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1965 Mercury Comet A/FX
Campaigned by Sam Auxier Jr. for Moyer Lincoln Mercury in Frederick, Maryland, this is #7 of 8 A/FX Mercury Comet lightweight drag racing cars built by Bill Stroppe and Associates,with the ID. # BS1044
The complete nut & bolt restoration was completed by Ambrosio Concepts in Denver Colorado,their hard work payed off by winning the National Automotive Heritage Award at the 2018 Ford Nationals.
The body features lightweight fiberglass doors,hood and bumpers.Back in the day the body's were acid dipped to save weight,as well as using aluminum bumpers to save even more.The dual scooped hood was a true ram air system that connected to an air box to feed the dual Holley's.
After a fresh coat of bright white paint was applied the race-day lettering was hand painted the old fashioned way.
The 427 side-oiler went through a full rebuild with fresh internals but the outside remains vintage,not giving a clue to what's inside.The big block features a fresh over bore to fit new forged Ross pistons that are connected to a Crower billet crankshaft and Crower steel rods. The camshaft was upgraded to a roller unit as well as the rocker arms.
The iron heads were ported and polished by Ladd's Porting Service in Elkridge,Maryland,they were filled with Manley stainless valves and Comp valve springs and retainers keep the RPM's happy.
The top-end features a high-rise dual quad aluminum intake manifold with twin Holley 600 cfm. carburetors. And a set of big tube open headers let the big Ford sing.
Backing up the 427 is a Hurst shifted Top-Loader 4-speed connected to a heavy-duty 9-inch rear end,it's filled with 4.11:1 gears and a spool.
The interior is all 1960's,with low back bucket seats covered in deep red vinyl and vintage aircraft belts secure the driver for quarter mile blasts. For a little head protection there's a 3-point roll bar residing between the the seats. The rear seat has been deleted to save weight.
The chassis was strengthened and fitted with ladder bars and coil over shocks front and rear.The Comet wears a set of reproduction pie crust slicks mounted on vintage re-chromed Cragar S/S mag wheels. Elapsed times were in the low 11.0 second range.
Sam Auxier Jr. went on to race a string of successful Mustangs,Mavericks and even a Pinto.
Today Sam hosts the Sam Auxier Jr. Show on Facebook,where he interviews some of the most famous people in racing.
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