1963 Mercury Comet S-22 /60 V8

There is both a "soft and sore spot" for me when it comes to the 1963 Mercury Comet. I've often mentioned that my first car was a 1966 Ford Fairlane that I had purchased from my high school in Long Island, saving it from certain doom and dissection by a high school auto shop class. I bought it with the money I was going to use for a down payment on my class of '80 ring. But, the truth is, the Fairlane was my first car that I registered. My actual first car was a 1963 Mercury Comet. It too was a refugee from the shop class. (I guess you could say that I regularly shopped there..haha). Now, for a little Mercury Comet history...then the sob story. Got a minute?

The Mercury Comet was based on the Ford Falcon platform. The 1960-1963 Comets share a similar basic shape.  For 1962 and 1963, the Comet shared a considerable number of body and mechanical parts with the short lived Mercury Meteor.

When the Ford Edsel went the way of the Dodo Bird, the Comet was initially released with "Comet" badges. It was sold through Mercury dealers, but would not be branded as such for two more years.

Introduced in March 1960 to the buying public, initial body styles were a 2 & 4-door sedan or 2 & 4 door wagon. Two trim levels were available, standard and "Custom", with the custom package including badging, additional chrome trim and all-vinyl interior.

Also in 1963, the optional S-22 package was released. Available only on the 2-door sedan, it was billed as a "sport" package, even though it shared the same mechanicals as regular Comets, with the only changes being S-22 badging, bucket seats and an interior center console.

The S-22 received 6 tail lights, while regular Comets had 4. While the 1963 model looked almost identical to the earlier models, the chassis and suspension were redesigned to sport an optional 260 cid V8 engine with a 2-barrel carburetor , producing 164 hp. Convertible and pillarless hardtop coupe models were added to the Comet Custom and Comet S-22 lines this year. They were only made available for 6  months, and the 260 V8 was mated to a factory 4 speed manual transmission, with a floor mounted shifter. Very sporty, not to mention extremely cool.

So, why the soft and sore spot ? The 1963 Mercury Comet that I had bought from my high school was the victim of a clueless school office secretary that attempted to ignore the temperature warning light, and drive to school sans any fluid in the radiator, end result being the motor and tranny becoming great candidates for a boat mooring. The car ended up in the auto shop, destined for dissection by a class that would learn how the engine met it's demise. The car was cherry...deep maroon paint with a mint black & white interior, all chrome and glass as nice as the day it rolled off the assembly line. It was love, it was purchased for $75 by me ( out the door ), and it was slated to become resurrected with a newer straight 6, larger and faster than the boat anchor under the hood.

The sore spot was when the realization that the newer 6 didn't fit where the old 6 resided, my cash was exhausted making me unable to get another motor, my neighbors started complaining about an engine-less car in our driveway, and I reluctantly sold the car to a classmate for $100.

Two months later, a knock on my front door led to said classmate, smiling brightly, anxious to take me for a spin in my old Mercury...now outfitted with a 302 V8 and transmission from a derelict Mustang, and the ride was not only powerful, but the car was able to smoke the tires without so much as any effort at all. And she still looked great.

When I returned to my house...I watched that car drive off...and the sick feeling in my stomach remains to this day. Happy ending for my 1963 Mercury Comet, but for me...not so much. The end.