FE Power Forums

FE Power Forums => Member Projects => Topic started by: fryedaddy on February 18, 2016, 07:47:08 PM

Title: new member with factory fe 4 speed 66 caliente
Post by: fryedaddy on February 18, 2016, 07:47:08 PM
hello everyone, my name is brian,i live in east tn.im a fe fan from way back. i have a black 66 caliente with a 428. i have a c6me block,int. bal. crank,cj heads a pi alu. intake,arp,msd,950 ulta-hp holley headers,411 gears slicks.etc. i bought this comet in 83.its a pretty rare car.it came out with a 390,4 speed,buckets,factory tach,black with a black dash and carpet with white seats and headliner. for some reason i have never seen another caliente with 390,4 speed,buckets and tach, they came standard in cyclones, but i heard the calientes were 97 percent 289s.this is my 4th fe in this car. it has been my daily driver for 33 years. i put this motor in last summer.i will have many questions in the near future. this is the best fe site in the world,very glad to be a member

Title: Re: new member with factory fe 4 speed 66 caliente
Post by: BruceS on February 18, 2016, 09:07:49 PM
Welcome Brian, got pictures of your Caliente?   We'd love to see them! 

Bruce
Title: Re: new member with factory fe 4 speed 66 caliente
Post by: Stangman on February 19, 2016, 12:11:10 AM
Sounds great welcome a lot of information from here
Title: Re: new member with factory fe 4 speed 66 caliente
Post by: Bolted to Floor on February 19, 2016, 12:12:12 AM
Welcome to the site Brian.
Title: Re: new member with factory fe 4 speed 66 caliente
Post by: manofmerc on February 19, 2016, 05:55:10 AM
Brian have you been to the Dawsonville moonshine festival in Ga.?Last year I met a guy from tn. that had a mercury comet similar to what you have .I was parked at the school and had my black 66 cyclone with me .Regardless welcome to the forum .And if you haven't been to the moonshine festival please go you wont regret it .Doug
Title: Re: new member with factory fe 4 speed 66 caliente
Post by: fryedaddy on February 19, 2016, 11:14:55 AM
i will post some pics and details as soon as i can get my son to help me. no i have not been to the moonshine festival but it sounds like fun,maybe i can go this year. thanks for the warm welcome guys!!
Title: Re: new member with factory fe 4 speed 66 caliente
Post by: chris_r on February 20, 2016, 04:59:47 PM
Welcome Brian, sounds like a fun car to drive i am Chris by the way i live in Johnson city
Title: Re: new member with factory fe 4 speed 66 caliente
Post by: fryedaddy on February 24, 2016, 01:27:15 PM
i posted a few pics at the start of this topic. this car is a daily driver not a show car or pro street. just a 66 caliente with a few mods and upgrades. it came with a y code 390 from the factory.when i got it it ran ok for what it was. i had a 63 1/2 galaxie with a rebuilt 390 t-bird engine that my dad gave me when i was 15. it would fly.i out ran many chevrolets with this car. it didnt take me long at that young age to figure out if i had a lite body to put the 63 1/2 390 in,it would really go! so my friend found me this 66 comet. i put the t-bird engine in it and it ran well for many years.i later put a 390 with cj heads in it. someone dropped some screws down the carb and it beat up a piston and busted a cyl. wall. i had a couple 428s sitting in my basement,so i took one to s&g machine shop in bristol tn. Larry Sneed,a well known engine builder in this area and a ford drag racer for many decades did the work,i had it int.balanced,rebuilt,all the oiling tricks. it has arp studs in the rods and mains,we used the liter 390 rods,speed pro pistons,comp cam,hamburger true roller,melling pump.cj heads with matching pi intake,msd pro billet dist.engine works box and coil, and a 950 holley. its nothing like some of the engines i read about in this forum,but hey,i am proud to own and drive it everywhere i go!
Title: Re: new member with factory fe 4 speed 66 caliente
Post by: ScotiaFE on February 24, 2016, 01:38:01 PM
Welcome
Kool Ride!
It would be a very rare Merc intermediate.
A Y code 4 speed.
Is the door tag still there? It would interesting to see/decode?
Title: Re: new member with factory fe 4 speed 66 caliente
Post by: fryedaddy on February 24, 2016, 03:24:23 PM
Welcome
Kool Ride!
It would be a very rare Merc intermediate.
A Y code 4 speed.
Is the door tag still there? It would interesting to see/decode?
the door tags is still in place,it reads,6H23Y533036  63C  A  H6  O4L  23  1  5
Title: Re: new member with factory fe 4 speed 66 caliente
Post by: fryedaddy on May 15, 2016, 05:28:34 PM
i hope i get to take it to bristol this summer and see what she will do.i cant wait.i need to do a little chassis work and some new front runners,but i dont like much more getting it ready.
Title: Re: new member with factory fe 4 speed 66 caliente
Post by: ec164 on May 16, 2016, 09:56:19 PM
Hey Brian Welcome nice looking Comet............
Title: Re: new member with factory fe 4 speed 66 caliente
Post by: fryedaddy on May 17, 2016, 11:26:34 AM
thanks EC164,this comet is the first car i ever bought when i was a teen.i have owned it for 33 -34 years.its had 4 engines 3 trans,4 rear stumps.i have run the pee out of this thang!!
Title: Re: new member with factory fe 4 speed 66 caliente
Post by: TomP on May 20, 2016, 05:17:09 PM
I like it. I used to have a red with white painted roof 66 Caliente hardtop. Red bucket seat interior, console, 390 and 4 speed, 3L25 diff. It was a 2V engine according to the VIN tag but the original owner I got it from swore that C6OF Holley on the S intake and the chromed valve covers was the way it came.

I met a guy from the dealership years after I sold the car who says they couldn't give Calientes away with two barrel carbs so the dealer swapped on the GT engines manifold carb and valve covers to sell them. He said some buyers prefer the extra chrome of the Caliente to Cyclone GT's but lost interest in the car when it was just a two barrel.
Title: Re: new member with factory fe 4 speed 66 caliente
Post by: fryedaddy on January 01, 2017, 03:59:04 PM
i just retired in nov so i thought i would get myself some retirement-xmas presents for my comet.i bought a set of bbm heads,rpm intake,hooker coated headers,and hs rockers for my 433.i got my annuity in a lump sum,so i have big plans for the old comet. im just starting under the hood.i have plans for a cage and new suspension,front and back.i just need to get everything rounded up before my wife asks how much i spent.i hav'nt been online for a while so merry xmas and happy new year to all
Title: Re: new member with factory fe 4 speed 66 caliente
Post by: fekbmax on January 01, 2017, 05:13:05 PM
Welcome Brian, your now a member of the best FE sight on the web. No BS here, just good info and advice with lots of great FE guys.
Nice ride, man it brings back memories.  A old high school girlfriends dad had one of those. He let us use it several times while I had the 390 out of my 66 Galaxie 500. If he only knew hat we did in the roomy back seat of that thing, he may have choked me lol.
Anywhoo, enjoy the fourm.
Title: Re: new member with factory fe 4 speed 66 caliente
Post by: gdaddy01 on January 02, 2017, 04:11:40 PM
did the head liner get the worst of it ?
Title: Re: new member with factory fe 4 speed 66 caliente
Post by: fryedaddy on July 07, 2017, 12:53:28 PM
i thought i would post a link to a before and after video after installing bbm heads,rpm intake,slicks and hooker coated headers.i only got to go through 2 gears on the after video and i knew traffic was ahead so i didnt turn too many rpms either.might not seem quicker in the video,but believe me you can tell the diff when you drive it,even at lower speeds

before:  https://youtu.be/YdIap3pgCKs


after:  https://youtu.be/4Nv32N_mhf0
Title: Re: new member with factory fe 4 speed 66 caliente
Post by: fryedaddy on July 07, 2017, 10:20:46 PM
nothing special,just an old junker going down the road.not that quick in the real world,but it will smoke nearly everything street driven in my area
Title: Re: new member with factory fe 4 speed 66 caliente
Post by: fryedaddy on July 09, 2017, 04:46:59 PM
i think i should have started a new topic with these videos
Title: Re: new member with factory fe 4 speed 66 caliente
Post by: fryedaddy on July 10, 2017, 10:35:43 AM
runs great,keep up the good work.no replies so i thought i would send myself one.
Title: Re: new member with factory fe 4 speed 66 caliente
Post by: machoneman on July 10, 2017, 02:06:52 PM
did the head liner get the worst of it ?

Footprints on the 'liner? LOL
Title: Re: new member with factory fe 4 speed 66 caliente
Post by: jayb on July 10, 2017, 03:24:44 PM
Definitely sounds stronger on the second video.  Love that hood, brings back memories of my 66...
Title: Re: new member with factory fe 4 speed 66 caliente
Post by: Heo on July 10, 2017, 03:42:54 PM
did the head liner get the worst of it ?

Footprints on the 'liner? LOL
;D I remember one time in my -66 fourspeed fairlane when .....ohhh ohhh  this is a family frendly forum
so i better keep my mouth shut   :-X
Title: Re: new member with factory fe 4 speed 66 caliente
Post by: cjshaker on July 10, 2017, 08:44:41 PM
I remember one time in my -66 fourspeed fairlane when .....ohhh ohhh  this is a family frendly forum
so i better keep my mouth shut   :-X

Yes, PM me this story, please ;D

runs great,keep up the good work.no replies so i thought i would send myself one.

LOL, Brian!! I thought it tore the tires up pretty good in the first video! Hard to tell in a video, so what does your seat-of-the-pants tell you? Can you feel an honest difference? One thing I'll say for sure, I like the sound of it much better in the 2nd video!
Title: Re: new member with factory fe 4 speed 66 caliente
Post by: fryedaddy on July 10, 2017, 11:04:42 PM
the first video i had street tires and it got up on the limiter because of that but the second video i have my slicks on and that kept it from hitting the limiter but i can feel it pulling harder even at part throttle.i got to try it out later in high gear,it felt like i was in a time warp.real happy with the swap.i may sell my cj heads and pi intake,i wont be needing them anymore
Title: Re: new member with factory fe 4 speed 66 caliente
Post by: fryedaddy on July 14, 2017, 11:27:02 AM
Love that hood, brings back memories of my 66...
if you ever want to get another one,i hear the extra couple feet of length behind the back wheels of a 66-67 comet makes them hook better than the fairlane or mustang.i know mine hooks good.thats just what i heard,i am not that technical minded so i cant argue the point.
Title: Re: new member with factory fe 4 speed 66 caliente
Post by: Bolted to Floor on July 14, 2017, 10:34:23 PM
Thanks for the ride.
It sounds great.   ;D
Title: Re: new member with factory fe 4 speed 66 caliente
Post by: fryedaddy on July 15, 2017, 08:06:05 PM
Thanks for the ride.
It sounds great.   ;D
thank you John,i try to get all i can out of what i have,thats all i can do.
Title: Re: new member with factory fe 4 speed 66 caliente
Post by: fryedaddy on January 02, 2018, 04:57:22 PM
i took my slicks and front runners off for the winter.i had a old set of gt wheels in my barn.i put 4 215/70/14 tires on them and stuck them on my comet for winter driving.i didn't know it was going to be this much fun.those small tires will spin in any gear at any time.super fun!!!
Title: Re: new member with factory fe 4 speed 66 caliente
Post by: Heo on January 02, 2018, 05:33:18 PM
Yeahh its fun isnt it Get some well studed wintertires
so you get some traction and have fun like this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QTc4ukKdSo
Title: Re: new member with factory fe 4 speed 66 caliente
Post by: Cobrajet2 on January 03, 2018, 11:40:19 PM
nice videos, thanks for posting.

Mike