Classic 1965 Comet A/FX Drag Racer Reinterpreted As A Modern Day Street Machine

5 Apr 2017

The construction of Mike Lookners 1965 Comet Cyclone took over two years

Mike Lookner pays homage to the A/FX drag cars of the '60s with an updated street version

In motorsports, there are certain periods of time when huge leaps in technology and performance occur over just a few years. Take the Indianapolis 500 in the early 1960s. Within 5 years of Jack Brabham’s appearance with his Formula 1 style car in 1961, the rear-engine cars had locked-out the Roadsters from Victory Circle at the Brickyard.

At right about the same time, just about the same thing was going on in drag racing. Despite a joint agreement signed by the Big Three automakers in 1957 not to actively support racing, they did so clandestinely.

By the early 1960s, special lightweight, high performance models were “available” to the public in order for the carmakers to win in NHRA’s popular Super Stock category. Having had enough of the automakers’ shenanigans, in 1962 the NHRA created the Factory Experimental class, the most well-known being the top-level A/FX.

The wheelbase was shifted on A/FX cars to provide more transfer more weight to rear tires

One of the original A/FX Funny Cars: Dyno Don's altered wheelbase 1965 Comet Cyclone

It started simply enough with big motors stuffed in small cars with lots of lightweight parts, moved on quickly to the outrageous altered wheelbase cars, the first to be dubbed “Funny Cars”, and then to the 1966 Mercury Comet that featured a fabricated tube frame chassis with flip-top fiberglass body that became the basis of Funny Cars to this day.

There are many who look back at the years between the forming of the Factory Experimental class and the appearance of the first flip-top Funny Car was a golden age of door-slammer drag racing. Count Mike Lookner among them.

Thankfully for Mike, his brother Andrew runs Extreme Machine Unlimited, in their home state of Massachusetts. Together the two conspired to build a 1965 Comet Cyclone influenced by the AF/X cars of the early 1960s, but not be limited by 1960s technology. In essence, they reinterpreted the concept of the AF/X to a streetable car of the 21st century.

Mike's Comet was fitted with mini-tubs to accomodate 12" wide rear wheels and tires

The result is a stunning car that’s as at home on the street or strip as it is in a car show. An indication of the level of seriousness with which the Lookner brothers took this project, the body was sent to International Show Car Association (ISCA) category winner George Kouthouridis to repair and prepare the metalwork and massage all the panel gaps.

Peter Newell of Competition Specialties sprayed the body in Candy Brandywine that looks like it’s three feet deep, with the bumpers painted in metallic Argent giving them the appearance of the unpolished aluminum bumpers on early A/FX cars.

The four point roll bar provides easy access in and out of the car, yet still protect on the strip

The interior was kept stock looking except for a few safety features plus a full set of gauges

The interior was kept relatively stock-looking, with factory vinyl replacement seats along with door panels and headliner. The only real tip-offs that this car isn’t a stock restoration from the inside are the Autometer gauges, Grant steering wheel, four-point roll bar, and Simpson four-point driver’s harness.

Underneath subframe connectors were added by DMC Racing to strengthen the chassis in preparation of the powerful big block motor. A Ford 9-inch rear axle with 4:10 gears was fitted to accommodate the larger 15x12-inch rear wheels that will reside in the mini-tubs. The multi-leaf rear spring was replaced by a mono-leaf, which now acts more as a locating device.

The rear suspension loads are now carried by QA1 adjustable coilovers. Up front, a Total Control Products dual-adjustable coilover conversion was installed. Brakes are a conservative 11” front disc and rear drum set-up. The Radir wheels selected nicely reflect the five spokes on “Dyno Don” Nicholson’s 1965 AF/X Comet Cyclone.

The FE block was also used in the A/FX Funny Car drag racers of the 1960s

The Ford FE big block was built by Mike's brother Andrew and produces 650 horsepower

But, of course, it’s under the hood where things get really exciting. Brother Andy built the motor from an original Ford 428 FE (same block as used for the 427 Cammer motors in A/FX) from a 1968 donor. He punched it out to 469 CID and it now produces 650 horsepower, delivered through a three-speed C4 automatic transmission built by Monster Transmissions.

The bottom end features a Scat crank and Eagle rods all forged from ultra-high strength 4340 alloy steel, 11.25:1 JE aluminum pistons, and an aggressive solid lifter camshaft from Cam Motion.

Intake air is drawn through the factory hood scoops and into a pair of K&N E-3280 filters into matching Edelbrock AVS 650 CFM carbs, Edelbrock RPM aluminum intake, and into a set of Edelbrock RPM aluminum heads, topped with valve covers featuring K&N 62-1220 breathers.

The process took two-and-a-half years to complete, but even just from viewing the photographs, the results are both stunning and a fitting tribute to that insane era of drag racing.

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