61 coupe resurrection

[poboyjo65]

If you happen to have any leaks at the flared fitting connections, here are some coned shaped copper washers that may help. I had a leak & ordered some for the leaky one & the other fittings as a precaution, but haven't put the ac back in yet.

scroll down about half way ;
https://coldhose.com/collections/orings-and-washers

[rusty_apache]

I’m about to find out if I’m gonna need some of those gaskets! The unit is insulated and nearly ready to go back in.

[rusty_apache]

My friends teased me 30 years about the sound of headers and duals on a lowly six cylinder.

And I bet their cars were half ton heavier than your Comet.
Early Comet doesn't need huge horsepower to move fast. I think it's boss
Need Mercury Man on that evaporator!


Joe

Okay he stays!
Those guys also said my Comet would never be valuable.

[Joe Travers]

Those guys also said my Comet would never be valuable.

Tell 'em it's not for sale!

Joe

[rusty_apache]

Then they want to offer you less than what you have invested in the tires alone!

What am I missing here?
(Besides the front half of the heater box)

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Time to start applying foam seals inside heater box.

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[Joe Travers]

What am I missing here?
(Besides the front half of the heater box)
IMG_5646.jpeg

Two of these- https://www.falconparts.com/ford-falcon ... -83p74.htm

Check up in the cowl hat or the old collar (if you have it), see if they are still there.

Joe

[rusty_apache]

All long gone over 30 years ago.
Deteriorated and rusted away.

I pulled an old Harley shirt out of the cowling that I crammed up in there on a cold winter day!
Thanks for the info, I have them on order.

When this flimsy rubber collar needs to be replaced in 2050 I’ll get my nurse to order two Mustang foam collars to glue together and stuff in there. Because Ill be 90.

[rusty_apache]

Does anyone have recommendations for a good source of upholstery for the cats eye Comet?

A number of folks have used this source:
https://www.falconcometinteriors.com/

Jim

I am floored by the excellent customer service and appreciate your recommendation. Jake not only set me straight about the subtle but maddening differences between the various bucket seats made in the era. He located some correct buckets and set me up with the seller.

So now I can have a proper 1961 interior except instead of two tone Turquoise I’m going with black and Turquoise two tone.

[rusty_apache]

Actually I meant Aqua not Turquoise.

I wish I had read up on the cowling ventilation system rust repairs before I painted my engine bay. I would’ve gone on and done it right the first time working from above. I still might if I ever do a really good paint job. A cold repair will have to do until then.
I’m surprised that it wasn’t in worse shape than it was, given the fact that my Harley shirt held the moisture in for 30 years.

Pc-7 epoxy adhesive paste

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The HVAC is ready for installation in time to be seen cruising around, windows up! Dad and his buddies used to do it in the 1950’s but they didn’t actually have AC.

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The girl at the DMV seemed befuddled when I told her it’s just Comet, like “Cher”
Then I showed her the title which is left blank under Model.
Notice the date of issue. I have owned (neglected) it slightly more than half of it’s life.

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She loved the story about the orphaned baby Edsel but the State of Texas doesn’t respect the distinction and had the unmitigated gall to print MERC on my temporary paper tag.

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So I “fixed it” with the image of an emblem from a catalog.
Which is probably a misdemeanor.

All of the loose ends under the dash are sorted and the S-22 buckets came Saturday so I gave the old heave ho to the Meteor bench and put in the driver’s side bucket.

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Yeah it’s a huge mess but it’s still under construction.

I took it out on the highway about 4:00am Sunday and was blasted with composted leaves, stems and rust chunks yet didn’t detect notes of rodent droppings. Who knows maybe they lost their flavor over time. Apologies to anyone who happens to be eating.

I’m sure some issues will arise so I will stick close to home at first taking gradually longer drives before I take it to the big city!
I have a console to make mounts for but if anyone has a factory installed one I would like to know how far away it is on the hump from the rear seat base. Otherwise I’ll be eyeballing it from photos on the internet.

Beyond that there is much metal fabrication to be done on the passenger rear quarter panel.

[pfleuret]

My console is exactly 12” from base of the rear seat.

[rusty_apache]

Thanks that’s a big help!

[rusty_apache]

So the the A/C is up and running and the heater core held up for about a month. I now know that the heater box can be removed with the A/C in place. The front wheel bearings were growling so I replaced them and while the u joints only had a few thousand miles on them, they were 30 years old, didn’t have grease zerks and possibly out of balance I went ahead and had it done right by the folks with the equipment. I moved a bent rim to the front so it’s running fairly smoothly at interstate speeds. I bought a straight one to refinish and mount and picked up a driver’s side headlight bezel for $20.
So I’m going to paint the interior Turquoise Metallic.
That color was only offered on the Falcon, Mercury and full size Ford but not on the Comet. The original light Green Metallic makes me wanna vomit so I’m breaking with it’s originality, again. I think the darker color goes well with the black interior.

I’m going to fill the holes from the original dealer badge with a different one. I’m looking for a “Turbeville” to replace the one that was originally on the car. I could just weld up the holes but I like funky.

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The kick panels are in place. The 1961 models need to have the triangular offset seen here that jut upwards to be snipped off so it can slide forward into place. The mounting holes are located in slightly different places on the 61 but it’s not noticeable.

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The windshield garnish is painted the Turquoise Metallic I’m considering using for the interior.

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It’s just slightly darker than the color sample

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I have received most of the interior and it’s overwhelming the amount of work ahead of me but I just take one thing at a time and stuff eventually gets done. I have never gone for frivolous things like new upholstery and paint before so it’s also exciting to stand back and just look at it!
I’m really enjoying it as my main driver and finally making good on it after three decades of Disgraceful neglect on my part!

[Joe Travers]

So I’m going to paint the interior Turquoise Metallic.
That color was only offered on the Falcon, Mercury and full size Ford but not on the Comet. The original light Green Metallic makes me wanna vomit so I’m breaking with it’s originality, again. I think the darker color goes well with the black interior.

The pastel colors for '60-'61 are rather unique. I really like the 'S' code Green Frost.

Joe

[rusty_apache]

So I’m going to paint the interior Turquoise Metallic.
That color was only offered on the Falcon, Mercury and full size Ford but not on the Comet. The original light Green Metallic makes me wanna vomit so I’m breaking with it’s originality, again. I think the darker color goes well with the black interior.

The pastel colors for '60-'61 are rather unique. I really like the 'S' code Green Frost.

Joe

Yes this is a S code green frost underneath all that mold. I let it accumulate on the hood so it matches the rest of the car. Eventually I plan to paint it because I have been doing the patina thing since the days when the patina thing wasn’t cool.

[Joe Travers]

Yes this is a S code green frost underneath all that mold. I let it accumulate on the hood so it matches the rest of the car. Eventually I plan to paint it because I have been doing the patina thing since the days when the patina thing wasn’t cool.

Yeah, I was a Rat Rod Pioneer before it became a 'thing'

I understand your 'vomit' perspective. Nothing worse than a dirty (much less rusted) pastel paint job. All of that white in the mix highlights any blemishing like a magnifying glass. It definitely started falling out of favor when metallic colors arrived after the first generation. Almost automatically fell into 'old car' category by most. Went the way of the Edsel.

I dig it for the nostalgia factor. Reminds me of lime sherbet. Ate a lot of that stuff when I was a kid.

Joe