Vehicle Description
This unique 1969 Mercury Cyclone boasts links to Ford's 1969 NASCAR
campaign during the famed "AERO Wars" between Ford & Chrysler.
Although the history of the Cale Yarborough and Dan Gurney Cyclone
Spoiler II cars is relatively well-known, the history of these
"Color-Code" Cyclones is just now coming to light. The Spoiler II
cars were produced to make Mercury more competitive in NASCAR, and
were only sold to the public because NASACAR's homologation rules
required a minimum of 500 cars be produced and made available to
the public. All production examples were constructed during the
first few weeks of 1969.
The History:
NASCAR mandated that at least 500 of the hand built Spoiler II
extended nose cars had to be manufactured. According to some
rumors, Mercury built only 351 out of a reported 503 units. As the
story goes, Mercury built 351 extended "D" nosed cars; parked them
in the front and on the edges of a parking lot and then took 152
regular "W" nosed Cyclone Spoilers and parked them in the middle of
all the Spoiler IIs in the parking lot. When NASCAR counted the
cars they did not look closely enough at the cars in the middle
which were not Spoiler IIs but regular Cyclone cars painted to
match the long-nose Spoiler II's. As more research is completed, it
appears this theory is not just rumor, but a reality. Lending to
this theory is the Six-Digit DSO assigned to this car, meaning it
was part of a Ford Special Order Program, other Ford projects which
had Six-Digit DSOs were Shelby and Boss 429 units. In this case
Ford Special Order #2115 (In an interesting note, Yarborough's
Mercury sported number "21" in 1969!) The door warranty plate paint
code on these cars was left blank, which was Ford's standard
procedure for Special Paint. Kevin Marti confirms that this car was
painted White, Ford #1619-A with a Red Roof, Ford #2008-A and Red
Body-Side Tape Stripe.
The Car:
Showing 45,467 miles, This rare "Special Paint" Mercury Cyclone
sports its original Numbers-Matching Drivetrain and is ready to be
driven, shown and enjoyed. The car recently passed Missouri state
inspection and is ready to drive and enjoy, it starts and drives
and shifts smoothly.
Body - The car received a repaint in its original configuration
approximately 10 years ago. It still shows well but does have a few
minor dings and light scratches you would expect of a driver-level
car. The undercarriage has been painted black over what appears to
be its original body-color primer. The cyclone shows no signs of
rust or previous repair, all body panels appear to be original to
vehicle, showing the fit you would expect from original panels. The
chrome trim appears to be original and are showing their age.
Drivetrain - The "S-Code" 390GT is the original Numbers-Matching
engine to the car, with a 8L14 casting date (November 14, 1968) and
matching VIN stamping on the driver's side stamping pad. The
original 390GT heads, exhaust manifolds and air cleaner are
present. A larger Holley carburetor was added at some point in the
cars life. The car is shifted by what is believed to be the
original C6 "Merc-o-Matic" Transmission with tag code PCA-W and D
Servo. The correct 3.25 ratio 9" rear end is present with center
chunk retaining its original ID tag with WEB-F1 code and 8LB date
(Second Week November, 1968).
Interior - The original Dark Red Knit interior features original
upholstery on the front buckets and rear seats. The original
headliner shows a few spots where it is showing its age. The
interior is believed to be mostly original and is very complete
with original options such including AM Radio, Center Console,
Tinted Glass, Rear Seat Speaker and Deluxe Belts.
Provenance - Original Door warranty plate is intact as well as
original dash VIN plate. Documentation includes an Elite Marti
Report, Deluxe Marti Report, Partial Build-Sheet and some vintage
ads and sales literature.
By placing a bid on this vehicle you are entering into a legal and
binding contract to purchase the above-described vehicle. We
reserve the right to cancel all existing bids and end the auction
early should the item no longer be available for sale.
Payment: A deposit of $1000 (non-refundable) must be paid within 48
hours of winning bid. The remaining balance must be paid within 3
business days.
