Moebius 1/25 1964 Mercury Comet K-code

[RancheroSteve]

5 hours ago, Dragline said:

This has a Wood Bros feel with that paint scheme gtx6970

Or more like a Bill Stroppe feel, whose shop built Comets for the African Safari Rally and Marauders for NASCAR:

[PintoKING]

7 hours ago, Dave Darby said:

Are you sure that 260 was the original engine? 

The car was a bit over 20 years old when I got to it; it was crushed soon after. And those who would know its history are all gone now. So the engine could have been swaped.

[Radretireddad]

Another Stroppe offspring being raced in the UK. How great it is to be getting a new kit of a subject whose storied history can be chronicled in so many different ways.

Edited Wednesday at 01:48 AM by Radretireddad

[Radretireddad]

Has anyone ever seen this?

[M W Elky]

31 minutes ago, Radretireddad said:

Has anyone ever seen this?

I see a kit bash project here when the amt 65 barracuda comes out I think I even have the grill figured out

[sfhess]

2 hours ago, Radretireddad said:

Has anyone ever seen this?

The 64 Comet Super Cyclone.  Someone built a replica that was part of the Lynx Project at the last GSLMCC.

[Junkman]

On 6/30/2025 at 10:15 PM, RancheroSteve said:

Or more like a Bill Stroppe feel, whose shop built Comets for the African Safari Rally...

 

One of the two out of ten(!) Comets Stroppe prepared for the '64 Safari, the #80 car, was driven by none other than 'The Flying Sikh' Joginder Singh.
His younger brother Jaswant (left) was the co driver. They placed a disappointing 21st out of 21 that actually finished the rally.

Yes, 73 of the 94 entries didn't make it, which only shows how tough that Rally was.

Only nine out of the ten Stroppe Comets were entered in the event:

#73 Ray Brock - Norman Greatorex - Retired
#74 Ernest Morris Temple-Boreham - Rob Collinge - Retired
#75 Jack Conely - Peter Proctor - Retired
#76 Leroy Neumayer - Don Bailey - Retired
#77 Louis Unser - Ian L. Grant - Retired
#78 Francisco Diaz - Fran Hernandez - Retired
#79 William Coleridge - Colin Patrick McNaughton - Retired
#80 Joginder Singh - Jaswant Singh - 21st
#81 'Kim' Viscount Mandeville - Peter J. Walker - 18th

Fran Hernandez, the director of Lincoln-Mercury's racing activities back then, had brought two cars prior to the event, which were initially numbered '0' and '00'. They were used as practice and scout cars, and one of them, I don't know which, didn't even make it to the starting line.

I only hope Fred Cady will be making a decal sheet, because I really, really want to build the car of my hero Joginder.
 

 

 

[RancheroSteve]

6 hours ago, Junkman said:

One of the two out of ten(!) Comets Stroppe prepared for the '64 Safari, the #80 car, was driven by none other than 'The Flying Sikh' Joginder Singh.
His younger brother Jaswant (left) was the co driver. They placed a disappointing 21st out of 21 that actually finished the rally.

I only hope Fred Cady will be making a decal sheet, because I really, really want to build the car of my hero Joginder.

Sorry to say, I don't think Fred Cady is making decals anymore. The ones I used were custom made:

 

[RancheroSteve]

12 hours ago, sfhess said:

The 64 Comet Super Cyclone.  Someone built a replica that was part of the Lynx Project at the last GSLMCC.

Yes, that would be Juha Airio, who also build the Thunderbird Italien in this photo. Both are outstanding!

[thatz4u]

just checked my 64 Comet brochure, 2 V-8's ....260-2bbl & 289-4bbl...shows only flat factory hood...

[Robberbaron]

On 6/29/2025 at 12:34 PM, Mark said:

Not sure that hood was available on anything but the FX package cars.  Hopefully the scoops are add-ons, or the scoopless hood is in there too.

 

9 hours ago, thatz4u said:

just checked my 64 Comet brochure, 2 V-8's ....260-2bbl & 289-4bbl...shows only flat factory hood...

Discussion on cometcentral.com:

https://www.cometcentral.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=17013

These guys are saying only 20-21 of the "A/FX" style hoods were made later in the '64 racing season and given to the teams that were campaigning the A/FX Comets.  Apparently the A/FX cars were all originally shipped from Dearborn Steel Tubing with the Thunderbolt-style teardrop hoods.

I'm sure no expert on these cars, but the guys posting in the above thread seem pretty legit.  Hemmings article also mentions the same thing regarding the hoods:

https://www.hemmings.com/stories/x-marks-the-spot-1964-mercury-comet-calliente/

So no, doesn't seem like the dual-scoop hood could be correct for a true factory stock build.

Edited 16 hours ago by Robberbaron

[Ragtop Man]

On 7/2/2025 at 1:14 PM, RancheroSteve said:

Yes, that would be Juha Airio, who also build the Thunderbird Italien in this photo. Both are outstanding!

Brain melted. These are perfection. 

 

[Ragtop Man]

If you want to start a flame war that would put Iwo Jima to shame, did up some of the crosstalk in the Ford Forums about what is or is not a legit 1964 Comet with the 289 high performance (solid lifter) engine.

As noted earlier the idea that "K" = 271 HP as with the Fairlane and Mustang was different for Comet. I have no doubt this was a bit of homologation subtrefuge by Fran Hernandez, who had multiple Comet programs cooking at the same time: Daytona Durability Run, E.African Safari, NHRA A/FX and B/FX.

There ARE legit 1964 HP cars in the Merciverse, but they are very difficult to document, most having lived hard lives, compounded by inconsistent reference in the Ford- and Mercury Master Parts Catalogs of the era.

The most accurate reference is the paperwork, which can be found under seats or carpets, sometimes buried behind the IP, with a few documented cars having build sheets with teletype notation "COMET DRAGSTER" or hand-written "Dragster" in crayon on the sheet. Equipment includes the HD "Daytona" pinion 9" rear axle with tapered shafts, heavy-duty prop shaft, solid-lifter HP engine with transistor ignition and a dual-point distributor. Chrome valve covers and air cleaner were included, but those frequntly found their way to "K" Cyclones and Calientes. 

Lansing, MI based writer Roger Huntington documented one 289 HP post sedan 404 (!) sold through mid-Michigan dealer Al Edwards that was fitted with the Cobra "Paxton" supercharger kit, no idea where that rare bear ever ended up. 

[RancheroSteve]

43 minutes ago, Ragtop Man said:

If you want to start a flame war that would put Iwo Jima to shame, dig up some of the crosstalk in the Ford Forums about what is or is not a legit 1964 Comet with the 289 high performance (solid lifter) engine.

Good summary, Bob. There's lots of "my brother/neighbor/friend had a HiPo Comet", much of which comes from the K-Code confusion and is nearly always anecdotal. The Durability, African Safari, and drag cars are well-documented of course, but those and maybe a few other HiPo '64 Comets were purpose built/special order cars. I think it's pretty safe to say that the average Joe Public couldn't just check a box  and get a HiPo in their '64 Comet.

Edited 3 hours ago by RancheroSteve