How do you prove to the general public that you make tough, cool, and hard running cars for them to buy? Well, if you were Mercury (Ford’s excitement division at that point) you put your heads together and come up with a ridiculous and awesome test, make a film, and show it to the world. Fran Hernandez was running the racing and performance program back then and he was awesome. Hernandez was the guy who made sure Mercury had the first flip top funny cars, so that gives you an indication of his mindset. Anyway, this endurance test film has his fingerprints seemingly all over it.
What was the big idea here? To set and reset speed and endurance records with a small fleet of “289 Cyclone” V8 powered Mercury Comets. The engines in these cars had to have been the 271hp 289 to even get them up towards the 110mph mark. We’re not sure the lower horsepower version would have been capable of making the speed necessary. The way they demonstrated it was to run these cars at about 110mph as constantly as they good while stopping for gas, around Daytona…and around Daytona…and around Daytona. The test lasted for 40 friggin days and in the process the cars racked up miles like you would not believe, eventually cracking the 100,000 mark. Just think about that for a second. The same drivers, the same cars, the same engineers, the same officials all hunkered down in Daytona together for more than a month. They must have been stir crazy by the end.
We wonder what happened to the cars after this test. We’re guessing that they were likely all torn down to the bare bones and inspected to see what was worn, what held, up and what needed to be changed. We’re sure the engines were the big items that got the full monte when this whole thing was done.
Speeding through the sun, the rain, the wind, and whatever else happened over the 40 days, it is astounding to think of the money and effort spent on this. A fun watch and a wild test.
Didnt you (sic)watch or listen to the film ? they are solid lifter 289 hi- po engines same as a Cobra
I wonder how often they changed the oil…
I know where the silver lead Comet ended up….it was part of the original Harrahs Car museum collection in Sparks Nevada. Saw it there during spring break my first year in college 1977.