For only one year, Mercury offered a Cyclone CJ in 1969. This car had all the markers of an incredible muscle car; it came with a huge 428 Cobra Jet engine, in a mid-size body. The massive engine breathed through a dual exhaust system, while this one is an automatic, there was a 4-speed manual transmission with 3.10:1 gearing option, and up to 4.30:1 rear gears. The 1969 Mercury Cyclone CJ was set loose on the public as a full-blown beast on the prowl.
As the CJ was just a sub-model of the Cyclone, the Cyclone was actually a sub-model of its own from the Montego family of cars. This meant the car had a 116” wheelbase, intermediate uni-body chassis, and shared many components with the Ford Torino. None of the components in the engine, transmission, rearend, suspension, and other driveline components were exclusive to the Mercury muscle car. This worked out perfectly for Cyclone owners since the availably of components was excellent.
Much like the Mustang counterpart, the CJ Mercury was the answer to the Plymouth Road Runner, and Dodge Super Bee; the trim was made for power junkies who didn’t mind a stripped down, track ready car.
What really made this a muscle car was under the hood of the Cyclone CJ, which also set it apart from any other run-of-the-mill Cyclone. The Ford 428 Cobra Jet engine is the heart and the soul of the Cyclone CJ. While it was advertised that the engine produce around 335-horsepower, like most cares of the time, it had more than the manufacturer let on, which was more like 400-horsepower for this CJ.
While now days, most cars could run away from it, but back it its day, it was one of the muscle car kings during its very short reign. This particular example is a 1:1 when you get down to the small little details and options that came with it.
Shawn Henry is a Texas native who has spent the majority of his career building and selling F-Bodies and Corvettes. Now studying journalism, he is taking a new direction with his love of performance vehicles.
