The 1970’s was not a good time to be a car enthusiast. Major manufacturers moved from muscle cars to gas-sipping econo-boxes due to the oil crunch. New safety regulations mandated the addition of bulbous bumpers and seatbelts, and design styling took a back seat to meeting a bevy of new government guidelines. To be blunt, most cars from the 1970’s suck.

On the outside, this Mercury Comet certainly would seem to suck. Look under the hood though, and you’ll find a fresh, powerful engine. This Comet, found by Bangshift on eBay, certainly stands out from most mid-70’s malaise.

In the late 60’s, the Comet was Mercury’s small car. Based on the Ford Falcon platform, it started life as a compact but grew to by a mid-size car by the 70’s. Special editions included the Cyclone GT, and Cyclone Spoiler, all available with the biggest engines in Ford’s lineup. The ’76 Comet had nothing but a 302 and a few doodads like racing mirrors and a vinyl roof.

This Comet, however, has a 306 engine with a Weiand blower attached. It also has 1970 Windsor heads, a ’69 302 block, Chevy valves, a hydraulic camshaft from Comp Cams, and a 100 shot of nitrous. This is all backed up by a AOD overdrive transmission with a 3000 rpm torque converter. Sounds like one badass little Comet. And under that bland 70’s styling, nobody will suspect a thing.