B>Here are some recent pictures of my 1967 Mercury Comet at the 2006 Chi-town Cruze held on June 3 to benefit the Ronald McDonald House.
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Bought in the spring of 2002, as an unrestored original with 70,000 miles on her 289ci engine. She has never been repainted but could definitely use touch-up in a few areas. I am debating whether to repaint her or leave the original paint intact as it is in pretty good shape.
In the summer of 2002, I made some engine upgrades such as replacing the stock intake (2 barrel) with Edelbrock 500 cfm 4v Performer carb., Performer intake manifold, and air cleaner. One of the first upgrades was removal of the stock exhaust from the headers back. I replaced this with a custom dual system that really sounds sweet. You can really hear the nice, low rumble of the 289.
The interior is in great shape with only the door arm rests needing replacement.
That summer I ran the car at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet. I got there late and could only manage 1 run which produced an abysmal 16.95 ET. My reaction time did me in with a .966. Well, I guess my hand/eye coordination needs some work!
UPDATE June 2006: I ran the car again this summer and could manage only a 16.70. The open-differential paired with the stock 2.79:1 rear gears are brutally slow off the line. So, I had DJ's Automotive in Naperville install an 8" Ford Traction Lock with a 3.80:1 ring/pinion. That should help E.T.s a little next year. Since the car rarely sees the highway, these gears shouldn't put too much RPM stress on the engine. As of June 2006, I haven't been to the strip but am looking forward to an upcoming test-n-tune night.
Pic of my Crew Chief:
My father did an awesome job detailing the engine, repainting, and adding some nice chrome accents.
During the summer months the Merc frequents the local Cruise Nights.
UPDATE Feb. 2008 - Unfortunately I haven't had much time to keep up the restoration effort. I've focused on acquiring sheet metal to get rid of minor rust in the rear quarters. That's a job I hope to finish this spring. Toying with the idea of purchasing Edelbrock Performer Heads and a pait of Tri-Ys.
Here's a recent pic of the 67 Merc's interior.
