Today’s car is a 1965 Mercury Comet Cyclone owned by Larry Schuss. Larry’s father owned and operated the Lincoln-Mercury dealership in Oxnard, CA. So Larry is very familiar with the brand and knew what he was looking for. Larry, searched for this rare Comet Cyclone for 2 years before he found one that satisfied his needs.
I photographed this car at Trancas Country Market on one of our Bacon Runs. What’s a Bacon Run you ask? We who live in LA leave from Mel’s Drive-in located at Lincoln Blvd & the 10 freeway in Santa Monica and drive up the coast on Pacific Coast Hwy (PCH) to Trancas Country Market in Malibu to have Breakfast at the Vintage Grocers. The Vintage Grocers has a very good breakfast buffet with some of the very best Maple Bacon. Look at my Weekly/Monthly “Cars & Coffee Events in the Hood” page located under Events, to see when and if we have one scheduled.
The car is finished in a custom blend of House of Color’s Brandy Wine, Candy Apple Red. with a base coat of Metallic Black topped with 7 coats of Clear, color sanded and then ceramic coated. It has a Black interior that has dark red accents. It is powered by a 500 hp, 427 cu in, Ford 351 stroker engine that was built by Smitty with a single 4bbl carburetor, mated to a tricked out Tremec TKO 5-speed manual transmission with 3.55:1 gear in the rear end. Slowing this beauty down are Wilwood disc brakes in all 4-corners. It has a TCI independent front suspension that eliminated the spring towers allowing extra room in the engine bay. The rear suspension is Bark River Triangulated 4-Link setup designed for the Ford 9″ rear end. Larry, gave Colorado Custom his open window design for the 17″ wheels. The interior was created by Ed Koch consisting of Honda Civic Seats that are the same size as the original seats, but they recline and are much more comfortable. The later model Mustang Console covered in leather looks original, but better. The radio was sent to Richard Blankenship located in TN to have Bluetooth added and to converted the radio to FM stereo. It also has power steering, hydro-boost power brakes, power windows and air conditioning. You know I am sure I missed something.
Comets were produced from 1960 to 1977 while Cyclones were only produced from 1965 to 1971. The total number 0f 1965 Comets built was 165,052 with 12,347 of them being, Cyclones. Cyclones were only available in 2 door Hardtop Coupes. The MSRP was $2,625.00. It had a published top speed of 111 mph with a 0-60 mph time of 7.1 seconds with a stock 289 engine.
This is a beautiful example of what a creative mind can do with a resto-mod. The color and all the personal touches just put this car over the top. An award winner for sure. What a great car to take to car shows, Cars & Coffee event or just cruising with like minded friends. Thank you for riding along. Frank
