1967 Mercury 202 427 “Super Cyclone”

…it doesn’t look like much, does it?  A plain ol’ Mercury 2 door post sedan, bench seat, steel rims with “Dog Dish style Poverty Cap” wheelcovers.  Certainly nothing that would strike fear in any Muscle Car owner’s heart, that is until you faced one at a Traffic Light, and that’s when you find out that timid looking little sheep has the ravenous hunger of the fiercest of predators.  You just fell for the oldest, and in my opinion the most fun, trick in the book.  You have just fallen victim to “a sleeper!”

See, if Ford had trouble getting respect on the streets in the mid 1960’s, imagine how worse it was for Mercury.  It was even worse than just getting the respect.  Heck, it was just about ignored completely.  That all ended once the 1967 Mercury Comet 427 showed up.  A.K.A. “ The Super Cyclone.”

In 1966, Mercury division’s Comet finally broke free of the Ford Falcon based compact car platform it was tethered to for many years.  It was now sharing the mid-size chassis of the Ford Fairlane, and Cyclone versions were made available with Ford Motor Company’s 335 bhp, 390 Cubic Inch V8, but being even heavier than Ford’s Fairlane GT…they were like stones when it came down to performing.

In 1966, a couple dozen or so Fairlanes received what was billed as “The No-Excuses 427 V8”, but in 1967, that engine became a regular production option, which was so graciously extended to Mercury’s Comet model line-up.  So, taking advantage of this performance gift, as well as having an axe to grind, Mercury made it available in any two door Comet, Cyclone, Caliente, Capri Hardtop…and even the “bottom of the line” Comet 202 pillared coupe.  The 202 was a half foot shorter than the hardtops, and about 100 lbs lighter.  It wasn’t much to look at, some people even claimed it looked rather “dumpy”.  It had a Falcon-like roofline, plain paint scheme, bench seats, dog-dish hubcaps, no scoops, no stripes, no flair at all.  Just a discreet “427” fender emblem.  And if you were sitting at a traffic light looking to get your jollies by dusting off an old lady looking Mercury and weren’t sharp enough (or just plain didn’t pay attention), and didn’t SEE that emblem…your victory (and your evening) was about to get ruined. Haha…

The 427 cubic inch V8 was offered in two tasty, tire smoking flavors. With a 780-cfm Holley 4 barrel carb and 410 bhp, Mercury dubbed it “ Cyclone 427”. With DUAL 652-cfm Holley quads and “see you later sucker” 425 bhp, it was known as “Super Cyclone 427”.  Both Cyclones had 11.1:1 compression, and both only came with a 4 speed manual transmission.  As it should be.

So, how many of these “Wolves in Sheep’s clothing” were spawned?  The only gauge to work with is that just 200 or so 1967 Ford Fairlanes were ordered with the 427…and there were even fewer Comets. With the Super Cyclone powertrain, plus other goodies like a $47 add on Tachometer, $83 Wide-Oval , whitewall nylon tires, $84 power front disc brakes, a Comet 202 probably retailed for about $3,200. Coupled with the hottest big block V8 of the time, the lightest body available, and no frills (like a radio), the 1967 427 Mercury 202 Super Cyclone was Muscle Car to it’s most extreme.

Hope you weren’t racing for registrations...’cause…you walkin’ home!

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