The Mercury Comet is an automobile that was produced by Mercury from 1962–1969 and 1971–1977 — variously as either a compact or an intermediate car. For 1960 and 1961, Comet was its own brand sold by Lincoln-Mercury "Comet".

The compact Comet shared a naming convention associated with the ongoing Space Race of the early 1960s with the Mercury Meteor, which was introduced as the base-trim full-size Mercury sedan.

The Comet was initially based on the compact Ford Falcon, then on the intermediate Ford Fairlane, and finally on the compact Ford Maverick. Early Comets received better-grade interior trim than concurrent Falcons, and a slightly longer wheelbase.

History

From 1960–1965, the Comet was based on the Ford Falcon platform (stretched for sedans, but not for wagons). The 1960–1963 Comets share a similar basic 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 with the short-lived Fairlane-based Mercury Meteor intermediate.

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.

Relationship to Edsel

The Comet was originally planned as an Edsel model. Ford announced the end of the Edsel program on November 19, 1959. However, production of 1960 Edsels continued until late November. The Comet was reassigned to the Lincoln-Mercury division to sell at Mercury-Comet dealerships, where it was marketed as a stand-alone product for 1960 and 1961 as the Comet without any Mercury divisional badging. Door VIN tags read 'Made in U.S.A. by Comet.'

Developed concurrently with the Ford Falcon, early preproduction 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.

thumb|1960 Comet sedan with original lettering.

At their debut, the split grille was replaced by one more in keeping with Mercury's design themes, but 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".

First generation (1960–1963)

thumb|left|A 1960 Comet two-door sedan, with its very distinct tailfins

The Comet was initially released without any divisional badging, only "Comet" badges, similar to Valiant, which did not have Plymouth badging at first. It was sold through Lincoln-Mercury-Comet dealers, but was not branded as a Mercury Comet until the 1962 model year. This was similar to Ford's treatment of the Meteor and Frontenac of Canada, sold through Meteor-Mercury-Frontenac dealers.

thumb|left|1961 Comet four-door sedan. A new grille design and the addition of three vertical chrome strips on the front fenders differentiates the 1961 Comet from its predecessor.

Introduced in March 1960, initial body styles were two- and four-door sedans and two- and four-door station wagons. Two trim levels were available, standard and "Custom", with the latter including badging, additional chrome trim, and all-vinyl interiors. In 1960, the only engine available was the 144 cid Thriftpower straight-six with a single-barrel Holley carburetor, which produced at 4200 rpm. (Some sources list it as producing at 4200 rpm.) Transmission options were a column-shifted three-speed manual and a two-speed Comet-Drive automatic transmission.

Ford had purchased the name "Comet" from Comet Coach Company, a professional car manufacturer in which the term belonged to a line of funeral coaches, mainly Oldsmobiles. The coach company then was renamed Cotner-Bevington.

In Canada, for the 1960 model year, Meteor-Mercury dealers sold a compact car called the "Frontenac". Considered a marque in its own right, it was a badge-engineered version of the Ford Falcon with only minor trim differences to distinguish it from the Falcon. The Frontenac was produced for only one year. The Comet was introduced to the Canadian market for the 1961 model year and replaced the Frontenac as the compact offering by Meteor-Mercury dealers.

thumb|left|1962 Mercury Comet four-door station wagon

In response to complaints about the low performance of the 144 cid engine, a 170 cid Thriftpower with a single-barrel Holley carburetor producing at 4400 rpm was released for the 1961 model year. A new four-speed manual transmission was also an option (a Dagenham without first-gear synchromesh). The changes to the 1961 Comet were minimal, such as moving the Comet script from the front fender to the rear quarter and a new grille design.

thumb|left|1963 Mercury Comet S-22 convertible

The optional S-22 package was released. Available only on the two-door sedan, it was billed as a "sport" package, although it shared the same mechanicals as regular Comets, with the only changes being S-22 badging, bucket seats, and a center console.

Comet was officially made a Mercury model for the 1962 model year, and it received some minor restyling, mainly a redesign of the trunk and taillight area to bring the car more in line with the Mercury look. This is the first year the car carried Mercury badging.

The S-22 had six bullet-shaped taillights, while regular Comets had four oval with two optional flat reverse lights. A Comet Villager station wagon, basically a Comet Custom four-door station wagon with simulated woodgrain side panels, was added to the lineup. (The Villager name had previously been used to denote the four-door, steel-sided station wagon in the Edsel Ranger series.) The Comet Drive automatic transmission was renamed Merc-O-Matic (unique to the Comet, despite sharing a name with the Merc-O-Matic installed in larger Mercurys).

While the 1963 model looked almost identical to the earlier models, the chassis and suspension were redesigned to accommodate an optional 260 cid V8 engine (borrowed from the Fairlane) using a two-barrel carburetor and producing . Two new body styles, a Convertible and hardtop (pillar-less) coupe models were added to the Comet Custom and Comet S-22 lines this year.

The front ends of these Comets differed from their Falcon counterparts in that they had four headlights instead of two; similar situations resurfaced in the late 1970s, with the Ford Thunderbird/Mercury Cougar and the Ford Fairmont/Mercury Zephyr.

Second generation (1964–1965)

left|thumb|1964 Mercury Comet Villager wagon

left|thumb|1964 Mercury Comet Caliente convertible

The 1964 Comet was redesigned with a much more square shape, though it was still built on the same unibody as the 1963 model. Its basic lines were shared with the new Falcon, but the front grille used styling similar to that of the Lincoln Continental. Along with the redesign, the model designations were changed. The performance version was known as the Cyclone, replacing the previous S-22. Then in descending order of trim levels were the Caliente, 404, and 202, replacing the previous Custom and base models. The two-door station wagon bodystyle was discontinued. The top-of-the-line station wagon continued to be known as the Villager. The 144 inline-six engine was dropped, leaving the 170 as the base engine. The 260 V8 was available at the beginning of the production run, with the new 289 being available mid-year. Due to the success of the full-sized Ford and Mercury "fastback" roofline introduced in mid-1963, the Falcon and Comet two-door hardtops got a similar roofline with sharper corners. Shrewsberry still owns his original 427 Comet in Caliente trim.

thumb|left|1965 Mercury Comet Caliente two-door hardtop

For 1965, the Comet received updated styling front and rear (including stacked headlights, similar to what full-sized Fords, Pontiacs, and Cadillacs would use at the same time). The base six-cylinder engine was increased from ; still using a single-barrel carburetor, it produced at 4400 rpm. The base V8 engine was increased from and, using a two-barrel carburetor, it produced at 4400 rpm. The standard transmission continued as a column-shifted, three-speed manual transmission. The optional automatic was changed to a "Merc-O-Matic" three-speed automatic transmission (essentially a Ford C4). The 289 V8 was available in three horsepower ratings: base two-barrel 200 hp, four-barrel , and the high-performance version from the Ford Mustang, paired with a four-speed manual transmission.

Third generation (1966–1967)

left|thumb|1966 Mercury Comet Cyclone GT

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 introduced a Dual-Action tailgate, able to both fold down or swing aside, an idea soon copied by all the major U.S. manufacturers.

thumb|left|1966 Mercury Comet Cyclone GT hardtop

thumb|left|1967 Mercury Comet Caliente convertible

The 1966 Comet received distinct outer body panels. The Comet Capri replaced the previous Comet 404 and the Comet Voyager four-door station wagon replaced 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 four-door station wagon was 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 two-barrel carburetor producing at 4400 rpm, a 390 cid V8 engine with a four-barrel carburetor producing , and 390 cid V8 engine that produced . 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 two- or four-door sedan body styles. Other models were now referred to by what had previously been their subseries names. Mercury's mid-sized 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.

In 1967, the Comet was offered in very limited numbers with the famed 427 cubic inch FE "side-oiler" V8 engine, either as a single 4-barrel (the W-code with 410 horsepower) or a dual-4-barrel setup (known as the "R" code with 425 horsepower, just like the similar Ford Fairlane.) Only 60 cars were powered by the 427, with 51 produced with the "R" code and nine of those 60 produced with the W-code 427. Six of those were Capris and four were Calientes, with no convertibles produced. Only one W-code equipped car was a Capri, which makes it the rarest Mercury ever. All 427-powered Comets were equipped with a 4-speed Toploader transmission, a 9-inch rear end with 3.89:1 gears, and a Traction-Lok limited-slip differential. Mercury also lightened these cars by removing the sound deadening (saving about 150 pounds) in an effort to increase performance. Some cars also had the battery relocated to the trunk to move more weight over the rear wheels and increase traction, which also improved performance for drag racing.

Fourth generation (1968–1969)

left|thumb|1968 Mercury Comet sports coupe

In 1968, Mercury's mid-sized models again received new sheet metal and styling that resembled the full-sized Mercury models and shared their chassis and many parts with Ford's mid-sized Fairlane and Torino models. The mid-sized base model was the Comet (Mercury dropped the 202 suffix) available only as a two-door coupe. The Capri was replaced by the Montego, and the Caliente by the Montego MX. Also, the more luxurious Montego MX Brougham was basically an option package for the Montego MX. Top-of-the-line, mid-sized models continued to use the Cyclone and Cyclone GT names.). These new V-8s replaced the previous 390 cid V-8s.

After 1969, the use of the Comet name was suspended as the base model for Mercury's intermediate model line became the Montego. The Cyclone name continued to be used through the 1971 model year.

Fifth generation (1971–1977)

For 1971, the Comet name was revived on Mercury's version of the Ford Maverick compact. Sharing most of its sheet metal with the Maverick, it used a different grille, taillights, and hood, as well as different badging. The taillight pods were shared with the 1970 and 1971 Montego and Cyclone models. Underneath it all was the same basic chassis that had originally been used for the Ford Falcon, the original Comet, and for the mid-sized Ford Fairlane, Mercury Meteor, and later Mercury Comets.

Mercury Cyclone

thumb|1971 Mercury Cyclone

The Cyclone was a performance model of the Comet, built from 1964–1971 and mirroring the Comet's changes. The 1971 model year was the Cyclone's last, as the muscle car wars wound down, and it was absorbed into the Mercury Montego line.

Sources

  • Burness, Tad, American Car Spotter's Guide (Osceola, WI: Motorbooks International, 1978 & 1981)
  • Flammang, James M. & Kowlake, Ron, Standard Catalog of American Cars: 1976-199, 3rd Edition (Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 1999)
  • Gunnell, John, Standard Catalog of American Cars: 1946-1975, Revised 4th Edition (Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2002)

References

  • MuscleCar Club Comet page
  • 1960-69 Mercury Comet Information
  • Comet Discussion Group
  • The Central North American Comet Club and Comet Performance Forum
  • Maverick-Comet Club