This 1964 Mercury Comet Caliente Earned Its Keep, Became An Icon, And Remains A Family Keepsake

“Looking back from an adult perspective, I don’t know how my dad did it. I cannot recall one time Dad complained, or said he was tired, or said you guys do it yourself,” Gerry Bigony says of his father, Ronald Sr. It’s a sentiment about a supporting parent many shares from their youth when in a moment of reflection; a snippet of time that passes quickly before life continues forward. But in Gerry’s case, his tone carries a far deeper emotion, tied to a story that began to unfold as the calendar flipped to 1969, and with the 1964 Mercury Comet Caliente featured on these pages.

To be fair, Ron, a resident of Reading, Pennsylvania, must have at least mumbled one complaint in late 1968. That’s when the family car, which doubled as a commuter while he was employed at the Curtis Stephens shoe factory, was a 1961 Chevrolet equipped with one of the division’s V-8 engines. What trim level the Chevy was, or which engine lay below the hood, has since become inconsequential.

“Dad was tired of sinking hard-earned money into engine repairs, to say nothing of the cost of a daily commute in fuel,” Ron Jr. (a.k.a. “Dooley”) says.

That would explain why Ron Sr. paid a visit to WM. H. Seaman Chevrolet in nearby Fleetwood, where he cast eyes upon this then-five-year-old two-door hardtop.

“The car had been owned from new by an older lady who, it turned out, lived just a few blocks away from us. She had driven it 26,000 miles, yet the Mercury’s Silver Turquois paint and turquois interior were gleaming like they were new when dad saw it on the lot. Apparently, it was love at first sight for him; an instant connection was made. The Caliente name sounded exotic, but Dad was smitten with the body lines, and especially the grille, which he said made the car look like a Lincoln Continental. So, he traded in the Chevy and purchased the Comet on January 20,” Dooley says.

There was a lot of merit when it came to Ron’s perception of the Caliente. The all-new nameplate was instantly elevated to top-of-the-line status, save for the racy, mid-year Cyclone designed for the budding “supercar” market, and the entirety of Mercury’s Comet series did adopt a fresh grille design for 1964 that mimicked the unit Continentals had sported since ’63. While the Lincoln’s flanks were essentially slab-sided and devoid of trim, the Caliente sported a crisp beltline recess, replete with sporty, full-length trim. The styling revisions administered to 1964 Comets, in general, also included a rear fascia that mimicked that of Continentals, which not only lent more credence to the notion that Mercury was a baby Lincon rather than upscale Ford, but also that fine appointments—such as walnut-grain trim and deep-loop floor carpeting within the cabin—represented a not-so-subtle hint of luxurious cruising that was available without having to pay the luxury price tag.

Mercury’s Comets, including the top-of-the-line Caliente, received a 101-hp, 170-cu.in. straight-six engine as standard equipment. This one is original to the car, save for a top-end rebuild done in the 1980s.

Despite its upscale nature, the entire Comet line, save Cyclone, was equipped with a modest-yet-capable power team as standard equipment: a 101-hp, 170-cu.in. six-cylinder engine paired with a column-shifted three-speed manual. That combination made the Comet’s somewhat diminutive size—it had a wheelbase of 114 inches, as compared to the 120-inch hub-to-hub spread sported by full-sized siblings—a venerable economy car, too. If a buyer wanted more, a larger output six and a trio of V-8s were optional, as was an automatic and four-speed manual transmission. Comfort and convenience options were relatively abundant as well. In short, the Comet Caliente could be more than a cozy commuter. But a cozy commuter, one that was efficient and reliable, was exactly what Ron wanted.

“Dad liked that fact that his Caliente had the base six-cylinder and three-on-the-tree combination because he could save a lot on gas. That’s because he immediately put the car to work every day; both he and my mom Eleanor were working at the shoe factory until it closed in 1972. Dad quickly found a job at Interstate Container, a box factory, and mom decided to stay home for a while and watch me, my sister Jackie, and newborn brother. Dad worked second shift, which meant he could help my mom out with the three of us during the day,” Dooley says.

Part of the help that Ron insisted upon was a succession of paper routes all three siblings landed from 1974-’90. It was hardly the kind of newspaper delivery job for the Reading Eagle that could be accomplished with little more than a banana-seat Schwinn and a metal wire basket mounted over the front wheel, though. It required daily use of Ron’s Mercury.

“Dooley started his paper route at age 12—my parents had to sign for it. But he did such a good job that when my sister applied, and then me, the manager didn’t hesitate to sign us on at an early age. There was a point when all three of us had paper routes at the same time. We would fill that Caliente with so many newspapers that he had to tie the trunk lid down, and the car would bottom out whenever we hit a bump in the road. And forget Sunday editions. We would deliver 600, 700 papers—the trunk, back seat, and front seat were loaded. I remember sitting on Dad’s lap as he drove, and he could barely manipulate the shifter when we started the Sunday route. It seemed like he would crawl along at the start so that he wouldn’t damage the car.

Mercury restyled the Comet line for 1964, giving it a Lincoln Continental vibe thanks to a near-identical grille. Two-tone green-and-white paint was applied in 1978; red and bright green accents soon followed, making the Caliente a virtual icon of Reading, Pennsylvania.

“Remember, Dad worked second shift. The Reading Eagle was a morning paper, so that had to be delivered by 6 a.m. So, Dad would get home from work around midnight, get cleaned up, and go to bed probably 1 a.m. or so. Then we would get him up at 4:30 to start our routes, after which he’d try to lay down for a few minutes before taking us to school,” Gerry says. “Looking back, I really don’t know how he did it,” he adds.

Not to be left out of the story were the series of summer vacations asked of the Caliente. Spending a week or two in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, where Ron was raised, was an annual occurrence. So too were treks to Dorney Park and Knoebels Amusement Park. The Mercury was even the car of choice when all three siblings began to hone driving skills. Grinding gears and sudden stops were all absorbed without so much as a notable whimper, all while Ron watched his offspring enjoy the excitement of earning a license.

“Our grandfather, Glenn Bigony, only lived two blocks away from us, so it was easy for him to come over and help Dad with the few repairs and maintenance items the Mercury needed. Us kids would hang around and watch, and we’d happily hand them tools and, eventually, help a little too. During one such maintenance visit in the late 1970s, Glenn installed a rebuilt Klaxon (“aroogah“) horn that we all thought was the greatest thing ever. Thereafter, every time we went to school, or drove through a tunnel, or if Dad was waiting to drive us somewhere, he would blow that horn,” Gerry says.

Right around 1978, the Mercury began its visual transformation to the color scheme it still wears today. It began with a new coat of two-tone Jade green with a white top, Ron’s favorite colors, in addition to the installation of whitewall tires. Red and brighter green accents slowly followed in the ensuing years, and the seats were recovered.

The Caliente’s seats were recovered decades ago, and custom touches executed to the exterior were administered to the cabin. Amazingly, the bench seats are incredibly supportive today.

“Dad spent hours painting each wheel cover; he was in his glory whenever he worked on the car, and he’d do a little more to it each year. Dad called it ‘tinkering.’ It was how he spent his Sunday afternoons. Between the color scheme and the Klaxon, the Mercury became a sort of icon in Reading. Everyone knew our dad, and everyone wanted to know about ‘the green Comet.’ Over the years he started entering the Caliente in all of Reading’s holiday parades; we’d ride in the back, listening to that Klaxon go off every two minutes. We should have worn earplugs,” Gerry laughs.

In the early 1980s, Ron’s Mercury finally suffered its first serious mechanical hiccup, necessitating the rebuild of the six-cylinder’s top end. True to form, however, Ron tackled the problem himself, after which the Caliente performed like a proverbial Swiss watch. Its life as a daily drive continued, enduring all of eastern Pennsylvania’s weather without the aid of any dry storage when the car was idle.

“Dad retired from Interstate Container in 2009 at the age of 77; he had worked there 37 years. You’d think he would put his feet up and the Mercury would find a garage to call home, but no. He still drove it just about every day,” Gerry says.

In 2013, the effects of Parkinson’s began to hinder Ron’s ability to drive. Rather than retire the Caliente, Dooley took the Mercury fully under his wing by providing a haven for the family heirloom. Both he and Gerry continued to maintain its finish and mechanical functionality and took Ron on weekly drives around his beloved Reading until he passed away in November 2021 at age 89. Ron’s last ride in his Caliente occurred when his family used it to bring home his ashes. The Klaxon rang out its iconic tune three times.

Today, the Mercury remains at Dooley’s Mohrsville, Pennsylvania abode, along with Eleanor’s 1956 Ford Crown Victoria that the brothers restored, Dooley’s ’56 Mercury he purchased while in high school in 1981, and one of Gerry’s 1965 Ford Mustangs. There’s other FoMoCo products, too, but the Caliente—admittedly one that is in far from perfect condition—remains the pride and joy of the family.

“We feel so close to Dad when we are with the Caliente. It was a large part of his legacy. Our dad was such a humble man; he never looked for anything fancy. People thought that he kept the Mercury all those years because he couldn’t afford something newer. No—my parents could have afforded any new car, but Dad loved how simple the Caliente was. It became an extension of him, and of us in a sense, and his personality. It’s our connection to him now, in which we remember things like stopping at KFC on the way to Dorney Park. You realize how precious that time was and so we’re honoring him by preserving and maintaining the car and driving it back to Reading every couple of weeks.” Gerry says.

“Sometimes it’s hard to believe how well this car runs and drives after everything it’s been through. Paper routes, daily commuting, blizzards, rainstorms—you name it. It never quit. It still won’t quit. Kind of like Dad. He was always doing something with the car; always tinkering. It’s fitting,” Dooley says.

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