Introducing my UK Cyclone

[The Transplanter]

A friend of mine imports a few early Mustangs into the UK out of California. And his contact in the States found this 65 Cyclone out in a barn whilst he was out looking at a Fastback!

My friend knowing I was looking for something a little different than a Mustang thought of me and the deal was done

These are the actual pics the deal was done on











I had to wait a few weeks for it to get to me, but yesterday I finally got my hands on it! A new battery, fluid checks and some fuel down the carb and it fired right up! But that wasnt that surprising as I was told it was in use until last year, and an insurance document in the glove compartment verified that. The plan was to trailer it the few miles to my workshop, but everything seemed to be in order so I decided to drive it back instead. The interior is shot and stinks of rat pee so it was all windows open and my head was virtually out the window whilst driving

Rat infested interior.

The plan is to completely replace & restore this, and I have been recommended http://www.falconcometinteriors.com/ unless anyone knows better?



I was hoping that the paintwork was going to be slightly better as the plan was to keep its original patina, and paint on some "faded" BFX style decals to give it that old race car look. But someone has painted it in the past and all the paint has reacted and left it all the paint on top crazed & craked! But if I can flat that out and save the original worn paint underneath I will, otherwise I will give it a full respray at some point.



Its had a small knock above the tail light in the past, and the old bondo has cracked & fallen out, but I will repair this correctly when the time comes





I have restored a few vehicles over the years, and although this is the largest I think its going to be one of the easiest as there is no rust to talk of! the floors and the underside are all good, its just the surface rust on the body that you can see in the pictures The only difficulty will be sourcing parts this side of the pond, except for the related Mustang mechanical's.

At the moment the plan is to steam clean all the "barn" dust from it and remove that stinking interior! Then I will go over the mechanical's so that I can get it MOT'd (I guess its like an annual DMV inspection) and registered for UK roads Once that's done then the real work can commence.

Oh, and I also found the original steering wheel in the boot which was a bonus

(You can also see the close up condition of the paint in this pic)


More soon

Al

[CALIFORNIA CALIENTE]

Looks like a SOLID COMET!!Good luck,keep the pictures coming during the rebuild!! ROY

[popscomet]

WELCOME,GLAD YOU HAVE seen the light and got yourself a FORD mercury comet,we won't hold that s10 crap against you..seems it's getting to the point no matter where you go ,you will be able to see a COMET,,,good luck on your re-do and on getting rid of the rat pee smell,,,need help? just post it and wait,the right person will read it and get back to you ,,there are some very nice and go to guys on here with some mighty nice 65's......and if you can think up a question....then it ain't dumb......POP

[The Transplanter]

Thanks for the warm welcome guys, my questions wont be to retarded, they will be more about spec and whats right or wrong so I can search out the correct parts Im also someone who learns fast on spec and detail so I will be up to speed before you know it

So my first questions are related to some parts on my particular vehicle:

1: In the pic above, one headlight bezel has a triangular section painted in white, and the other side in black! Obviously one has been changed, but which is correct?

2: Im missing the Tach off the dash, I believe these were fitted as std equipment on the Cyclone's. Is the fixing on top of the dash that you can see in the pic below the remains of the original?



3: The front grill has been changed at some point as it looks like it come out of a wreckers yard! Would I be right in thinking that it is not a Cyclone grill as the chrome bars extend past the circular ring? And if I were to paint the outer part black then that would be correct?





4: As I said I found the original steering wheel in the trunk, it looks as if the plastic tabs on the horn should twist and lock in, but these look broken! Is that the case and can the plastic part be purchased, and is there anything else missing from the assembly? Also should the stock finish be this kind of wood grain on the wheel?





Thanks in advance

Al

[comethead]

Al I have seen the headlight bezel triangular piece both black and silver. Even in old pics. I believe it has to do with where it was built.
That is indeed the original tach base on the speaker grill. It's a small faced tach that's correct. They come up on eBay at times. Also contact Pete Girard at CometEast website. He restores tachs and sometimes has them ready to go.
The grill is the correct Cyclone grill. The horizontal grill bars outside of the ring were blacked out from the factory.
The steering wheel plastic wood grain is correct too.
That small plastic piece on the steering wheel is a common part to 65-66 mustangs.

Great looking Cyclone!

Joe

[poboyjo65]

Comethead knows comets! it should have a spring in there too,between the hornring & wheel.

[lavron]

I'm with Joe on the headlight bezel thing you can probably go whatever color you like, I am going to make a guess that at one time maybe your Comet experienced a little front end damage and had some things replaced with salvage parts, if you can figure out which has been replaced you can figure out the original color that came on the car, my choice would be black once you paint the grill surround black, you can look and see what some of the '65 guys have done on here.

The tach, if you go original, is going to be expensive, I think there are some replicas about however.

See Ya,
Mike

[The Transplanter]

Al I have seen the headlight bezel triangular piece both black and silver. Even in old pics. I believe it has to do with where it was built.
That is indeed the original tach base on the speaker grill. It's a small faced tach that's correct. They come up on eBay at times. Also contact Pete Girard at CometEast website. He restores tachs and sometimes has them ready to go.
The grill is the correct Cyclone grill. The horizontal grill bars outside of the ring were blacked out from the factory.
The steering wheel plastic wood grain is correct too.
That small plastic piece on the steering wheel is a common part to 65-66 mustangs.

Great looking Cyclone!

Joe

Thanks for the info Joe

I think I read on here that the flag colours also vary from plant to plant! (I believe mine is a LA built car with an Oakland DSO)

I will check out CometEast and the plastic horn ring

Cheers

[The Transplanter]

Just found the horn retainer & spring new (re-pop) here in the UK

Thanks guys

[albert]

Nice car to work on. Take your time and do it right? All info you will require resides with the members of the Comet Central Forum.

[Comechero65]

When I got the parts for my comet front end one of the headlight extensions had remnants of the small triangles having been black and the others silver. Since they were so nicked and ugly looking I simply removed them then painted the recessed triangles body color. So far not one person has even noticed so I guess they appear normal or just that they belong.

Also painted the parking lamps body color as well since they were so beat up and by the time I cleaned them up the anodize was too far gone.


Ron

[Jims65cyclone]

Joe's the man on the answers to your questions. What color are the checkers on your quarter panel flags? I've seen both red and black. I think it was probably a plant and assembly date issue. When was yours built? Mine was assembled in Loraine in December 64, so it's an early 65. The checkers on all the 65's on the rear Cyclone badge are red, as were mine, but my quarter panel flags had remnants of black on the checkers. My theory is that since the front fender flags on the 64 Cyclones had black checkers, and the flags on the 64's and 65's are physically the same, each plant probably used up their inventory of left over 64 flags before they broke out the inventory of new 65 red-checkered flags. Nobody probably gives a rip, but it would be interesting if yours fits that theory.
Lucky find on the steering wheel in the trunk. The three-spoke Cyclone wheels are hard to find. Yours appears in good shape except for the hub crack, but that should be repairable. Looks like your console lid is in good shape, too. The lids aren't re-popped, so if it weren't in good shape, like mine, you'd have to find an original. Most you find are dented and/or the pot metal trim ring is bent or broken where the girlfriend sat on it, or somebody put their knees on it while reaching in the back seat.
You've got some good stuff to work with. It will be fun to watch your progress. Do you plan to restore it or resto-mod it?
Jim

[popscomet]

I just hope they don't sell CRAGERS in the UK.....pop

[poboyjo65]

I just hope they don't sell CRAGERS in the UK.....pop

[The Transplanter]

Again thanks for the informative info gents

Whats the deal with Cragers Pops? Is this an "in" joke or are they crap? I always thought Cragers were "old school" and respected?!?

For your info they do sell Cragers over here lol. In fact the largest supplier of US wheels over here is a 15 minute drive away from me

http://www.northhantstyres.com/