First introduced in 1960 as Mercury's take on the Ford Falcon, the Comet wasn't intended to be a performance car. But things changed starting 1964 when the Comet grew bigger and became available with larger V8 engines.
But as the oil crisis hit in the early 1970s, the Comet was relegated to a more mundane status, becoming a re-bodied Ford Maverick compact. With the top-tier V8-powered GT rated at only 138 horsepower, the Comet went into the history book in 1977 and never came back.
But this 1972 Comet tells a different story. While most of its siblings spent their lives as mundane road cars, this malaise-era Mercury was lucky enough to belong to Rich Kent, who bought it new and turned it into a drag racer.
Known as "302much" back in the day, the Comet brought Rich two consecutive titles in the Oswego Track Championship in Super Street Eliminator in 1975 and 1976. Not only that, but the Comet retained its street-legal status, being driven to and from the track. Kent even drove the car home from church on his wedding day!
Rich is now 66 years old, and he still owns the Comet. What's more, he has been racing it actively for more than four decades. Obviously, the Comet went through many changes. Following a big crash in Canada a while ago, Rich rebuilt the car and converted it to Top Sportsman specs.
It now features a massive, 598-cubic-inch (9.8-liter) big-block V8 engine with a TBS 14/71 supercharger on top. Not only it looks mean with that blower standing proud through the hood, but it also sounds meaner than any other Mercury Comet out there.
With output beyond Mercury's wildest dreams for this car, Rich is now able to pull four-second 1/8-mile runs on a regular basis. The footage below shows him doing four different passes at Byron Dragway, all in the 4.9s. His best run comes in at 4.94 seconds, to go with a trap speed of 144.19 mph (232.05 kph).
A quick conversion reveals an estimated quarter-mile time of 7.83 seconds and a trap speed of 178.80 mph (287.75 kph). It has got to be the quickest Mercury Comet out there!
Ask Ciprian about cars and he'll reveal an obsession with classics and an annoyance with modern design cues. Read his articles and you'll understand why his ideal SUV is the 1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer. Full profile
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