The plight of the easily distracted car guy

You know you’ve got it bad when you’re about to start a project that’s been on the back burner for the better part of a half century and you get distracted by a sexy set of fins from the 1960s.

That’s what happened to me recently, after my wife told me I needed to get started on my Model T rat rod, as I wasn’t getting any younger. I had loaded up a flathead V-8 and taken it to an engine rebuilder, contacted a friend who could help me build a chassis for it and … out of the corner of my eye, there were those beautiful fins sitting under a carport at a used-car lot.

Turns out, it was a ’61 Comet two-door, low-mileage survivor car in original paint with super clean interior. The Comet was originally designed to be Edsel’s compact car, but we all know how that turned out; it ended up being part of the Mercury line.

One thing led to another, I measured our shed space and figured out a way to make the Comet fit, and a few days later, we brought it home. Didn’t need it, but it was kinda cool. And it’s definitely funky.

Looks like the old T may have to wait a bit longer.

Bound for Canton — If you would like to see the Comet “in person,” along with our other two Sixties cruisers, check out the inaugural Canton Heritage Days Car Show Sept 24 in the old city park in Canton, 11 miles east of McPherson on U.S. 56. The car show, which runs from 2-6 p.m., is part of a new two-day festival that includes a street dance, arts and crafts fair, a 5K run, a poker run, an ATV rodeo and other events.

This story was originally published September 14, 2016 at 11:56 AM with the headline "The plight of the easily distracted car guy."