Another Aussie 64 Comet Build

The Era of The Square Body Racing Comets
AussieJake
Posts: 35
Joined: Mon Nov 02, 2015 9:40 am
Location: Australia

Re: Another Aussie 64 Comet Build

Post by AussieJake »

Hey Fred, floors haven’t been touched. I have been really lucky, this car would have to be as close as ‘rust free’ as you are ever going to get in a 56 year old car. The struts are from an Aussie company RRS. I have heard mixed reviews about them but all of the people I have come across that have them in running cars are very happy with them. Hopefully my experience is the same.

Hey Jim, I started this build about 4 years ago. Surprisingly enough getting it into primer wasn’t too bad. The past couple of years have stalled somewhat while I saved up cash for components etc. on top of that I moved 5300kms (3300mi) from one side of the country to the other.

AussieJake
Posts: 35
Joined: Mon Nov 02, 2015 9:40 am
Location: Australia

Re: Another Aussie 64 Comet Build

Post by AussieJake »

Anyway after the car was in epoxy all the front suspension and rack and pinion power steering was fitted out along with the front brakes and rotors.
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tomb22
Posts: 683
Joined: Thu Jan 28, 2016 8:11 pm

Re: Another Aussie 64 Comet Build

Post by tomb22 »

Awesome build. Keep the pictures coming. Thanks for sharing.
tom
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tomb's 65

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Aussie Comet 1964
Posts: 328
Joined: Wed Sep 14, 2011 9:05 pm
Location: Sydney, Australia

Re: Another Aussie 64 Comet Build

Post by Aussie Comet 1964 »

nice work mate, good to see you are getting into it & its all coming along so well, I remember speaking with you a couple years ago about the RRS front end. John
1964 Comet Caliente 2DR hardtop 302cu C4 10.61 @ 126.68mph
1964 Comet Caliente 2DR hardtop project
1964 Fairlane 500 4 dr daily driver
1964 700 Mercury Truck
1964 Comet Ranchero

AussieJake
Posts: 35
Joined: Mon Nov 02, 2015 9:40 am
Location: Australia

Re: Another Aussie 64 Comet Build

Post by AussieJake »

Hi John, correct, you also sent me pics of how you mounted your gauges in the factory dash panel. I haven’t been in here for a while. When I saw that you had given yours a birthday while mine sat lonely in the shed I thought I’d better pull my finger out. It’s gathering momentum now so hopefully I can maintain the rage till the end. Did you put new rubbers in your car when you put it back together? If so where did you get them from? I also need to source new trim clips for the trim on the sides.

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Aussie Comet 1964
Posts: 328
Joined: Wed Sep 14, 2011 9:05 pm
Location: Sydney, Australia

Re: Another Aussie 64 Comet Build

Post by Aussie Comet 1964 »

good to see it motivated you a bit, will be good to see another Comet on the road here, I bought my rubbers from the Rubber Connection in Melbourne, Jeff & Heather are good to deal with & stock good quality bits, I bought all the rubbers from them for my truck, ranchero & comet, they have the clips, I saw them at Bendigo swap, I didn`t have a sample with me & there are a couple of types that look the same so you might have to compare them or maybe send them one to get the right ones, if you are after a new windscreen, they are cheap to get here, XP falcon sedan will be the same, I just put a new one in mine was only about $200. good to see the RRS front end worked out for you, some people have had issues, they used my other Comet to make the brackets off for the steering rack, John
1964 Comet Caliente 2DR hardtop 302cu C4 10.61 @ 126.68mph
1964 Comet Caliente 2DR hardtop project
1964 Fairlane 500 4 dr daily driver
1964 700 Mercury Truck
1964 Comet Ranchero

AussieJake
Posts: 35
Joined: Mon Nov 02, 2015 9:40 am
Location: Australia

Re: Another Aussie 64 Comet Build

Post by AussieJake »

Thanks for the tips John, I will get hold of them for the rubbers shortly.

AussieJake
Posts: 35
Joined: Mon Nov 02, 2015 9:40 am
Location: Australia

Re: Another Aussie 64 Comet Build

Post by AussieJake »

With the front suspension in the car sat for a while why the engine was pieced together. This is where things kinda snowballed a little. I initially planned to build a 347 Stroker out of a 5.0 Windsor. Walking main caps and weak(ish) blocks seamed to be a common theme. I definitely wanted something with pretty decent horsepower and didn’t like the idea of stuffing a heap of good parts in an old block, with the potential to lose the lot if it all went pear shaped. Aftermarket block it was then. Still with keeping it 8.2 deck in mind I went about making a list and pricing up parts to build a tough 363. Didn’t take long to realise it wasn’t going to be cheap by any means. Nor did it take long to realise that building a 9.5 deck based motor was going to be roughly the same price. 9.5 deck it was then 😂. So after deciding on a suitable list of known quality brands I pushed on as funds allowed. The result sits proudly in the engine bay now.
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AussieJake
Posts: 35
Joined: Mon Nov 02, 2015 9:40 am
Location: Australia

Re: Another Aussie 64 Comet Build

Post by AussieJake »

The accessory drive was never really on the cards until I saw a car at a local meet and decided I wanted one. Yes they are expensive. No I didn’t absolutely need it. But damn they look soo good. 😂

CosmicComets
Posts: 355
Joined: Tue May 29, 2012 11:30 am
Location: Hibbing, Minnesota

Re: Another Aussie 64 Comet Build

Post by CosmicComets »

Great build Jake! You won't regret going to the 9.5 block, looks like you have plenty of room for it after your shock tower mods. How many cubes did you go with? That front serpentine belt system looks real trick, they also function better than the old drives. Keep up the good work, you will be enjoying it on the road before you know it! Take care, Cary
65 Cyclone 460W, C4, trans brake, CalTracs
64 Cyclone (son's) 408W 8 stack EFI 6speed, Winters qc rear
64 Cyclone (son's)347, 4speed, mini tubbed 9"
1965 Caliente, 289, 4 speed, buckets, 51k miles
1969 428 CJ coupe (son's)
1965 Cyclone, tube chassis, 514bbf, glide w/brake

WARNING: all of my vehicles are armed with anti-thrift devices
Image

AussieJake
Posts: 35
Joined: Mon Nov 02, 2015 9:40 am
Location: Australia

Re: Another Aussie 64 Comet Build

Post by AussieJake »

Hi Cary, went with 4” stroke and 4.125” bore for 427ci. It was a really easy combo to piece together using all off the shelf parts. Block is Dart, crank and rods are Scat, with Wiseco pistons. Heads are trickflow hiports and a super victor single plane to top it off.

AussieJake
Posts: 35
Joined: Mon Nov 02, 2015 9:40 am
Location: Australia

Re: Another Aussie 64 Comet Build

Post by AussieJake »

I was initially planning on bolting a T56 magnum behind the Windsor, the necessity to chop the tunnel out to make it fit swayed me back towards an auto. I bit the bullet and ordered an 800hp rated C4.
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AussieJake
Posts: 35
Joined: Mon Nov 02, 2015 9:40 am
Location: Australia

Re: Another Aussie 64 Comet Build

Post by AussieJake »

The next thing to get was the rear end. I had already decided on a 9” and was contemplating finding one and cutting it down to fit. Stuff like that in Aus is not particularly scarce but certainly not as plentiful as the US. After looking around for a while I wasn’t keen on anything that I looked at so bit the bullet and decided to have a new one built. That just left the choice of centre and ratio. At the star of the build I set a goal of having a 10 sec pump gas streeter with A/C that would stop and steer as well as it went. Obviously getting the car off the line was going to be a big part of achieving what I wanted. Something that would be made all the more difficult with a set of nice cruising highway gears. After discussing it with the diff builder we went with a 3.9:1 35 spline tru-trac. Diff sorted!

AussieJake
Posts: 35
Joined: Mon Nov 02, 2015 9:40 am
Location: Australia

Re: Another Aussie 64 Comet Build

Post by AussieJake »

With the short diff gears and only a 26” tall tire highway cruising was always going to be a compromise. I did however have a plan for that. 😁
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CosmicComets
Posts: 355
Joined: Tue May 29, 2012 11:30 am
Location: Hibbing, Minnesota

Re: Another Aussie 64 Comet Build

Post by CosmicComets »

Jake, I also opted for a C4, and am running 3:91 rear with 29" tires. I wish I would have sprung for a GearVendors unit too, it should make road cruising much more enjoyable! Let me know what you think of the OD unit once you get it on the street or strip. I'm not sure I could handle one more button on my shifter, as I have one for the line lock and one for the trans-brake already. :mrgreen:
Take care, Cary
65 Cyclone 460W, C4, trans brake, CalTracs
64 Cyclone (son's) 408W 8 stack EFI 6speed, Winters qc rear
64 Cyclone (son's)347, 4speed, mini tubbed 9"
1965 Caliente, 289, 4 speed, buckets, 51k miles
1969 428 CJ coupe (son's)
1965 Cyclone, tube chassis, 514bbf, glide w/brake

WARNING: all of my vehicles are armed with anti-thrift devices
Image

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