The moment I saw the pictures, memories came flooding back. I’ll always have a soft spot for Ford Mavericks but it’s the Mav’s twin, the Mercury Comet, that really hits me with a nostalgia kick. Rough this car up a bit, shoot every square inch of it flat black, and fit the smallest Grant steering wheel you can find inside and you’d have the car I learned how to drive like a reckless criminal in. To this day I’ve laid more rubber in a Comet than I have any other car. The Mav and Comet were kind of strange beasts for Ford…they basically took over for the small Falcon when it shifted to the Torino platform for a half-year before being killed off and were meant to be the next generation of small, affordable and basic cars that would see Ford through the Seventies. But they were too basic for the Brougham era, and in standard form, not sporty enough for those who were still having dreams of stripes and bright colors. 
Tape stripes and paint options are one thing, but the Comet and Maverick also were perfectly set up to be a “junior supercar”, a machine that could fly under the radar of insurance companies yet deliver a potent enough experience. All they saw was “Mercury Comet” and pictured small, basic car. They didn’t need to know that you had a 302 that in such a featherweight machine was just as much a terror as the Mustang. They didn’t need to know that effectively, you were driving one and the same thing…it just didn’t have the name attached! Comet GT? Bright orange? Stripes? Ok, kid, whatever floats your boat.
With 1972-model small bumpers and some minor tweaks like additional gauges and such, this very vivid Comet is a very pretty departure from the rough but ready machine I abused back in my middle-school days. I’d still enjoy driving the hell out of it, though…and I’d jump on one now if you are considering one. If a big-body Mustang isn’t for you and the Mustang II is the devil’s own product, try one of these. You’ll find yourself pleasantly surprised. Just don’t expect to fly under the radar in a car that’s mainly black stripes on Neon Carrot.
eBay Link: 1974 Mercury Comet GT
Why didn’t Ford put the 302 into the UK Capri which was sold at Mercury dealers as it would have sold more than even this absolute beauty.
Trivia: Super Stock Magazine put drag shocks on one of these for it’s Road Test/Build up and got it daylighting the front wheels.
Well… I owned a Maverick and what a POS it was. What a dismal time for the big three.
Back bumper is black, front one’s chrome. Nice photography for an eBay ad…
These cars were not well loved at the time but you can sure make something with one now. Thankfully it has the small bumpers so it has that going for it as well. I have seen worse cars for more money. Looks like a good deal, do you agree?
A friend from my late 80’s high school days had a Maverick (grabber blue, or close to it), and it was just about the fastest car in school. I don’t know exactly what he did to it, but I’ll never forget it.