Fixing up/modernizing 62 Comet

Hello all. I'm new around here. I bought this car back around march of this year. This is actually the picture of it on eBay. She's a 1962 and started off as a complete stripper. this car was ordered with no options though now, from a PO, it has been up graded to a 67 mustang driveline involving a C-code 289, 3.03 toploader and a 3.89 rear. Only things done to the engine are the fresh clutch/PP and an edelbrock intake/carb.

At this point in time I love this car. It drives really well, holds a great amount of my junk and hauls people great just like I ask it. There are only a few issues and I hope that you guys will be able to help me clear them up.

First off I am looking to install an OD tranny. As at the moment I am getting 20mph highway and like 12-15 in town. It will most likely be a t5 just because they are easy to find but I'm up for suggestions. I've read most of the material on this swap and the only thing I'm fuzzy on is the location of the shifter inside the car as one thing I read mentioned that it was too far back in a falcon and I know the comet is a falcon pretty much.

Secondly I am wanting to stiffen up the suspension and make it so I can run slightly bigger tires without issues. Now it has stock springs in the back and they are very soft. What I want is a relatively stiff suspension so this old boat will handle and a little bit more height so I can run some like 215-70's or the like in the back. What I found were 5 leaf springs for the back. Does that sound like it's enough. To balance out the back I was looking at some 620 lb springs for the front that would lower it 1". That sitting on like a 195-60 or 195-70.

My keys are kinda in a strange state of not working. My driver door has the same key as my ignition(later ford key) but the little piece that turns(don't know the right term) is broken off. Then the passenger door uses the same key as the trunk but it won't turn but a little bit in the door. So right now I have to go in through the vent window if I want to lock my car. I am thinking the best thing to do is get new lock cylinders, where can I get them from?

Lastly I am looking to get new window seals for the front/back/side windows. I haven't really seen them anywhere online. And are they available without the chrome strip? I am thinking about dechroming this car when I paint it up next year.

Thanks everybody

From my experience and what Ive read about from others (quite a bit before I got my wheels and tires), a 215/60/15 is a pretty good size to go with. It seems to fill out the wheel wells nice yet doesnt require any monkey business to fit without rubbing. Its possible to get as big as a 235 drag radial, but thats about as big as you could go I think. As for tightening up the suspension, a good set of shocks and a bigger sway bar on the front will make a world of difference from stock. Unless youre carrying a load or open road racing, I would leave the rear springs alone. They may need new bushings though, which could make them feel significantly tighter and without spending a lot of money. Again unless you plan to road race, I think 620# springs up front are overkill. I used 66 Mustang gt springs on my Falcon which were rated at about 350#. Thats a bit stiffer than stock, but not so much its rough. You can get aftermarket springs, but I wouldnt go higher than about 450-500#. As for the window felts and lock set, try Autokrafters or Dennis Carpenter. Depending how much you want to replace, window felts can get expensive quick. I think someone posted a how-to on cheap window stripping, so try looking around on the site here.

First off I am referring to 14" rims just because I already have them and the the backspacing on them is just about perfect for my application. And I'm cheap. But yeah, 215's I think would look really fat/phat(both) on the back of this car.

And the suspension really needs to be tightened up more than bushings. Right now it still has the original springs on it. The leafs are sagged and soft to a point where 5 people in the car(I'm a college student so 5 is a low number) bottoms out the springs over little bumps. I am really wanting it to be kinda stiff anyways as I want the car to handle well. The front springs have also sagged really bad and haven't recovered from a failed doughnut attempt from the first day I had the car. 620#'s may be a bit heavy but they were the only ones I have found that were '62 comet specific. I have heard that mustang springs fit fine but I have yet to find any in the 500#-550# range which is about what I want.

Eaton Detroit spring makes the exact heavy duty springs for your car,
licensed by Ford they have all the original specs for mine (62,63Flane) which is very similiar to yours.
Until i went coil overs i ran Eaton:
Front H.D. coils, with 2.5" drop & their station wagon 4 leaf rears,
front sway bar -1.5" rear bar - 1" is plenty.
You won;t believe how the old girl will corner, but, does stiffen the ride,

Dude, If you are riding around with more than five people in your car and want it to handle well , then you need a full size station wagon. hi po mustang spring will work, any 65-66 mustang front end parts will fit but not the center link. stiff shocks and neww rear srings . then you can pile all you buddys in and go canyon carving. but always remember to buckel up your seat belt your seatbelts hommie. JD

Well, not handling and people at the same time :/ That just sounds awkward.

And I am completely okay with a siffened ride. I used to drive a VW Käfer with an almost no suspension travel. It wasn't that bad and I know this will be much better.

Go to www.opentrackeracingproducts.com they will treat you right.AS far as restoring the windoe felt and seals falcon parts.com.a little pricey but the right stuff.try puting in subframe connectors ,shock tower braces, trackion bars, rear spring bushings. whatever your pockets can handle JD

I guess the Comets are different than the early F;lanes, no mustang suspension bits are a bolt on to the F;lanes, Falcons yes, F;lanes no
Have you looked at RRS suspension site or Fatman Fabricators makes a cool front suspension conversion too

Correct, falcons became fairlane based in 64. So I think I have the suspension figured out. Now then, I understand the T5 swap finally. Any T5 will work, if it's the forward shift shaft style then the shifter will be up a little forward of where my 3.03 shifter is and a standard T5 the shifter will be 8" back from that which is fine as I have buckets. Only thing I'm not reading about is the clutch. Many are talking about installing a cable clutch or a hydraulic clutch. Is this necessary or just because. I have no complaints with the feel or pressure of my stock style clutch pedal but if I have to change then it's not a problem. Also I understand that I need a special crossmember. Would that be something I could easily make or would I be best off to just buy one, as I've seen them for 62 falcons.

Buzzboy,

I am also in the process of my 1962 Comet. I have a 8.8 rear out of a explorer that was narrowed, with a triangulated 4 point. I have a mustang II front end installed. I am working on getting the engine in which is a 1994 3.2 V6 SHO with the A4LD tranny backing it up. I will email pictures if you want on the progress I have made so far. Let me know.