d01591’s 1974 Mercury Comet

Vintage Comet GT Ad Pics A guy I went to school with had one this color combo. It is now a 1/8 mile bracket racer. These pics described the GT package when it debuted in 1971. The Comet GT based on the Maverick platform was produced from '71-'75. This yellow GT is a 1973. This picture was in the sales brochure. This gas cap was the deluxe version that came standard on the '74 & '75 Comet GT. The previous year model GT's had a heavy chrome cap with only the red crest. This is a New Old Stock cap that I bought in Carlisle, PA at the All Ford Nationals in 2002. I have several of these, two are New Old Stock. This is the back of the cap, showing that it has never been on a car. This is the car in 1986 with the painted name. (IMG97C)

Side view with factory aluminum wheelsMotor was not yet installed in these first 2 picsMotor nestled down in what is a tight engine bayInterior is coming along yet still incompleteOverhead motor pic shows clearance issue with Cobra style breather and firewall. I have yet to resolve this problem.Rear shot in black & whiteFront pic awaiting grill installationConsole is from '71-'73 Mustang/CougarRear seat picMe and my soon-to-be-cruzin sidekick, Cristina.I have owned this car since Feb. 7,1984. It was my first car and I never wanted to part with it. I have been restoring it for over 2.5 years now. Time constraints have kept things slow. I hope to be done in the spring of '04. If you own a Comet GT, you are restoring one, need parts for one, have questions about them, drop me an e-mail. I love chatting about them.Mine shared the parking lot in high school with 4 other Comet GT's and a couple of Grabber Mavericks-the cousin to these cars, so I am quite familiar with them.To learn more visit www.maverick.toSethseth@realtor.com

OTHER COMET GT'sThis '73 belongs to Lois, the lady to the left in the gray jacket. She lives near Charlotte, NC. Very clean car.This red '73 belongs to a guy in Ohio, Jim Stevens.This orange '74 GT was for sale on TraderOnline.Another one in great shape.This grabber blue '74 belongs to Stephen Moore-the NC state rep for the International Maverick & Comet Club.He did the early model bumper swap.As you can see Stephen does not drive his car on the street much. He runs 1/8mile with a 347 stroker. He is from Asheville, NC.

This picture was taken in 2002 before I started the restoration. This was after sitting for 10 yrs. At first I only wanted to get the car running. I eventually decided to attempt a full blown resto after discovering much needed work. I went much more in depth than I ever thought that I would. It seemed easier to go ahead and build it exactly the way I wanted it. It could have been on the road by now, but I would not have enjoyed the process or the end result as much. The smaller '73 bumpers look much better than the large '74 editions. I always hated the large battering rams that came from the factory. These cars look much lighter and are more appealing with smaller bumpers. There is a smaller front bumper than this, but this is correct to the '73 cars. Much of my time the summer of '03 was spent under the hood and detailing/rebuilding suspension components, hoses, brake lines and wiring. All suspension parts were upgraded with polygraphite pieces. Sway bar is 15/16. The interior floor pans and trunk were cleaned of all surface rust and coated with 'Rhino-liner', the same material developed to coat truck beds. This stuff is almost bulletproof. The trunk was then painted with splatter paint. Note the addition of Mustang rear bumper supports required by the bumper swap. This is the car in 1986 with the painted name. This picture shows the former mounting point of the '74 bumpers. You can barely see the hole hiding behind the '73 lower rear valence panel.

Engine ComponentsBlock:The original 1974 302 blockBored .030 oversize.Pistons are KB hypereutectic flat topsStock rods with ARP rod boltsStock crank .010/.010Cylinder heads: 1970 351WScrew-in studsMelling springsFerea 1.94/1.6 stainless steel valvesCrane 1.6 roller rocker armsC-moly pushrodsMilled to yield 53cc combustion chambers.Estimated compression: 10.5:1Cam:Holman Moody Automotive XX290 hydraulic flat tappet Dual pattern .470/.474 liftcourtesy of Larry WallaceIgnition:Mallory Unilite mechanical advanceInduction:Edelbrock Performer 289 aluminum intakeHolley 600cfm vacuum carbTransmission:C4 Automatic with shift kitRear end:Currently the stock 8-in 2.79 open rearValve Covers:COBRA finned aluminum-tall to clear roller rockersAll this monitored by NOS Stewart Warner gauges from the late 60's and early 70's. Tach is the higly sought after Greenline edition.

OTHER COMET GT'sThis '73 belongs to Lois, the lady to the left in the gray jacket. She lives near Charlotte, NC. Very clean car.This red '73 belongs to a guy in Ohio, Jim Stevens.This orange '74 GT was for sale on TraderOnline.Another one in great shape.This grabber blue '74 belongs to Stephen Moore-the NC state rep for the International Maverick & Comet Club.He did the early model bumper swap.As you can see Stephen does not drive his car on the street much. He runs 1/8mile with a 347 stroker. He is from Asheville, NC.

This picture was taken in 2002 before I started the restoration. This was after sitting for 10 yrs. At first I only wanted to get the car running. I eventually decided to attempt a full blown resto after discovering much needed work. I went much more in depth than I ever thought that I would. It seemed easier to go ahead and build it exactly the way I wanted it. It could have been on the road by now, but I would not have enjoyed the process or the end result as much. The smaller '73 bumpers look much better than the large '74 editions. I always hated the large battering rams that came from the factory. These cars look much lighter and are more appealing with smaller bumpers. There is a smaller front bumper than this, but this is correct to the '73 cars. Much of my time the summer of '03 was spent under the hood and detailing/rebuilding suspension components, hoses, brake lines and wiring. All suspension parts were upgraded with polygraphite pieces. Sway bar is 15/16. The interior floor pans and trunk were cleaned of all surface rust and coated with 'Rhino-liner', the same material developed to coat truck beds. This stuff is almost bulletproof. The trunk was then painted with splatter paint. Note the addition of Mustang rear bumper supports required by the bumper swap. This is the car in 1986 with the painted name. This picture shows the former mounting point of the '74 bumpers. You can barely see the hole hiding behind the '73 lower rear valence panel.

Side view with factory aluminum wheelsMotor was not yet installed in these first 2 picsMotor nestled down in what is a tight engine bayInterior is coming along yet still incompleteOverhead motor pic shows clearance issue with Cobra style breather and firewall. I have yet to resolve this problem.Rear shot in black & whiteFront pic awaiting grill installationConsole is from '71-'73 Mustang/CougarRear seat picMe and my soon-to-be-cruzin sidekick, Cristina.I have owned this car since Feb. 7,1984. It was my first car and I never wanted to part with it. I have been restoring it for over 2.5 years now. Time constraints have kept things slow. I hope to be done in the spring of '04. If you own a Comet GT, you are restoring one, need parts for one, have questions about them, drop me an e-mail. I love chatting about them.Mine shared the parking lot in high school with 4 other Comet GT's and a couple of Grabber Mavericks-the cousin to these cars, so I am quite familiar with them.To learn more visit www.maverick.toSethseth@realtor.com

Vintage Comet GT Ad Pics A guy I went to school with had one this color combo. It is now a 1/8 mile bracket racer. These pics described the GT package when it debuted in 1971. The Comet GT based on the Maverick platform was produced from '71-'75. This yellow GT is a 1973. This picture was in the sales brochure. This gas cap was the deluxe version that came standard on the '74 & '75 Comet GT. The previous year model GT's had a heavy chrome cap with only the red crest. This is a New Old Stock cap that I bought in Carlisle, PA at the All Ford Nationals in 2002. I have several of these, two are New Old Stock. This is the back of the cap, showing that it has never been on a car. This is the car in 1986 with the painted name. (IMG97C)

OTHER COMET GT'sThis '73 belongs to Lois, the lady to the left in the gray jacket. She lives near Charlotte, NC. Very clean car.This red '73 belongs to a guy in Ohio, Jim Stevens.This orange '74 GT was for sale on TraderOnline.Another one in great shape.This grabber blue '74 belongs to Stephen Moore-the NC state rep for the International Maverick & Comet Club.He did the early model bumper swap.As you can see Stephen does not drive his car on the street much. He runs 1/8mile with a 347 stroker. He is from Asheville, NC.

Vintage Comet GT Ad Pics A guy I went to school with had one this color combo. It is now a 1/8 mile bracket racer. These pics described the GT package when it debuted in 1971. The Comet GT based on the Maverick platform was produced from '71-'75. This yellow GT is a 1973. This picture was in the sales brochure. This gas cap was the deluxe version that came standard on the '74 & '75 Comet GT. The previous year model GT's had a heavy chrome cap with only the red crest. This is a New Old Stock cap that I bought in Carlisle, PA at the All Ford Nationals in 2002. I have several of these, two are New Old Stock. This is the back of the cap, showing that it has never been on a car. This is the car in 1986 with the painted name. (IMG97C)

Engine ComponentsBlock:The original 1974 302 blockBored .030 oversize.Pistons are KB hypereutectic flat topsStock rods with ARP rod boltsStock crank .010/.010Cylinder heads: 1970 351WScrew-in studsMelling springsFerea 1.94/1.6 stainless steel valvesCrane 1.6 roller rocker armsC-moly pushrodsMilled to yield 53cc combustion chambers.Estimated compression: 10.5:1Cam:Holman Moody Automotive XX290 hydraulic flat tappet Dual pattern .470/.474 liftcourtesy of Larry WallaceIgnition:Mallory Unilite mechanical advanceInduction:Edelbrock Performer 289 aluminum intakeHolley 600cfm vacuum carbTransmission:C4 Automatic with shift kitRear end:Currently the stock 8-in 2.79 open rearValve Covers:COBRA finned aluminum-tall to clear roller rockersAll this monitored by NOS Stewart Warner gauges from the late 60's and early 70's. Tach is the higly sought after Greenline edition.

This picture was taken in 2002 before I started the restoration. This was after sitting for 10 yrs. At first I only wanted to get the car running. I eventually decided to attempt a full blown resto after discovering much needed work. I went much more in depth than I ever thought that I would. It seemed easier to go ahead and build it exactly the way I wanted it. It could have been on the road by now, but I would not have enjoyed the process or the end result as much. The smaller '73 bumpers look much better than the large '74 editions. I always hated the large battering rams that came from the factory. These cars look much lighter and are more appealing with smaller bumpers. There is a smaller front bumper than this, but this is correct to the '73 cars. Much of my time the summer of '03 was spent under the hood and detailing/rebuilding suspension components, hoses, brake lines and wiring. All suspension parts were upgraded with polygraphite pieces. Sway bar is 15/16. The interior floor pans and trunk were cleaned of all surface rust and coated with 'Rhino-liner', the same material developed to coat truck beds. This stuff is almost bulletproof. The trunk was then painted with splatter paint. Note the addition of Mustang rear bumper supports required by the bumper swap. This is the car in 1986 with the painted name. This picture shows the former mounting point of the '74 bumpers. You can barely see the hole hiding behind the '73 lower rear valence panel.

Side view with factory aluminum wheelsMotor was not yet installed in these first 2 picsMotor nestled down in what is a tight engine bayInterior is coming along yet still incompleteOverhead motor pic shows clearance issue with Cobra style breather and firewall. I have yet to resolve this problem.Rear shot in black & whiteFront pic awaiting grill installationConsole is from '71-'73 Mustang/CougarRear seat picMe and my soon-to-be-cruzin sidekick, Cristina.I have owned this car since Feb. 7,1984. It was my first car and I never wanted to part with it. I have been restoring it for over 2.5 years now. Time constraints have kept things slow. I hope to be done in the spring of '04. If you own a Comet GT, you are restoring one, need parts for one, have questions about them, drop me an e-mail. I love chatting about them.Mine shared the parking lot in high school with 4 other Comet GT's and a couple of Grabber Mavericks-the cousin to these cars, so I am quite familiar with them.To learn more visit www.maverick.toSethseth@realtor.com

This picture was taken in 2002 before I started the restoration. This was after sitting for 10 yrs. At first I only wanted to get the car running. I eventually decided to attempt a full blown resto after discovering much needed work. I went much more in depth than I ever thought that I would. It seemed easier to go ahead and build it exactly the way I wanted it. It could have been on the road by now, but I would not have enjoyed the process or the end result as much. The smaller '73 bumpers look much better than the large '74 editions. I always hated the large battering rams that came from the factory. These cars look much lighter and are more appealing with smaller bumpers. There is a smaller front bumper than this, but this is correct to the '73 cars. Much of my time the summer of '03 was spent under the hood and detailing/rebuilding suspension components, hoses, brake lines and wiring. All suspension parts were upgraded with polygraphite pieces. Sway bar is 15/16. The interior floor pans and trunk were cleaned of all surface rust and coated with 'Rhino-liner', the same material developed to coat truck beds. This stuff is almost bulletproof. The trunk was then painted with splatter paint. Note the addition of Mustang rear bumper supports required by the bumper swap. This is the car in 1986 with the painted name. This picture shows the former mounting point of the '74 bumpers. You can barely see the hole hiding behind the '73 lower rear valence panel.