1969 Cyclone 390GT / Cale Yarborough "Special Paint" / Numbers-Matching

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. The car now sports 17" aftermarket wheels with radial tires for a cool modern Nascar twist.

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.