COMET CENTRAL

ArkansasComet wrote:What is the width of a stock 1965 8" axle?

Not sure but here are the measurements from my handy little chart going from narrowest to widest;

69-77 Maverick - 56.5
74-78 Mustang II - 57
57-59 Ford - 57.25 (probably a 9")
65-66 Mustang - 57.25
66-77 Bronco - 58
64-65 Falcon - 58
77-81 Granada - 58

Everything else is bigger and I don't know if all these are 8" or different sizes I know the 6 cylinder Comets etc had 7 1/4" (or whatever it is) rears but the V8 had the 8" I believe, someone can correct me on that.

See Ya,
Mike

Very interesting build so far! I'm actually going back and forth negotiating a little with a fella for a running 65 202 sedan right now myself for my son; hoping we can work it out. I pretty much had to hand build quarters for a 64 convertible I had, pics should still be on here somewhere. I generally frown on welding jackets (it's a millwright thing) but i can remember being up inside the rear tubs wishing i had one for all those spot welds! Love the cage idea also. Definitely following along -

Keep it up!

Dan

Thanks for the info. Mike!

Thanks for the comments Dan! I am the same way with a welding jacket, it's so hot out here that I hate wearing a jacket but I really regret it when I don't wear one & burn my arms! My first '65 202 was my first car & is the reason I know how to work on my own cars today. I think the best thing you can do for your son is get him a car to teach him how to fix it himself (assuming he is young & still learning). In my opinion these old cars are the best way to learn basic mechanic skills since everything is so much simpler than on modern cars.

I'm finally back from my 2 week work trip/vacation. I flew out to CA for work & was hoping to pick up a passenger side door in LA, but unfortunately I ran out of time. However, while I was gone, my fiberglass from Crites finally arrived! It only took over 8 months but I was prepared for the long wait, it's not like my car is going anywhere anytime soon! I ordered a ram air hood, gravel shield & front/rear bumpers. I have heard bad things about their hoods, but when I placed my order the nice lady at Crites informed me that they had a new guy doing their hoods because of past problems, & I am happy to say the hood I received looks great! The gravel shield & rear bumper also look very nice. The front bumper however will need some work, it has some distortion in the middle where the license plate mounts, but I think I can fix it. Luckily I am familiar with fiberglass since my T-100 off-road truck is almost all fiberglass (just like my bro's Bronco & Ranger in the background). Here are some quick pics. I took yesterday, the front is just mocked up since I haven't drilled any holes in the fiberglass yet. Sorry for the poor quality pics, the fiberglass is so bright that my shop lights made it hard for my phone to get a good pic.





Rear bumper



Distortion in the front bumper

This is full of coolness

See Ya,
Mike

Try heating the fiberglass part move it where you want it then let it cool.

Seeing that car, it's so familiar looking because of my old fender! hood looks good on there!!! the pieces are gathering!

if I have to weld under the car I wear my welding jacket with pride & also wear an insulated carhart hood under my helmet. A hotball in the same ear 2 days in a roll got me started on that habit.

. A hotball in the same ear 2 days in a roll got me started on that habit.[/quote]
sounds to me there was a draft !!

I said I frowned on welding jackets, not ear plugs! Feeling a cherry roll down your ear its a special kind of fun . Sounds cool too! LOL

Dan

Start burning some 5/64's intershield wire and everybody puts on leathers. Hot ones in the ears and nose suck!! Worked a job welding in pan decking on balconies one year had to use the leathers for my knees. Had a hard time keeping water in me and sweat out of my welding hood. Welding in car floor pans is cake after that job!

Matt

Finally had some time to work on the Comet last weekend! First I had to take the hood & fenders back off & find a place to store them, I had them sitting on the car to make it feel like I was actually getting somewhere!



I finished drilling the holes for the shock tower brace, all I need now are the correct size bolts. It bolts through the 1" square tubing that I ran across the top of the firewall.



Next I worked on deleting the battery tray area since I am moving the battery to the trunk. I bought a '65-'66 Mustang driver side inner fender apron to fill in the hole where the battery tray was.



I started by cutting out the old sheet metal as close to the battery tray opening as I could (smallest area possible)







I used my cheap Harbor Freight brake to reverse the flange on the front edge of the panel so it looks more like it was made for the passenger side:



Here's how it looks after trimming & getting it ready to weld, I am out of welding gas right now but hopefully I can weld it this weekend.





Since I couldn't do any welding, I decided to start cutting out my shock tower reinforcement plates. I used my 4.5" angle grinder to cut these out, I really wish I had a plasma cutter!



Driver side mocked up:

Cool, I was getting a little worried about you haven't heard anything from you for a while

See Ya,
Mike

It was way too hot & humid in July for me to get anything done!

Wow great work! Everything is looking good.

Joe

x2 - making good progress!!

I picked up a cheap 1987 5.0 HO motor for my Comet this weekend, it came out of a '62 Falcon & I was told it was still running when pulled. The seller was putting a Chevy 327 in the Falcon instead It has a mild cam & came with Hedman 88400 headers & a Chinese air-gap aluminum intake (I have an f4b intake laying around somewhere that I plan on using once I can find it). I'm going to do a leakdown test & inspect everything & if it all checks out I'll clean it up & run it as is while I save up for a rebuild down the road.









I had these valve covers left over from my '64, they had a few nicks & scratches from being moved around for a couple of years so I decided to media blast them for an all aluminum look like the old Cobra valve covers. Unfortunately the powder coat is really difficult to remove, it took me a couple of hours to get this far! I plan on polishing the fins & letters after blasting, I think it will be worth the effort.



So far I know I need the following parts for this motor:

-Front sump oil pan & pickup tube
-Drill hole for oil dipstick tube in timing cover (or replace timing cover) & plug old hole in side of block
-Distributor with steel gear

Anything else I need to change?