COAL #10: Not so Caliente – My First Accident

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– Posted on December 24, 2023

 

In last week’s post, I briefly mentioned the sweet feeling of freedom when I slid behind the wheel of my ’66 Comet Caliente convertible for the first time. Driving the short weekday trip to Morristown High School, visiting friends, and doing the odd errand runs made up most of my local driving. The feeling of independence and new-found personal mobility was almost overwhelming. Each turn of the ignition key led to new adventures, new discoveries, and new milestones on the way to real adulthood.

A Cyclone, not a Caliente, in a similar exterior color. (Source: www.oldcarbrochures.com)

 

Summer trips “down the shore” were surely more pleasant with the top down, especially when accompanied by my first serious girlfriend. Those excursions to the Jersey shore also provided a head start on summer sunburn while in the midst of slow-moving traffic on the Garden State Parkway.

Typical southbound summer traffic on the GSP. (Source: www.dreamstime.com)

 

My new motoring life wasn’t always carefree, however. During my first year on the road, I was heading west on Route 24/Morris Street in town when a right-hand drive USPS Jeep Dispatcher suddenly pulled out of a curbside parking space, rearranging the Comet’s right-front fender, smashing the passenger’s-side headlamp door, and bending some of the trim around the grille. Strangely enough, the front bumper remained untouched, as it was below the Jeep’s strike zone. As this was a low-speed collision, there were no injuries or other property damage. A police report was made, insurance companies were notified, body shop repair estimates were forwarded, and not too long thereafter, a check was received. A plan began to form in my adolescent mind.

This well-worn manual proved its worth many times over. (personal collection)

 

As other CC commentators have related, the trifecta of a damaged vehicle, an insurance check, and an overly-ambitious young car owner can be a dangerous combination. Disregarding the repair estimate, I asked myself how difficult it could be to replace and paint a front fender, source the needed trim bits, and return my convertible to showroom condition.

Having purchased a replacement right front fender and headlamp door, as well as several other small items from the parts department at John Lotz Lincoln-Mercury, I was nearly ready to proceed.

Getting down to the nitty-gritty here. (personal collection)

 

With several Dupli-Color spray cans of 1966 Ford/Mercury Tiffany Blue, sandpaper of assorted grit, and a few face masks, I set the already-primed front fender on a couple of sawhorses in our detached one-car garage and began the “restoration” process. As you might expect, despite several rounds of sanding and painting, I never achieved a uniformly smooth, glossy finish, its not-quite-exact color match being the least of its problems. Compared to my paint tribulations, the re-installation of the fender, fender extension, headlamps, and related small trim went without incident.

I wish mine looked this good after my amateur bodywork. (Source: www.classiccars.com)

 

One of the Comet’s most memorable early excursions was a trip to Watkins Glen in October 1970 to catch the U.S. Grand Prix, returning home with a UOP Shadow wind-breaker, a prized possession for many years (now sadly lost). In between several more trips to the Jersey shore and elsewhere during the following summer, I received word that I had been accepted at my first (and only) choice for higher education, the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles.

A solo cross-country drive at the tender age of eighteen? Sure, why not…