Hey everybody, Just wanted to introduce myself and my 73 Comet. I picked it up for dirt cheap as it wasn't put back together after having the rear main seal messed with and needed to be gone for the seller to avoid a HOA fine. This is my first older car, but my plan is to get it driving myself (with help from the internet) and use it as a daily driver. The engine currently runs but it doesn't move under its own power yet. I believe my first order of business is getting it driving (actually replace the rear main seal, hooking the shifter back up, attaching the speedometer cable, etc.), deal with the electrical system (it was half torn out to install new gauges and never finished by the previous owner), and then deal with all the other problems that pop up along the way. If you have any questions fire away and I'll answer them the best I can.
Welcome from fellow 73 Comet owner! Looks like nice "Dirt Cheap" find. Your in the right place for help w/ the project. Gud luck!!
Welcome from central Florida! First off, great starting point! It looks solid, Hope you don't find any bad rust. I noticed a couple of things about your car that made me think of a few questions. You have 5 lug and power steering and power brakes, but no passenger mirror, was this originally a 6-cyl car that had a motor and 5 lug suspension swap? Mine was a stripped down econo model with a 200 and manual steering, and manual 4 wheel drum brakes with 13 inch, 4-lug wheels and no passenger mirror when it came from Ford. I am upgrading to power steering, power disc brakes, V8, and bigger wheels and tires. I also noticed a hole where the heat/A/C hoses go through the firewall, was this a factory A/C car? Yeah, leave it to the guys in Florida to worry about A/C....I'm doing a complete factory A/C swap into my car from my parts car The shock tower braces in your car have been removed, this is not safe, especially with a V8. The passenger side is easy to find, they are all the same. For a Maverick/Comet equipped with power brakes, there is a special brace that looks like this: Good luck with your project! Post lots of pictures!
Thanks for all the info! I haven't come across and bad rust, mostly just surface. The only thing I've found completely rusted out is the platform the battery sits on. I'm not sure of the original setup of the car. The person I bought it from didn't put that much time into it and didn't know too much about it. One thing I am trying to figure out is if there's a way to tell if the rear main seal has a pin without taking the whole thing apart. I'd love to do the two part seal instead of dropping the whole transmission for the one piece. The A/C unit was pulled out due to it being rusted but it's sitting in my garage for when I get that far. It currently has duct tape over the hole in hopes of keeping larger critters out of the interior. And finally, I do have the shock tower braces (including the funky power brake brace) in the trunk. They were removed by the last guy for ease of access while it was sitting on the curb and will definitely be reinstalled once it's moving under its own power. Thanks again for posting, I'm flying blind here at the start so it's good to have input.
Welcome from south Alabama! I'm sure you'll find these folks very helpful,gotten me outta a pinch several times!
