Rare Mercury Cyclone Spoiler was trapped in a basement for 40 years but is now back to its true beauty
- This Mercury Cyclone Spoiler was found in a basement
- The low-mileage vehicle is a rare example
- Now it’s been restored to its former glory
Published on May 19, 2025 at 1:16 AM (UTC+4)
by Claire Reid
Last updated on May 15, 2025 at 1:20 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
This super rare 1969 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler spent 40 years abandoned in a basement before being rescued.
The muscle car was introduced in 1964 and was initially known as the Mercury Comet Cyclone.
The ‘Comet’ was dropped in 1968, and the car became known as simply the Mercury Cyclone until it was retired in 1971.
In 1969, the Cyclone Spoiler package was introduced, and one of those examples ended up being stashed away in a basement for decades.
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All too often, we hear of classic cars being left abandoned, like this British-made Triumph Herald that was left to rot in a deserted house, or this haul of vintage cars that had been buried in someone’s backyard.
Fortunately, the story of this 1969 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler has a happy ending.
The car was recently showcased on Lou Costabile’s YouTube channel, where car restorer Everett Rutledge explained that the Cyclone Spoiler had been bought new by its previous owner before being parked and forgotten about in 1980.
Thankfully, the car was rescued from the basement by its new owner, a man called Steve Breedlove, in 2021.
He decided to get a full rotisserie restoration for the Mercury Cyclone Spoiler, and now it’s looking as good as it did the day it rolled off the production line back in the late 1960s.
The Cyclone has held onto its original 5.8-liter (351 cubic-inch) Windsor V8 engine, and it’s actually a super-rare example.
The Spoiler package was a relatively rare option for the Cyclone, with only 1,025 models in 1969.
Of those, there were just 349 with this car’s specific interior and exterior color combination, and only 131 of those were Dan Gurney special editions, like you see here.
It also comes with an AM radio, which makes it rarer again – one of only 114. Impressive, right?
And the car’s time off the road did have one benefit: the Cyclone is extremely low-mileage, despite its age.
All in all, it’s an absolute cracker of a car and a shining example of how a long-forgotten classic should be treated.
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Claire Reid is a journalist who hails from the UK but is now living in New Zealand. She began her career after graduating with a degree in Journalism from Liverpool John Moore’s University and has more than a decade of experience, writing for both local newspapers and national news sites. Claire covers a wide variety of topics, with a special focus on cars, technology, planes, cryptocurrency, and luxury.
