1969 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler Cale Yarborough Special 428cj

Cale Yarborough Special

HEAR THIS CAR RUN, CLICK AUDIO

[AUDIO:428cjCale.mp3]

Only 41 Cale Yarborough Spoilers were built with the largest engine available, the legendary 428 CJ Ram Air! These cars were only built one model year, 1969. The car in our collection is a fully documented authentic car which is one of only 10 known to still exist (Registry Information).

In 1969 Mercury built only 617 Spoilers as tribute cars to Cale Yarborough. Their paint schemes were identical to his race car (just no sponsor decals or race numbers added). This 428 CJ Ram Air car came from the factory with the competition suspension, F70x14″ fiberglass belted white letter tires, blacked our grill, special paint scheme, functional hood scoop, bench seats, hood pins, styled steel wheels, AM radio, tachometer, power steering, and power disc brakes. The 428 CJ is listed in the specs as a 335 HP engine with 385 ft lb of torque. Most experts agree that the real HP was purposely listed very low for insurance purposes and the real output is likely well over 400 HP.

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This car is driven regularly and has been featured on Spike TV’s PowerBlock, Muscle Car TV, Mother’s Muscle Car TV and featured in Mustangs and Fords magazine, featured in Ford’s official Racing magazine Inside the Oval, as will as photographed for the book The Art of the Muscle Car by Motorbooks.

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PROVENANCE:

-Original Build sheet;

-Marti Report;

-Special Marti research report documenting the number of Cale Yarborough 428 CJ Ram Air cars at 41;

-Ford 999 Report;

-Mustang and Fords Magazine Editor’s Choice Bowling Green All Ford Show 2007;

Mustang and Fords Magazine 6 page Feature article, April 2008;

-Mustang and Fords Magazine Editor’s Feature February 2008;

–  Muscle Car TV; Featured Car 2007;

-PowerBlock TV 2007;

-Muscle Cars 2007 David Newhardt Motorbooks calendar; December car;

-Appeared in Good Guys Gazette in 2007;

-Forge Muscle Car Invitational November 2007;

-Muscle Car Enthusiast Magazine; Article picture Feb. 2008;

-ESPN2 Mother’s Car Show 2007;

-Numerous Ford memos and info sheets on Spoilers/Spoiler IIs;

-Feature in Mustangs and Fords magazine twice;

-Feature Car in Art of the Muscle Car Motorbooks, 2009;

-Autographed Cale Yarborough items.

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If you like Cale Yarborough and old school NASCAR you have to check out this link and video; our car is even it:

Who is Cale Yarborough? Click Here.

Because we have so many pages of information devoted to the Talladega and Spoiler II cars we have developed an entire site devoted to just these cars. In addition that site includes the first ONLINE REGISTRY FOR THE 1969 FORD TALLADEGA, 1969 MERCURY CYCLONE SPOILER AND SPOILER II, THE 1969 MERCURY CYCLONE COLOR CODE CARS PLUS THE 1968 MERCURY CYCLONE GT 500 CARS (simply click here). We encourage you to visit that site as well as use the Search feature on this site to find out more about these rare and desirable cars.

37 Comments

  1. That is a Cyclone GT … not a spoiler.

    See the Gurney Cyclone Spoiler … note the hand crafted nose and rocker panels.

    It would be the same on a Yarborough model.

  2. My bad … I thought it was listed as a Spoiler II.

    Don’t I look bad … well, hell , it’s almost 4 in the morning.

    Lemme go to bed and mind my own business.

  3. The number “617” . . . is that for ALL Cale Spoilers (Including the IIs)? Or is that for just W-nose Spoilers?

    Thanks,

    -j

  4. What other engines came in the 1969 Cale Yarborough Models with a 4 spd.

  5. In the 1969 CYS & DGS Cyclone Spoilers (W Nose), the standard engine was a 351 Windsor (290HP). Options were the 390 (320HP), & 428CJ (335HP).

    All Spoiler II’s or Nascar / D Nose cars came with the 351W and automatics.

  6. Richard my Marti Report reflects W nose Cale cars -1025 with cyclone spoiler 757 with paint trim codes, 1999 with this paint code i dont understand the 617 numbers you have or is that just the 428 cars?

  7. Chris, I am not sure what to tell you. My Marti Report on the Cale car has the same numbers as you provide. However, I have paid to have additional special research done and in that report the Marti folks state that 617 Cale Yarborough Specials were produced and only 41 of those had the 428 Ram Air engine. I do not know how to explain the missing 56 cars. What you have to remember is that there are a lot of folks who worked for Ford and/or NASCAR who claim that Ford played with the numbers a lot. They had to have 500 Spoiler II cars built to race them in NASCAR and that was a big challenge. The most common story is that when NASCAR Officials came to count Spoiler II cars they didn’t have enough so they mixed in some Spoilers that were painted just like the long nose cars but had the standard “W” nose. In a large parking lot full of cars who would walk by every one of them to veify the car was a Spoiler II. Did this even confuse Ford as to how many of each they built? We may never know what the exact numbers are but most experts accept what the Marti Report puts out. To further complicate things are the few cars they built with the same paint codes that were not Specials. I believe the 1025 number refers to ALL Spoilers and not just Cale cars; this would leave 56 Spoilers unaccounted for. How about it, anyone out there got a good explanation as to the discrepency in the Marti Report numbers for Spoilers and Spoiler IIs?

  8. Fellows, I have a 69 cyclone 428scj my dad bought new.
    it came from the factory the 428 scj-functional ram air,external oil cooler, 391 locker,c-6, light ivy gold exterior,light green interior, blacked out hood scoope, matching black stripes,
    bucket seats and console, fender decals read cj428, rear quarter decale reads cyclone cj, passenger side dash emblem reads cyclone qt. I am getting ready to restore this car and was wondering if you had any numbers on this one ?? In time I am going to get a marti report but for now i would like to see some numbers. ser#9h16r602650
    thanks,
    Randy

  9. Randy, great car! Don’t wait, do the Marti Report prior to starting the restoration. They are not that expensive and they will help make sure you do the right things during the restoration. From the VIN you supplied it appears all is correct but you need to use the data plate to get the rest of the info and that is where the Marti Report is invaluable. Good luck and keep us posted on your restoration.

  10. I, too, have a 1969 Cyclone Cale Yarborough Special with a 428SCJ, 4-speed, white and red in color. My Marti report says 1,999 with this paint code, 108 with this Engine/Transmission code. It also has red interior. I know that they are rare cars, I guess my question is, which numbers are correct to believe? Thanks in advance

  11. Bill, I will not pretend to be the “know all” about Cyclones, Cale cars or anything else. There are folks out there that know far more than I do but let me help if I can. First, the 1,999 with this color combination is that same as my Marti Report. I am assuming that this includes the long nose Spoiler II cars as well as some regular Cyclones that also received the two tone red and white paint treatment. This explains how there are more similar paint codes than Cale Yarborough Spoilers. Second, 108 with engine/transmission code refers to 428 and 4-speed. There were more 428s built; those had automatics. Plus there were 4-speed and automatic 428 Ram Air cars that are not included in the 108. According to the Marti Report there were 617 Cale Yarborough Spoilers built in total. If you like you can go back to the folks at Marti and pay them additional research fees and they will be able to tell you how many of those Yarborough Spoilers had what engine and transmission combinations. You know that 108 had a 428 4-speed; I know that there were 41 with 428 Ram Air of which 22 had an automatic. That means that 19 428 Ram Air cars had a 4-speed. If we all share our information may be someday we will have all the numbers. Thanks for asking.

  12. Say I found one behind a house….1969 351 w/ 4spd
    Scale of 1-10(1 being the worst) I would give this car a solid 5.

    What would be a fair offer to make to the owner??

  13. I like to collect Marti info and I can tell you that I have a number from Spoilers and/or supposed Spoilers and they all say different things. For example, as mentioned above, there’s a note about over 1000 being produced in a certain color combo, but that’s a lot more than the 617 Spoilers being quoted.

    Additionally, the number of CJs is dependent on whether they’re Q- or R-code, and that number may be a generality or it may apply only to Spoilers – it depends on what kind of Marti one has received. I previously thought that Spoilers were based on base Cyclones, but this past weekend I saw a Cyclone CJ with the Spoiler color scheme, so it’s even more confusing at this point!

  14. I find the Marti Reports to be accurate but there are some apparent conflicts at times. However, remember that the Spoilers are easy to clone. There were also Cyclones done with the same color schemes as an option but were not Spoilers. The Spoiler IIs are a different subject and are much more difficult if not nearly impossible to accurately clone. As for the number of CJs you are also correct on the Q code and R code but in the Marti Reports you also have to be careful on which transmission was mated to the 428cj to get accurate numbers. It gets back to the old “one of one” game with how far you carry the combination. I saw one car for sale and advertised as “one of one”; it was the only such and such and such with wheel covers! On top of that it was being sold with custom rims and not wheel covers!

  15. Hey guys , i found this info today,

    Interestingly the marti i have from my 2 cars being w nose cale cars with 351W Auto, differ in the statistics section on the last line :

    New Marti Says “1528 with Cyclone Spoiler” Older Marti Says “1025 with Cyclone Spoiler” Now why would 2 cyclone spoiler cars have different stats and the difference of 503 ??

    Update:
    Just so everyone knows , i questioned Marti on the Stats # that i mentioned in my previous post, he was kind enough to reply , here is what he said.

    “Chris,
    The discrepancy is an issue of interpretation. We, periodically review how to present statistics. In this case, the following is at issue:

    There were 503 Spoiler IIs built. There were 1,025 Spoilers built. Therefore, there were 1,528 total Spoilers built. Your earlier report just included the “W” nose Spoilers, the latter report included all Spoilers.”

    So for the numbers people out there in plain speak:
    Spoiler II ( long nose)= 503
    “W” nose = 1025
    Total = 1528 spoilers

  16. back in the 70`s I saw one in a garage on Lincolnway here in town,guess it was used a lot,but dumpy garage…..LOL never saw it again!….house gone and Dairy Queen is on the property……also found 3 cars in a Garage in town ,dusty dirty but good shape.1 Mustang 2+2;Corvair Monza turbo and Dart gts……that was 20 years ago,who knows if they are still there,no windows on garage,just on back door,on property.Told guy was renting Garage for storage.

  17. Cale Yarborough Special ,were any made in 69 or 70?….the one I remember in In.,had a big sticker down the sides that said Cale Yarborough Special.(large Letters).Special one or did owner put it on there?

  18. Tom,
    The Cale Yarborough Special was only made in 1969 and had smaller lettering on the sides like you see in the photos. If they were larger, probably something an early owner added.

  19. I have a 69 cyclone 428 CJ vin. 9H15R502874.This car is red with white strips,red interior and has Cale Yarborough Special Decal on the front fenders. This car has been in the family since 1974. My brother bought this car off of the original owner and the original owner said the decals were factory. Can you tell me if there was any Cale Yarborough Specials that were soild red?

  20. Tim, there were no red Spoilers. Your VIN is a considerably lower number than any recorded Spoiler. I suggest you do three things. First, go to the driver’s side door and look at the data plate and copy the numbers and send them to me in an email. Second, I recommend you get a Marti Report completed for your car. This is the ultimate poof to most folks. You can find them at http://www.martiauto.com Third, you should visit our other site http://www.TalladegaSpoilerRegistry.com and read all you can find on the Spoiler cars there. There is also info on that site that will tell you how to read your Data Plate and where to find it and what it looks like. Sounds like a neat car and I would like to see photos of it and learn some more about it.

  21. WOW, WITH THE WOOD BROTHERS IN VICTORY CIRCLE AGAIN WITH A #21 CAR. THIS TIME WITH TREVOR BAYNE AT THE WHEEL.
    I KNOW NO ONE CARES BUT THE ONLY OTHER DAYTONA 500 I ATTENDED WAS IN 1968 WHEN OLE CALE STORMED TO VICTORY IN THEIR ’68 MERCURY CYCLONE. IN FACT MERCURY CYCLONES CAME IN 1st,2nd, 4th AND 5th.

    THE CYCLONE WAS CHOSEN OVER THE FORD FAIRMONT BECAUSE A MORE AERODYNAMIC GRILL. THUS STARTING THE BATTLE OF THE FRONT ENDS FOR ALL MANUFACTURERS. THERE YA GO, A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY FER YA…

  22. I asked you a question on Feb 21,11. I got the numbers off of my car. Here is what I have, Body type 63A, Color T, Trim 8D, Date 23H, DSO 32, Axle S, Trans U. The vin # Is 9H15R502874. Thank You!

  23. Tim, Your Data Plate comes back as a very early build car with Red paint, Red interior 428 Ram Air, DSO of Cincinnati, 3.50 posi gear and C6 transmission. Your car was built on August 23rd of 68 and no Spoilers were built until after January 1, 1969. I have to believe the decals were added by the dealer or some owner after the fact. You might want to get a Marti Report just to confirm that this wasn’t some strange factory combination but I have never heard of such a thing and the numbers don’t suggest it. Very rare car just the same. It has to be one of the earliest 428 ram air Cyclones built in the 69 model year. Send some photos!

  24. WHAT IS THE VALUE OF A 69 CALE YARBOROUGH W NOSE 351W AUTO IN GOOD DRIVER CONDITION. ORIGINAL INTERIOR IN GOOD CONDITION,JUST LITTLE FADED.PAINT IS OK NOT GREAT.UNDER HOOD JUST STOCK NO RESTO.NO RUST .45,000 ORIGINAL MILES.NOT A CLONE.JUST A BALL PARK VALUE WILL DO.MY DAD JUST TRADED FOR IT AND IS CURIOUS OF THE VALUE.
    THANKS…

  25. Jessie, you need to go over to our sister site http://www.TalladegaSpoilerRegistry.com and Register the car today! There is no cost and lots of info and photos. If you want to join the Team Member group you get access to more page and information including the Price Tracker page for Talladega and Spoiler/Spoiler II cars. It reports information on recent sales, auctions and advertised cars. There is absolutely no way to put a price on the car from long distance with no photos or detailed info. It is safe to say the car is most likely in the $12,000 to $24,000 range. I know that is a big range but like I said without more info… 428 cars will bring more money as will ones with air or 4-speed. Make sure it is a real Cale and not a Color Code car, check the numbers and dates etc.

  26. Just came across a yarbourough cyclone w/ 429 & 4 on the floor. Car is rough but complete. Would like to get idea of value. Anyone?

  27. Hi guys, I just happened to come across this site and thought I would add to it with my personal sob story. I used to own a 69 W nose 351 Windsor, red interior and the classic red over white body with red stripes and the hood locks and black scoop. I bought it used while in the military after I returned from ‘Nam in ’72. I drove the heck out of it then finally let it go for $300.00 to a neighbor in ’79. I had no idea of the value and every time I think about it I want to kick my own butt. I really loved the car but couldn’t afford to fix it back up. 🙁 Now I really wish I could find one to re-ignite my youthful days. The last time I saw the car it had been smashed and was on a flatbed going to the scrapyard!

  28. Gentlemen,
    I just sold my 69 428CJ R code I had it for 9 years. I just found another one that is painted like a Cale but has not paint code on the door tag. it is also an R code with a W nose.
    my question is for those of you who have one is your paint code blank on your door tag? Did they make some with this paint code, Red over white, that wasnt a Cale Speical?
    thanks
    Roger

  29. Richard thanks great read. i had heard of these cars before but not called color code cars. I had heard they were built to see the desireablitly of the paint scheme.
    this was nothing official just scuttlebut from other Cyclone owners.
    What do you think the collector value is on the color code cars? Do you feel they are as or less desireable than the Spoilers. I do love the fact that the one i am looking at is an R code. after owning one i dont think i could go to anything else.
    thanks again
    Roger

  30. Roger, there are so few of these known to exist it is impossible to put a value on them. However, the same is true with the Spoiler but more is known. I would say most people would prefer to have the Spoiler but the 428 CJ trumps a regular Spoiler. The fact that most Color Code cars seem to be 428 CJ cars I think their value is about the same as a Spoiler. If you have the VIN for the one you are looking at PLEASE pass it along to me. We do not know the total production number or all the VINs. Everyone we record helps us to that end. If you can include the dirver’s door data plate info. You can register it yourself on our Registery at no cost or simply send me an email with the info and I will take care of it. Pictures would also be fantastic. rfleener@comcast.net

  31. I traded a fairly plain 69 Cyclone 351 4V to a GM dealer in 1975. Is there any way to find out where it ended up?

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