ercury Comet

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See also: Ford Comte
Mercury Comet
Mercury Comet 1973 ca 4100cc at Knebworth 2013.JPG
1973 Mercury Comet 4-door sedan
Overview
Manufacturer Mercury (Ford)
Production 1960 1977
Assembly Oakville, Ontario, Canada
Claycomo, Missouri, United States
Lorain, Ohio, United States
Milpitas, California, United States
Wayne, Michigan, United States
Body and chassis
Class muscle (1960 1965, 1971 1977)
Mid-size (1966 1969)
Layout FR layout
Related Ford Falcon, Ford Maverick
Chronology
Successor Mercury Zephyr
Mercury Monarch
The Mercury Comet is an automobile that was produced by Mercury from 1960 1969 and
1971-1977 variously as either a compact or an intermediate car.
The Comet was initially based on the compact Ford Falcon, then on the intermedia
te Ford Fairlane and finally on the compact Ford Maverick. As a Mercury, early C
omets received better grade interior trim than concurrent Falcons, and a slightl
y longer wheelbase.
Contents [hide]
1 Relationship to the Edsel
2 1960 1965
2.1 Overview
2.2 1960 1963
2.3 1964 1965
3 1966 1969
3.1 1966 1967
3.2 1968 1969
4 1971 1977
5 High Mileage Record
6 Mercury Cyclone
6.1 1968-1970 Mercury Cyclone
7 References
8 Sources
9 External links
Relationship to the Edsel[edit]
The Comet was originally planned as an Edsel model. It was reassigned to Mercury
dealerships after the demise of the Edsel marque, where it was marketed as a st
andalone product for 1960 and 1961 as the Comet.
Developed concurrently with the Ford Falcon, early pre-production photographs of
the sedan show a car remarkably close to the Comet that emerged, but with a spl
it grille following the pattern established by Edsel models. Early Ford styling
mules for the station wagon model carried the Edsel name as well.
At their debut, the split grille was replaced by one more in keeping with Mercur
y's design themes. However, the canted elliptical taillights, first seen on the
Edsel prototype, were used and carried the "E" (Edsel) part number on them. Whil
e the short lived 1960 Edsels used elliptical shaped taillights, the lenses used
on both cars differed in length and width. Certain other parts from the 1959 Ed
sel parts bin, including the parking lights and dashboard knobs, were used on th
e first-year Comet. Keys for the 1960 and 1961 Comets were shaped like Edsel key
s, with the center bar of the "E" removed to form a "C".
The "comet" name was trademarked to Cotner-Bevington as the Comet Coach Company,
building ambulance and hearse commercial vehicles. Ford bought the name in 1959
.
1960 1965[edit]
Overview[edit]
From 1960-1965, the Comet was based on the Ford Falcon platform (stretched 5 in
(130 mm) for sedans, but not for wagons). The 1960-1963 Comets share a similar b
asic shape. These are sometimes referred to as the "round body" Comets. For 1962
and 1963, the Comet shared a considerable number of body and mechanical parts w
ith the short-lived Fairlane-based Mercury Meteor intermediate.
1960 1963[edit]
First generation
Mercury Comet 1960-1963 2 dr Coupe.jpg
1962 Mercury Comet 2-door sedan
Overview
Production 1960 1963
Body and chassis
Body style 2-door coupe
4-door sedan
4-door station wagon
2-door station wagon
Related Ford Falcon
Mercury Meteor
Powertrain
Engine 144 cu in (2.4 L) I6
170 cu in (2.8 L) I6
260 cu in (4.3 L) V8
Transmission 3-speed manual
2-speed automatic
4-speed manual
Dimensions
Wheelbase 114 in (2,896 mm) (coupe, sedan)
109.5 in (2,781 mm) [1] (wagon)
Length 194.5 in (4,940 mm) [2]
1961 Comet 4-door station wagon
1961 Comet 4-door sedan new grille design
Due to the demise of Edsel, the Comet was initially released without any divisio
nal badging, only "Comet" badges. It was sold through Mercury dealers, but would
not be branded as such for two more years.
Introduced in March 1960, initial body styles were 2-door coupes, 4-door sedans
and 2- and 4-door station wagons. Two trim levels were available, standard and "
Custom", with the custom package including badging, additional chrome trim and a
ll-vinyl interiors. In 1960, the only engine available was the 144 cid Thriftpow
er straight six with a single-barrel Holley carburetor which produced 90 hp (67
kW) at 4200 rpm. (Some sources list it as producing 85 hp (63 kW) at 4200 rpm.)
Transmission options were a column-shifted 3-speed manual and a 2-speed Merc-O-M
atic automatic transmission (unique to the Comet, despite sharing a name with th
e Merc-O-Matic installed in other Mercurys).
Ford had purchased the name "Comet" from