thinking of buying a '75 comet

New to the forum, new to Mavs/Comets.

I have available to me a 1975 Comet I am thinking about picking up as my first project.

It runs, which is a plus, but not really a big deal. The previous owners stripped out the interior and installed a roll cage to convert this thing into a drag racer. Aside from that, it looks to be mostly stock, 302 4 barrel. The body is straight, appears to have minimal rust, looks like the guys took out the supports for the trunk and hood, it has hood clips in now. Needs a new exhaust system and rear and front bumpers. It's still street legal.

I'm getting it for cheap, but I have a decent amount of monthly income to invest in it, and anything bolt on or general maintenance I can handle myself.

I'm really just looking for a little advice, I'm thinking about turning this into a clean daily driver with a little power. The roll cage might be a bit overkill, but since it's already there, I don't mind keeping it. Should I be looking to do an engine swap, or can I get a decent HP upgrade with bolt ons? Anything I should know before I actually buy it? Anything else you can think of?

Thanks!

 

Rust, check the cowl, torques boxes, floors, quarter panels..
With these cars, very little sheet metal is available, so take your time looking it over.
Any questions you'll have should be answered easily by using the search feature, there is over 10 years of info saved on here.

 

Rust should be fairly easy to spot... I don't think there's an ounce of paint left on this thing, and the interior consists of a driver and passenger seat.

 

Make sure you pour water down the cowl vents in front of the windshield. make sure none of the water comes inside. If it does it is a major repair. Welcome to the board.

 

alright... will bring a bottle of water with me when i go back there.

 

to the board.... Good luck...

 

If you want 200HP you can do simple bolt on`s and get that. If you want more, which I hope you do You need to do some more work. The 75 model has horrible compression, a bunch of EGR crap and we all know Ford heads suck. You can easily swap in a later roller motor and a nice pair of heads.

 

Also 4 barrels werent available, so maybe its already been modified. Ask the seller about the engine, maybe its already been swapped for a better one.

 

I would look into swapping to a 5.0 HO motor from a 87-93 mustang, that paired with a decent intake and carb, your transmission of choice, matched with some rear end gears, and a COMPLETE steering/suspension/brakes/tires upgrades. That should just about satisfy your power wants and get you to a comfortable driver standard.

I would estimate about 2,500.00 total cost with some good shopping.

Good 4 wheel disk setup, fresh suspension, tires and wheels can really make an old car come alive as far as comfortable driving.
PS dont forget some subframe connectors if the car isn't already equipted with them.


And to the site from AZ

 

Hoping to get ~250-300hp. If I can get more semi cheaply, that would be awesome. I have a feeling though, once I hit 300, I'll get addicted.

The current owner bought it from the guys setting it up for drag. I haven't been able to play with it yet to verify, but he says it's a 302 with a 4 barrel... I'll either be taking it out for a spin tomorrow or saturday, depending on scheduling and such.

That looks like a pretty simple roadmap to follow, and at decent price.

Thanks for the advice so far guys, you're really giving me a good idea of where I want to take this thing.

 

To get to 300 RWHP your going to need highly ported gt-40 heads and a nce cam, or aluminum heads and a cam.

Or

nitrous/blower/turbo/351 windsor

200-240 no problem, 300ish you need to spend about another grand or so

 

So it looks like I'm going to be getting my hands dirty. I won't be going to the nitrous route, never really got into that. Feels more like a ricer type thing to me.

 

Well, the '75 ended up being a little more of a hassle than I wanted, but I just picked up a '76. It has the inline 6, but I'm going to drop in an engine anyways. I think I've decided on a 331 stroker, something like this build:

Mustang Monthly 331 Stealth small block.

 

Sounds good. Good luck with it.

 

alright. found a reputable builder for my engine. might even have one built already on deal because the guy never picked it up. talked to a guy who is building a mav for his son too, who works in the shop. so now i'm compiling a part list. so far, i've found:

302 V-8 - 3500
302 MAVERICK motor mounts - BK 6021091 NAPA 16.99 each
-302 frame mounts - 260 mav forums
-V-8 Engine cross-member
-Double hump transmission cross-member
Power Steering Pressure Hose - NPS 71541 NAPA 37.99
V-8 Starter - BSH sr504x NAPA 71.99
250 I-6 or small block ford V-8 bell-housing - in car
250 I-6 or 302 Maverick radiator - In car
V-8 throttle cable - BK 6101215 NAPA 51.99
torque converter (needed?) - PMT FM18A NAPA 99.99
Hooker 6901 Headers - 150 Amazon

Do I have to pull these off a donor, or can I find them in a parts store?
V-8 wiring harness ( or just build one)
V-8 kickdown linkage
V-8 Power steering bracket
V-8 Alternator bracket

I can find these on NAPA, but they are listed as if they are 1 belt for multiple jobs. Do I need a separate cable for each?
V-8 Pulleys -Power steering/crankshaft/fan/water pump

Also, am i missing anything? the parts list was from:
http://mmb.maverick.to/showthread.php?t=4581