- Watch the Mercury Comet crash with no brakes
- Why did the brakes not work in the Mercury Comet?
- What happened to the driver and passenger?
- Check the brakes, make sure you have insurance
The owner of this 1,300 hp 1964 Mercury Comet sure spent a lot of time, money, and heartache to discover his car had no brakes. YouTuber AutopiaLA thought it was cool enough to feature on one of his posts. And everything was super-cool until he needed to stop. That’s when he discovered that the Comet didn’t have any brakes. Soon after, he had to choose the bumper to aim his pinball Mercury into.
It didn’t go well, as you can see in the images and also on the video. Before you watch, the language is a little rough, as passenger and driver realize they have no brakes. So how can a car that cost $200,000, took 23 years to build, and endured two divorces, end up being done? Except for the brakes?
Watch the Mercury Comet crash with no brakes
The Comet project starts with a 632 Merlin big block Chevy V8. A BDS supercharger adds huff to achieve those 1,300 ponies. But with such a long build, some modifications happened years and years ago. Like the brakes.
The owner later suggested that he should have made sure that the brakes worked because they were 17 years old. Yeah, we’d say so. And the problem would have been discovered if the car had just been driven and everything checked out.
Why did the brakes not work in the Mercury Comet?
1964 Mercury Comet with no brakes | via YouTube
The lumpy cam combined with the big hp meant the car had to idle at around 2,200 rpm to keep running. So each bump of the cam meant a lurch of sorts. The lurching means you can only control the car with the brakes during slow-speed idling or lower speed limits. At some point during rolling shots, the passenger and driver could smell the brakes. Not good.
But the driver needed to ride the brakes to keep it all under control. The problem increased when the brakes began to fade from the heat. In hindsight, larger brakes might have helped the Comet endure idle or slow speeds. So once the brakes had faded to nothing, it was a matter of aiming for something to stop. That something was a minivan, followed by another car stopped at a stoplight.
What happened to the driver and passenger?
1964 Mercury Comet with no brakes | via YouTube
The results were the passenger mashing his face into the metal dash, and the driver suffering arm injuries after stiffening in anticipation of the impact. Unfortunately, because these were only driving shots, neither passengers were wearing the seat belts or harnesses bolted into the car. The other lesson is that the cooling system, and brakes, need to be up to 1,300 hp.
With more horsepower, there is more heat. You’ll fry your expensive engine without proper cooling. Lurching comes with a more radical cam. The brakes need to be up to periods of extended use.
Check the brakes, make sure you have insurance
1964 Mercury Comet with no brakes | via YouTube
And finally, make sure you’ve got insurance in case something like this happens. We don’t know what the conditions of the innocent passengers in the minivan and car were. But without insurance, they could be entitled to everything you own, including your 1,300 hp Mercury Comet.
Keyword: Watch: Building s 1300 HP Car? Make Sure the Brakes Work