. It didn't seem like it as we stared at that manifold for an hour or more scratching our heads. Any speed comes from the motivation of talking about and searching for our convertible project for about a year, coupled with the two week holiday break from school (limited time to get a lot done).

As for rust, the whole front is solid right up to and including the firewall. The floor pans are shot and that plate that links the inner frame rail to the outer rockers is bad too. That's why I'm thinking once the new floor pans go in, it'll need a little fabricated reinforcement. The rust gets worse as you work backward, but the trunk is all good, so any fixing will be underneath and out of site. The rear quarters have been patched with fiberglass or something, but they're ok for now.




Previous owner had the seats re-done, so we get a pass on that one


Yes, we need to do the breaks all around. Front wheels are locked up so it won't even roll right at the moment.

The other thing it needs (and I'm hoping somebody can tell me if these are available) is the:

"every bushing in the entire front end steering/suspension" kit? Seriously.

...or do I have to just buy them one by one?

Money can't buy time you spend with son!!My son and I have built many cars..trucks ..dirt track cars .We've done alot,together,,,know he has a son and he's right there . What you do with them while they are 3 to 4 feet tall makes abig diff. when they get 5 or 6 feet tall. JMO pop

i agree Pop, we never built cars together but we raced go-carts and mountain bikes
those were the best times when he's in the zone and forgets your his dad and runs
you off the track! or punts you lose into the corner, i always smile when i think of those times

Groover wrote:" The other thing it needs (and I'm hoping somebody can tell me if these are available) is the:

"every bushing in the entire front end steering/suspension" kit? Seriously.

...or do I have to just buy them one by one?

http://www.springsnthings.com/
Found a Comet guy recomending this company on another site

http://www.springsnthings.com/
Found a Comet guy recomending this company on another site

This looks excellent. Thank you!

SASSY wrote:

Groover wrote:" The other thing it needs (and I'm hoping somebody can tell me if these are available) is the:

"every bushing in the entire front end steering/suspension" kit? Seriously.

...or do I have to just buy them one by one?

http://www.springsnthings.com/
Found a Comet guy recomending this company on another site

65 mustang suspension parts with the exception of the centerlink are the same as comet/falcon, and a lots cheaper. check some of the mustang dealers and you can get the complete kit. I bought upper and lower control arms w/ ball joints, tie rod ends, idler bushings, strut rod bushings, sway bar bushings as a kit. several years ago when I did mine it was right at $400. also ebay has suspension kits listed fron time to time. as you delve into your project you will find quite a few parts are the same as mustang. more readily available and less expensive.
you will find that there are very few sheet metal patch panels available. some for falcons such as floor pans, but no quarters or such. one company makes partial qtr patch panels but in fiberglass.

this is by far the best site for help and suggestions on your project. remember the only stupid question is the one that is not asked.

alan