Muscle Car of the Week: 1970 Mercury Cyclone!

While popular among most auto restoration buffs, the Mercury Cyclone is perhaps a lesser known muscle car to the general public. While it did have seven solid years of production, the Cyclone never really stood out among it's pony car competition. This lack of popularity, however, is not a reason to dismiss it from your 'potential projects' list. In fact, the Cyclone has everything that a muscle car lover could want: Style, sportiness, and power!

The body of the Cyclone underwent some drastic changes in 1970. All three models, the 'Cyclone', 'Cyclone GT', or the 'Cyclone Spoiler', got a redesigned front grill that consisted of a chrome square broken up into four pieces with a circle at its center. Additionally, every model got square running lights added on as well. Since these changes disappeared in the '71 model, collectors or fans of rare muscle car restorations might be doubly interested in making this their next project.

Under the hood, engine options didn't change much from the previous year. The base choice was still a 250 cubic inch that got 155 horsepower. The biggest difference was with the top performance option. It went up to a 429 cubic inch V8 from a 428, and now delivered 360 horsepower when put on the chassis dyno tuner.

In 1970 you could pick up a brand new, top of the line Mercury Cyclone for about $3K. Nowadays, at internet auction, fully restored Cyclones are fetching anywhere from $40K-$60K!

Image Source: brantford.canadianlisted.com