1969 Mercury Cyclone

Vehicle Overview

My Father purchased this car in December of 1968 at Downtown Lincoln-Mercury of Dallas Texas. It came equipped with the 428CJ, Ram Air, A/C and Traction Loc ( 3.00 gears and C6 automatic because of the A/C) Dad had the dealer replace the AM radio with AM/FM Stereo. I didn't see it until the following summer when he started dating my mom. But the 8 year old me was totally captivated with it. For several years it was the family car. I used to crawl back onto the back deck and look at the stars during long trips. We moved to rural Nebraska and it still wears the scars of those gravel roads. I was driving it to high school - right up to that first speeding ticket. And suddenly I was driving a 60 Beetle. I moved to other cars that I bought on my own and the Cyclone was stored and sat for decades on the farm. It was eventually gifted to me and in 2008 I was able to move it to where i live now. I made an attempt to drive it but the oil leak and consumption was so bad I elected to tow him after about 350 miles. After that, he had to wait until 2017 for me to begin the process of getting him back on the road. In September of 2018 my father and I took it for its first road trip, 533 miles to Mt Pocono, PA for the IMOA (International Mercury Owner's Association) national show. I even let him drive it on the way home! The car has been sitting far too long and the goal is to drive and enjoy it, making adjustments to promote driving enjoyment and not worrying about the body for now.. My son and I took it to the IMOA show in 2019 and when the show for 2020 was cancelled, my wife and I drove it to the Fairlane Club of America's National show in Springfield, MO. As long as I can remember He was called the "Orange Monster". I recently asked my dad if he remembered where the name came from and he told me that I came up with it as kid. I don't remember that but I'll run with it.

Vehicle Story

Future Plans

I hope to work on the seating to make it more comfortable for long drives. I'm torn between reupholstering the original seats and installing something more modern say from a new Mustang, gaining power, reclining, heat and cooling in the process. I have installed a modern Holley when I had problems getting the original to work well but I can see me stuffing an EFI system under the air cleaner someday.