In the sunny rainy tropical suburbs of Tampa, this 1971 Mercury Cyclone GT sat in a garage undisturbed from the world since 1990. The car seems to have been well preserved as it has minimal wear, aside from a faded burgundy paint job, and it a appears to be rust free (which is rare as classic cars have been claimed to the humidity of Florida). What’s even crazier is that James was able to purchase this classic Ford beauty for only $1800.00.

The 1971 Cyclone saw minimum changes in both the looks department and power plant from the 1970 model. The 1971 Cyclone GT came standard with a two barrel carb, single exhaust, and a 351w rated at 250 horsepower. For those with a stronger thirst for power, other options included a Four barrel 351w with dual exhaust which produced 300 horses. The top dog is the legendary 429 Cobra Jet which was equipped with a 700 CFM Rochester Quadrajet Carb and produced 370 horsepower. Other options included racing stripes, ram air induction hoods, racing mirrors and of course the famous Cyclone rear spoiler.

Despite all of these performance options, the 1971 Mercury Cyclone sold rather poorly. Perhaps this was due to the lack of changes from 1971 year when other makes and models made several changes for ’71. Either way, lackluster sales may have kept the price low on the collector car market, but James got one hell of a deal grabbing this baby for only $1800, hopefully he treats her well. What’s the best musclecar bargain you’ve heard of?

The 1970 Cyclone was advertised as a “Streeter that looks like a racing car.” It sure looks every inch like one.