The '56 Chevy in winter of '79-'80, hooking up hard with the built 400 c.i. on a cold
winter day. Running 2.02 double hump heads with water passages, flat pistons,
Offenhauser Dual-Port manifold, aluminum flywheel, aluminum T-10 with Competition Plus
Hurst shifter, 4.11 gears, really important traction bars with tall snubbers, and
other cool stuff. Paint and interior less than 4 months old. I bought this
just before my 17th birthday and had it finished 9 months later. Sold it 12 years
after that. When I got her the '56 had a smashed front, a caved in door, a
broken driver's window, black GTO bucket seats, a trailer hitch (?!) and a big hole cut in
the floor for the 4 speed. Total investment approximately $3170. Color photos
soon!
1954 Cadillac Eureka hearse, picking up bodies at the high school, winter '79-'80.
Maximum capacity approximately 22 teenagers. This car is now sitting in a
local junkyard, in red primer, hood drilled for pins and lanyards, back glass and side
glass broke out, still on the same tires donated by my mom's '76 Delta 88. Paid
$375, sold for $650!
Summer 1982, '70 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler with Drag Pack. Front and rear spoilers
removed, Dark blue metallic paint over original Grabber Blue. Bad ass 429 SCJ with
remote oil cooler, etc. Headers, traction bars, G50's on the back and way under 10
mpg, Only 52,000 miles. Ran 13.8 at 105 on street tires in August. Bought for
$2500 from a guy who traded a Jeep for it, thought his sons could drive it but the eldest
got like three tickets in a week (The legend is that a mechanic from
California had it before, held a class record at the old Orange County dragstrip
with it....needed something to get to work in the snow when he moved to South Dakota) This
is what I drove to work! Was I freakin' insane? The '56 Chevy was my
"nice" car, and this was daily transportation. Yeehah!!
All good things come to an end...stolen in October from a locked garage, recovered
about 5 days later. The asshole who stole it is named Loren Jorgensen and used to
drive a truck....now has multiple DUI's. The little freak wasn't strong enough at
the time to handle the power steering gears in the manual box, so he backed into the wall
behind the car when he stole it and bent the filler panel.. Note missing centercaps,
punched out trunk lock, amateur attempt to remove steering wheel, front bumper damage, mus
on pedals. Bottomed it out on a fire trail or something, and flattened the header
collectors. Stole the air cleaner. Swapped out the battery and mangled the battery
clamps. Never did get back my tools that he apparently dumped out of the box on the
trunk lid to sort through. Got the paint chips though. I'm still pissed off.
Sold it to a cowboy later on, he sold it in about 96/97, it was restored to
original, and someone trailered it to South Carolina or Minnesota (conflicting
stories).....so the legend goes.
Super sweet '69 Camaro Coupe. Early in the production run with a 327, a TH350,
Deluxe interior and exterior trim. Stock except for Cragar SS's, Window tint, dealer
added vinyl top, and stereo.
1970 Cutlass S 2 dr sedan with a 330 HP 350 and A/C. Rust free car I bought in
the California desert for $400. Slapped on the wheels, steam cleaned the engine, and
painted it. Didn't need any body work. This is the hot rod that took Mikayla
to the babysitter for the first 18 months of her life.
Early twenties, tending bar for a living, got a TransAm! 1981 Turbo 301 V-8, WS-6
Suspension Pkg, White with blue cloth interior. I got pulled over for 112 in a
65. Thank you, officer, for your leniency on that one.
Talk about rare! I was selling Buicks from 1986 to 1989, and wanted a Grand
National bad, but we sold them so much over sticker I couldn't justify it. Finally
came close to my dream with this 1984 Buick Regal Grand National. Turbo 3.8 SFI, but
alas no intercooler. Had the Lear Siegler bucket seats, with charcoal leather
inserts surrounded by gray cloth, and the embroidered patches just like the more common
87's. (The Lear Siegler option was listed for 87's but I never, ever, saw that they
actually built one with it.)
1968 Camaro SS coming soon!
Lousy picture, GREAT car. This is what I drove to work after selling the '70
Cutlass. Bone stock and well worn 1968 Camaro RS/SS. 295 HP 350, TH 350 (or
was it a powerglide?), Dog dish hubcaps, missing the trim rings, but those oh so cool
stacks on the hood. I was the third owner, it originally came from Oregon and had
been used as a commuter car for 20 years. She had a whopping 265,000 miles on her
when sold. Never had more fun than blowing off some kid in a Mazda turbo.
Cops hated this car, but it is in my top three all-time favorites. Sold it in
Pomona, and the guy drove it to Phoenix.
MORE UPCOMING FEATURES
1964 Chrysler 300 Convertible
1965 Jaguar E-Type
1966 Mustang
1971 Cyclone Spoiler 429
1978 Full Custom El Camino
72 and 73 Jaguar XJ-6's
1974 Toyota HiLux (metallic black, smoothed and shaved, side pipes, and crushed velvet
interior. Way ahead of the times for 1977!
If it's 1970 to 1971 Cyclone's you want, here is where they will be. Photo
contributions are appreciated.
More Cyclones.
I like to be different. I live 25 miles from Sturgis and my bike was a Triumph
Bonnie Chopper, not a HD. I once owned a Cordoba with a factory six cylinder (OK,
not proud of that). My '56 Chevy was cool because everyone was into 57's and 55's
(I always knew the '56 had the best two tone paint scheme and the prettiest fender
lines and wheel openings). Anyway, here are the top reasons that Cyclones are the
neatest car of the waning muscle car era:
10. Cyclones are so rare even motorheads don't know what they are.
9. Their obscurity make parts really cheap or really expensive, depending on the
seller.
8. When they are sitting low and stock, the side profile is awesome. All
cars are art and this is some of the best.
7. No muscle car ever had a cooler gauge package.
6. There is more room in the backseat then in a Chevelle/Cutlass or pony car.
Lots of trunk space too.
5. The history of the front end styling involves Iaccoa (then at Ford) stealing
the top designer away from Pontiac. The front end styling is loved or hated now,
just as it was by Ford executives back then.
4. No matter what the condition of your car, it will probably be the best Cyclone
at the show. Let the dozen red Chevelles fight for parking space and attention.
3. 1:30 in the morning, something roars up behind you and you hear the revs climb
and see the lamps dip as the driver drops down a gear. Distinctive center grille
lights make it look like something Darth Vader would be driving. The moan of a big 4
barrel, and a banshee wail of a big block at 5500 rpm. You look in the rearview, and
it's too late. The monster machine is going around, squatting down with those
wild-ass lamps lifting towards the sky. "Holy crap, what the hell was
that?" you think, as the glow of the recessed taillamps becomes less distinct in
front of you.... No muscle car looks cooler at night than a Cyclone. Screw the four
cylinder disposables and their blue neon.
2. Super low production. Unfortunately, this means the value will someday
skyrocket. In the meantime, isn't it cool to know that the '71 Spoiler, with only
353 produced, is probably more rare than any regular production muscle car? I've
only seen one Charger 500 (a silver one, way back in 1980) with the flush headlights and
back glass, and I saw a red one on a poster. I've seen a lot of Daytonas and
Superbirds. I guy up the road has a one-of-many-built Mustang KR 500. 1969
Trans Ams are here and there. Cyclones are the rarest and thus the coolest.
1. They HAUL ASS.
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