Forget The Hellcat & Miata, Buy A 1970 Mercury Cyclone For $13k

"DailyTurismo" (thedailyturismo) 10/08/2014 at 12:27 • Filed to: Daily Turismo, Blog

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Mercury's Cyclone badge started life as a performance 2-door option on the original Comet, back when the Comet was a compact Falcon-based sedan. As the Comet grew in size, so did the Cyclone, and by 1968 the Cyclone was its own thing — based on the Ford Fairlane.

In 1970, when the Torino name superseded the Fairlane, the Cyclone was a sporty two-door version of Mercury's Montego, which was based on the intermediated size Torino, but used most of its own sheet metal. Confused...don't be...just take a look at that front grill and embrace the madness. Find this !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! currently bidding for$11,500 reserve-not-met with 3 days to go, located in Neptune, NJ via eBay.

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To say that the Cyclone has a beak is an extreme understatement. It is like saying that Barbara Streisand has a big nose, Weird Al has curly hair, or that Hitler had a mustache. The Cyclone's rostrum is more than just a design feature, it defines the car. It is the bomp in the bomp bah bomp bah bomp, the ram in the ram-a-lamb a ding dong..et cetera. Let's get a better look.

Huzzah!! 5 mph impact safety? Ha! A 1 mph impact with a bicyclist will cause $1k of damage to the cyclopstril thing in the middle. Pedestrian safety? Ha! If you are lucky enough to avoid the pointy center, you'll be pulling your teeth out of the flip-up headlamp covers for weeks. This car will kill, maim, and bedazzle all others into submission. Even Zod bows down before this thing!

Pop up the faux-scoop adorned hood (good grief, those hood springs must be surplus from a suspension bridge) and check out the 351 cubic inch V8 inside. This 4-barrel fed beast is good for 260 SAE net (300 gross) horsepower and before you start bitching about how the Windsor isn't as cool as the 429 — take a look on the inside....

An intermediate sized Mercury equipped with a 4 on the floor...now I've seen everything!! Forget the CobraJet, that little 4 speed is going to up the fun factor on this boat from the Queen Mary to the Bismarck. If you still want the 429 — JUST LOOK AT THE NOSE!!

Don't get blown away by this twister. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

Originally posted as !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! on !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Photo credits; eBay.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > DailyTurismo 10/08/2014 at 12:30

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It doubles as a corer for large apples.

505Turbeaux > DailyTurismo 10/08/2014 at 12:31

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that looks to be the most pedestrian friendly nose ever

TheVancen- In Pursuit of a Greater Payday and Car Parts > DailyTurismo 10/08/2014 at 12:32

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I like the way you think. As someone with a family member that owns a pair of 70 Torino GT convertibles, both big blocks, I approve.

DailyTurismo > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 10/08/2014 at 12:33

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A pedestrian corer.

JR1 > DailyTurismo 10/08/2014 at 12:44

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I wish the paint complimented the whacky design. I am thinking grabber blue. That being said I would own this car so hard

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > DailyTurismo 10/08/2014 at 12:46

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Well, you can always save money and get a better looking grille:

'68 looked much better (I'm not biased at all!)

The above is my 68 Montego MX, which is a Cyclone Package. And this is plenty of power with just a 302, so no, you don't need the big block.

I just think they looked better pre-1970.

Here's a 68 Cyclone:

Probably cost you a touch more than the target grille above though...

DailyTurismo > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner 10/08/2014 at 12:47

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I agree the earlier cars are better looking...but...there is something about the '70 beak that I find myself oddly drawn to.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > DailyTurismo 10/08/2014 at 12:48

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there is the hugely added benefit of "less expensive".

Though the first pic I posted in reply cost a whopping $2,500

Vimto > DailyTurismo 10/08/2014 at 12:51

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THE WANT IS STRONG.

DailyTurismo > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner 10/08/2014 at 12:57

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Yeah, I'm guessing an early car with a 4-speed in mint condition is gonna cost a bit more than this one!

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > DailyTurismo 10/08/2014 at 13:00

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OH yeah it will.

Mine is a 68 Mercury Montego MX. It's a 2 door hard top coupe, so not the fastback.

It's also a 302 with a C4 auto trans, which is pretty standard for the MX line. There's not a ton of them around, and they can all be really cool/rare/wild muscle cars on a budget. I'm always recommending them!

DailyTurismo > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner 10/08/2014 at 13:06

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I hear you on the Mercury thing — I just wrote the other day : The truth is that Mercury may have cost a few more bucks for a luxury themed Ford product when new, but now the relationship is inverted, you get a discount on a classic Mustang if you buy a Cougar.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > DailyTurismo 10/08/2014 at 13:09

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yep!

Cougars are some of the BEST deals on classic cars. Especially classic pony cars.

Love em, I've been tempted to try and work a trade to get a Cougar.

lucky's pepper > DailyTurismo 10/08/2014 at 13:27

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It's a Cleveland, not a Windsor, which significantly ups the cool factor.