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Posts Tagged: Mercury Comet

Ken ‘Big Stick’ Godsey’s 1964 Mercury Comet tribute to drag racing legend Ronnie Sox made its first nine-second pass at the NHRA Holley Hot Rod Reunion — a wheels-up, bouncing four-speed launch that still gets commenters talking about clutch adjustment and crash-box durability years later. Barely a minute long and almost entirely without narration, the clip lets the launch speak for itself. Watch to see the pass that earned it.

Mercury built the Cyclone for less than a decade and only about 74,286 of them ever left a factory, which is why most casual enthusiasts have never knowingly seen one. That obscurity hides a genuine NASCAR pedigree, a 428 Cobra Jet option and an aerodynamic special built to fight the Dodge Charger Daytona. Read on for why a forgotten Mercury deserves a place alongside far more famous names.

At an RT66 Test N Tune event in 2015, Rich Kent’s E85-fueled 1962 Mercury Comet did something a brand-new 707-horsepower Dodge Challenger Hellcat never expected: it beat it clean off the line. The video’s own description reveals the Hellcat had run nearly three seconds quicker just a week earlier, turning a simple grudge race into a years-long argument about driving versus horsepower. Watch to see the run that started the controversy.

This 1963 Mercury Comet was bought new at a Tyler, Texas dealership in May 1963 and driven by the same owner into her nineties, accumulating just 45,000 miles along the way. What makes it genuinely uncommon is not the mileage but the order sheet: a base sedan optioned with both the 260 V8 and air conditioning, a combination almost nobody chose. Read on to find out why that pairing was so rare and what it means today.

Dearborn Steel Tubing built 21 Mercury Comet A/FX cars for 1964, each with a NASCAR-derived 427 High Riser rated at a deeply understated 425 horsepower, fiberglass hood, fenders, doors and bumpers, and Plexiglas windows throughout. At roughly 3,200 pounds they ran 11.3 to 11.6 at around 125 mph. Dyno Don Nicholson, Ronnie Sox and Jack Chrisman all drove them. Read on for what separates a documented original from a very good tribute.

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