photos by: the author
Taking a Closer Look at a 428 CJ-Powered Mercury Cyclone CJ
Cyclones are inherently destructive, savage things. They can, and do, get into trouble and indeed cause a ton of trouble themselves. Kinda like this Mercury here. The CJ. Lots of people know about the Cyclone GT and the long nosed Spoiler II. Not so many know about the CJ. It was a one year only option in 1969 and it guaranteed a mill that would indeed cause much destruction and mayhem on the street and at the track.
While the Torino Cobra was getting all the press the ’69 Cyclone CJ (for Cobra Jet) was there being the prettier sister that could also go all Rhonda Rousey on your unsuspecting Mopar and GM–rears. And while the Cobra was Fords answer to the other “cheap and cheerful” knuckle dragger monsters from the competition, the Cyclone was a bit more. Under the hood was the 335-horse 428 Cobra Jet with dual exhaust, which according to the ads of the day, could be had with Ram Air (we find it interesting that Ford and Mercury chose to signify the addition of Ram Air with a VIN change to an R).
Behind that a close ratio four-speed, again standard, as well as an optional near bulletproof C6 transmission. This “upscale Cobra” also had a 3.50:1 9-inch rear axle as a standard feature with traction lok as an option. To further deepen the drag racing pot Mercury also made the 3.91 and 4.30 gear sets available. The final performance part that was standard was the handling package (it would need it with all that iron over the front wheels). It was also a bench seat car unless the optional buckets were ordered. If you wanted to spice it up you could also get a tach, racing mirror (but only one according to the ad!), as well as disc brakes and power steering.
Beyond the performance enhancements that were standard, the glut of options was pretty sweet, and basically held anything that you could get with a standard Montego, well, accept for a six popper. The one dent in the performance was the Whisper-Aire AC. It knocked back your axle choices to one: the 3.25, though it was available with traction lok as well. This was done to keep the AC compressor from falling on its sword at high RPM. But past that you had a wickedly (for the time) fast bit of upscale muscle for your driveway.
If you have one today you have a rather unusual piece and are part of a very small club. Just a scant 2,175 of these were built. So with attrition one can imagine how few are left to cause mayhem and destruction. Jim Wicks of Tulsa, Oklahoma is one such lucky dude because this is his Cyclone CJ. All of the “usual suspects” are there; the 428, the four-speed, the 3.50 rear gear. But that is where Jim’s car loses commonality with the others. While the CJ doesn’t have AC, it does have enough creature comforts to make one smile in satisfaction.
The 428 is not a “mere” Q Code it proudly wears the R VIN and the associated ram air components. It also has the power disc brakes and power steering that we have come to believe were “required options” on many of the Fords and Mercs of the era. In the spacious black all vinyl cab, there is a console and bucket seats, as well as the tach mentioned in the ads (go price one of those now-a-days)
Outside the car is as white as a refrigerator used to be but it in fact sports two racing mirrors. While this is only one of the cool cars in the mighty fleet of the man in charge of the Mid America Shelby Meet, we can imagine that Jim has gotten his share of enjoyment if not destruction out of the Cyclone CJ, one of Mercury’s mighty muscle cars from 1969.
Rick Seitz is the owner and founder of AutoCentric Media, the parent company to Timeless Muscle Magazine, and has a true love and passion for all vehicles. When he isn’t tuning, testing, or competing with the magazine’s current crop of project vehicles, he’s busy tinkering and planning the next round modifications for his own cars.
