The limit for our affordable dreams story is $25,000, but we honestly didn't think we'd get a $6,300 car like Robert Fox's '67 Comet Caliente. Virtually every part on it was bartered, traded or bought used off of eBay. Take, for instance, the Ford 9-inch rear, which Fox bought off a guy parting out a Bronco. Not wanting the gears that were in it, Fox bought the rear for $75, then sold the gears for $75, making it free just for the labor. Fox bought the car for $1,800 in 1982, while in high school. He horse-traded his way into enough speed parts until he could run it at the track in 1983. Then after a bad incident with a traded C6 trans that locked up on the 1 - 2 gear change while at full throttle, Fox parked it. For 23 years. "And there in my garage it sat as I went through a jet boat, two KZ-1100s, a marriage, mountain bikes, and jobs, until this past spring," says Fox. "Just a year ago I would have laughed at the notion that the car would be back together and running street legal."
| 1967 Mercury Comet Caliente |
| Owner: | Robert Fox; Ruffsdale, PA |
| Engine: | 289ci (.030-over), Edelbrock Torker intake, Holley 650-cfm carb, Isky cam |
| Transmission: | C4 with shift kit & Transgo 10-inch converter ($125 off eBay) |
| Rearend: | Ford 9-inch w/4.57:1 posi (used for $75) |
| Chassis/suspension: | Lakewood traction bars, 90/10 (front) 50/50 (rear) Monroe drag shocks |
| Brakes: | stock, rebuilt |
| Wheels/tires: | Keystone 15 x 3.5, front (used); M&H J60 15s on 15 x 8 Weld Draglites (used), rear |
| Horsepower: | unknown |
| Best ET: | 13.41 @ 99 |
| Total cost to build: | $6,300 |