This rare 1970 Mercury Cyclone GT is located in Phoenix, Arizona. It is for sale here on craigslist and is equipped with the C Code 429 Cobra Jet engine. The odometer reads just over 90,000 miles and the car appears to be wearing its original blue paint. Only 10,170 Mercury Cyclone GT’s were built in 1970 and this one looks to be in original condition.
The 429 cubic inch V8 was the largest and most powerful engine available in the Cyclone GT in 1970. The seller states that it is a true C Code car that is all original and has survived the test of time. The VIN (0H16C533077) indicates that it is a 1970 Cyclone GT model built in the Lorain Production Plant in Ohio. The 16 indicates that it is a 2 door hardtop Cyclone GT and the C verifies that it was originally produced with the 429 cubic inch engine.
The car has been stored in a garage for over 20 years. The engine is backed by an automatic transmission that is operated by a floor shifter between the bucket seats. The console appears to be missing. The dash includes a full gauge package and the sweeping speedometer behind the steering wheel. The car is equipped with power steering and power brakes and the interior just needs to be cleaned up a little to be presentable.
As you can guess, restoring such a rare car can be difficult because there are not a lot of parts readily available. The 429 Cobra Jet engine was rated at 370 gross horsepower and featured dual exhaust and ram air induction. This car appears to have very little rust and most of the parts are in place. Who has ridden in one of these rare muscle cars?
This would have been quite the car in its day. The gun sight grille wasn’t for everyone, but it sure is an attention-getter. I always thought the gauge package was cool, and if I remember, not available on the equivalent Torino.
In the sea of restored muscle cars, not many Mercurys. I hope someone gets it and can find the right parts to do a nice restoration.
In 1970, my mother had one just like this, but white seats. It was fast for it day, and a btg step up in power from her 1969 Mach 1 351 Windsor.
Yes, it looks like an anteater. But I love how unusual it is, and can’t help but appreciate how much car you are getting here for $15,000 — just imagine the 1970 Charger or Chevelle you would get for that kind of money, and it’s not a pretty comparison.
Someone needs to grab this one quickly. $15k is a great price, especially for a C code with the gauge package.
I wish I were in a position to buy it.
ooh that grill!
The Bunkiest Beak of them all.
It’s too bad they never offered the gunsight grille on the wagons where the Beak stood out even more since they were on that compromise Falcon/Fairlane wheelbase and pure 1966 from the A-pillars back.
Mercury did offer a Montego station wagon in 1970, which shares the same lines. Someone could probably swap the grill and hood from a Cyclone and come up with a convincing looking “creation”.
Starve R
The problem is, that with only a little over 10k produced, finding an INTACT front end would be difficult,if not impossible. Let’s not even think about having to find a center “bulleye” grille section; plastic and easily damaged (probably “unobtanium” now). GLWTA!! :-)
The 1970 Mercury Montego and Cyclone share the same front end sheet metal, search Google images, . The hood any some parts of the grill are different. Though rare, the unique parts aren’t impossible to find.
Steve R
Not “unobtanium” if you have the money…..how many do you want?
I always liked these, the styling is a bit daring for Mercury. These are an honest, big, performance car made just before the big emissions and safety implementations that came later. $15,000? Looks like a good deal considering scarcity and condition.
I was only 15 , as a friend of mine had this exact same car in brown. It was loud and fast and very showy, even in the early 70’s. His dad owned a Mercury dealership in Florida and he was a pre-med student. He knew he had a hot car and drove it fast and loud.
Looks GREAT! What’s the Price?
Someone will get a nice car, if they have another 15K plus to restore. Optimistic seller – NEEDS THE FUEL LINES CLEANED – No needs the fuel lines Replaced and I would do brake line replacement at the same time. Remember the car is 50 years old. I have a 66 Mercedes 250 SE, replaced all brake components and now I am unable to get any brake fluid to flow to the calipers. Brake lines will have to be replaced, if I ever want to drive it again.
Brake hoses for sure to replace they collapse internally.
The 1971 Ford Thunderbird had quite a beak too
That’s a great buy for someone. The impossible to find parts are there although a refresh is needed. Too bad it’s not a J code 429.
a good friend bought a new yellow one with a clevland 429. He passed away so i cant ask him.what is the difference between c code and j code. He drove his very hard and thought it was best engine ever. some kid wrecked after he sold it. He spent the rest of his life looking for another one just like it.
All the 429’s were Cleveland engines, as were the 460’s. 351, you had the Cleveland, which was the big block and the 351 Windsor, which was the small block.
‘C Code’ in a ’70 Cyclone is a ram air 429 Cobra Jet.
I have a J code 429 inside a 1971 Custom 500. Any idea how much this car is worth?
Nice looking rig. Love the snout and as mentioned seems a lot of car comparatively speaking to other more popular manufacturers.
Thr front end reminded me of the 67 Oldsmobile 98 i had and equally loved.
Can someone spot me 15k and a place to store it..
What a wonderful project. The only turn off is the lack of a shifter console. I would itch to run a mic on the engine bearings and other engine tolerances. I’d probably send that out as painting is my forte (Base coat/clear coat). Probably would need 30thousands oversize bore and rings. I wonder if there is a manual transmission that fits this (just a thought).
😃 i have a turn key j code
& c9ve 460, 70 dove scj
nothing less than $3,000😎
Do you have photos?
I always thought these and the related Ford models were dinosaurs compared to GM and Mopar products. So, it’s not for me.
But some people love ‘em.
So get to it!
I had one of these when I was in my senior year in HS, 1973. Damn fast car. Raced it to much and my Dad said it had to go after blowing the head gaskets for the second time. Wished he and I knew what we had then. Really liked that car. Mine was white interior, buckets seats, no console and automatic on the column. C6 trans was the best.
My Dad said ” It looks like a cannon should come out of the grill. That car has the spoiler so, so either it was added or it’s the GT spoiler model. They had 2 models GT and GT spoiler.
I think you could order the spoiler as a factory option. My mother had one brand new in 1970.GT SCJ (not the Boss) Medium Blue metallic with blue interior and white seats. I think it did have a spoiler. Fast car for its time.
Cool car. I have a hood for sale that I believe fits this car. I need help verifying if it is the correct hood. Mine was repainted this bright blue color and has the Cyclone decal on it, but does not have the vent or raised part in the middle of the hood. Can anyone tell me if they know which model my hood fits?
Still have the hood
Owned a blue one like this in ’84, for a short while, non operational no title ex street cruiser with a built 351Cleveland. Had to get rid of it as it was taking up space in dad’s garage, ha ha. To be honest it was the only I’d ever seen, years later a red one showed up at the strip that made two.
This car looks familiar from this site. Was it posted before?
I would love to drag this one home, it would send my wife into parking orbit. Can anyone say Torino Cobra with automatic, A/C and sound deadening insulation.The first big Cougar. The Australians borrowed the platform and mirrored it and created the XA,XB and XC Ford Falcon(Mad Max). That is not a Mustang spoiler. It is a longer version.
I have never been a passenger in a Mercury 429 “but” was almost daily a co-pilot in the ‘70 429Jcode Cobra Torino that our late Father purchased from original owner in 1980 and my brother is still in possession of this rare car.Let me tell you first-hand that these Ford powered machines are very fast,even being on the heavy side.Get in,shut up, and hold on!
Having enough foresight into the collector car market is all about restoring the right car. There are dealerships full of cars that are old but not worth squat. The name of the game is collecting and restoring the ones that will be ‘hot’ in the next cycle of collector cars. I saw the 1948-53 Chevy 3100 series pickup trucks was going to take off and it sure did. This only last for a while until there is market saturation. The public is only going to pay so much.