I still have my 1970 Cyclone GT from when I was 16yrs old, first car, first love....She still runs and looks very good. Have modified the automatic transmission to be bullet proof, and changed out the rear gears for a little higher ratio, has the ram air function package on it, and you can here that flap bang open when you crack the throttle, makes people look, engine was rebuilt in 1980 and has only 25,343 miles on it... I paid $800 for her as the second owner...
@@chrisgaffney1646 Yeah, i doubt it. You don't even know for sure what engine is in his Cyclone. You may feel pretty confident if it's a 428 or 429 but if it happens to be an R code 427 or better yet an SOHC 427 i'm wondering if you'd like some catsup spread over that paint job before you dig in? After all, that's a 1970 model year. Yours is a 1974. Earth to Chris... Your mighty SD T/A has, if factory correct an 8.4:1 emissions compliant engine factory rated at 290hp. I could go on but suffice it to say. It was a survivor. A relic that was a last gasp effort at producing factory muscle but really it's kind of the best of a bad situation. Forget any reverse gear antics. Those cars would be pretty evenly matched because and only because it's still an SD but cast crank, 8.4 :1. Against a 1970 375 hp rated 429? The only reason you stand a chance against that Cyclone is that 429's were boat anchors.
Gregory Timmons I know right who cares. why does everybody have to be such a know it all this car is awesome so are the t/as big deal..... how old is this person20..... point is is these are cool cars go to a car show and start ripping on everybody's car that you don't like or think that your car is so great....nice comeback Gregory made me laugh have a nice day
A lot of these cars were not big sellers. I worked for a Mercury dealer from 66 to 1970 and I cleaned up very few Cyclones and never any special ones such as this. The big seller was cougar and Lincoln in the small dealership where I worked. They were good times and Is where I got my 66 Ford Fairlane GT 390 when a guy getting married traded in on a Merc Marquis. I got the car for trade in value, clean it up in my spare time and drove it like a nut for 3 years until I sold it and purchased a 350 Chevy Malibu 72, what a mistake but it was at least 4 speed LOL.. I was getting married too :(, mistake #2 LoL..
Very nice. I remember reading back in the day, that the 429CJs had a restriction in the exhaust port design (or was it intake?), and the first thing draggers did when they got one was have the heads worked a little to remove that restriction and that really turned these motors on.
@@styldsteel1 yah ur right, as long as it puts me in the seat..been sitting a while .took my kid 4 a ride. As he's holding the dash he says, dad now I know why u kept this car all these years. Then we blew the clutch apart due 2 it's age. 25 years .
Those Mercury's always "stood out." Beautiful piece from the era. No mistaking it for any other brand/model. Probably in reality putting out 475HP. "De-troit."
My husband used to work for a used parts company here in Indiana that had a junkyard and they would get prototype and test cars from the big manufacturers to get crushed. He wasn't even supposed to sit in the cars or pop the hood lol. Top secret, how ridiculous. But that was the agreement with the manufacturer (did they really think they wouldn't take a look?) He told me they even got a few running and drove them around the yard lol. This was around 2000-2010 and he said there was some far out stuff in them.
That is a cool car. The 375 HP sounds underrated unless that was supposed to be net horsepower. Then it would probably be closer to correct. Gross HP easily over 400 with that compression ratio.
About 415 to 425 HP stock at the crank in the real world. Ford used net hp ratings to keep insurance rates down. Ford is a very conservative company and they weren't necessarily interested in advertising high HP numbers like GM and Chrysler were.
@@frostroxie2740 - This Ford easily made 450+ lbs at the crank stock. Big inch performance Buicks and Olds made at least 500+ lbs. back then. LS6 Chevys, etc.
Ah. I see the HP numbers were fudged for the 429 too. The HP listed for the stock 428 was 335. That's laughable cause my 428 could spin it's wheels at 20 mph, id love to see what a drag pack 429 could do.
That's a bad ass Merc. Probably the baddest Ford muscle car since the 67 R-Code 427 Fairlane. I actually prefer the 429 Super Cobra Jet to the street version of the Boss 429. The Boss 9 only came with a 735 cfm carb and a really restrictive exhaust system. But the Boss 429 was a whole different animal with no smog equipment, an 800 or 850 cfm carb, and headers. No idea why Ford de-tuned the street Boss 429 so much
According to Hemmings Classic Car these early prototypes were supposed to be crushed. If not then the company owed a huge tax bill upwards of $150,000. This info per the Hemmings article on the AMX prototype which was one of two to be crushed. Or rather burned then crushed. It was documented as crushed but at the last minute the second car was spared and actually sold really cheap to the grandfather of the owner at the time of the article being published. Grandad worked the line at AMC and the car went in his modest collection. It was actually a pre production show car with shiny foil covered door handles etc. Because it was documented as destroyed AMC skirted the tax issue but the car is untitled and has some minor design differences. Including the doors and a rumble seat! Something that never would have made production with safety regs coming in.
Why would anyone want a Chevelle, when they could've had the "Gunsight" grille SCJ Cyclone, the rarest of the fast musclecars. HP way underated for insurance purposes. A real bad boy!
f4udhorn Well, to answer your question, I think it's because the marketplace was well supplied with unique muscle no matter what brand you wanted. Not everyone liked that gunsight grill. Some people scratched the Cyclone from their shopping list because of that very design element. There was a great selection to choose from in 1970 among the domestic brands. The 429 was not a favorite among performance buff's. Marginal streetability with those huge intake ports. Thank you for featuring this.
Mercury said "grandma and grandpa". "Vrooom!" was not associated with the brand. Maybe in the early days (1939 - 40 and 1949), but later it got a plushmobile image.
Im a Mopar guy but I'll take a 70 Cyclone 429 SCJ over a dime a dozen Chevelle SS any day...even an LS6. I love the 70 Cyclone Spoiler and Torino Cobra body style...especially the Cyclone with the gun sight grille. The center of the grille is actually removable to make cam changes easier. Awesome car
@Choff C An LS6 Chevelle might be a little faster but I'll still take the Cyclone Spoiler 429 SCJ over an LS6 Chevelle. Chevelle's are a dime a dozen compared to these cars
Imagine if this sexy front built on fastback body style, you know like the 68 cyclone has! But engine specs, rear taillight, Interior, dash remains same of 70 only! Also I saw on internet this 70 cyclone with Shelby wheels, it was looking more beautiful like those wheels were made for this cyclone!
@@67marlins81 my father actually bought a 70 Torino cobra 429CJ 4 speed brand new. It was yellow with the black hood. I remember seeing him pull in our driveway for the first time and me and my brother running out the door to get him to take us for a ride. Man I loved that car. He's still kicking himself in the ass for selling it
I understand your point, I refer to the design cues and overall styles of Ford. The Charger was indeed very long but it had a more streamline design. Charger was big and it is not my favorite. It is a matter of taste but Dodge has always look for that lighter and more streamline designs !
The 429 SCJ engine, 4-speed trans, and "super drag pack" option, all together, cost $711.00 in 1970, which seems to be roughly $4,700 today. I can't help thinking that's still a bargain....
Hell yeah. The internals of the 429 SCJ were beefed up quite a bit compared to a regular 429 CJ when you ordered the 3.91 or 4.30 gears. Seems like a steal to me
I am the previous owner of this cyclone.I actually have some pictures from 1971 when my friend bought the car from the Ford Mercury dealer in Aledo Illinois he was having carburetor trouble. So he took it back to the dealership. The dealership called him and said they could not get Any parts for the carburetor it was a six barrel Holley carburetor. Ford said they were not even supposed to have the carburetor. Ford Motor Company sent the dealership a 4 barrel Holley and intake manifold to replace the six barrel one. Before they did he took pictures of the six barrel set up.
It was a really strange time because even though there was just one FORD dealer in my area and it was a worker class family based set of streets for the neighbourhood, I did see a 1970 Cyclone and a huge Mercury marauder S-22 I think that was a fastback version of the Marquis with a rear deck on a red exterior . These were 6 passenger cars that older men bought while I noticed a young couple in 1969 bought a Montego MX in a tangerine with Black vinyl roof and black inside as a 5 passenger with the 302 V8 . I also saw a odd 68 Merc Park Lane with the wood trim you expected on a wagon. The big three tried to cover every niche market , too bad that I never saw a Tbird until someone came by the local Hockey rink with a new 1966 in Black with Black interior . I did catch a heating Oil Company employee that drove a new 65 Vette coupe in yellow with a black roof and black inside with the wood steering wheel , it was amazing and had a speedo that went to 160. What a decade it was .
Loved this video. Subbed. I thought a Detroit Locker diff came with the Drag Pack? Why did the car only lay rubber with the passenger side tire at 5:54?
My cyclone came with a posi always did 2 wheel burnouts , then casing split. After that single trac burn outs only . Yours might e broke , if it don't lay down a. Nice posi burn out, going straight . I couldn't find the right part to fix mine ended up with a locker and hate it. Car use to handle, now it dont
The 3.91 axle came with the friction plate Traction-Loc center section, while the 4.30 came with the DAPCO (Detroit Automotive Products Company) No-Spin "ratcheting" center section: the famous "Detroit Locker".
@@jamessacco4816: There is an aftermarket billet steel center case available for the rather weak original Traction-Loc case, which had a nasty tendency to split the ring gear mounting flange from the inner case half ... when the "hat" part didn't split between the clutch ear holes, that is. 😬
Actually this class or size of vehicle wasn’t looked upon as a family vehicle at that time. The full size such as Impala, Galaxie 500, Custom, Custom 500, LTD, Pontiac Parisienne (Canadian car) etc were family cars. The Cyclone, Montego, Fairlane,, Plymouth Satellite, Chevelle, Malibu, etc were classed as midsize. In 1973 I drove a ‘71 Ford Custom 500 302ci 2 door hardtop and came close to buying a used well actually very well used Cyclome GT with the 429 Cobra Jet. Also in red but with the black graphics. It could have been a fun car but it was in so rough condition I passed on it even though it was cheap. This car that you featured is a true one of a kind.
I was there! These car's could take a beating. A close friend had a red cyclone, just like this one. He didn't maintane anything ever & that Mercury just took it. Ford's & Merc's were built like Caterpilar's in that era. Almost that heavy too...
I remember when I was a kid and the Mercury dealership here in Weatherford had a Cyclone SCJ painted bright gree. At the same time, they had a Cougar painted the same color and it had a Boss 302. Those were beauties.
Bought one of these i in Sask. 1984, the 429 was gone, it was a base Cyclone, faded red, black bench, column automatic.Awesome body shape that looks even better up close in person than in pictures. I shipped it to Ontario & sold it, wonder where it is now....
We went to visit my wife’s aunt and uncle back in the early 80’s. There on their front porch lawn was one of these but with a 351. When I saw them again at a reunion, they told me they junked the car. I asked why, what was wrong with it, the told me, nothing, it was too big! I would have bought the car from them. Years later, her uncle bought a Class A motor home!
Scj was a engine designation.drag pakwas a seperate option.scj was solid lifter 4 bolt main and Holley 780 c.f.m.with exhaust headers.c.j.was hydraulic lifter Rochester spread bore carb and some were 4 bolt main some were 2 bolt main.
I got a ride in one in 71? I remember it was that brown-copper color.It had a shaker hoodscoop with a 4 speed.I dont know which 429 it had.I did go sideways very nice!
I noticed a lot of the body lines do not match up. It's a shame that Mercury didn't take a effort to make it better.. But on the other hand if this Cyclone was not meant to be driven on the streets... it is understandable... Still a very nice car.. I can remember seeing a cyclone in a junkyard back in the 70s that had the 429 engine. Not realizing what the car was worth then and what it can be now. Let me kick myself in the butt..
Great car; Do you people know that NHRA has completely eliminated Mercury from the stock and super stock programs !!! Cars like these cannot compete at NHRA events !!!
NHRA has been a "GM-oriented" organization for *DECADES* now. Just look at the "Pro Camaro" class. 😒🤨 Well, now you can run other manufacturers' "bodies" with the "Pro Camaro" engine. 🙄 NHRA lost me when the did away with the Modified Eliminator division (wasn't very happy with the way they screwed over the Pro Stock Truck guys, either).
The oil coiler is not a "Cobra Jet piece" but rather a part of the drag pack option. I've heard mention twice the term " 4 speed drag pack option," which is less than accurate. The only option that determined whether or not the car was to receive the drag pack option was the gear ratio. If you ordered 3:90 or 4:30 gears on a Ford with a CJ motor you had to buy the drag pack [ 150 dollars ], the type of transmission [ auto or 4 speed ] had no bearing on the drag pack, you could order either one. Great videos.
A good friend of mine since childhood bought a 1970 Cyclone GT w/429 when he came back from Vietnam in 1970. It was FAST and he kept it spotless, always waxed and detailed. PTSD, Booze and Drugs killed Junior in his early 30's and his wife sold the car. Who knows where that beautiful car is today?
For 1970 the 4:30 ratio was a Detroit Locker while the 3.91 was still a Traction Lok just like both of those ratios were in 1969. Those po' boy 442 body side mouldings look awful, should be just wheel lip.
If you just put racing fuel in those things and advance the timing the horsepower goes up like 100 HP. It is unbelievable how responsive they are to raise fuel and timing.... It makes them so much faster....
I just got finished looking at a 427 Cougar, and it had both a shock tower K-bar and a cross-hood bar. This car has neither. Why? And as for that 4:30 rear, give me a break. Screaming engine at 75 mph gets tired real fast.
That car needs a set of 15 inch magnum 500 wheels like the boss mustang had or the Mach 1 had . Beautiful car to give it taste and classic look. My brother had a 1971 black with Argent silver stripes mach 1 with magnums . The stance of the car look great. Back then cars had originality and looked different from each other
I owned one as well, it was very cool had a automatic would chirp 3rd gear. I noticed the gauges were missing as well. Those gauges kinda wrapped around, made you feel like you were in a cockpit. All I said was by to a 396 ss No disrespect but I got the 429 Torino as well I was a kid and had to learn to drive it. Did a 360 in the middle of a 2 lane curve. Yeah learned not to punch it on curves. A drunk ran a red light so it was totaled ,still looking at them good times
I had a gold 1970 GT auto on the column with black bucket seats, my dad made me trade it after 1 year because he thought it was going to kill me. Wish I still had it. That engine sounded awesome. I could floor that car at 30 mph and it would leave 2 black streaks 10 feet long.
Is the SCJ part of the super drag pack option? Both the Marti report and the window sticker show it as a CJ, not an SCJ. Not a Ford expert by any means…
A 70 429 SCJ Cyclone is one of my absolute favorite muscle cars ever made. Just a mean looking car with the gun sight grille. I'll take this car or a 68 Cougar GT-E 427 over any Mustang or Torino
*EXCEPT* there were *far* more Mercury Cyclones and Ford Torino Cobras built than the *extremely* rare 427 (early) and 428 CJ (later) 1968 7.0 Litre and XR-7 7.0 Litre GT-E Cougars.
Is this the same as the tornado? As also a front wheel drive car... (like the tornado.) ~ it just looks very similar. I am from the uk so don't beat on me ok!
