1965 Comet Caliente (little red)

[Sugarmaker]

Larry,
Ok now you're going to have to stop in to visit when you're close. We are about 8 miles south of I-90. Would love to talk Comets or what ever!

[Boss/Cyclone]

Larry,
Ok now you're going to have to stop in to visit when you're close. We are about 8 miles south of I-90. Would love to talk Comets or what ever!

For sure, I don't get out there alot, but when I do I will be texting you to see if you are available.

[Sugarmaker]

Comet folks,
Back to the "lil red" Comet.


I ran into the grease fitting issue and someone supplied a link to a set of special 90 degree fittings. I did order them and they worked well to fix this problem for supplying grease to the upper ball joint:




After Mike did a little research I built a spring compressor that pulled the spring against the inside of the upper car spring perch. Looks much safer and used the lower spring base to pull at the shock area. Two 1/2 inch bolts through a 1/2 inch plate. Then 3/4 all thread up through another plate on top of the shock tower.










more later.

[Sugarmaker]

Folks,
So the LEED brake system to convert to front disc was a pretty easy swap. All the components fit on the existing spindles. No issues. It came with new rubber brake lines also.


Adding the rotors and calipers








John helping with fitment:


I did replace the rear brake hose with a longer hose from a mid fifties Ford pickup. This allowed the 6 inch longer hose to be routed away from the exhaust and the air shock.


While at the back of the Comet, the rear axles were pulled and new seals replaced.


Back to the cowl the LEED dual master cylinder was installed and bench bled on the car. Then the lines were bent to connect to the master cylinder. It is a challenge working around the brace.


My friend John helped me bleed the brakes starting at the right rear.


As the front components were out of the car it was a great time to spray several coats of undercoating to seal up some exposed areas too:


I was poking around the rear brakes and realized the rear brake cylinders were toast. The old rear wheel cylinders were in pretty bad shape with one cup completely froze up. So ordered a pair from NAPA and installed. Then had to re-bleed the rear wheel cylinders.


The alignment was way out after all this work at home, so that was roughly adjusted and a few slow speed miles were put on the Comet as we waited to get into the alignment shop.
During the alignment process and road testing the shop suggested that the worn tires on the front may be contributing to a tendency for the car to follow the slight crowns in the road. I ordered a new set of the smaller 235-60 14's for the front.
To test this theory I moved the larger 70 series tires to the front and the somewhat worn 60's to the rear. And yes the old Comet drove pretty darn good. It was the first time I had the car up to 65 mph. and felt comfortable with the handling. So the plan is to just have the 60 series all around on the car.

The suspension work raised the front of the car about 1/2 inch. I can live with that. The new brakes work very well and the car stops with less effort. The rear brake proportioning valve may need to be adjusted a little, as I test on it more.

All in all I am very pleased with the steering, suspension and brake up grades. I probably would not have done this without the two post lift!

Next on the list may be a pair of new EATON rear springs with a 2 inch lift built in to the springs. These would relieve the air shocks a little and keep the wheel wells and tires from potential contact. Like all the other parts they are 60 years old also.
Thanks for checking in on me!
We hope things are good in Comet land!

[SASSY]

Enjoy watching the refurbishment!
A lot can be done without a 2 post hoist (a few of don't have) but it's probably a lot easier with one.

[Sugarmaker]

Sassy, folks,
Yes I have done some type of auto, truck and tractor work as needed for 50 years, in drive ways, barns, floor jacks, small garages with rough cement and even dirt floors. Our 4 year old shop and the addition of the good used Rotary two post, has allowed us old guys to do some things that we would not. It is an enabler for sure!
Off topic a little. Here my friend John and my car project helper replaced the front shocks on his 42 Ford I helped and learned too. Had never seen shocks like this:












The rear shocks are next when the links come in.

I needed to remove the two front wheels on the Comet while it was not on the lift. I started and then said I will wait till the lift was ready to help! Maybe I am just getting lazy?:)
We took the Ford Magnum wheels and tires and had the new 60 series tires mounted this afternoon. I got them on the front, and step Great grandsons Kolten took on the task of cleaning the blue protective coating off the White Cooper lettering:




While it was in the air I tightened the nuts on the right side exhaust manifold to exhaust connection. Not sure how well it is sealed. The exhaust on this is not the best. It had loose nuts and had a slight exhaust leak. Will test on that leak and the new front tires tomorrow.

[Sugarmaker]

Folks,
The plan is to now have the same size tires all around on the Comet. We will see how it preforms on the highway at various speeds. It would be neat to make some longer trips. OK, thinking of Pigeon Forge but don't count on that!:)

Cheryl and I were on our way back from Erie today, we had to stop for a regulatory traffic stop hosted by our Pennsylvania State Police. I think that was the first time I had ever gone through one. We did not have the Comet. We were driving the Ford Edge. Had to produce licence , registration and proof of insurance. No problems, we are not in jail!
Drive those Comets!

[Sugarmaker]

Comet Folks,



We have changed the tires around and the new set is on the front. All are 235-60R 14 now. What do you think?
We did some test drives and the 65 is handling way better with the up grades.
On the line about ordering new rear springs. Was looking at rears with 2 inch height increase?

[Joe Travers]

Hey, Chris!

Wondering if you would have tire scrub on front lifting the rear of the car? Personally, would go to stock springs to maintain a soft ride. Also keep the weight bias back a little, improving handling?

Starting to sound like Ralph Nader

Joe

[poboyjo65]

Most people who get new leafs have to sand bag it for a few months to get the rearend back down normal. So a 2'' lift may be way too high for you. is it rubbing back there?

Looks great right now!

[SASSY]

I'm with Johno, looks fine at present.
I my world it would look better 6 inches lower though, lol.

[A/FX]

The way a car looks is obviously personal preference. For what’s it worth here is my opinion.
I have always built my cars with the idea that “Stance is everything”. I prefer the rear wheel well to just cover the top of the rim ever so slightly, the car should have a slight forward rake, the front should have a few degrees lower angle when measured at the rocker panel. (Again my opinion)
I spent quite a bit of time dialing in the stance in my Cyclone, the rear leaf springs were made especially for my build, I supplied the spring shop with all the info on the car including the fact that the battery was being mounted in the trunk. I also requested that the front eye on the spring be reverse wound so that the car sat lower. You can gain about an inch of lowering by doing this, I also stretched the wheelbase 2” so the center pin in the spring was relocated when they built the springs. The front of my car is totally adjustable because of the strut system, I have it at the lowest setting right now. I cannot really go any lower because my header collectors are 3 1/2” off the pavement right now, and my oil pan is not much higher off the pavement. Like I mentioned this is just my opinion, as long as you do your build in a safe manner there are no rules.
Jim

[Sugarmaker]

Guys,
Thanks for all the comments on the rear springs. and stance too.
First a little background, I must say I am really not doing a build. And for sure not doing a go fast build!:) Just an old man playing with a new toy! As a kid just getting my license in 68 having the rear of any car in the air a little was the cool thing to do. Just having a car was even better! I had to be cool so my used 69 Rambler American had to have shackles on the rear, red, white, and blue bumble bee stripes across the rear of the trunk. With chrome reverse wheels and wider tires. Cops and dad did not think it was cool!:)

The tires that came on the "lil red" Comet had rubbing issues in the front and rear of the car! Even the 92 year old previous owner felt he had made a mistake when he put the 225-70's on. He just did not drive the car much. maybe 100-150 miles per, and at very low speed.
(By the way Cheryl and I just turned over 85000 miles on the odometer.)

So my goal was to eliminate the rubbing by getting a smaller diameter tire on the front, and use the old Ford Magnum wheels which, I really like.

The old larger 225 70 fronts were a half inch, or less, away from the front edge of the wheel well and also scraping on the inside wheel well when turning. Dangerously too tight for me. I did not want to catch the fender with the tire if backing up and the tire pulling up the front edge of the fender. Yikes!

The new 1 inch smaller dia 235 60 on the front solved the clearance issue, but had to use a .25 inch thick spacers on the hubs, to keep the tires away from the upper ball joint area of the upper control arm.

(side note: when I moved the taller tires back to the front recently, for testing they even rubbed the upper control arm too. We had to use the spacers again for that test. That's where the wheel backspacing is a slight issue) Not sure how they were working without the spacers before all the suspension work?) In other words both these tires 60 series and 70 series are almost exactly the same width. And yes we like a little wider tire, the kid in me again!)

On the rear of the Comet the clearance from the inside edge of the wheel well to the tire on the drivers side is about 3/4 inch. With either a small or larger tire, with the shocks at 85 psi.
But when the air shocks have less air, like 30 psi, the wheel well lip had worn some of the rubber off the white letters on the 70 series tire. Either due to bottoming out the rear springs, or side to side sway of a soft suspension?? When we got the car I increased the air pressure in the rear shocks, to about 80-90 psi and improved the clearance by just raising the back of the Comet up probably around 2 inches. Hence my thought on the taller rear leaf springs was to boost the rear without the air shocks requiring to be near their limit.And if the shocks failed I would still have some clearance between wheel well inside lip and tire. And yes that spring with 2 inches higher arch may be too high? But the stance for me would be going in the right direction and the clearance would be a bonus.

Also to note the new front springs raised the front of the Comet about 1/2 to 3/4 inch. And now with smaller diameter rears they lowered the back of the car about 1/2 inch just due to the size of the tire being 1 inch smaller. So right now the Comet is closer the level. Not a bad thing and it looks pretty good to me.
Another darn side note: I could let the air shocks back down to nearly no air and see what the static stance would look like in the rear. and Get some dimensions, and maybe an easy test drive?? The car seems to me to be a little soft in the rear. Maybe they were all that way? Or maybe its 60 years of sag that has over taken rear springs?

In my past life as a Drafter, designer and tool engineer, we had a saying "When you change one thing, five other things can change!" I think you guys hit on nearly five of the items.

I have also heard a lot about "stance" and like women "beauty is in the eyes of the beholder". I do appreciate all the comments and suggestions! That's why I got on this forums with a new to me project. This is where the knowledge is at! Thank you!

We were out on I-90 tonight and pretty much keeping up with the 70 mph trucks and traffic. Steering was good. Handling was good.
Sorry for the lengthy post.

[Sugarmaker]

Comet folks,
Weather is fall like. I am working on an Allis tractor in the shop so I backed the Comet out of the shop:

[Sugarmaker]

Comet folks,
Not much Comet action here as I spend some time in the shop working on a tractor project. Had to back the Comet out and just took a couple pictures.




We have driven the 65 several times this month for breakfast and pizza in Erie. The steering is so much better! I like the brakes also. Gives me more confidence driving it at 55 mph.

I have a small problem that is annoying more than any thing. This 289 with C$ auto tranny has the 2100 2 barrel on it. When doing a cold start about 70% of the time it will not go to the high idle setting on the carb. I have tried full pedal to the floor, half pedal movement, 1/4 pedal movement. Sometimes it works most of the time it doesn't. The engine is much happier when it does go to high idle. When it doesn't it usually stalls several times.
If I get out take the air cleaner off and move the throttle linkage just a little it clicks right to choke closed position. Maybe I just need to adjust the high idle screw different? Suggestions? Almost acts like the air cleaner is keeping the choke plate form moving??
Hope things are good in Comet land!