Introduced for the 1960 model year, the Mercury Comet was initially (and confusingly) called just “the Comet”, though that wouldn’t be it’s only oddball name. In 1964 the “Comet Cyclone” was offered as a high-performance option on what was then a compact car, though in 1966 the Comet grew to be a mid-sized competitor.

Still with us? It wasn’t until 1968 that the Cyclone package was spun off into its own car entirely, and today these hard-to-find Mercurys make for a fun and affordable ride that stands out for being different. Cars in Barns came across a rusty ‘68 Cyclone that needs a lot of TLC, but the potential for a really sweet ride is still there.

This ‘68 fastback was plucked out of a field in Georgia last week, where it has probably been sitting for years, or perhaps even decades. It’s a fairly pedestrian model, equipped with a 302 V8 and an automatic transmission. But in 1968 a Cyclone GT came standard with a 390 cubic-inch V8 that offered up to 325 horsepower, at least by the old ratings.

The thing about these old Cyclones is that even well nicely restored, they don’t bring a whole lotta cheddar at auction. Recent examples have sold at Barrett-Jackson for around $25,000, and a proper restoration on this rusty Georgia wreck will cost $10,000 or more. Hopefully the new owner picked it up dirt cheap, because it’s going to take a whole lot of time and money to get this Mercury back on the road.