Have you ever noticed how some cars have very beautiful parts but the entire car just doesn’t look that great? The front end is great but the roof or rear end is just stupid. Or, it could be the car is pretty but just lacks excitement. The 68/69 Mercury Cyclone and Torino are terrific cars but some parts of the cars are more attractive than others. For example, the rooflines and rear quarters are beautiful being simply an enlargement of the roof and rear fenders of the very popular 67/68 Ford Mustang Fastbacks.
1969 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II, check out the beautiful roof and rear quarters on the car.
These cars are a great design but, arguably, the fastback roof is the crown jewel of the entire car. Another example is the first version of the Buick Riviera from 1963 thru 1965. It was a very different design with some exciting lines and unique headlights but the roof was a little bland. Have you ever wondered how a less formal, more sporty roof would work on the car?
1963 Buick Riviera, note the rear quarter and particularly, the roofline. It just doesn’t seem to fit the rest of the smooth lines of the car.
Johnny Cash wasn’t the first to suggest mixing and matching car parts but he was the one to write a song about it. One Part at a Time tells us how he would do it? Sounds like a good idea but I am afraid the mixture of those parts from all different years didn’t turn out quite as well as he hoped.
But what if GM liked that Mercury fastback roof and fitted it to one of their cars? What if a 69 Mercury Cyclone and a 63 Riviera had a baby? We found one, check out this video and tell us what you think. This video is long but covers the build in detail and is interesting.
