Seeing a classic car getting a second change after decades off the road is heart-warming and all. But seeing it fire up and drive almost right away makes it that much better. This 1966 Mercury Comet is one of those cars.
The mid-1960s four-door sedan was recently acquired by Youtube’s “Cam Hurst.” Our host found the car sitting on a field in an unspecified location. And based on the vegetation around it and the flat tires, it has been off the road for quite some time (probably decades).
The story goes that the Comet used to belong to a school teacher. He drove it to work every day until “the years caught up with it.” That’s probably another way of saying that the Mercury began having various mechanical issues, and the teacher opted to buy a newer vehicle.
It sat for a number of years until the second owner showed up. He messed with it for a few years, but life eventually got in the way, and the Comet did not return to the road. But the good news is that the sedan is still highly original, and, as our host puts it, “mostly complete and pretty untouched.”
Reviving a classic that sat for decades is a difficult job. Much more so if it was parked outside, under full exposure to the elements. But this Mercury took decades of no maintenance like a champ, and the original powerplant agreed to fire up without a rebuild. It required a lot of work and some new components, but it’s quite amazing that it wasn’t locked up.
Our host even managed to drive it for a while but admits that the Comet is far from being roadworthy. The four-door needs new brakes, a new gas talk, some patches on the floor pans, and new fluids. The Autolite 1100 single-barrel carburetor also needs to be fixed or replaced.
Speaking of the carb, this Comet rolled off the assembly line with a 200-cubic-inch (3.3-liter) inline-six. Also known as the Thriftpower, the straight-six was the entry-level engine. Although it’s not a rare powerplant, it’s definitely a rare sight today. That’s mainly because enthusiasts tend to save the V8 cars, and the straight-six rigs end up rotting away in junkyards.
Introduced in 1960, the Comet remained in production for over a decade. Originally planned as an Edsel model, the Comet hit dealerships for the 1960 model year without any divisional badging. The early car was based on the Ford Falcon, competing in the emerging compact market.
Mercury moved the nameplate into the intermediate market in 1966 but was discontinued after the 1969 model year. The Comet was revived in 1971 as Mercury’s version of the Ford Maverick compact. The nameplate was discontinued for good in 1977 to make way for the Zephyr.
This Comet is a first-year mid-size model. It was based on the Ford Fairlane and offered in various body styles, including a two-door hardtop, a convertible, and a station wagon. Mercury sold 98,545 Comets in 1966, and this blue example is one of 20,440 four-door sedans produced. Do you think it’s worth restoring?
