1969 Mercury Cyclone news, pictures, and information

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NASCAR Coupe

This 1969 Mercury Cyclone was built by Homan and Moody for Bobby Allison to race in the 1971 NASCAR Winston Cup season. The 1969 car was chosen because of the superior aerodynamics to the 1971 model. It features the 427 tunnel port Ford engine producing about 525 hp.

He first drove it at Talladega where he finished second to his brother, Donnie. With this car, he won the Charlotte World 600, the Dover Mason Dixon 500, the Brooklyn Michigan Motor City 400, with additional wins in Atlanta, Talladega, Darlington, and Charlotte. Bobby finished 4th in the Winston Cup National Championship that year.

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Spoiler II Dan Gurney Special Coupe

Stock car racing and the muscle car era was becoming very popular during the mid-1960's which left many marques abandoning the larger platforms in exchange for intermediate bodied cars. For Mercury, their answer was the Comet which had debuted in 1960 on a stretched Falcon frame. When the Mercury Cougar was introduced in 1967 it relieved the Comet of some of its functions and freed it to become a true muscle car.

Safety was important and this showed during the close of the 1960's, as government regulations and safety restrictions brought the muscle car era to an end. NASCAR had begun imposing strict restrictions on horsepower around the same time, in an effort to make the cars more competitive and safer. Racers were no longer being decided upon sheer power but on aerodynamics and low drag, to name a few. For 1969 a special model was introduced named the Cyclone Spoiler II which had an extended nose adding an addition 19.5 inches. It had a downward angle of thirty-five degrees and located at the back was a fixed spoiler. Re-rolled rocker panels gave the allusion of the vehicle sitting about an inch lower.

NASCAR homologation rules stated that at least 519 examples were needed. Mercury planned on producing at least this amount and possibly fitting them with a 428 Cobra-Jet option. When introduced, the vehicles were given a 351 cubic-inch Windsor engine that produced 290 horsepower. A FMX automatic transmission was also standard. To honor two of Mercury's greatest NASCAR drivers, the vehicles were offered in two commemorative editions, the Dan Gurney and the Cale Yarborough edition. The Dan Gurney edition was in Wimbledon White while the Cale Yarborough edition was in Candy Apple Red and Wimbledon White.

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CJ Fastback Coupe

In 1968 the Mercury Cyclone was offered in a fastback and a notchback hardtop, though only the fastback body style returned for its final year of 1969. The GT option was reduced to just an appearance group package. However, the new 'hot' Cyclone was a CJ which was aimed at the budget priced Plymouth Roadrunner. The CJ came with the 428 Cobra Jet engine rated at 335 bhp standard, along with a four-speed manual transmission, Competition Handling Package and a bench interior. The CJ sold for $3,224 compared to the standard Cycle 302 priced at $2,771.

'Car and Driver' reported 0 to 60 in 5.5 seconds and a quarter-mile in 13.9 seconds.

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CJ Fastback Coupe

This 1969 Mercury Cyclone is powered by a 428 Cobra Jet Ram Air engine with the Drag Package. Only 14 Cyclone's were ordered with automatic transmissions and only 260 were powered by the 428 Cobra Jet. Only one was painted white.

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Spoiler II Dan Gurney Special Coupe

The Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II was a special model produced to satisfy the booming performance car market of the 1960's. It was more aerodynamic than the fastback coupe and was designed to specifically meet NASCAR's certification requirement and compete against Ford's Torino Talladega.

The Cyclone Spoiler II design featured a stretched, tapered nose and flush-mounted grille. It also had re-rolled rocker panels that allowed the car to be lowered without violating NASCAR's ride-height requirements. Two trim packages were available: the Dan Gurney Special in Wimbledon White and Presidential Blue and the Cale Yarborough Specials (as seen on this car) in Candy Apple Red over Wimbledon White. Both were named after Mercury's best NASCAR drivers of the time.

While the exact number of Cyclone Spoiler II's built is not known, it is beloved to be between 300 and 500. Also built was a standard-nosed model, known as Cyclone Spoiler, which was offered with the same trim packages. Only the extended nosed models were Cyclone Spoiler II's. These were powered by the 290 horsepower, 351 cubic-inch Windsor engine.

Advertised as the vehicle that was ‘Born for Action - Racy' the 1965 Comet Cyclone hit the market with a bang. 'Help stamp out dull driving' was the catchphrase used to promote this new model.

Beginning as an option for the ‘64 Comet, the Mercury Cyclone was originally introduced to the automobile market in 1964. For the next three years, it continued as a Mercury Comet Cyclone. Remaining in production until 1972, the Cyclone featured an available 289 V8 that was rated at 210 hp. From 1968 on, the Mercury Montego applied the name Cyclone.

During its first year of production, a total of 7,454 units of the Mercury Cyclone were produced. A total of 12,347 Comet Cyclones were produced in the 1965 model year. This amazing selling potential was most likely due to the range of available features that included custom options like Multi-Drive Merc-O-Matic, or four-on-the-floor.

The Comet Cyclone was made available standard with bucket seats, tachometer, 3 spoke steering wheels, console, 'chrome look' wheel covers and many more features. Rated at 210 hp, and featuring an optional hipo 281 hp version of the 289 V8, the 'Cyclone Super 289 V8' was the standard engine with a four barrel carburetor.

In 1965, all new styling was featured. Both the Cyclone emblems and the checkered flag were moved to rear fenders and vertical headlights were added. The very popular stainless steel ‘chrome simulated' wheel covers remained same on the Cyclone for this year. A standard option for this year was a 195 hp version of the 289 V8 with a two-barrel carburetor. An available option was a four-barrel carburetor 225 hp 289 V8 engine. One other optional feature was an available hood with twin air scoops that were onstructed of fiberglass. These model began at a base price of $2625.00.

For the 1966 model year, a total of 6,889 Hardtop models and 1,305 Convertibles of the Comet Cyclone model were produced.

Made available for the 289 V8 engine, a line of 'Cobra' high performance equipment was featured. This line offered an innovative 271 hp version of the 289 V8 and included a Cobra heavy-duty clutch, special carburetors, air cleaners and valve covers. Featured by Mercury, in 1967 a Cyclone GT was made available and was powered by a 335 hp 390 V8. A 427 was made available with 425 hp the following year.

Jessica Donaldson

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