They like to say, “What wins on Sunday sells on Monday!” Was it true? Based on the racing success of the Mercury Cyclone, possibly not, as the Cyclone was always in the shadow of FoMoCo’s other models. One of these NASCAR-inspired models is our Pick of the Day, a 1969 Mercury Cyclone. It is listed for sale on ClassicCars.com by a dealership in Philadelphia. (Click the link to view the listing)
Mercury introduced the Cyclone for the 1964 Comet series. It was a sporty small-block compact, but America was demanding big-block performance cars. The Comet was redesigned in 1966 and moved up to a mid-size platform, bringing the Cyclone with it. A companion Cyclone GT came standard with a 335-horsepower 390. A 427 became available in 1967 but was way too rare to make an impact. For 1968, the Cyclone and Cyclone GT were available as a hardtop and new fastback, with a standard 302 two-barrel and options up to the 390 and, come mid-year, the new 428 Cobra Jet.
For 1969, Mercury discontinued the hardtop, leaving the fastback as the only body style. Additionally, Mercury shuffled the Cyclone series a bit. First off, there were two Cyclone models: Cyclone and Cyclone CJ, the latter being Mercury’s answer to the Plymouth Road Runner. The GT continued, but it had been reduced to an appearance package. And then, mid-year, Mercury introduced the Spoiler package.
Truth be told, before the Spoiler was introduced, Mercury built a small batch of white and red Cyclones that invoked Cale Yarborough’s race car (known as “color code” cars). All carried a blank paint code (signifying a special-order) and were built before January 1, 1969. These cars have been discovered to be built on both the Cyclone and Cyclone CJ models.
These served as the prototype for the Cyclone Spoiler, which was introduced in January 1969 for the base Cyclone model. The white and red cars were now branded as the Cale Yarborough Special, while a white and blue version was branded as the Dan Gurney Special. Standard engine was an upgrade from the Cyclone’s 302, a 351 Windsor 4V rated at 290 horsepower; optional was the 390 and the 428 Cobra Jet. Other Spoiler equipment included side stripes, black-out grille, black hood scoop and stripes, hood pins and, of course, rear spoiler. The Cyclone Spoiler served as the basis for what’s known as the Spoiler II, which was the NASCAR homologation special that was only available with the 351 4V.
Based on the data plate of this 1969 Mercury Cyclone, this Cyclone appears to be a Cyclone CJ (body code 16) with a blank color code, six-digit DSO (meaning a special-order), and December build date. That would suggest that this is a color code Cyclone that someone has dressed up as a Cale Yarborough Spoiler. The spoiler, and Cale and Spoiler decals seem to have been added, but what else? Yet, all things being equal, the two vehicles look mostly the same and have rarity on their respective sides. “The car comes equipped with power brakes and power steering,” says the seller. Options include the Cobra Jet without ram air (engine code “Q”), red bench seat, column-shifted automatic, and AM/FM radio. What this car truly needs is a Marti Report to know exactly how it was ordered . . . and if our theory on being a color code car is correct.
But even as a straight Cyclone CJ, this vehicle would be quite desirable, so perhaps the $66,000 asking price would not be out of line? Only you would know, so pony up for the Marti and find out!
To view this listing on ClassicCars.com, see Pick of the Day.
Source: www.classiccars.com