1973 Mercury Comet GT - I Could Have Been a Contender

This is a 1973 Mercury Comet GT and I like it. More so even than its corporate cousin, the Ford Maverick Grabber. Ford built the Grabber from 1970 through 1975, Mercury offered the Comet GT from 1971, same year they started selling the Maverick based Comet, through 1975. For the record, the battering ram "safety bumper" on the rear of the 1974-1977 Comet and Maverick coupes make them almost as forgettable as the four-door versions. 

Trust me on that one. There's my miserable '74 Comet sedan in front of the house I grew up in on Long Island. Bad enough the 1971-1977 Comet sedans lacked any of the elan of the coupes, I most certainly didn't gain any "cool points" with that thing, but the worst was that it was so unreliable. Rusty, squeaky, slow, terrible on gas and it broke down regularly. I've had a number of terrible cars, but that turd right there was the worst-of-the-worst. Rust on it was so bad I had to put plywood under the carpet to reinforce the floor. One time the master cylinder blew out when I was at a red light, and I rolled into an intersection yanking on the dash mounted emergency brake to get it to stop rolling.  

Now, would I feel that way if it was a 302-cubic inch V-8 powered Comet GT like this one? Maybe? But most likely it would be qualified with a heartfelt, "I wish it was a better, more reliable car" in the same way I wish a number of cars I've had were better. Too many cars now that I think about it. 

Both the Mercury Comet GT and Ford Maverick Grabber were little more than sporty looking but I don't care. Grabber's got a "dual-cone" hood, Comet GTs got this painfully cool (fake) hood scoop. Both were based on the new-for-1960 Ford Falcon and replaced in 1978 by, respectively, the far superior Fox-body based Mercury Zephyr and Ford Fairmont. Best I can say about them is they share a significant amount of DNA with the original Mustang. 

They came with somewhat upgraded interiors and larger wheels and tires. Note the snazzy, oh-so-Seventies trim on the passenger door. Ash tray too. Floor mounted transmission shifter was an extra cost option. 

You could get the GT or Grabber package on any Comet or Maverick two-door; even 200-cubic inch, six-cylinder models. At least my Comet had the optional 250-cubic inch six. No powerhouse, but it was a smooth running, torque-friendly runner although it got V-8 gas mileage. I never got better an 11-miles per gallon. The 302 could fare no better but at least you had a V-8. 

Not that the 302 in these cars were track stars. Making all of 138-horsepower, at least the 235-foot pounds of torque it made came on nice and low and was broad and flat. At a tick or two over 3,000-pounds, you didn't need a lot to get these going but it being the early days of emissions controls, "performance" was relative. Insurance premiums were through the roof on anything remotely construed as a performance car too, so sporty cars were slim pickings. Explains why there were more sporty looking cars, well, sort of sporty looking cars, than real performance cars. Hence, the all-show and no-go Mercury Comet GT and Ford Maverick Grabber. 

Would my life have turned out any differently had I had a Comet GT instead? If I even had to have a Comet? Oh, who knows. Fun to think about, though. Would be nice to have some fond automotive memories from my high school days instead of loathsome ones I do I have thanks to my '74; I could have been a contender. This one's for sale near Detroit with an asking price of $8,500. I know. Seems like a lot. NADA pegs this average retail around $5,500, high retail just over $10,000. Seems they split the difference. Might seem like a chunk of change for something so obscure and ordinary, but, through my foggy goggles, even the big bumper models are a whole lot cooler than any Mustang II.