Starting off as an option for the 1964 Mercury Comet, only to then quickly become Mercury’s muscle car representation in racing, the Mercury Cyclone dominated the race track. Originally gaining the interest of drag racers, by its forth generation it was one of the most dominant body style ever used in Winston Cup racing and paved the way for the “Aero Warriors.”
With most of the low production number cars being snatched up by NASCAR, not very many have survived. Cyclones are a rare site even at car shows, where you’d expect to see these unique pieces of Mercury history, and more often than not mistaken for the more heavily produced Torino.
At the Holley Hot Rod Reunion, Ray with Holley Performance recently had the pleasure of meeting Dan Rockwell, the owner of a very well taken care of red Cyclone. Rockwell caught the hot rodding bug when he was 16 and got into racing at an early age.
With the fastest car he has owned being a 396 powered 1966 SS Chevelle, he is no stranger to the car scene. However, Ford muscle cars are more of his speed, and when he got the chance at owning this rare Cyclone, he jumped at it.
The very well maintained 1968 Cyclone started off as a 302 cubic-inch 4-barrel powered, 4 speed, bucket seat optioned car. Now a World Products 427 Stroker with takes the 302’s place, making 576-horsepower and 575 lbs/ft. of torque in a small block package. Putting all that power to the ground is a Strange rear end.
The 10:1 compression ratio, combined with the square power band makes for a well behaved street car, until you don’t want it to be, that normally gets driven to and from shows. With the shiny red paint and clean black interior, this rare Cyclone certainly is a site to see.
Elizabeth is hardcore horsepower enthusiast with unmatched intensity for making things faster and louder. She wakes up for power and performance and only sleeps to charge up for the next project that’s heading to the track. From autocross to drag racing, Elizabeth is there with you, so stay tuned for her unique perspective on horsepower news, builds, tech info, and installs — with her, it’ll never be boring!
