Axle Twister: 1970 Mercury Cyclone GT 429

The Mercury Cyclone started life as a performance version of the compact Falcon based Mercury Comet, but by 1970 it was its own model built on the mid-sized Fairlane platform.  It was a huge hunk of 2-door metal available with a giant 429 cubic inch V8 and today is surprisingly cheap for what you get.  Find this 1970 Mercury Cyclone GT 429 offered for $12,500 in LA area, CA via craigslist.

The ’70 Cyclone has the most incredible pointy nose that is about as pedestrian-impact friendly as something built for the latest Mad Max film.  But if you are going to drive a preposterous muscle car from 1970, it might as well be as outlandish as possible.  More wings please!!

Under the hood is a 429 cubic inch version of Ford’s 385 V8, which is fed with a Holley carburetor, breaths through headers and should be good for a bit more than the 360 horsepower stock rating.  What the 429 really needs is a high lift cam and a set of better heads if you really want the NASCAR experience. 

It is hard to really understand the condition of this Cyclone GT from the low-res craiglist pictures, but if everything works as advertised and she is free of rust, I can’t see how you could go wrong.

See a better way to cruise around in a big block classic for cheap? tips@dailyturismo.com