CC reader Teddy has been posting a cornucopia of his curbside finds in Portland at the Cohort for some time. Needless to say, Portland is chock-full of goodies, with a decided tendency towards the out-of-the-ordinary, consistent with the general local vibe. Here’s a good representative: a ’64 Comet sedan in pink.
This shot clearly shows how the Comet came about its 5.5″ wheelbase stretch over the Falcon donor-mobile: the rear axle was moved back, resulting in an awkward gap behind the back of the rear door, which was of course shared with the Falcon. Unlike previous Comets, in 1964 and 1965, they even had to share the Falcon’s exterior sheet metal to a considerable degree. The vee’d side sculpturing is identical on the doors, but the Comet’s different front and rear fenders allowed it to begin and end with some difference. But in reality, these Comets were a very barely disguised Falcon main body, with some differences in front and back, unlike the original ’60 Comet, which had almost totally different styling from the Falcon.
Under the hood, there were bigger differences. Unlike the Falcon, the ’64 Comet had two brand new engines available: the 200 cubic inch six, with seven main bearings and a whopping 116 hp rating, and the rather rare 210 hp version of the 289 V8, which had a four barrel carb but regular-gas compression. That was a 1964-only engine, and also available as an option on the early 1965 MY (“1964.5”) Mustang.
The 260 and 289 V8s were also available with the new three-speed “Multi-Drive” automatic (C4), whereas the 200 six came only with the two-speed Merc-O-Matic. The 260 could also be had with the Merc-O-Matic. The 170 six wisely was only available with the three speed manual. The Falcon had to do with the 164 hp 260 V8, and the two-speed Ford-O-Matic. A bit arcane. And: the 289 and 200, as well as C4, may not have been available at the beginning of the model year, but possibly were a mid-year intro.
Minor detail I never knew before: the 1964 version of the 260 V8 shared the exact same heads as the 289, which had larger valves than the 1961-1963 versions. Yet its horsepower rating stayed the same.
More 260 V8 tidbits: there was a high performance version version (“HP-260”) rated at 260 hp @5800 rpm, built by Ford for the Shelby Cobra and the specially-prepared rally versions of the Falcon Sprint. No wonder the very first Cobras, with this engine, were already brutally fast, given their light weight. But: not all early 260 Cobras got this engine; some came with the basic 2V 260; jazz legend Herbie Hancock’s Cobra came that way and still has it. And there are some variations of the HP-260 engine; not all came with the exact same parts and specs, mainly in terms of their intakes. And it appears some had special heads, others not. They did have a mechanical cam, the same grind that was also used in the HP-289. And it had special forged rods and a few other goodies, but used the 260’s stock crankshaft, although with a higher nodular iron content.
So that 260 hp number needs to be seen as a ballpark, at best. Somewhere between 110- 200 of the HP-260 engines were ever built; 75 went into Cobras. And one of these days, we need to do a full story on the Windsor V8.
Looks like this one is sporting the automatic, but there’s no visible sign of which engine it’s mated to. If it’s going to be a true hipstermobile, it needs to be a six.
As best as I can tell, this was not a factory color choice. Maybe it was an early Mary Kate car? Nope; she only did Cadillacs. Someone decided to paint this Comet pink. Hey, it is Portland, after all; got to keep it weird.
First published 9/26/2016.
The 3rd picture trips a very angry trigger in my brain. That is, a widely-spaced grille in front of a body-color radiator core support – especially in cars with light/bright paint colors. To my eye it looks horrible and cheap. Would it have killed them to paint the core support black??
Extremely cool car. I’ve always loved the ’64 and ’65 Falcons and Mercury equivalents. In 2004 I was a college freshman in Tempe, AZ and my ’96 F-150 needed a replacement. Rather naively, in hindsight, I almost bought a ’65 404 from an acquaintance. Probably a good thing I didn’t!
When my wife and I were first married, her mom drove a red ’64 4-dr Comet. We needed a second car, a friend of MIL had a matching 2-dr. Comet for sale, so she bought it for us.
Both were 6-cyl, AT and, honestly, both were driven until the odometer rolled over. But not one of the 100,000 miles were driven in passion. We live just across the river from Portland. Scratch that pink paint; see any red?
Certainly can’t say I’ve seen this combo before… a Comet… in 4 doors… and pink…
It looks a little too well done to be an Earl Scheib or Maaco paint job…
Maybe a big wig in Ford put the custom order in for his wife… although it wouldn’t surprise me if it was a factory color… pink for women was still big back in those days… I had a girlfriend who’s mother had all pink appliances in the kitchen… ranch house likely built 1940s – 1960s somewheres… never saw pink appliances in any other house… nowadays it’s white, black, grey, or S.S…. don’t tell anybody but I still have Harvest Gold appliances… Burnt orange woodwork and carpeting…
Even those base level Ford OHV inline 6s had the HP to put 1953 and earlier Ford V8s to shame… My buddy’s ’32 DeSoto 6 wheel long roof has a ’64 1/2 Ford 170 in it with 3 speed Merc-o-Matic. He didn’t realize it had 3 speeds, he thought only 2, because he never pulled it down into low, and it starts off in 2nd. The engine and tranny came from different vehicles in the junk yard. One had a bad tranny, the other a bad engine. The
” 64 1/2 ” can sometimes make parts difficult to find or match up.
Back in 1964 at the MG dealer’s lot I stumbled across a tiny Griffith with the 260 4 bbl. V8… something one doesn’t forget… cute little bugger… don’t remember if I had ever heard of one before seeing one… black as I recall.
Thank you for mentioning one of my all time favorite musician-composers Herbie Hancock and his rare preproduction AC Cobra with its original 260 V8. I assume you are aware of his interesting story about how he purchased it somewhat out of spite due to a xenophobic salesman. When I first read the Hagerty story (link below) about his 100% original Cobra I thought if ever an extremely valuable collectable car met the definition of a CC it would be his. No hermetically sealed storage and driven only in perfect weather to show it off. Nope he drove his daily for years and but put well over a hundred thousand miles on it. If by chance you or any readers haven’t read the Hagerty article I highly recommend it.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.hagerty.com/media/people/herbie-hancock-has-rocked-an-original-cobra-longer-than-anyone/&ved=2ahUKEwjSpuKNipeNAxXChIkEHXqwCPMQFnoECCgQAQ&usg=AOvVaw3pk-Cjdo65ch6uT2wbqdT9
At least any awkwardness of this 4-door sedan begins and ends with the door/rear wheelwell relationship.
The Caliente hardtop coupe has it much worse – the Falcon hardtop already looks like it has a roof meant for a smaller car, with the Comet on a longer wheelbase front and rear the hardtop has the overall proportions of a skateboard with a bubble in the griptape.
Anytime I see a 1964 Comet, I think of the late Rachel Veitch, whose 1964 Comet nicknamed “Le Chariot” lasted over 550,000 miles. Ford’s of this Era seemed quite durable.
Had a 64 Fairlane with the 260 and Fordomatic as my first car – never knew until now it had the same heads as the 289 – thanks for the info.
Our neighbor in Burlington was a Mercury family, and had one of these…probably with the 200 and automatic. As their sons got older, it became their hand-me-down as they bought a new ’68 Colony Park wagon.
Theirs was a tan color
A nice little car .
Instead of pink maybe Salmon next time, I like pastels on some older cars .
This one is looking for a new home but no clear image of the for sale sign .
I’d think the 200CID i6 would have been okay mated to a three speed C4 slushbox .
As an old Korean War Veteran one said “it’s all in the gears ~ use enough gears and you can move a train with a washing machine motor” .
Wise words indeed .
I hope this interesting auld crate gets a loving home .
-Nate