1963 Mercury Comet Convertible

Last updated on February 22, 2023

Today’s car is a 1963 1/2 Mercury Comet S22 Convertible owned by Bicycle Jim. I saw this car at the 20th Annual San Juan Capistrano Classic Car Show held by their local Rotary Club. It is finished in Carnival Red with a matching red vinyl interior and a matching top boot cover. It is powered by a 170 cu in, inline 6 cylinder, that produces 101 horsepower, with a Holley single – barrel carburetor. It is mated to a Merc-O-Matic 2 speed automatic transmission with a 3.50:1 rear axle. Slowing this beauty down are 9″ hydraulic drum brakes all around. The front suspension is Independent with coil springs and in the rear solid axle with semi-elliptical leaf springs.

The S-22 was Mercury’s answer to the Corvair Monza, Chevy II SS and Falcon Futura. It came with a sporting trim package that included stylish bucket-seats, S22 distinct side medallions, and tricolored wheel cover medalians. The taillights were a special triple light arrangement set on a rear grille. The S-22 trim package was available on only 3 models, the convertible with a power operated top, a 2-door hardtop, and a two-door sedan.

There were 28,105 1963 S22s produced with 5,757 of them being convertibles. The MSRP was for a S22 convertible was $2,710.00, Top speed was 86 mph and a 0-60 mph time of 18.2 seconds. This is a nice car to take to local car shows, Car and Coffee events and just some summer cruising along the coast, top down of coarse! Thanks for riding along. Frank

Frank Nesta Written by: