When the 1966 - 1967 Mercury Cyclone GT entered the market , it was a unlike breed of Comet – and a dissimilar stock of performance - packed Cyclone . BecauseFordandMercurymodels were now so closely connect , a body modification at Ford always affected Mercury ’s side of the street , too .
Since its innovation in 1960,Mercury’sComet was always moderately big than the Ford Falcon on which it was based , though smaller than the intermediate Ford Fairlane introduced in 1962 . By 1966 , however , it was apparently decided that the expense of produce three different " lowly " body was n’t justify , so Ford Motor Company followed GM ’s lead by " cloning " its intermediate , moving the Comet up to share the newly redesigned Fairlane ’s 116 - column inch wheelbase .
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Four Comet subseries comprised the new lineup : budget - price ( and short ) 202 , plus a Capri , Caliente , and Cyclone , the last three stretch to 203 in in duration . Wheelbases measure 116 inches on all , up from 114 .
As in its anterior incarnation under the Comet Cyclone banner , the bigger ( maybe even adept ) new Mercury Cyclone came in just two body style – hardtop coupe and convertible – in either understructure or GT form .
The 1966 Mercury Cyclone GT had only one engine choice : a 335 - bhp , 390 - cid V-8 with four - barrelcarburetorand dual exhaust . speech sound intimate ? Fairlane GTs used the same engine . Mercury advert promised that their GT " delivers go that can shove you right on back into your bucket posterior . "
respite bring in an upgrade , but evidently the big modification was in the body . All Cyclones wore vertically stacked musculus quadriceps femoris headlamp adjourn into separate pear-shaped housings , dual pinstripes , and a twin - section grillwork .
Dramatic downhearted - body slipstream striping between the wheel openings , a checkered - sword lily front - fender insignia , and a pair of flat hood easy lay ( which chair nowhere ) were part of the 1966 Mercury Cyclone GT package .
Though like in shape to the veritable Comet / Cyclone grille , the GT edition had its own pattern of horizontal bars , plus a midget checkerboard section on one close . Two thin full - length stripes ran along the upper buffer telephone line . Not everyone realized it , but the GT ’s hood was made of fibreglass .
The 1966 Mercury Cyclone GT also include an railway locomotive wearing apparel - up outfit , 7.75 x 14 whitewalls on heavy - duty 5.5 - column inch roulette wheel , 3.25:1 axle ratio , and cabinet - mounted gearstick lever .
The heavy - dutysuspensionused a large - diam front stabilizer bar . pail derriere were upholstered with pleated vinyl radical , available in solid colors or two - tone mixtures . The driver faced a mutant - stylus two - speak steering wheel , a raise group of instruments , and smuggled matte dashboard .
Either a four - upper manual of arms or Sport Shift Merc - oxygen - Matic could supersede the standard three - speed . Sport Shift permitted manual dominance of 1 - 2 - 3 shift detail , or easy cruising in Drive range .
Since the loss of the Meteor after 1963 , Mercury had no mid - size model at all ; so the enlarged Comet - gain series appealed to a fresh set of customer . Mercury Cyclone GTs outsell regular cyclone by almost 2 - to - cubic decimetre , with 15,970 reaching the saleroom . Even so , the chintzy Comets scored higher , led by the low - budget 202 series with nearly 64,000 coming off the line .
See what happened with the 1967 Mercury Cyclone GT on the next page .
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1967 Mercury Cyclone GT
Little more than cosmetic change marked the 1967 Mercury Cyclone GT , which wore a single - segment , horizontal - measure grille with center insignia . tail lamp and rearward - end decorations also enjoy a freshening . railway locomotive modifications dropped the 390 - cid V-8 down to 320horsepower . The regular 289 - Criminal Investigation Command Cyclone V-8 stay on at 200 bhp .
Lower - body exchange deprive again aid identify the Mercury Cyclone GT , as did its Black person - out wicket . GT extras did n’t change much , including a twinned - scoop toughie , bright engine element , wide-eyed - Oval whitewalls , constrain suspension , and powerfront - disc pasture brake .
By 1967 , the Comet name was officially used only on basic 202 sedan . This was not a unspoiled year for Cyclone sales event – or for that matter , any Comet - derived models . GT production dropped sharp , down to only 3,797 in all and a simple 378 ragtops . Even fewer ordinary Cyclones left the plant .
After a strong start , Mercury ’s performance mid - sizing seemed to be faltering , ineffectual to catch hold like its Fairlane full cousin . Robert William Service as Pace Car for the 1966 Indy 500 ( with Benson Ford at the helm ) and an awarding fromSuper Stockmagazine as " performance railway car of the class " were n’t helping at the showroom . thwarted they had to be , but the folks at Mercury were n’t ready to quit just yet , as the next generation of intermediate would demonstrate .
See elaborated specification for the 1966 and 1967 Mercury Cyclone GT on the next page .
1966-1967 Mercury Cyclone GT Specifications
In the 1966 - 1967 Mercury Cyclone GT , a 390 V-8 was the criterion ( and only ) engine . Though production of the 1966 Mercury Cyclone reached nearly 16,000 , fewer than 4,000 1967 Mercury Cyclones were sold .
Specifications
Engine : ohv V-8 , 390 cid ( 4.05 x 3.78 ) , 335 bhp ( 1966 ) 320 bhp ( 1967 )
Transmissions:3 - upper manual ; 4 - focal ratio manual of arms and 3 - speed Sport Shift Merc - O - Matic optional
hiatus front : upper arms , swagger - stabilized lower arm , roll springs , anti - sway bar
Suspension rear : live axle , leaf springiness
Brakes : front / rear drums ( front discs optional in 1966 , standard in 1967 )
Wheelbase ( in.):116.0
weighting ( lbs.):3,075 - 3,595
Top speed ( mph):123
0 - 60 miles per hour ( sec):6.6
