1965 Mercury Comet Cyclone Lightweight Tribute

Description

Hagerty Marketplace is honored to offer another selection of vehicles from The SugarCreek Collection. This private collection in southwestern Ohio is supported by its own in-house restoration and maintenance shop, with a full-time staff of craftsmen. The garage is a true spectrum of car enthusiast dreams, ranging from unfinished restorations to the most recent sale of the SEMA-exhibited 1,000 HP 1962 Dodge Power Wagon, supporting the Mike Rowe WORKS Foundation. Thirty select cars from the collection are being offered just in time for spring. Whether awaiting restoration, preserved showroom stock, restored to like-new, or tastefully modified, these cars and trucks are truly SugarCreek quality. 

*  *  * 

The 1965 Mercury Comet Cyclone Lightweight was developed as part of Ford's “Total Performance” program. This initiative aimed to dominate various forms of motorsport, including drag racing. Since the Comet and Ford Fairlane shared the same platform, Mercury could leverage the engineering of the Fairlane-based 1964 Thunderbolt drag racers to create their version.  

Like the Thunderbolts, the Comet Cyclone Lightweight was designed with a focus on reducing weight to maximize performance. Key features included fiberglass doors, fenders, hood, and seats. Plexiglass windows were used instead of glass to further reduce weight. It is believed a total of 50 Comet drag units were ordered by Lincoln-Mercury in 1965 and built by racing legend Bill Stroppe in Long Beach, California. All were powered by 289 engines for the B/FX (Factory Experimental) class, except for eight A/FX Comets equipped with the 427 High Riser engine. Thanks to the lean two-man racing division at Lincoln-Mercury — just Al Turner and Bill Stroppe — they had more freedom to develop these machines more than their Ford counterparts, and the Cyclones regularly humbled the Thunderbolts, as well as their Mopar competition. With so few 427 Cyclone Lightweights built, and with most crashed or abandoned when no longer competitive, this tribute from The SugarCreek Collection captures the spirit of these factory racers without the fear of harming an historic artifact. 

Highlights 

• Offered from The SugarCreek Collection 

• Ford FE 427 engine is believed built by International Drag Racing Hall of Fame member “Ohio George” Montgomery  

• Three-speed automatic transmission with Line Lock and cooler 

• Weld Racing Prostar aluminum street legal wheels 

• Ford nine-inch rear axle with 4.30:1 gears 

• Hoosier 9.0/30.0R-15, 94.0 inch drag slicks in back 

• 165/80R15 steel belted radial front tires 

• The chassis number (5H27A527894) decodes as: 

  • 5 – Model year 1965 

  • H – Lorain, Ohio, final assembly plant 

  • 27 – Cyclone two-door hardtop

  • A – 289 cu-in V8 with a four-barrel 

  • 527894 – Production sequence number 

Features 

• Racing equipment includes: 

• MSD ignition  

• Six-point racing cage 

• Five-point race harness for the driver only (no seat belt or race harness for the passenger seat) 

• Fuel cell 

• Rear mounted battery  

• Electric cooling fan 

• Long tube headers into three-inch Magnaflow Mufflers

• Emergency shut off switch on rear of car 

• FRAME electric fuel pump  

• Required drive shaft loop  

• CalTracs traction bars  

• Coil-over front suspension 

• Fiberglass front bumper and steel rear bumper for superior weight transfer 

• No exhaust system past the header collectors 

• Runs on pump gas 

• Chrome Mercury valve covers 

• The drivers side front of the cylinder head has the NHRA stamping on it  

Known Imperfections 

• Small paint chips on front bumper

• Small paint chip on top of passenger side fender

• Paint chip underneath passenger side door

• Small paint chip on rear trunk lid

• Minor flakes in rear body panel inserts

• Trunk has minor surface rust

• Trunk lid when closed sits up just slightly compared to quarter panels on left and right 

• The gauges on the instrument panel are not hook up and are non functional.

Ownership History 

The SugarCreek Collection acquired this Comet drag car four or five years ago, already completed in its current form. The previous owner stated the 427 engine was built by NHRA Lifetime Achievement Award winner and International Drag Racing Hall of Fame member “Ohio George” Montgomery, whose series of Ford-powered AA/Gas “Malco Gasser” and “Mr. Gasket Gasser” racers in the 1960s and ’70s earned him the title “King of the Gassers” though there is currently no documentation to verify that. The weight of the Comet is unknown, there are no time slips, no number of passes on the engine, and little other information. The large tach on the steering column is functional as is the oil pressure and water temperature gauges located down by the drivers right leg. The switches to the right of the water temperature gauge control the water pump, the fuel pump, and the electric fans. The fourth switch is not hooked up.

Additional Notes 

A Broad Arrow Auctions Specialist is working as an agent on behalf of the owner of this vehicle. Broad Arrow Auctions is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hagerty.  

Contact: Matt Lowney   Phone: 623.308.2640   email: mlowney@hagerty.com