See below for pictures

The 1964 Mercury Comet Caliente is the cousin of the Ford Falcon and the predecessor to the Ford Mustang. This year’s model was entered into the East African Safari race and finished the race, which was an accomplishment. Also, they did an endurance run at the Daytona Beach Race Track that same year. The Ford Motor Company took the cars and ran them for 100,000 miles, not stopping except for oil changes, at speeds of 100 plus miles per hour. After doing this, the engines were disassembled and inspected. Even after 100,000 miles, the engines met factory specifications and could have been installed into new cars. That took win on Sunday, sell on Monday to a new level!

I bought my Comet Caliente in the summer of 1994. It didn’t have an engine or transmission. At that time, the running gear was easy to find. I found the engine in a friend of mine’s back yard, traded him for a Borg Warner Super T-10 4-speed transmission, and I traded another friend a 3-speed manual for a C4 automatic transmission. Throughout the years I have continued to work on my 1964 Caliente. The most recent upgrade is the front disk brake system that I installed. The pictures of the body job are from 11 years ago. I did all the body work myself and then I had her professionally painted in Sylmar CA. Right now, the engine is a 1967 Ford 289, 9.5 to 1 compression ratio 0.040 over bore TRW Flat Top Pistons. Also installed Edelbrock E-street heads, 488 lift 260 duration cam, an Edelbrock performer 289 intake manifold. Topped off with an Edelbrock 600 CFM 4-barrel carburetor, I had her Dyno Tuned by Bob Jennings. The engine is mated to a built C4 Automatic Trans. The third member is a ford 8- inch 3.25 gear ratio. My Comet Caliente is not a show car or a full-blown hot rod, just a souped-up daily cruiser. She will always need to be worked on, but that is what makes my passion for the old American Hot Rod worthwhile.