More Craziness - The "other" Falcon

[Luva65wagon]

OK, it's not a Falcon, it's a Comet. Cross your eyes a little and you won't be able to tell the difference.

Here's the story:

Sitting on the couch last Friday night, minding my own business, when I get a text from a friend saying:

I found a car for you. Comet S-22! I think a '64.

To which I replied:

You're buying me a car! What a guy!

To which he replied:

Sure, at half the price!

So, I had him forward me over the pictures he took (attached). It's actually a '62 S-22. I contacted the person he had the number for - who ended up being a Realtor. She mentioned a price, I got excited, but was told it wasn't her car, it was the person who owned the house she was listing. So, I call him Saturday morning and arrange to go look at it.

Long story short, it is the proverbial "little old lady car" (no offense to any little old ladies reading this - we love you) and has 90K miles, perfect interior, paint. Only slight blemishes throughout. Hasn't driven since 1997, tires are rotted and gas is probably syrup, but it is a time capsule.

So after a few days of negotiations we struck a deal and it is coming home with me. Not sure what I'm going to do with it, other than to bring it back to life, but it was something I just couldn't pass up.

I am crazy.

[pbrown]

Very nice. And a S-22 to boot.

[Jeff W]

Looks great. Do they make Ghetto Garages double wide? Congrats!

[redfalken]

Hey! You bought MY other car!!:bicker: I just hadn't found it yet. Always good to have friends looking out for your best interest.

I've always liked the Comet. Will it be cruising to the March meeting??

[Marion]

Very nice, my wife is jealous....

[BadBird]

The Crazy Dude strikes again. What a gorgeous car. Doesn't look like it will take very much to "bring it back to life".

[Jeff W]

I don't think it's a 64... as the doors would exchange with my 63 wagon. Comet had the same series as our falcons... 60-63 were called round bodies and 64-65 square.

So at dinner I mentioned to Janice that you bought another car and outlined your collection... wagon; Ranchero; F100; Comet; your daily driver (Explorer?). Her reply "He's single isn't he?" ;)

[SmithKid]

VERY nice car, Roger! I'm glad you finally found something to do again.

[falcon cobra]

Hey looks like a real barn or garage find, what kind of running gear do it have? I think you may need a bigger place to put them all...jh[yay]

[BillP 98201]

My dad used to have one......... Very nice! Are we having a sale at Rogers? :ROTFLMAO:

[Luva65wagon]

Thanks for the comments guys... I think. :NERVOUS:

Being a '62 it suffers from the same limitation the Falcon had - a 144 or 170 with, in this case, a 2-speed slush-o-matic. I'm not certain yet how to tell the difference between a 144/170 without measuring stroke or something. A 200/C4 would be nice to add, I'm sure.

I'm sure it deserves a full dose of "while I'm at it" but I intend to just bring it back to life, as is, and see how I feel about it after that. Because it doesn't run I am going to park it over at my ex-brother-in-laws place while I put new tires on it, service the brakes (yes, one WIAT will be a dual M/C), and change all the fluids/sludge. Getting a non-running car into either my garage or carport is like calling the entire club over to help push.

It has been garaged its entire life, but it isn't a 10. More about a 6. I hope to make it at least a 8 just by doing the basic things. Maybe a tech day on a Comet? I'll be sure to supply blinders to everyone so they think it is a Falcon. ;)

[wilmoor]

All I can say is that a guy can't have enough (or is that too many) cars. It's a beauty, but then Roger has good taste. Love the color.

Have fun, Roger!

[falcon cobra]

Roger, now you have a home for your 289 , and there is a guy that has a trick c-4 for sale [your neighbor ] then you would have a cool car, so don't worry about the size if the 6 banger,,,and I'am sure there would be lots of help, jh[AGREE]

[doghows]

I am ready let go!!!!:sawzall::sawzall::sawzall:

[Luva65wagon]

Step away from the sawzall...

:)

Once I get it where I'm gonna do work on it, I'll post some more pictures of it.

I'm pretty much sure it has 13" tires on it and they, though they are holding air (to some degree), are checked and cracked badly. Wouldn't drive it with them. Finding 13" whitewall tires, without paying Coker prices, is turning out to be a little fun. Will have to order them from most places I've called. Will likely just haul them in to Discount tire and say order them and call me when you have them done.

Should be a lot of fun doing a car that just needs a good sanitization as opposed to a restoration. Some repairs, but not much I hope.

And no... not gonna do a V8. That is for the Ranchero, which has the V8 suspension on it already. Should do the V8 in the Ranchero and put the 200 and 4-speed from the Ranchero into this.... humm.... sounds like a WIAI to me!

:rolleyes:

[Nathan289]

Hey roger,

If you ever need to lighten your load i could probably convince the wife we need another old car.

Depending on what you paid for it.

[Nathan289]

Hey Roger,

The wife gives it 2 thumbs up:rocker:

She Wonders why we can never find the cool cars an screamin deals..

If you want to flip.it and make a moddest profit let me know.

Nathan

[Luva65wagon]

Here's a couple updates. This is a picture of the car on the trailer. It had no more that 2 inches on the sides left (crawled in and out of the window) and it was sandwiched end to end. Not sure what kind of cars this trailer was supposed to carry, but it was tight.

[Luva65wagon]

Have not done too much to the, uh-humm..., Comet since that trailering because I was away all last week. But on Saturday I pulled the wheels and tires off and sent them to Discount tire to be replaced. They were all re-treads and were all "new" but old at the same time; installed probably 20 years ago. I would not trust them. So out with those. Finding new WSW 13" tires today... without paying Coker prices... is hard. I think they found some though... Uniroyal Tigerpaws.

I also totally redid the brakes on Saturday and Sunday too. It had no pedal before at all. Now has dual MC and had all the parts from the wagon and 'chero rebuilds - so it was only the cost of the M/C and a couple fittings to do this.

Now onto the gas tank and carb. Needs a new battery, change the oil. Cross fingers.

[pbrown]

That looks really great Roger. I really like the color. What are the plans? Flipping it?

[doghows]

I recognize the uniform, but not the driveway!!! Not steep enough. Nice car.:shift:

[Luva65wagon]

Saving it is the first step. I got it at a pretty good price, but it was still not cheap. It just had a lot going for it. The PO wanted far more than I paid for it, but after I outlined the faults, the costs, the recoup values, etc., he was willing to get it down to a cost I would be less likely to go into the red on, if and when I were to sell it. I know I'll have ~$1500 more into it by the time I am done, I think. Trying to use what parts I know I have, when possible. There are still too many unknown factors I may need to address.

As for flipping it, anything is for sale for the right price - even my wagon - so if once I get it done, somebody wants to buy it, let me know. I don't have a garage for it, so to me that is a big issue. :(

Nathan, it would look good over in your garage though. :BIRTHDAY:

[Luva65wagon]

I recognize the uniform, but not the driveway!!! Not steep enough. Nice car.:shift:

That's my ex-brother-in-law in the trunk. It's at his place in Burien right now. The PO lived in Federal Way, so it was a lot closer place to take it to - and the flat parking strip is easy to work on - when the weather is good. There was no way I was going to push that car off that trailer "up hill" into my garage or car port. So, I'm getting it running, stopping, etc., and then can drive it to my house to do the fine-tune detailing on it.

[SmithKid]

Looking good, Roger. Wish I'd been in town to assist. Just got back from making sure Yuma is still there.

[BillP 98201]

Wow! That car definitely brings back memories. If are going to sell it, just put a price out there. If you need a flat spot, just say the word. I have room at my place in Marysville.

[Luva65wagon]

Wish I'd been in town to assist.

Welcome back! Don't worry, I saved plenty to do to it when it gets further north.


If you need a flat spot, just say the word.

Thanks Bill. I think once it is under its own power, I can get it home and into the carport at least.

[Nathan289]

Roger,

It would look great in my garage.. problem is my garage is full.

But im working on fixing that..

Once its saved give me an idea what that magic number is.

[Luva65wagon]

Nathan, I might be interested in a trade for a certain other station wagon.... :D

[Luva65wagon]

Gene and I went there on Saturday and attempted to get it running, but it was torrential rain that day and we only got the gas tank emptied and my spare carb mounted. It started immediately when primed, but fuel wasn't making to the carb, so I messed with it some more yesterday and decided a new fuel pump is needed. It is on the way from Rock Auto.

As of yesterday I have new tires on it. Could not find an "affordable" set of white-wall tires for it, but the tires I got from Discount Tire look OK.

The brakes are all new now and it has a dual M/C. So that's good.

New battery now too. All the gadgets seem to work, but will test more when it is running.

Won't have it in time for the meeting, but getting close. [thumb]

[Jeff W]

Won't have it in time for the meeting, but getting close. [thumb]


? The meeting isn't until tomorrow night... plenty of time.

[Nathan289]

Hmmmmmm

Tempting but I'll have to pass.. I plan on keeping the wagon.

[Luva65wagon]

I plan on keeping the wagon.

I don't blame you...

What if I throw in another station wagon I have? :WHATTHE:

[Nathan289]

What other wagon do you have besides the 64/65..?

Theres a catch here isn't there?

[Luva65wagon]

Only that I love your station wagon more than mine.... and I've only seen it in pictures. The 64 Fairlane is my all time favorite car, and to make it a wagon on top of it... would love to have one.

Just joking with you of course. I know the combined value of my wagon and the Comet is probably a lot more than your wagon is.

But love is blind, they say. :cool:

[Nathan289]

Roger,

We love that comet but I really love the wagon. She's far from perfect but she's ours.
I'd have to give up a wagon or a sprint to get your comet.
The sprint is more likely to go than the wagon, only because the sprint wants to fight me every time I work on it.

The new motor and t 5 is in but I have a noise and vibration that seems to be clutch related.. yippy I get to take it apart again.

I'll keep an eye out for another 64 fairlane wagon for ya.

[Luva65wagon]

The 1963 Sprint is my second favorite car....

:BIRTHDAY:

[pbrown]

The 1963 Sprint is my second favorite car....


Is that just because Jay Leno has one? .... just kidding.

[BillP 98201]

Hey! I thought t was because I had ne. :ROTFLMAO:

[Luva65wagon]

Gene and I replaced the fuel pump Saturday and it took forever to get gas to flow and even then, just barely would stay running. So I drained the tank (again) and pulled the sender to check the strainer. OMG. Worst tank I've ever seen. And sending unit. So out they go and a new one from ebay is on its way. After we pulled the old tank we propped a gas can up in the hole and fed a hose to the line - it fired off and ran very nice for a car that sat since 1997.

I put the infamous 1940 Holley on it that I discussed in my Autolite thread from last year: http://www.rainierfalcons.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1739&referrerid=5. This carb never had the vacuum advance system built in to accommodate the fact that the distributor doesn't have a mechanical advance system, so will try and swap out with one of the Autolite's I have to [rebuild still] to see to it that this 170 has all the pep it can have.

[Luva65wagon]

Just a note to say the comet has flown home under its own power. Drive was uneventful (thankfully - I have too much drama going on at the moment, didn't need more). I had to replace the tank and sending unit and will, now that it is home, start on the detail work. Fun stuff!

[SmithKid]

It looks GOOD there, Roger!

[redfalken]

That thing looks fast standing still! Or is that the Photoshop?

[Gina K]

That is a beautiful Comet! My first car at 16 was a 62 I bought for 50 bucks. What year is it? I love the color and the bucket seats.

[pbrown]

That thing looks fast standing still! Or is that the Photoshop?

Just a blurry house.

[Luva65wagon]

It's a Comet! It blazed on into the carport!

Gina, it is a '62 S-22. These came with everything but a V8 (that didn't happen until 1963) - but maybe it has the "Pursuit 170" we all dream of having. ;)

[BillP 98201]

Looks great Roger you are a lucky guy

[Gina K]

Roger,
What is your plan with the new Comet? Keeping it, selling it?
Gina

[Luva65wagon]

Gina, At first I wasn't sure, but I will probably have to let it go. I at-least wanted to get it running again and detail it up so I can get the most I can from it. A lot of unexpected has happened in the past couple weeks and I hope I will be able to find time to get it ready for the car corral at the Monroe swap meet the weekend of the 18/19 of May.

[Luva65wagon]

Amidst the chaos I have been making some progress on this car. Thanks to Merlin55 I have received and installed the later style motor brackets and my old mounts from the wagon. Figured I'd put the new ones on a car I plan to keep. My old ones were fine, but new is better on the wagon. This actually raised the motor in the Comet 3/4" (and off the belly and sway bar, as it was).

Have most of the motor and engine compartment cleaned, painted, and put back together and am rebuilding an Autolite carb now to put on it. I'm now hoping I get it done in time for the swap meet.

Will take some pictures of it this week.

[BillP 98201]

Are you going to post how much you want for it? Thanks to shop over runs, and wife over runs, I probably couldn't afford it any way :ROTFLMAO:

[Luva65wagon]

I'm probably gonna post it at the Monroe swap meet for $8500 OBO. Rather start high and go from there. If I get no interest, I'll go down from there.

I did get the engine compartment all detailed and put a newly rebuilt Autolite 1100 on it today. Runs real well. Converted the down-draft to PCV and other general touch-ups. Also fixed the console and cleaned it up on the inside a little - though it's like new in there (almost).

I wish I had another week. If I did I'd take it to where Gene had his car buffed and have that done.

Will be washing and detailing the outside this week (weather and jury permitting) and post some after pictures.

[Luva65wagon]

Here are some pictures I promised. I got it all cleaned up yesterday and was going to drive to the meeting, but then it started to downpour. Anyway, hope to be able to bring it to the swap meet this weekend.

[doghows]

Nice valve cover. Oh yeah the car looks pretty good as well...

[redfalken]

Clean ride. Very nice! I wish I had a bigger garage...:mad:

[SmithKid]

So...... did it sell?

[Luva65wagon]

I'm happy to report the Comet went off to a new home yesterday. Smiles all around. She went off to a good home. I'll let the new owner take over from there to announce their new friend.

I really think the FCA should include these year Comet to the club. It really is "the other Falcon" by all rights.

[Gina K]

Hi to all,

I finally get to tell you my wonderful news......The Comet Roger found and fixed up with his special touch is now mine!!! I drove her home last night and she flew right along, smooth as a caddy. Really though it does ride exceptionally good and my son that followed me said she is a real head turner (people were lookin') I was to busy in my own world to notice, checking it all out. It is so comfy to drive because of the bucket seats. My 61and a half falcon futura I drove for 23 years had the same seats and console so it's like having a part of my old friend back. Roger is right when he says that Comet is a girls car :-).
Only women have owned it, I'm the third one so it does have that essence or ju-ju or whatever you want to call it. Anyways, I still have that new car "high" and probably will for a long time.
Do I change my e mail to comet girl instead of falcongirl? My first car was a 62 Comet but not a S 22.
Well that's enough out of me,
Gina

[Jeff W]

Congratulations Gina. That is one sweet car.

[SmithKid]

Yep! Congrats, Gina! A lotta TLC went into that car getting it ready for you. Hope you have it forever!

[redfalken]

You're a lucky girl! That's a nice looking car. And I'm sure Roger had it running like a clock when he handed you the keys.

[BillP 98201]

Woohoo Gina! :BEER:

[BadBird]

So,,,, this brings up a serious question for us. Since we have Gina who owns a Comet, and others that might be included, why can't we change our club acceptance to allow Comets? Is that possible? I know I saw a Falcon/Comet club somewhere on the FCA clubs that I've visited. Roger, you mentioned something just recently about the "years" that would be acceptable? We can start another post if necessary.

Rainier Falcon/Comets. I for one am all for it. Larry

[Jeff W]

So,,,, this brings up a serious question for us. Since we have Gina who owns a Comet, and others that might be included, why can't we change our club acceptance to allow Comets? Is that possible? I know I saw a Falcon/Comet club somewhere on the FCA clubs that I've visited. Roger, you mentioned something just recently about the "years" that would be acceptable? We can start another post if necessary.

Rainier Falcon/Comets. I for one am all for it. Larry

We do. In fact you don't even need to own a Falcon to be a member of the Rainier Falcon Chapter or the Falcon Club of America. Comets are welcome, although they are not eligible to compete in any of the award judging at the National Convention. I'm assuming that would also hold true for the Regional Conventions.

I remember in the minutes published in a distant National Newsletter the officers discussed allowing Comets in the judging and they decided against.

I love Comets, Mustangs and even some cars made by that "other " company... (I'm talking about AMC...)

[redfalken]

[AGREE] Here's the verbiage from our by-laws:

ARTICLE 3 - Membership

3.1 Membership in the Rainier Falcons is open to anyone who is interested.
3.2 Ownership of a Falcon automobile is a not a requirement for membership.


But, like Jeff said, when it comes to competing in the Regional or National Conventions, no Comet category. The National Board of Directors would have to OK it to be official and they never have in the past. But, I've been to a few conventions and they usually have a section for close cousins to park and show off.

[Gina K]

I just want to say that I don't feel excluded from the club at all, in fact it's quite the opposite. I've been welcomed all along and Roger explained membership to me also. As far as showing the car on the national level I'm not interested in that anyways. If I show up at events such as Golden Gardens, picnics, local shows, it's my understanding you guys won't throw me out(ha-ha).
I'm just pleased beyond words that I have found the car that I will pass on to a special grandchild when I pass on!

[doghows]

Well said Gina, its all about having fun. Sorry I missed the show last weekend got wrapped up in my own little project but my friend Bill saw the car there...

[Gina K]

Got there to late to enter, but parked by the bathrooms so lots of people saw her. There was a 64 Comet Caliente and a 64 Ranch, lots of other cool cars.

[Luva65wagon]

The problem we have is at a national level and we, being a chapter, have to follow their rules.

The Comet eventually shared the Maverick platform. The interesting thing is that we gladly accept the Ranchero if it's within the right years (common to Falcon) but won't do the same for the Comet if within the right years (common to Falcon). The Ranchero crossbred with more platforms for more years than the Comet ever did. :confused:

Anyway, we accept all people.

[Jeff W]

If you want to get even more crazy, the Comet was originally slated to be released as an Edsel. Think about that one.