Iowa Cyclone: 1970 Mercury Cyclone GT
The 1970 Mercury Cyclone GT was meant for those who wanted to put style above speed. That didn’t mean, though, that a little speed was out of the question. Said to be a 351 Cleveland car, this Cyclone GT found here on Craigslist in Des Moines, Iowa, is sure to attract those who are looking for a little bit of style and speed.
The Mercury Cyclones in 1970 could be had with either 351 or 429 engine options. The 429 was obviously for the driver who wanted to go lurking the streets looking for a street light showdown. For those looking for the lesser engine option, there were a little over ten thousand Cyclones produced for their use. The Cyclone listed here is said to be one of the 351 cars. Unfortunately, there isn’t much detail given on whether or not this is a running car.
The interior could use some work to make it new again but doesn’t look to be in terrible shape. The mileage isn’t given on this GT but a quick look at the foot pedals may indicate that they weren’t put to a lot of use. These 351 cars could be had with an automatic or a three-speed manual, with this one being the automatic version.
The overall condition of this car might beg the question – should this one be fixed up and driven or run through the riggers of a full restoration? The asking price doesn’t seem to be too steep for an old Mercury in this kind of shape, especially one with muscle car lines. So, is this Iowa Cyclone worth the $3,600 asking price?
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Comments
With a bottomless checkbook it wouldn’t be too long before I was channeling my inner David Pearson.
pics pics pics. wonder why the guy didn’t just put the wheels on it? Price seems right if its solid. Why couldn’t the guy just open the hood? SMH- this one is cool enough for me to head that way with a trailer!
Cheers
GPC
Great price for a RARE piece of auto history. Always loved these Cyclones! When was the last time anyone seen one restored at ANY cruise of car show? I haven’t in years… Worth the $3500 all day long!
This may be a rare model, I have no facts to even try to despute that fact. But what I will say is regardless of the rarity this was a butt ugly design! There just isn’t a good line on the car and that grill/nose treatment is awful. Just my 2 cents.
You could go like a James Bond route and mount a machine gun barrel out of that center nose….with some other trick Bond stuff and have some fun with it.
As for wondering why the wheels are just leaned against the car and not mounted…….think about the fact that the car is up on crates for how long? just sitting there…..just guessing that the owner is lacking energy, interest and just not a “go getter!” ??!!.
Ok, i am going to get some rest now….been workin way too much !! Getin’ loopy !!
It’s a shame about the automatic gearbox and blue interior, but it looks largely complete, and the price seems reasonable. Incidentally, I think a 4-speed manual was optional with the 351 and not just reserved for the big-block cars, but I could be wrong. Regardless, a 5-speed swap would make this car seriously fun.
What is ugly to one is different and exclusive to another. With the right color to accentuate the lines on this car it could be eye catching and a real stunner. As previously stated, you don’t see these everyday, it’s like a great white buffalo, standing out from the herd. This could be a really cool ride.
The presentation leaves a lot to be desired, guy has to be sick of it, but yeah I’m w/ Jeff above, build it as a 4 speed, its not like you’re destroying some pristine original car. $3500 not a crazy buy in, although would still take significant $$$ to bring it back even if you were able to do most of the heavy lifting yourself
Yep, that front end is the perfect stable mate for the combine.
It looks like an afternoon spent cleaning it and putting the wheels actually on the car, instead of beside it, could double the price. It’s in way better shape than I would expect for this part of the country. This will be a worthwhile project for someone.
Looks like a pretty solid car. Better pics would be nice with the wheels on it. Not sure how you could say it doesn’t have lines these cars look angry standing still. Someone going to get a nice car and you can get whole lot of power out of that Cleveland and better handling because it’s lighter than the big block. Put a 5 spd standard in this and you’ll have a tire roasting monster.
I thought all ’70 Cyclones had the row of cool gauges that ran across the top face of the dash?
https://assets.hemmings.com/story_image/114054-500-0.jpg?rev=2
The Cyclone “Spoiler” had the gauges going down the dash.
Never cared for the ’70-’71 Cyclones; the crosshairs grill with that awful protruding nose was not a good look. The ’68-’69 Cyclones were a much better looking design, especially the fastbacks.
I had a ’68 GT with a 302. I know, not a tire shredder but it was a very good daily driver. Much better looking than the next generation Cyclone.
Assuming this Cyclone isn’t a rot-box, the price seems very fair and hopefully a full restoration is in store for it.
I’m just the opposite, I like the nose on these. Shoot, I even like the big beaked 1970-’71 T-Birds.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/1970-1971_Ford_Thunderbird.jpg
The ’66-’69 Cyclones looked too much like Fairlanes/Torinos. For this generation, someone finally turned Mercury loose to build their own car. Sales records probably don’t reflect my admiration, though.
It’s at a good price considering it looks pretty complete – a 429 is easy to come by along with a C6 and not that pricey…..just get it back on the road .
Never noticed the dashboard. Kinda weird
I would get it running, put a set of Magnum 500s on it and drive the crap out of it.
I would also have to fix the covered headlights as that is the best part of the car.
I pain $2800 for my 70 Cyclone GT without seeing it beforehand and with 90% of the car in boxes, and yes the GT’s could be ordered from the factory with the optional gauge pack because mine had it and was a 1 owner.$3500 for this car is an awesome price, onto wish it was closer. One of the most underrated and prettiest muscle cars Detroit ever produced. Had a 140 mph spedo and could bury it without even trying, and that was the 351 Cleveland version with an Automatic trans
How can i aquire more details please