1966 Mercury Comet Caliente Convertible Rare Find!! NUMBERS MATCHING Original 390 V8 Engine Original 4-speed Manual Transmission Both the Engine and Trans were rebuilt in 2007 Edelbrock Performer Package CAM, Intake, 750CFM Carb Pertronics ignition Hurst Shifter 9-inch rear-end 3:70 posi New Axle bearings and seals Power Steering 4 wheel drum Brakes New brake lines and hoses All new Suspension Detailed Chassis, Engine, and Trunk
Straight Body Factory black color, Fresh repaint in 2012 Black convertible top Cyclone hood New Cyclone hood scoop inserts were re-chromed All chrome trim was re-plated
Black interior redone in 2012 Bucket seats AM radio No cracks on the dash or tears in the seats All gauges are working Floor Shift Heat/ Defrost New Turn Signal Switch (NOS) New 15 Inch Mercury wheels and center caps New Cooper radial tires
Runs, drives, and looks GREAT!! Lots of receipts and documentation
The Mercury Comet is an automobile that was produced by Mercury from 19601969 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 intermediate Ford Fairlane and finally on the compact Ford Maverick. As a Mercury, early Comets received better grade interior trim than concurrent Falcons, and a slightly longer wheelbase.
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 standalone 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 split 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 Mercury'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. While 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 Edsel parts bin, including the parking lights and dashboard knobs, were used on the first-year Comet. Keys for the 1960 and 1961 Comets were shaped like Edsel keys, 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.
Beginning in 1966, the Comet grew from a compact to become a mid-sized car. It was now based on the same chassis as the Ford Fairlane intermediate (and the previous Mercury Meteor intermediate which was only offered in 1962-1963). These intermediate-sized cars used the same basic chassis as the original Ford Falcon and Mercury Comet compacts, but were stretched with longer wheelbases. The previous generation Comet shared its platform with the all-new Ford Mustang in 1964, and when the Comet graduated to the intermediate platform, the Mercury Cougar became the platform shared with the Mustang.
The Comet wagon would introduce a Dual-Action tailgate, able to both fold down or swing aside, an idea soon copied by all the major U.S. manufacturers. The 1966 Comet received distinct outer body panels. The Comet Capri would replace the previous Comet 404 and the Comet Voyager 4-door station wagon would replace the previous Comet 404 station wagon. (The Voyager name had previously been used to designate a full-sized Mercury station wagon that was positioned between the base Commuter and the top-of-the-line Colony Park station wagon models.) The Comet 202 4-door station wagon would be discontinued. The new top-of-the-line series was the Comet Cyclone GT.
New engines available in the Comet for 1966 included a 390 cid V8 engine with a 2-barrel carburetor producing 265 hp (198 kW) at 4400 rpm, a 390 cid V8 engine with a 4-barrel carburetor producing 275 hp (205 kW), and 390 cid V8 engine that produced 335 hp (250 kW). The 335 hp 390 cid V8 engine was standard on the Cyclone GT and optional on other models. The Cyclone GT when equipped with an automatic transmission was referred to as the Cyclone GTA.
A Cyclone GT convertible was the pace car for the 1966 Indianapolis 500.
Beginning with the 1967 model year, the Comet name was used only on the base Comet 202 model, available only in 2 or 4-door sedan body styles. Other models were now referred to by what had previously been their subseries names. Mercury's mid-size line-up ranged from the basic Comet 202, through the Capri, Caliente, Cyclone, and Cyclone GT models, as well as steel-sided Voyager and simulated wood paneled Villager station wagon models, which were comparable to the Capri.
