1964 Mercury Comet

WEST COAST Coupe

289 K Code

Manual

4J23K505530

Clear

Gasoline

Hello and welcome to another Houseofhotrod auction! Today I am listing a 1964 Mercury Comet Caliente Hardtop Coupe with a factory four speed. This is my own personal car - a car that I have known of since the 80's, and finally was able to buy just last year. I am not sure if this is a rare car, and I am not sure of - nor do I want to quote any actual production numbers for '64 four speeds, but there sure don't seem to be a lot of factory four speed Comets around anymore - I have yet to see one at any show I have been to in years. This is not a car I want to sell by any means, but at this time I need to. This is a wonderful super solid runner and driver that will absolutely be a blast to own. I will do my best to describe it so that you feel you know it, and to point out any and all problems (very few that I can find on this car!). It's hard to show the total story of this car in the words I use and only the 4 basic eBay pictures, plus another 100 plus or so I squeaked in, but again - I will do my best, I tried to use pictures that covered the overall feel and look of the car. I use lower resolution so that anyone in the world can download them with relative ease. The pictures are taken at McMinnville Oregon's Evergreen Aviation Museum - home of the one and only Spruce Goose. They are very nice folks that let me snap my pictures there at the museum. The plane behind the car is a 1944 Douglas C47A Skytrain. Not just any C47 Skytrain - it's one that flew troops that parachuted into Normandy on D-day, as well as flying various missions before and after that day in history. If you're ever in town, stop by and see this awesome pair of museums - there is an Air and Space Museum there, as well as an Imax theater and a newly completed and newly opened water park . Please be aware that this car is advertised and for sale locally, nationally and globally, and we do reserve the right to end this auction at any time if the vehicle sells before auction ends. If you are SERIOUS about this car - please call my cell # 503.580.6225 If I don't answer the first time - try again later - if I am at work I may not be able to answer your call. Please be considerate of the time. We have little ones that need to get their sleep. Someone's gonna get a pretty cool one of a kind 4 speed and 289 motivated Comet Hardtop in their garage! This is a unique opportunity to own a car to enjoy, to show, to drive - and most of all have fun with. The value is here, the timing is right. You will never lose. Buy it today and be the envy of those who hesitated and lost. Mercury Comets - sometimes (read often) misunderstood, passed over for Falcons or Mustangs - but one thing's for sure - they were great little cars, and did some amazing things on the tracks around the world. 1964 was a great year for the Comet, and Mercury introduced some great new models such as the Caliente, and later the Cyclone - this was the year that the Comet got bigger, and actually had a longer wheelbase than the Falcon. They drive great, and are a joy to peel around in, especially with a 4 on the floor. Most people don't know that Comets were some of the first A/FX cars on the strip, and also did some off road racing, as well as road course racing. This car did none of those things, but is a pretty cool little time capsule in itself. This is a great and pretty unusual car - (I think the Comets look like baby Lincolns) - and I challenenge you to find another just like it that is as solid, and is as fun to own and drive. The history I know on this car only goes back to the 80's, and beyond that I really couldn't tell you much. It was spotted on a used car lot by a friend of mine in the early 80's with some slotted wheels, nice and solid, 4 speed shifted and a little bit hopped up underhood with weak original paint in the original color, he had told me about it and we went and looked at it. The car had miles in the mid 60's at that time, so the 73k miles that are on it now are most likely correct. The door tag reads as follows - Body 63D, Color X (Burgandy - Maroon Metallic), Vin is 4J23K505530 (J denotes built in California - 23 = 2D H/T, K = engine code), Trim 36A, Date 30L - 30th November build, DSO is 54 - Seattle District, which would be correct for a car from the NW, Axle 6, Transmission is 5 which denotes a 4 speed manual trans. This is a factory 4 speed car - as designated by the 5 transmission code, that if I read Mercury's info right was an early production 4 speed - the brochure I have, that goes with the car lists the 4 speed as a December available option, but obviously this car was built the 30th day of November. The engine installed originally was a 210 HP Challenger V8 - 289 - the K coding is not the HP 289 that the Mustang got, there's a story behind that with Lee Iacocca finding out about what Mercury was up to. They took the lower horse Mustang 289 and put a different Autolite carb on it, and thereby were able to use the K designation. Underhood I have been told it's the original engine, but - no tag is present, and I have never dropped the starter to see what the casting # is, I just wasn't that concerned as the engines goodies aren't stock anyhow. The intake is an Edelbrock, and this puts the carb at a bit of a 'twisted' angle. Carburetor is a 4160 Helley that is just a couple years old, and it is a 600 CFM Mechanical Secondary single inlet carb. Chrome valve covers, and MSD ignition, Chrome air cleaner etc. the ignition is electronic, with a window type 'trignition' set up - not sure if this is aftermarket or FoMoCo, but it's dependable and always works well. The cam has to have been changed as it sure seems crisper than the 289s I have been around. The idle is awsome, not too lumpy, but definitely not stock - just enough of a lope to let those around know that this little Comet stands up and goes! The exhaust manifolds are stock, and the exhaust system has turbo type mufflers in it that sound super nice, healthy, but not raspy or obnoxious. I call it just right. The transmission is shifted by the original linkage that has the reverse pull up etc. and it appears to have the original shifter and knob etc. The transmission was completely gone through last year - bearings, synchros etc and less than 500 miles ago, the clutch, pressure plate and throwout are all new. The car shifts nice, no scraping or grinding or funny noises - the cost for all this work was over $1600.00. The front brakes have been converted to disc in the last ten years, and rears are still drums. Someone added a nice and heavy front sway bar - which these cars desparately need, as well as what I call an export bar which stiffens the front inner fender area, and thereby gives the car a much firmer, more solid road feel. The car stops, steers and drives really nice. It's manual steering, no power, but isn't hard to steer at all. I like the car being manual/manual. Tires are 195-70R14's up front and 205-75R14's in the rear. The wheels are Cragar SS - and they are new in the last year. Note this is all 5 lug - which is how it should be, but this makes it easy to mount just about any wheel you'd like on the car. Personally the Cragers look the part to me. At one time the car had rear air shocks, the air inlet is still in the left side of the trunk floor (see pics) but it runs standard type shocks all around. I like how this car sits - with just the right forward rake, so I never saw any reason to have air shocks on it. This is truly a hop in, turn the key go cruisin' kind of car. It's been dead dependable for me, and a blast to own and drive. Inside the car has a tan interior - the tag shows it as black bench seat, but the A on the end of the 36 denotes that there is an exception. Just what does that mean? As far as we can tell, and as long as I have known the car it's always had tan interior, and it's actually quite striking against the burgandy exterior - and in fact the headliner that was in the car was tan. The car has a new headliner, and new correct 80/20 loop carpeting. The door panels are new and the seats have had some repair, but look to be largely original other than those replaced panels. This car is a non smokers car, and there's no sign of it having been either - the lighter looks like brand new. The car has never had speaker holes cut into it anywhere, and it looks like wires were ran at some point to the rear FOR speakers, just never were any installed. There's an AM/FM/Cassette in the dash, but it's inop, or at least no power to it - the dash panel looks to me like it was possibly a radio delete car I remember it having no radio when I first saw it, and that has always stuck in my mind as being a radio delete car , and someone added the cassette, looks to have not had the dash itself modified, and just never completed the install, or possibly just had speakers on the floor or back seat(?). This is a question we just can't answer. All the glass is good, no cracks or breaks, and the previous owner replacede the original which was delaminated some - put a windshield in it in the last few years. There is one side window vent handle that has broken off, but since the window stays shut, I have just kept it that way. Both doors lock and unlock with the key, and it's a matched set with the ignition, separate trunk key. There are front seat belts, but those probably aren't factory. In the trunk is a spare, and jack and a correct reproduction mat and side boards. All the weatherstrips are new. Heater works, the core is new. The car is tidy, clean and sanitary inside. Outside the car has paint that was done about 8 years ago, in the original shade of Burgandy, or Maroon Metallic. This isn't a show job, but like the rest of the car is clean and tidy, isn't full of orange peel, and has a great shine, there are no rust bubbles anywhere as would be showing up from a paint job of that age if there were any problems underneath. The chrome appears to be all original. The bumpers aren't perfect, but again, original, so for a 48 year old car, pretty darned good. All the trim is in place, and is all where it should be. The floor pans are super nice, and there is no rust out or rot in them I can see - just super solid. The car's Not perfect, nothing funny, just is what it is. Oregon uses no salt on it's roads which is why the car is so solid. The rockers and all the sheet metal that usually has issues is just great. There are no indications that this car has ever been out of the Northwest. There is one little spot just to the inside of the left front fender well right at the bottom, which could be where water sits, and there is a pic shown of that. Also the inner rear fender wells have some beginnings of perf on the inside on the left, and a bit of perf on the right. I would assume this is exhaust related, as most often the exhaust exits underneath. I didn't even notice any of it, even when up on a hoist doing oil changes and checking fluids etc, til I was crawling around underneath just the other day. None of this detracts from the outside looks, not is a structural issue, just wanted to be completely clear and up front. There is nothing being hidden here, and if you have specific questions please feel free to ask them! The car is exactly as is has been kept - nothing fluffed, not buffed, primped, touched up or rattle canned to make it look better than it is. Is the car perfect? No. It is an honest car - the real thing that works, drives and runs just like it should - and is also very fairly priced. The car is sold just as pictured with the exception of the House of Hotrods plaque on the front and the Oregon Pacific Wonderland plates which I am going to keep. It's a driver, has mostly all original chrome, and was built / rebuilt to enjoy and to drive. This is a super nice turn key Comet - not completely stock, not totally perfect - but an awesome and fun driver to enjoy, take to shows and show off in. Cars like this don't come along often, and aren't for the shy. You will expect to get tons of thumbs up, and questions just about everywhere you go. This is a car you can take to car shows and do well with, and own with pride. These cars are better than money in the bank, and are destined to go up in value! Now for the nitty gritty: DO NOT BID IF YOU DO NOT INTEND TO PAY! Your bid is a contract and will be treated as such. If you have zero or negative feedback - please contact us first. We reserve the right to cancel bids to those who don't adhere to this request. If you need to get permission of any sort to buy - PLEASE GET IT FIRST. Excuses such as - I had the money now I dont, My spouse doesn't like the color, Gee I got sick as soon as I won the bid in the last 30 seconds of the auction, Oops I hit buy it now by mistake, My kid bid not me, My attorney says etc etc will not be tolerated or excused. PLEASE think before you biid! A 500.00 deposit is required within 72 hours of auction close, the balance in full due within 10 days of auction close. Paypal will not be accepted on any part of the auction unless agreed upon in advance, other than the deposit. Payment is by bank wire, cashiers check or cash. No overpayment scams please. If paid by any form of check - check will clear bank before vehicle leaves it's present location. Winning this auction does not qualify you to fly in and inspect the vehicle then decide IF you want it, or to renegotiate. The vehicle is available for inspection by appointment, so if you aren't sure - come see it first! Shipping is at the expense of the winning bidder. Vehicle must be picked up near McMinnvile, Oregon. This car is 48 or more years old, and so is sold as is. We have possession of and guarantee a free and clear title to the vehicle, with no brands, flags or anything of that sort. Vehicle is titled in Oregon as a 1964 Mercury 2D, just as it should be. Serial Number on the door tag and on left inner fender well matches the title. Vehicle is sold as is with no warranty either expressed or implied. Vehicle is being purchased from the car's owner, not Houseofhotrod, and the bill of sale will be from them. We will help you arrange shipping any way we can, winning bidder pays for all shipping charges. We have recently been using a service called Uship, which is a website - I think owned by eBay - where you can insert a shipping request, and shippers will bid to do your shipping - these shippers are rated on feedback just like eBay rates their sellers. Pretty cool. We will help with shipping any way we can. Sorry if we sound snotty here - we just want to communicate that we take our eBay seriously - all we really ask is that you do the same!! This makes it much easier for those of YOU who are also serious about bidding and buying. I have bought many vehicles here and understand your concerns - we've been there! PLEASE ask questions if you have them - I will do my absolute best to answer honestly and quickly. Thank you for looking and bidding