Summary

Lone surviving, 5 built, factory 1966 Mercury Comet 'fliptop' funny car. The grandfather of all funny cars. Volumes of factory photos and documents. Some historical firsts: 1st Stage I chassis, 1st automatic, 1st escape hatch. Sold on Bill of Sale only.

Details

Since the sale of Lot 1306 at the Barrett-Jackson 2010 Scottsdale event, it has come to our attention that the consignor of the vehicle was representing the owner, Mr. Daryle Huffman of Ohio, but inadvertently neglected to acknowledge Mr. Huffman or his work on the car in the description provided to potential purchasers. Barrett-Jackson wishes to acknowledge Mr. Huffman's ownership of the vehicle and his involvement with its restoration. Drag racing history was changed forever, in 1966, when Lincoln Mercury caught the competition completely off guard when they unveiled the world's first fliptop funny cars. Fran Hernandez, Chief of Lincoln Mercury Racing Division, engineered five factory Comets that went on to change drag racing as we know it today. This is the lone surviving Comet of the five that were built. These special super lightweight bodies were custom made for Mercury Racing Division by Plastigauge Corp. of Jackson, MI and weighed a mere 225lbs. The custom stage 1 tube chassis work was contracted to the famed Logghe Stamping Co. of Fraser, MI. The engine of choice was an Earl Wade built 427 S.O.H.C. Crane 646 cams were used for the high dosage of nitro burned in this car and Mickey Thompson pistons and rods are used. The compression ratio is at 10.5 to 1 and spark comes from a Mallory super mag and Autolite spark plugs. The 1940lb Gate Job Screamer used the highly famed Art Carr 3-speed automatic transmission, which at the time was the best money could buy. Of the five Comet funny cars, the Gate Job received the most colorful paint scheme. Paul Shidlick of Wayne, MI, the original painter, applied Cinnamon Pearl over Sunset Gold to achieve this bold look. The lettering and pin striping on all five '66 fliptops was handled by Paul Hatton of Garden City, MI and duplicated again on this car in 2009 by the same Paul Hatton. The Gate Job had much success in the drag racing world, beating the likes of the top named drives such as Arnie 'The Farmer' Beswick, 'Dyno' Don Nicholson, Eddie Schartman, 'Color Me Gone' Roger Linndmood, Ram Chargers, Dickie Harrell, 'Jungle' Jim Liberman, Gas Rhonda and many more along the way. Some historical firsts this funny car has include the first stage 1 Logghe chassis, the first automatic transmission and also the first escape hatch. This lone surviving 1966 Comet funny car retains its all original body, running gear, wheels, chassis and factory magnesium parts. The motor is a genuine 1966 Mercury 427 S.O.H.C. The grandfather of all funny cars also comes with volumes of factory photos and documents. This car holds the distinction of being the earliest known fliptop funny car in the world. Pete Gates 1966 NHRA National Champion. **SOLD ON BILL OF SALE ONLY**