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The 1965 Mercury Comet Cyclone 289 Hi-Po. (Photo courtesy of Mecum Auctions.)
Even for the pages of Rare Rides, it is not a commonplace occurrence to read about an ultra-scarce, high-performance muscle car that didn’t officially exist.
Sure, there were past installments of this column that focused on the COPO cars from Chevrolet, such as the ’69 Chevelle L72 and the legendary 1969 Camaro ZL1, but even those vehicles were the result of an officially sanctioned, highly publicized factory program.
In the instance of the 1965 Mercury Comet Cyclone 289 Hi-Po, though, this was not the case.
The result of a small group of Mercury dealers appealing to the factory that a high-performance muscle car was essential at that time, Mercury agreed to place a derivative of their race winning 289 cubic-inch V8 engine in an exceedingly small number of Comet Cyclones. The result was one heck of a muscle car that even most Mercury fanatics never knew existed.
In this iteration of Rare Rides, we’re going to take a look at this enigmatic car and elucidate its history and specifications. So, sit back, settle in, and join me for a very special story.
In The Beginning …
The 1965 Mercury Comet Cyclone 289 Hi-Po’s genesis dates back to 1959, when FoMoCo announced a forthcoming Edsel model to be called the Comet. A few months after the announcement though, the Edsel Division was discontinued, and the 1960 Comets that had already been built were reallocated to Mercury dealers for retail sale.
Interestingly enough, the Comets were not sold as Edsel models, nor were they rebranded as Mercurys. Instead, they were sold as a parentless vehicle simply called a Comet. Based on the Ford Falcon platform, body configurations consisted of two- and four-door sedans, as well as a station wagon.
The Comet was first branded a Mercury in 1962. (Photo courtesy of Infrogmation.)
Come the 1962 model year, the Comet officially became a Mercury and the car was treated to a refresh, sharing quite a few parts with the Mercury Meteor.
A sports package for the two-door sedan, known as the S-22, was released, but in reality didn’t bring much in the way of sportiness, as it only featured bespoke taillight treatment, special badging, a center console, and bucket seats.
The 1964 Mercury Comet Cyclone replaced the S-22 at the top of the model line. (Photo courtesy of Mecum Auctions.)
New Design For A New Era
For the 1964 model year, the Comet underwent a complete redesign, adopting a distinctly “Jet-Age” aesthetic characterized by sharp contours and straight lines. New model names were introduced, ranging from the base 202, 404, Caliente, Villager station wagon, and a performance model, the Cyclone, which replaced the S-22 at the top of the pyramid.
Only available as a two-door sedan, the Cyclone featured unique styling cues that differentiated it from other Comet trims and lent it an athletic look. These included a prominent contour spear along the car’s flanks in lieu of chrome trim, special Cyclone badging, and aggressive-looking chrome wheel coverings and tires.
The ’64 Cyclone’s interior. (Photo courtesy of Mecum Auctions.)
A somewhat conservative interior, with small flourishes such as full instrumentation including a “Cyclone Tach,” a black instrument panel surround, a three-spoked sport steering wheel, unique door panels, bucket seats, and a floor console all complemented the conventional exterior design.
Motivation for the ’64 Cyclone came from a standard, chrome accented, “Cyclone Super” 289 cubic-inch V8 featuring a short-stroke overhead valve design with 9:1 compression and topped with a two-barrel carburetor. This mill was good for 210 horsepower and 300 lb-ft. that was routed through a three-speed manual, four-speed manual, or a three-speed “Multi-Drive Merc-O-Matic” automatic.
The new for 1965 Mercury Comet, this one sporting an optional vinyl roof. (Photo courtesy of the Ford Heritage Vault.)
In 1965, all Comet trims were the recipient of a front-end restyle, featuring a new grille and sharp-looking, vertically stacked, quad headlight motif. This latter cue also happened to be featured on the 1965 Pontiac GTO, which had been launched the previous year to immense media attention and sales on its way to creating a new market segment: the muscle car.
Defined as a high performance, rear-wheel drive, mid-sized, two-door with a large displacement V8 aimed at straight-line acceleration, the muscle car, and the GTO in particular, became all the rage amongst young Americans. Soon after the Goat’s launch and massive success, almost every brand was seeking their own variation so as to cash in on the craze. Every brand, it seems, except for Mercury.
A vintage print ad for the 1965 Comet pitching the car as an ideal one for those with an active lifestyle. (Photo courtesy of the Ford Heritage Vault.)
The Cyclone started the ’65 model year outfitted with an updated, four-barrel version of the 289 that churned out 225 horses and 305 lb-ft of torque. Though a modest improvement, the Cyclone’s punch was decidedly prosaic compared to the GTO’s top lump that year, the vaunted 389 cubic-inch Tri-Power V8, which churned out 360 ponies and an asphalt-shredding 424 lb-ft of twist.
Reflecting on Mercury’s recent racing triumphs in the context of the adage “race on Sunday, sell on Monday,” a number of Mercury devotees felt the company had no current product poised to take on the GTO and other burgeoning muscle cars. Considering that drag racing super stars Ronnie Sox and “Dyno” Don Nicholson campaigned A/FX 427 Comets in ’64, this was even more peculiar.
Amongst these folks were a handful of Mercury dealers, who discussed amongst themselves what they felt would be their weapon of choice should they be able to convince the company to up their street muscle game.
A 1965 Mercury Comet Cyclone 289 Hi-Po dressed in elegant Onyx black. (Photo courtesy of Mecum Auctions.)
What they came up with was an idea for a high-performance version of the Comet Cyclone, one that would pack a legitimately race-derived engine mated to robust transmission and rearend. Calls were made to Mercury executives, who after some initial reticence, saw the brilliance in the idea and set about creating a package for these dealers that would satisfy their desires.
The result was a special Comet Cyclone that never appeared on a dealer order form or any promotional literature. Instead, it was a car that didn’t really exist except to the dealers in the know who would have to contact Ford directly and request a DSO, or District Special Order vehicle.
The front end of the Comet Cyclone 289 Hi-Po featuring the new for 1965 grille and attractive, vertically stacked headlamps. (Photo courtesy of Mecum Auctions.)
Known colloquially as the 1965 Mercury Comet Cyclone 289 Hi-Po, the car came with a raucous powertrain, which started with the 289 cubic-inch V8 that in Mustang use, was known as the “K code.” Fitted in the Comet Cyclone, this mill was for some unknown reason denoted an “A code” motor, and no indication of its presence appeared in the car’s vehicle identification number.
The car’s build sheet, which was found behind the driver’s door panel, included the only clue as to what was lurking under the hood, with a notation at the bottom specifying that the 289 Hi-Po engine should be substituted.
The mighty 289 cubic-inch Hi-Po V8. (Photo courtesy of Mecum Auctions.)
The 289 Hi-Po was fitted with an Autolite C4GF-9510-D four-barrel carb atop a cast-iron intake manifold, sizeable valve heads, solid lifters, and cast-iron exhaust manifolds that led to a single exhaust. That’s right: Ford acquiesced to build a Hi-Po Comet Cyclone, but wouldn’t go to the trouble of designing a dual exhaust system for it.
Crankshafts composed of nodular iron were equipped with six integral counterweights as well as an external counterweight at both ends. Main bearings were blessed with steel-backed micro-babbitt material, while the pistons were of a three-ring design and composed of machined aluminum. Rods were forged steel, and the camshafts, nodular alloy-iron. Bore and stroke was 4.00 inches by 2.87 inches, with a 10.0:1 compression ratio.
The 1965 Mercury Comet Cyclone 289 Hi-Po was not listed in any sales literature or dealer order forms. It had to be ordered direct from the factory as a District Special Order vehicle. (Photo courtesy of Jim Campisano.)
A dual-point distributor, 42-amp alternator with larger pulley, wider harmonic balancer, riveted flex cooling fan, and a robust cast-iron water pump with a large impeller found their way under the hood as well.
A chromed air cleaner cover, rocker arm covers, oil dip stick, and oil filler cap added some bling, while strut tower braces were bolted on to improve front end handling stiffness.
The car’s badging made no mention of the 289 Hi-Po engine being on board, making the car a true sleeper. (Photo by Jim Campisano.)
The Hi-Po engine was capable of 271 horsepower and 312 lb-ft. Transmitting that grunt to the rear was a four-speed Ford Toploader with an iron case and reinforced bellhousing, with no automatic transmission on offer. Ratios consisted of a 2.78:1 first gear, a 1.93:1 second, a 1.35:1 third, and a 1.00:1 fourth. Reverse was 2.78:1.
A larger diameter than stock driveshaft and heavy-duty U-joints led to a robust nine-inch Ford rearend containing a stout 4.11 final drive ratio.
Polished stainless-steel wheel covers with chrome lug nuts, shared with the 1965 Shelby GT350, were mounted to 14-inch wheels, as was 7.35 x 14-inch rubber. (Photo courtesy of Mecum Auctions.)
Suspension And Brakes
The 289 Hi-Po Comet shared the same suspension as the standard 289-equipped Cyclone. It consisted of upper and lower control arms, coil springs, shocks, ball joints, and tie-rod ends up front, and semi-elliptic leaf springs with four leaves and diagonally mounted shocks in the rear. It received special “quick answer” steering though, with a ratio of 16.1.
For stopping, the Comet Cyclone 289 Hi-Po came with four-wheel, cast-iron drums, with power assist a $43.00 option. Polished stainless-steel wheel covers with unique chrome lug nuts, shared with the 1965 Shelby GT350 when it was equipped with steel wheels, were mounted to 14-inch wheels, as was 7.35 x 14-inch rubber.
The 289 Hi-Po’s interior was all stock Cyclone parts. There was nothing to indicate this was a special variant. (Photo by Jim Campisano.)
Inside, the Hi-Po was standard 1965 Comet Cyclone through and through: bucket seats and door panels covered in pleated vinyl, a floor console, and the stock padded dash with instrumentation consisting of a speedometer, fuel gauge, oil pressure, coolant temperature, and amperes.
A variety of interior options were available including a tissue dispenser, rubber floor mats, a parking brake warning light, a remote trunk release, and the Rally Pac, which for $40 yielded three, dash mounted pods featuring a Rotunda tach, vacuum gauge, and elapsed time clock. When the A code 289 Hi-Po engine was ordered, no power steering or air conditioning could be fitted.
The Rally Pac which afforded dash mounted pods containing an 6000 rpm tachometer, a vacuum gauge, and a clock was a $40 option. (Photo by Jim Campisano.)
Although no contemporary periodical road tests were performed on the ’65 Comet Cyclone 289 Hi-Po because frankly, most magazines didn’t even know the car existed, owner testimonials suggest that the car was capable of a 15 second flat quarter mile. Fairly quick for the time, though not quite on par with a 389 V8 Tri-Power equipped ’65 Goat, which could do the same in a test drive validated 14.5-seconds at 100 mph.
Today, we can nonetheless say that the 1965 Mercury Comet Cyclone 289 Hi-Po was a heck of a first muscle car effort for Mercury, one that led to the production of a more potent, though more common, Comet Cyclone GT model the following year. That car possessed a 390 cubic-inch S code V8 engine good for a rated 335 ponies, which put the GT on similar footing with the 1966 base model GTO, the ’66 Oldsmobile 442, and other muscle cars of note.
The rear of the 1965 Mercury Comet Cyclone 289 Hi-Po. It’s an angle many a competing stoplight racer would see. (Photo courtesy of Mecum Auctions.)
No hard numbers as to 1965 Mercury Comet Cyclone 289 Hi-Po production were kept, but knowledgeable enthusiasts and experts place the number somewhere between a minuscule 30 and 90 cars, making it one of the great Rare Rides of the early part of the Golden Era of muscle.
