Mercury’s sales literature for the 1967 Cyclone states “The man who loves the excitement of high performance will just naturally take to the Cyclone… Man-powered… This is the Man’s Car… for men who like their action big.” Wow! No fun allowed at Mercury unless you brought your Y chromosome! This 1967 Mercury Cyclone GT convertible resides in Stockton, California and seeks an opening bid of $4999 here on eBay. Hopefully the seller welcomes bids from both genders.
Convertibles are known for their ability to rapidly convert metal into rust if parked outside and left to leak. “Cyclone” was Mercury’s sporty version of the Comet, and gained blacked-out grille bars, paint stripes low on the body, special door trim panels, and wood-grained steering wheel (thanks to myclassicgarage.com for some details). The “GT Performance Group” further added the 320HP Marauder 390 cid V8, shiny engine bits, twin-scoop hood, GT badges, special wheels, power disc brakes, and handling package.
These non-original coupe seats could get you by until. I’ve always liked the Comet’s suite of large round gauges compared to the stable mate Ford Fairlane dash with its more typical wide speedometer and rectangles. The seller makes it very clear that this car will need a complete restoration.
I’d love to own a ’66 or ’67 Cyclone or Fairlane GT some day. I even keep a set of folders on my computer where I collect their details and differences. As far as engines go, I prefer this car’s 390 — the sweet spot for my budget. I’d want a four-speed, but the automatic suits the top-down cruising that this car deserves to enjoy again soon. There comes a time when you need to realize you’re never going to restore “that old Cyclone,” and let someone else take it on… before 30 years pass by. Who is ready to get the auction started with a $4999 opening bid?
This one is going to take a fair amount of work but looks doable. Ours was flood damaged and required a new engine,transmission and rear end as well as other small details. We told the owner we were going to restore it. I had it at a show and noticed a lady looking it over intently. All at once she elbowed her husband and screamed “That’s my car,I told you not to sell it! I watched all this from a distance for a short time and decided to introduce my self and suffer the consequences. She gave me a big hug and took our picture with it and we talked for quite some time about “our” car.
That’s a sweet machine you have, I’ll be the lady was upset !
Here’s “our” car.
Your looks to be a eliminator with the cyclone model and very nice 👍
Win On Sunday, sell on Monday days with 429 big blocks for some thanks to NASCAR 👀
The Eliminator was a Cougar. Car pictured is a modified 1969 Cyclone. 429 wasn’t introduced till 1970.
Beautiful car! I love those big fastbacks.
I don’t think there is any difference in the front seats between a coupe and convertible on the 1966/1967 models. Often the rear seats are different due to interference with the convertible top.
Steve R
Based on the chrome trim and the piping on the top, I believe that those are Fairlane seats.
Looks like a solid enough California car, but chasing down Comet specific trim bits is gonna be a nightmare. Excited to see the original 67-only air cleaner and the Thermactor system still in place! Bet the original 600 center-pivot Holley is still under there.
Sales were very low on these, less than 4000 units in ’67 I believe, another batch of non-cyclone comets were ordered with the NASCAR single four barrel 427…. maybe 90 cars. I love the looks of the ’66-67 Fairlanes and Comets, very good styling and built fairly solid, just not a fan of the mellow 390. For a brand that bent over backwards to put their cars in the winners circle on Sunday and boasted”Total Performance” to attract potential customers I think those guys at Ford could have come up with something better than the 320 horse, or even the 335 horse 390 to back up these claims. The 427? Killer engine indeed, but way to expensive and probably a bit finicky for most new car buyers.
I have the 390GT Caleinte version of that car in the same colour. I was told that Ford made 1320 of that model, and have never been able to find a way to confirm that number.
The 335 hp 390 is a good street engine, and the car is fun to drive, and unusual enough that it is an eye catcher.
There is a lot of mechanical commonality with the Fairlane and the Mustang, but the sheet metal is difficult to find.
I have a 428 that I purchased for the car, but never felt the need to install it.
its not a gt 390……its a gta 390
The 390 drivetrain in a Comet must have been, uh, interesting!
I have the fiberglass hood off a 66 Comet Cyclone GT; I saved it from a car going to the shredder decades ago. Seemed too unusual to destroy. I didn’t save the hinges though. If you need such a hood let me know.
The Caliente didn’t use the Cyclone hood. I like not having the scoops, because people tend to underestimate the performance.
I like the C6 automatic, and all the big block cars had the 9 inch rear end, so the running gear will take a lot of hard driving.
Bob
Those years saw Ford and Chrysler spend big money fielding factory drag race teams touring the country, watched by fans who drove their GTOs and Chevelle SSs home after the races were over.
GM pulled out of racing in January ’63 to appease the FTC’s threatened monopoly mandates, only to take to the streets a year later with the brilliantly lobbed first salvo of the musclecar era, the Pontiac GTO.
Neat car! I hope someone rescues it.
Those years saw Ford and Chrysler spend big money fielding factory drag race teams touring the country, watched by fans who drove their GTOs and Chevelle SSs home after the races were over.
GM ended official support of most forms of racing in January ’63 to appease the FTC’s threatened monopoly mandates, only to take to the streets a year later with the brilliantly lobbed first salvo of the musclecar era, the Pontiac GTO.
I would love to have a 66-67 Comet to park next to my 67 Marquis BB 4 spd ac all factory.