Ciprian Florea
7,286 ARTICLES
Personal motto:
"If you can make black marks on a straight from the time you turn out of a corner until the braking point of the next turn, then you have enough horsepower." - Mark Donohue
You'll never catch him drooling over the latest supercar but he could spend hours talking about why he loves 1940s windshield visors, Mopars, and Studebakers. Naturally, most of his stories are about barn finds and rare classics.
He can give you several reasons why speed and power are more about motorsport than silly street wandering, and Can-Am machinery tops his ridiculously fast all-time favorite car list. He claims he could die happy after a Rattlesnake Raceway ride in a Chaparral and a cup of coffee with Jim Hall on the other side of the table.
Before landing on these pages, Ciprian's work has been published on outlets like TopSpeed, AmericanMuscle, and ThisWeekInMotors.
1967 Dodge Charger Parked for Years Has an Unexpected Feature Inside the Cabin
9 Feb 2024, 22:13 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / The Dodge Charger is widely regarded as one of the most iconic muscle cars of the golden era, but we often forget that it debuted as a significantly different vehicle. Introduced for the 1966 model year, the original Charger was a two-door fastback...
One-Owner, Triple-Black 1970 Dodge Charger R/T Flaunts Mr. Norm's Heritage
9 Feb 2024, 15:08 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / With nearly 50,000 units built, the 1970 Dodge Charger is a bit rarer than its 1969 and 1971 siblings. However, it's still a relatively common classic. Unless you're looking for a HEMI version or specific option combinations. Of the 49...
The 1955 Studebaker Stiletto Is a Mysterious One-Off Rescued From a Junkyard
9 Feb 2024, 12:28 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Have you ever heard about the Studebaker Stiletto? You haven't? Well, that makes sense because the Stiletto is not really a Studebaker. This vehicle wasn't conceived in the company's South Bend plant, but it's a one-off project ...
Out of Storage After 40 Years, Peter Sellers' Custom 1977 Range Rover Needs a New Home
8 Feb 2024, 17:48 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Are you in the market for a vehicle for the zombie apocalypse? Well, you just found it! I'm kidding; this ugly-faced Range Rover wasn't designed to run over zombies. It was actually created for English actor Peter Sellers. And it needs a ...
1970 Plymouth Road Runner Parked for Decades Gets Unexpected Second Chance
8 Feb 2024, 14:43 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / As a classic car enthusiast, I get excited whenever I see old rigs being rescued out of barns and junkyards. But not all of them become restored gems. Some are too far gone relative to their values as Concours-ready vehicles and end up as parts car...
1970 Plymouth 'Cuda Has the Full Package: High-Impact Color, Big-Block V8, Shaker Hood
8 Feb 2024, 12:28 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Plymouth produced a handful of fantastic muscle cars during the golden era, but it doesn't get better than the third-generation Barracuda in my book. It's not quite as heavy as the Road Runner, it's a bit more compact, but it also lo...
1966 Dodge Dart Is an Unassuming Sleeper With a Big-Block Surprise
7 Feb 2024, 17:50 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 1959 as a replacement for the Coronet, the Dodge Dart spent its first two years on the market as a full-size rig. Dodge had a change of heart in 1962 and moved the nameplate into midsize territory. But that didn't last long eithe...
This 1972 Datsun 240Z Is an Amazing Survivor With a Rare Color Combo
7 Feb 2024, 15:37 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 1969, the Datsun 240Z (also known as the Nissan Fairlady) helped establish Japan as a country that produced more than economy vehicles. More importantly, it ignited the Z-Car lineage that spawned the equally iconic 300ZX, 370Z, and Ni...
This 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Is a COPO Clone With an Authentic ZL1 Under the Hood
6 Feb 2024, 21:25 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 1966 as a competitor for the successful Ford Mustang, the Chevrolet Camaro quickly morphed into a high-profile muscle car. And by 1970, it had already spawned a few limited-edition versions that are now highly sought-after and expensi...
1971 Plymouth Duster Flaunts Super-Rare Sunroof at the Dragstrip, but There's a Catch
6 Feb 2024, 15:45 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / The Plymouth Duster is not the first vehicle that comes to mind when talking about Mopars from the golden muscle car era. It's the Chargers, Super Bees, Road Runners, and Barracudas that pop into that conversation. But that's not to say t...
Perfectly Restored 1961 Dodge Dart Phoenix Is a Forgotten One-Year Gem
6 Feb 2024, 12:18 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / An iconic nameplate from the golden muscle car era and the early malaise period, the Dodge Dart is mainly remembered as a compact car. And that's not surprising given that it was sold as one from 1963 through 1976. But the Dart actually emerge...
Polo White 1954 Chevrolet Corvette Flaunts Early Blue Flame and Powerglide Combo
5 Feb 2024, 17:32 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / In production since 1953, the Chevrolet Corvette is one of the most iconic and longest-running automobile nameplates. And like most model lines that have been around for more than 70 years, the Corvette spawned quite a few spectacular iterations th...
1969 Ford Country Squire Rescued After 41 Years Hides a Big Surprise Under the Hood
5 Feb 2024, 14:52 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Station wagons are a thing of the past in the United States. SUVs have taken over this once-popular segment, and chances are this body style will never return. And this makes me think about the awesome grocery-getters we once had. The Ford Country ...
1970 Dodge Coronet Forgotten for 30 Years Comes Back to Life As Police Cruiser
1 Feb 2024, 20:12 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Initially introduced in 1949 as a full-size car, the Dodge Coronet was discontinued exactly ten years later. Dodge revived the nameplate in 1965 for a midsize vehicle. The fifth-generation Coronet was an instant hit and became the company's...
Solid 1975 Oldsmobile Cutlass Junkyard Find Begs for a Complete Restoration
31 Jan 2024, 16:03 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / One of the longest-surviving Oldsmobile nameplates, the Cutlass debuted in 1961. The original car was a Y-body compact that shared underpinnings with the Buick Special and Pontiac Tempest. In 1964, the vehicle was redesigned into a midsize and even...
Rare 1988 Porsche 924S SE Springs Back to Life After Years in a Barn
31 Jan 2024, 14:02 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Porsche is obviously synonymous with the 911. The sports car has been in continuous production for 60 years (as of 2024), and it has spawned a long list of great iterations. It's also one of the most successful racers ever made. But that'...
Rare but Rusty 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 302 Begs for a Second Chance
30 Jan 2024, 17:33 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / The 1969 model year brought a trio of fantastic Mustangs into showrooms. Ford introduced the Mach 1 as a performance-oriented option and launched a couple of limited-edition rigs for homologation purposes. I'm talking about the Boss twins. ...
This 1978 AMC Matador Barcelona Is a Forgotten Luxury Coupe With a NASCAR Link
30 Jan 2024, 16:23 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Established in 1954 following a merger between the Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and the Hudson Motor Car Company, American Motors Corporation (AMC) soldiered on 34 years until it was purchased by Chrysler in 1988. The AMC is labeled as a corporation...
1965 Ford Mustang K-Code Morphs Into One-of-None, All-Black Shelby GT350R
30 Jan 2024, 14:01 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / The first-generation Ford Mustang arrived in showrooms in 1964 with four different engines. The K-code 289-cubic-inch (4.7-liter) HiPo V8 was the most potent of the bunch at 271 horsepower. Ford did not offer a more powerful unit until the 390-cubi...
Rusty 1969 Dodge A100 Pickup Parked for 42 Years Wants To Haul Again
29 Jan 2024, 21:55 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / When talking about Dodge pickup trucks, we usually think about the long-running D-series (1960-1993) or the Ram nameplate that debuted in 1980. But Dodge also offered a forward control hauler based on the A100 compact van. The latter arrived in ...