Few racing machines in drag racing’s storied history have been as well-remembered and truly unique as the 1966 Mercury Comet flip-top Funny Car campaigned by who’s who of legendary racers such as “Dyno Don” Nicholson, Ed Schartman, Ron Leslie, and Jack Chrisman.
Following the racing and sales success of the Ford and Lincoln-Mercury brands in 1965, it’s major competitor, Chrysler, was rumored to be developing radical appearance changes and modifications for the 1966 season, including the use of exotic fuels. At a time when “win on Sunday, sell on Monday” was still the heartbeat of the sport, Ford had to the step up the plate.
And so at the beginning of the 1966 season, Fran Hernandez and the Lincoln-Mercury team enlisted the Logghe Stamping Company to construct four chromoly tube chassis that would sport a one-peice, flip-top, fiberglass ’66 Comet body. The steering and front suspension would consist of a tube-style straight front axle with coilover shocks and utilizing a 9:1-ratio steering box, riding on Halibrand wheels with a 10.75-inch M&H slicks in the rear.
The revolutionary car was powered by a stock bore, stock stroke SOHC 427 Ford with a 10.75:1 compression ratio, with a Crane camshaft and Hilborn fuel injection, burning a roughly 80-percent mix of nitromethane – producing upwards of 1,000 horsepower – and mated to a C-6 automatic transmission and 4,000 RPM stall converter. These cars, weighting in at a paltry 1,700 pounds, were capable of running in the low eight-second zone at over 180 MPH – impressive numbers for their time.
Chrisman used some outside-the-box thinking on his car, known as the GT-1, placing a topless, roaster-style body atop the chassis. Chrisman’s Comet was eventually destroyed in a crash at the 1966 Super Stock Nationals, and Nicholson’s Eliminator 1 met a similar fate later that year, becoming airborne at the finish line at Cecil County Dragway in Maryland. But not before amassing an 86-percent winning record that put the flip-top Comet on the map. These cars were commonly referred to as “dragsters in disguise” and later became what we affectionately know and love as “Funny Cars.” Regardless of their untimely and early demise, these cars have left a lasting impression that will forever remain part of the history books.