Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II
Encyclopedia
The Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II was a car
produced by the Mercury Division of Ford Motor Company
during the first few weeks of 1969, only. The Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II was a special, more aerodynamic, version of the Mercury Cyclone
. It was produced, specifically, to make Mercury even more competitive in NASCAR
stock car racing, and it was sold to the public only because homologation
rules required a certain minimum number of cars (500 in 1969) be produced and made available for sale to the public. All production examples were constructed during the first few weeks of 1969.
The Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II was built in only two trim packages: The Cale Yarborough Special - a white car with red interior and exterior trim, and the Dan Gurney Special - a white car with blue interior and trim.
A largely equivalent vehicle was also produced under the Ford brand as the Ford Torino Talladega
.
The 1969 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II was based on the Mercury Cyclone "Sportsroof" (Ford's trade name for a fastback
) 2-door hardtop. To make the car more aerodynamic at high speeds, a sleeker front section was added. Regular production Mercury Cyclones had a then-fashionable inset grille and headlights, which fared poorly in the wind tunnel. The Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II had this nose replaced with one that extended the car's length by about six inches, with a flush-mounted grille from a Ford Cobra, identical to the grill used on the Ford Torino Talladega
giving it a much more aerodynamic front end. The close-fitting bumper was actually a rear bumper from a 1969 Ford Fairlane that had been cut, narrowed, V'ed in the center, and filled on the ends to create a crude air dam, further improving the aerodynamics of the car at high speeds. In a well kept, secret, design move, the rocker panels were reshaped and rolled to allow Mercury teams to run their racing cars about an inch closer to the ground while staying within NASCAR rules; this also greatly enhanced the top speed of the car by lowering its center of gravity, and further reducing its wind resistance. All production (homologation) models of the Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II were equipped with a 351 Windsor engine, automatic on the column, and front bench seat.
Racing versions of the car were initially fitted with the Ford FE 427 side oiler engine that had been Ford's main racing engine since 1963. Later in the season, the Ford Boss 429 engine was used by many of the teams, after it had finally been declared "offcially homologated" by NASCAR president, Bill France. Ironically the Boss 429 engine was actually homologated in the 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429
. In a very unusual move, Ford homologated the engine separately from the car in which it was to race. Many experts think this may have been done in order to get the bodywork of the Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II officially homologated at the beginning of the 1969 race season, as the Boss 429 was not yet in production in sufficient numbers to homologate it.
The Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II was very successful on the racing circuit: winning 8 Grand National races during the 1969 and 1970 NASCAR seasons - matching the total number of wins recorded by the 1970 Plymouth Superbird
. (Note: in 1970, NASCAR bumped its homologation requirements, which meant that Plymouth had to actually build nearly 2,000 Superbirds, rather than just 500; thus, Plymouth paid very dearly for the Superbird's 8 NASCAR wins in 1970, in order to take the 1970 NASCAR championship.)
One important footnote: 1969 was Ford's last year of factory involvement, and/or support, in racing of any kind for several years. Following Congressional hearings in which they were questioned about the R&D costs of racing vs. improving fuel economy and safety, Ford completely abandoned all of their racing programs, starting with the 1970 season. Subsequently, most of the NASCAR and ARCA race teams, running Mercurys, continued to run their 1969 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler IIs in 1970 without any factory support, when it became apparent that their Spoiler IIs were aerodynamically superior to the 1970 Mercurys that Ford intended to be their replacement. After the 1970 season, NASCAR effectively banned the "aero cars"
, by restricting all five of the limited aero "production" cars to having to compete with engines no larger than 305 cubic inches of displacement (vs. the 426, 427, & 429 inches that the other cars could run), and the competitive history of the Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II (and its fellow aerowarrior rivals) was essentially over.
Today, a Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II is a very collectible car. It was a special purpose built vehicle (some have even called it a "showroom race car") with a very strong racing history, that achieved great success during the Aero Wars. Those examples that still exist today, do so in very limited numbers. Ironically, for some reason their values have not risen nearly as high as the Mopar
"aero cars", in spite of their rarity and their great track successes during the pinnacle of stock car racing (the aero wars years). Some experts have assumed that this was due to the sheer outrageousness of the Dodge Charger Daytona and the Plymouth Superbird, with their huge rear wings; as the MOPAR winged cars' prices have eclipsed the far more subtle bodywork of the Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II. Regardless, most experts consider the Mercury Cyclone Spoiler IIs (and the Ford Torino Talladegas) to be very undervalued by comparison; but, in 1969 (and over the two years of the aerowars) Mercury's Cyclone Spoiler IIs and Ford's Talladegas owned the high banks of NASCAR and ARCA.
Until very recently (2010), very little had been written and documented about these rare cars; however, there is now a website that is dedicated to the Talladega and Spoiler cars produced by Ford and Mercury during 1969 as they fired powerful shots during the aerowars. For more information please go to http://www.talladegaspoilerregistry.com/ Also, according to rumor from many sources (a sample of which also appears on the Talladega/Spoiler Registry, and is quoted here), Ford's Mercury Division may not have actually built 500 Spoiler IIs.
"NASCAR mandated that at least 500 of these hand built extended nose cars had to be manufactured. According to some rumors Mercury built only 351 out of a reported 503 units. How could they have done this? As the story goes they built 351 extended “D” nosed cars; parked them in the front and on the edges of a parking lot; 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 just never looked closely enough at the cars in the rear! However, it must be known that the Marti Report states that 503 Spoiler IIs were manufactured."
The legend goes: When NASCAR indicated they would be coming to count cars, Mercury was way behind in production. As a last ditch, "What do we do now?" solution, someone mandated that 152 regular ("W" nose Mercury Cyclones) be painted up in Spoiler colors and trim. If you examine the handful of Mercury Spoilers (the "W" nose models), you will find that they represent quite a cross section of engine and interior options. Some are automatics, some are stick shifts, some are big blocks, some are small blocks, some have front bench seats, and some have front bucket seats. This gives a great deal of credibility to this particular rumor.
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
produced by the Mercury Division of Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
during the first few weeks of 1969, only. The Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II was a special, more aerodynamic, version of the Mercury Cyclone
Mercury Cyclone
The Mercury Cyclone was produced from 1964 to 1971, beginning as an option for the 1964 Mercury Comet, and continuing as a Mercury Comet Cyclone until 1968 when the Comet part of the name was dropped, and it became the Mercury Cyclone. After 1971 it became the "performance" model of Mercury Montego...
. It was produced, specifically, to make Mercury even more competitive in NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
stock car racing, and it was sold to the public only because homologation
Homologation
Homologation is a technical term, derived from the Greek homologeo for "to agree", which is generally used in English to signify the granting of approval by an official authority...
rules required a certain minimum number of cars (500 in 1969) be produced and made available for sale to the public. All production examples were constructed during the first few weeks of 1969.
The Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II was built in only two trim packages: The Cale Yarborough Special - a white car with red interior and exterior trim, and the Dan Gurney Special - a white car with blue interior and trim.
A largely equivalent vehicle was also produced under the Ford brand as the Ford Torino Talladega
Ford Torino Talladega
The Ford Torino Talladega was a car produced by the Ford Motor Company during the first few weeks of 1969, only. Ford's Talladega was actually named after the Talladega Superspeedway racetrack in Alabama, which also made its debut in 1969. The Ford Talladega was a special, more aerodynamic,...
.
The 1969 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II was based on the Mercury Cyclone "Sportsroof" (Ford's trade name for a fastback
Fastback
A fastback is a car body style whose roofline slopes continuously down at the back. The word can also designate the car itself. The style is seen on two-door coupés as well as four-door sedans.-History:...
) 2-door hardtop. To make the car more aerodynamic at high speeds, a sleeker front section was added. Regular production Mercury Cyclones had a then-fashionable inset grille and headlights, which fared poorly in the wind tunnel. The Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II had this nose replaced with one that extended the car's length by about six inches, with a flush-mounted grille from a Ford Cobra, identical to the grill used on the Ford Torino Talladega
Ford Torino Talladega
The Ford Torino Talladega was a car produced by the Ford Motor Company during the first few weeks of 1969, only. Ford's Talladega was actually named after the Talladega Superspeedway racetrack in Alabama, which also made its debut in 1969. The Ford Talladega was a special, more aerodynamic,...
giving it a much more aerodynamic front end. The close-fitting bumper was actually a rear bumper from a 1969 Ford Fairlane that had been cut, narrowed, V'ed in the center, and filled on the ends to create a crude air dam, further improving the aerodynamics of the car at high speeds. In a well kept, secret, design move, the rocker panels were reshaped and rolled to allow Mercury teams to run their racing cars about an inch closer to the ground while staying within NASCAR rules; this also greatly enhanced the top speed of the car by lowering its center of gravity, and further reducing its wind resistance. All production (homologation) models of the Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II were equipped with a 351 Windsor engine, automatic on the column, and front bench seat.
Racing versions of the car were initially fitted with the Ford FE 427 side oiler engine that had been Ford's main racing engine since 1963. Later in the season, the Ford Boss 429 engine was used by many of the teams, after it had finally been declared "offcially homologated" by NASCAR president, Bill France. Ironically the Boss 429 engine was actually homologated in the 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429
Ford Mustang
The Ford Mustang is an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company. It was initially based on the second generation North American Ford Falcon, a compact car. Introduced early on April 17, 1964, as a "1964½" model, the 1965 Mustang was the automaker's most successful launch since the Model A...
. In a very unusual move, Ford homologated the engine separately from the car in which it was to race. Many experts think this may have been done in order to get the bodywork of the Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II officially homologated at the beginning of the 1969 race season, as the Boss 429 was not yet in production in sufficient numbers to homologate it.
The Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II was very successful on the racing circuit: winning 8 Grand National races during the 1969 and 1970 NASCAR seasons - matching the total number of wins recorded by the 1970 Plymouth Superbird
Plymouth Superbird
The short-lived Plymouth Road Runner Superbird was a highly modified version of the Plymouth Road Runner with well known graphics and horn. It was the factory's follow up stock car racing design for the 1970 season to the Dodge Charger Daytona of 1969, and incorporated many engineering changes and...
. (Note: in 1970, NASCAR bumped its homologation requirements, which meant that Plymouth had to actually build nearly 2,000 Superbirds, rather than just 500; thus, Plymouth paid very dearly for the Superbird's 8 NASCAR wins in 1970, in order to take the 1970 NASCAR championship.)
One important footnote: 1969 was Ford's last year of factory involvement, and/or support, in racing of any kind for several years. Following Congressional hearings in which they were questioned about the R&D costs of racing vs. improving fuel economy and safety, Ford completely abandoned all of their racing programs, starting with the 1970 season. Subsequently, most of the NASCAR and ARCA race teams, running Mercurys, continued to run their 1969 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler IIs in 1970 without any factory support, when it became apparent that their Spoiler IIs were aerodynamically superior to the 1970 Mercurys that Ford intended to be their replacement. After the 1970 season, NASCAR effectively banned the "aero cars"
Aero Warriors
Aero Warriors is a nickname for four automobiles, also called aero-cars, developed specifically to race on the NASCAR circuit by Dodge, Plymouth, Ford and Mercury for the 1969 and 1970 racing seasons. The cars were based on production stock cars but had additional aerodynamic features.The first...
, by restricting all five of the limited aero "production" cars to having to compete with engines no larger than 305 cubic inches of displacement (vs. the 426, 427, & 429 inches that the other cars could run), and the competitive history of the Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II (and its fellow aerowarrior rivals) was essentially over.
Today, a Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II is a very collectible car. It was a special purpose built vehicle (some have even called it a "showroom race car") with a very strong racing history, that achieved great success during the Aero Wars. Those examples that still exist today, do so in very limited numbers. Ironically, for some reason their values have not risen nearly as high as the Mopar
Mopar
Mopar is the automobile parts and service arm of Chrysler Group LLC. The term was first used by Chrysler in the 1920s and has been in continuous use ever since. Mopar parts are original equipment manufactured parts for Chrysler vehicles...
"aero cars", in spite of their rarity and their great track successes during the pinnacle of stock car racing (the aero wars years). Some experts have assumed that this was due to the sheer outrageousness of the Dodge Charger Daytona and the Plymouth Superbird, with their huge rear wings; as the MOPAR winged cars' prices have eclipsed the far more subtle bodywork of the Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II. Regardless, most experts consider the Mercury Cyclone Spoiler IIs (and the Ford Torino Talladegas) to be very undervalued by comparison; but, in 1969 (and over the two years of the aerowars) Mercury's Cyclone Spoiler IIs and Ford's Talladegas owned the high banks of NASCAR and ARCA.
Until very recently (2010), very little had been written and documented about these rare cars; however, there is now a website that is dedicated to the Talladega and Spoiler cars produced by Ford and Mercury during 1969 as they fired powerful shots during the aerowars. For more information please go to http://www.talladegaspoilerregistry.com/ Also, according to rumor from many sources (a sample of which also appears on the Talladega/Spoiler Registry, and is quoted here), Ford's Mercury Division may not have actually built 500 Spoiler IIs.
"NASCAR mandated that at least 500 of these hand built extended nose cars had to be manufactured. According to some rumors Mercury built only 351 out of a reported 503 units. How could they have done this? As the story goes they built 351 extended “D” nosed cars; parked them in the front and on the edges of a parking lot; 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 just never looked closely enough at the cars in the rear! However, it must be known that the Marti Report states that 503 Spoiler IIs were manufactured."
The legend goes: When NASCAR indicated they would be coming to count cars, Mercury was way behind in production. As a last ditch, "What do we do now?" solution, someone mandated that 152 regular ("W" nose Mercury Cyclones) be painted up in Spoiler colors and trim. If you examine the handful of Mercury Spoilers (the "W" nose models), you will find that they represent quite a cross section of engine and interior options. Some are automatics, some are stick shifts, some are big blocks, some are small blocks, some have front bench seats, and some have front bucket seats. This gives a great deal of credibility to this particular rumor.
External links
- Talladega page at fordfairlane.com
- Aero Warriors site about the "aero cars"; concentrates on the Mopar cars, but includes much about the racing history of all the cars.
- FordFastback.com This site is dedicated to Ford fastbacks centering around Talladegas and Galaxies with comparative anatomy.
- What Really Happened During the Aerowars? This site is dedicated to the Aero Wars and what occurred during that time.
- Talladega and Spoiler Registry This site is dedicated to information about Talladegas and Spoilers