65 ( K ) Hipo cyclone

1st Official Post
    • Official Post

    A friend of mine has an original 65 Hipo Cyclone. I am unclear as to his being a Daytona package as the build sheet only called out for substituting the 271 HP engine among other things. He bought it over 20 years ago, sold it in a year or so after that and bought it back a couple of years ago. I was just tinkering with it last week and will probably be back on it again later this week. He likes freeway driving and the 3.89 gears really did not cut it for that so he changed it to a 2.88 gear today.

    -Fred-

    65 Koupe early San Jose Phoenician Yellow 4 speed
    66 GT Koupe Dearborn Blue 4 speed
    66 KGT San Jose fastback pony interior Silver Frost 4 speed
    64 Falcon sedan delivery 289 4 speed
    65 Ranchero 289 4 speed
    66 Corvette roadster 427/425 4 speed

    Behind the drivers door panel should be the build sheet and stamped on the bottom (Daytona package). Does it have a (K) in the VIN? The Export brace is a VERY RARE piece less than 20 made i was told. There was also (6) 65 Hipo convts made in 65. I had one in 1968 but didn't realize what i had back then! I knew something was odd about the car, the pinion seal started leaking ,that's when i found it had a 9" , i replaced the clutch found a toploader, duel points, cracker box carb, and a 7k tach on the dash...

    I only have 1 pic of the car I'll have to scan it ..

    I also have a few pic's of a 65 Hipo Cyclone i took at a PFCA meet in Ohio in the 80s I'll scan them and post later.

    I used it as a trade in on my new 70 Mach1 428 SCJ.

    • Official Post

    When my friend bought this 65 Comet Cyclone 20 years ago he paid $400 for it as it was dripping water out of the exhaust pipe due to a blown head gasket. He had no idea what the car was and neither did I at the time. Being as I was the one to work on the car I was surprised to see what appeared to be a Hipo 289 under the hood. I looked at the toploader trans and 9 inch rear and assumed at the time that this was a transplanted drivetrain from a Hipo Mustang as the rear end has the tapered axle housing unlike the Fairlane version. About a year later I was working on the drivers window replacing rollers when I found the build sheet stuck to the inside of the door panel. I usually store all of his paperwork as he tends to misplace things as he did this build sheet in relocating his residence a few years after selling the car. I have seen another Hipo Comet build sheet since that time and it had far less info than his did. I do remember that it mentioned the 271 HP engine, special driveshaft, special trans, special rear end and something about the export brace but they called it something else on the build sheet. I do not remember it mentioning a Daytona package and I am pretty sure that I would have remembered that. The firewall has an added reinforcement plate welded below the lip where the export brace bolts on. It is an A code car with a 6 digit DSO. It was built in Los Angeles for the Los Angeles district so it has never really left home.

    -Fred-

    65 Koupe early San Jose Phoenician Yellow 4 speed
    66 GT Koupe Dearborn Blue 4 speed
    66 KGT San Jose fastback pony interior Silver Frost 4 speed
    64 Falcon sedan delivery 289 4 speed
    65 Ranchero 289 4 speed
    66 Corvette roadster 427/425 4 speed

    Here's the K Cyclone I thought i had a pic of the VIN But it did have a K in the VIN. Notice the evenly spaced bolts on the Export brace just like a Shelby.. And my old 65 K convt.


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    My neighbor had a Cyclone parked in his garage in the mid-60's. A B/FX'er that he drove for Stu Evans Mercury in Garden City, Mich. When he started that beast up every kid on the block would come over to Nash's house. Seen a lot of high powered Ford's at that house growing up. I could only wager a guess at what something like that is worth in today's market. <img src=images/icon_smile_approve.gif border=0 align=middle>

    Found one of those export braces in a wrecking yard about ten years ago. Similar to the Mustang one ... just bent allot more.


    It was on a 6 cylinder four door with an export DSO

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    Found one of those export braces in a wrecking yard about ten years ago. Similar to the Mustang one ... just bent allot more.


    It was on a 6 cylinder four door with an export DSO

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    Years ago, I met a guy who went to Mexico and South America searching junk yards for vintage FoMoCo parts. He "harvested" several export braces from 64-65 Falcons and Comets.

    Comets never had the 289 HiPo coded in the VIN. They were special order cars only. The Comet Durability Run car I saw at Harrah's was an F-code car (260). Most other 64s will be K-code, but not for the 289 HiPo -- but for the regular-fueled 289 4V. (This engine was the same as the D-coded engine in the 64½ Mustang.) The Comets were first offered with the same (or equivalent) package used at Daytona -- which included a 3-speed column shaft and 2.71:1 9" rear (the original Daytona cars used 2.80:1 8" rears). Later in the year Mercury released a second option for a 4-speed and 3.89:1 9" rear. Mercury did not use the "Daytona package" to describe the option in any official literature that I have read, but it seems to imply the 4-speed package, today. All these cars came with transistorized ignition and Ford alternators.


    The 65 Comet 289 HiPo was more refined, but still special order only. All are A-coded. They used transistorized or conventional dual points. All used an export brace in place of the welded-in standard braces. All were 4-speeds with 9" rears.


    All the Comet 289 HiPos used single exhaust systems and stock Comet/Falcon exhaust manifolds because the Fairlane HiPo manifolds would not fit.


    These cars are very rare. I know of only one 64 in Hawaii, and three 65's.

    tater_51, I had developed a friendship with Doug Nash and did visit him at his parents place in Garden City. He wanted to sell me his '65 red B/FXer, his '64 was blue. At that time, he was just completing his 289 powered "Bronco Buster" Funny Car. But unfortunately at that time, no one had any idea those things would be collectibles, so instead, I talked him into building an engine for me. Oh, the good ol' days.....

    Marv,do you know where Doug is now or have address or phone number?I'm trying to run down some pics of some of his earlier race cars like 63 and 64 Fairlanes and Comets?

    Marv, those were certainly the good old days. Nash always had a driveway full of bad ass Fords. His Bronco Buster was awesome. There was always Shelby's, big block Galaxies, and an occasional Cobra hanging around. Back then I would have been the nagging 14 year old kid with the brush cut riding his Schwinn 10 speed.

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