1965 Comet 202 project

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Kingspeedy2
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Joined: Tue Mar 31, 2015 2:36 pm

Re: 1965 Comet 202 project

Post by Kingspeedy2 »

I don't want to side track your build thread but ,I love the subtle scoops on your old car .By the looks of your advanced body shop skills you probably made that hood yourself
I have a couple of stock hoods and was going to experiment with one and try something similar.
the scoops look like sheet metal,do you tig something like that in short stitches and then blend or do you use some sort of glass reinforced filler to join the scoop to the hood and blend?

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ArkansasComet
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Location: Arkansas

Re: 1965 Comet 202 project

Post by ArkansasComet »

Thanks, I'm glad you like my old hood! When I did the hood scoops, I tack welded them on with my friends 110v mig welder & then fiberglassed the seams to clean it up. I was only 16 at the time & my welding & body work skills were pretty limited so that was the easiest way for me to accomplish it. The scoops were sheetmetal that my friend's neighbor bent for me at his shop. I don't have a tig welder (I wish I did!) so my plan on my current car's quarter panels is to use a mig welder with small diameter welding wire & do multiple tack welds until it's fully welded, making sure to move around a lot to keep from getting the sheetmetal too hot & warping it. I'd use the same method if I did my hood scoops again. I am not an expert by any means, in fact my current car is the biggest body work project I've ever taken on & it will be a big learning project for me! Good luck on doing the hood scoops, I did like them but I am using a Crites fiberglass hood on my new car.
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"Auto racing began 5 minutes after the second car was built." - Henry Ford

comethead
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Location: Palmdale, CA

Re: 1965 Comet 202 project

Post by comethead »

Great progress on your machine!
Hey I'm 289merc on Instagram...your shock tower plates look good. I had a hell of a time fitting mine too in the Falcon.

Joe
1965 Caliente HT- 289/4 speed
1964 Falcon HT- track car- 302/4 speed
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ArkansasComet
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Location: Arkansas

Re: 1965 Comet 202 project

Post by ArkansasComet »

Thanks Joe, glad you are on here! I really like your Falcon project, keep up the good work! -Jim
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"Auto racing began 5 minutes after the second car was built." - Henry Ford

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ArkansasComet
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Re: 1965 Comet 202 project

Post by ArkansasComet »

I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend!

I made some progress on the Comet. I welded in my driver side shock tower reinforcement plate & stitch welded all of the body seams to prevent future cracks. I will be adding some bracing to the cowl & building a reinforced spring cover with a brace from the cowl to the top of the spring cover to help make the front end more stiff. Welding the seams was not easy since I couldn't get all of the seam sealer out of the cracks but it turned out ok. I am also still learning to weld so this was a good opportunity for me to practice :D

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Last edited by ArkansasComet on Wed Jul 05, 2017 7:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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"Auto racing began 5 minutes after the second car was built." - Henry Ford

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ArkansasComet
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Location: Arkansas

Re: 1965 Comet 202 project

Post by ArkansasComet »

I built the driver side front cowl brace & tacked it in last night. This brace is going to support a brace that will go from the top corner of the cowl to the top of the shock tower to help stiffen the front end. My welds suck but luckily the fender will cover it up!

I had to pie cut the angled brace to clear the raised part of the cowl

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After I got everything fit & tacked in, I welded all of the joints that I could reach & then broke the tacks & pulled the brace out so I could fully weld all of the joints, then I tacked it back in place. The auto dimmer on my welding helmet stopped working & it was getting late so I haven't welded the brace to the cowl yet.

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I also got a Mercury Drag Team plate, this will go on my wall since I will be mounting a Comet forum plate on my car (hopefully I'll get my forum plate from Mike this weekend at Pigeon Forge)!

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Last edited by ArkansasComet on Wed Jul 05, 2017 7:57 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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"Auto racing began 5 minutes after the second car was built." - Henry Ford

Rocket989
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Re: 1965 Comet 202 project

Post by Rocket989 »

Good ideas & progress man...keep 'er cranking! :D :lol: :lol: :lol:
'cause Johno says you gotta have a sig pic! :)
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ArkansasComet
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Re: 1965 Comet 202 project

Post by ArkansasComet »

Thanks Rocket, I love the look of your Comet!

I can't take credit for the ideas, it was actually Joe (comethead) & his Falcon build that inspired me to do a lot of these upgrades. I started doing more research & found upgrades other Comet/Falcon/Mustang builders were doing to their cars & have been incorporating their ideas into my build. I don't plan on racing my car so most of this stuff is probably overkill, but it's fun to do & my car should handle these curvy Arkansas back roads like a champ!
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"Auto racing began 5 minutes after the second car was built." - Henry Ford

Rocket989
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Re: 1965 Comet 202 project

Post by Rocket989 »

Thanks Arkansas! It's a 15.5 footer!! :lol: :lol: :D Someday I'll do my own thing with the paint but it's pretty low on the list given the rest! Nothing wrong with using good ideas & I don't know many car folks better at sharing/ helping' than Comet'ers! :mrgreen:
'cause Johno says you gotta have a sig pic! :)
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ArkansasComet
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Location: Arkansas

Re: 1965 Comet 202 project

Post by ArkansasComet »

Hey a 15.5 footer is better than garage art like mine! :D

Last night I picked up a new welding helmet & got my cowl brace welded in. I can tell you there is a huge difference between a $20 welding helmet & a $100 helmet! Next I am cutting out my export braces so I can add a piece of square tubing under the cowl lip which will tie into these side braces. Then I'll install a bolt-in export brace. I'm also thinking about switching to Mustang shock tower caps since my current ones don't match & I think the Mustang ones are a better design. I'll probably start that project Monday since I am heading to Pigeon Forge tomorrow morning!

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Last edited by ArkansasComet on Wed Jul 05, 2017 7:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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"Auto racing began 5 minutes after the second car was built." - Henry Ford

comethead
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Re: 1965 Comet 202 project

Post by comethead »

Looking good!
If you go with Mustang style shock tower caps and shocks I believe you'll need to add 3/4"-1" spacers between the shock and the cap so the shock does not bottom out.

I like that kick panel brace!

Joe
Last edited by comethead on Thu Jun 01, 2017 12:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
1965 Caliente HT- 289/4 speed
1964 Falcon HT- track car- 302/4 speed
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ArkansasComet
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Re: 1965 Comet 202 project

Post by ArkansasComet »

Thanks for the compliments & info. Joe! I'm still not 100% on switching to the Mustang shock tower caps, requiring spacers is good to know.
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"Auto racing began 5 minutes after the second car was built." - Henry Ford

Rocket989
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Re: 1965 Comet 202 project

Post by Rocket989 »

I ended-up using 1/2" spacers after talking to John @ OpenTracker...the 'Stang shock tops give you A LOT more options. I've got a pic around here somewhere...
'cause Johno says you gotta have a sig pic! :)
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ArkansasComet
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Re: 1965 Comet 202 project

Post by ArkansasComet »

From my limited research the 65-66 Mustang tops are slightly taller than the 67-68 Mustang tops so it sounds like I'd be better off using the 65-66 tops since I could use smaller spacers, if anyone knows different please let me know. Also does doing the 1" Shelby drop on the upper control arm affect the shock length? I'll be doing the drop on my car.

Thanks for the helpful info. Joe & Rocket, this is why I love this forum!
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"Auto racing began 5 minutes after the second car was built." - Henry Ford

Rocket989
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Re: 1965 Comet 202 project

Post by Rocket989 »

I thought about that too...you're moving the control arm down, so... There's some latitude given the travel of the shock. I dunno...when I talked to John (after Joe mentioned it) he said the towers themselves on Comet/ 'Birds are shorter. The risk is bottoming them out and breaking one...not so much the function in regular use.

Here's a pic of the 1/2" spacers...I may or may not leave 'em on.

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'cause Johno says you gotta have a sig pic! :)
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