Hello all, I pulled the engine on my Comet last weekend and am wondering if there are any upgrades I can do while the engine is out? I am definitely going to try to clean up the cables and everything but are there performance modifications you guys can think of so I can take advantage of all this empty space? Thanks
Hey Cloontang: Now would be a good time to determine if your ' COWL AREA ' is rusted through permitting water to enter the inside and rot out the floors . Take a gallon of water and pour it out over the windshield and into the open cowl vents (between the windshield wiper arms ) .. Then check INSIDE to see if the water is coming through.. There are a few ways to repair this situation and they're on this forum . Have a friend pour the water and have a flashlight in hand to get a good view of the underside area. Also it's a good time to clean up the engine bay .. plug holes that you don't need .. clean and paint .. etc. etc. You'll probably get more suggestions so ' stay tuned ' . Congratulations on finding a COMET ! Cometized (Chip)
Thanks Chip, it's an AZ car so I don't think that will be an issue, but I will check it out to make sure.
Mine started out looking like this, was just going to do a bit of "sprucing up" Next thing you know the engine was out(transmission was fresh or I'd have pulled it as well)... After three or four months and a complete front end rebuild with disc brake conversion it looked like this... At that point I bought a fresh rebuilt 306 that I had a friend totally disassemble the short block to be sure it was done correctly...
Chop the shock towers. Replace the upper control arms. Replace the ragjoint. Check/re-tape your wiring harness Paint the engine bay. so many options when it is empty.
Nothing a couple pressure washings, scraper & half dozen boxes of cheap steel wool pads won't fix... Be sure to wash again if you use the pads, the steel fibers will rust... At that point it's a little sandpaper, primer and paint... I did the brake & fuel lines with chrome paint, hard to tell the difference between it and a new piece of steel tubing I used to fix one of the transmission lines...
I sure wish the internet was around before I left my Torino GT's hood off after "prepping for paint". The sight of all those little rust stains still haunts my memory. Even dusted up onto my fenders and stained it too. Also makes me afraid to think about all the crap I've probably inhaled through the years as a painter. Nowadays I use paint prep pads(like synthetic steel wool pads). Mainly because plastic has to be much better for me than steel, right? lol Seriously though.. we use lots of nasty chemicals and make LOTS of dust working on cars. Be sure to protect your lungs for the later years of your life.
