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.
1971 Ford Mustang Mach 1 Survivor Flexes a Rare Performance Option We All Love
9 Aug 2023, 16:51 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Like many muscle cars from the golden era, the Ford Mustang lost its range-topping engine at the end of the 1971 model year. I'm talking about the 429-cubic-inch (7.0-liter) Cobra Jet and Super Cobra Jet mills, which reached the end of the lin...
Forgotten Classic Car Collection Comes Out of the Barn, Includes Rare British Gems
9 Aug 2023, 12:52 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Seeing a classic car emerge from a barn after decades is awesome, regardless of the nameplate. But things become even better when the building hides several rare and desirable automobiles. One such stash was recently discovered in the United Kingdo...
Unrestored 1971 Dodge Challenger R/T Flexes Original Citron Yella Paint, Big-Block V8
8 Aug 2023, 16:44 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / If you've been following me on these pages, you probably already know I have a thing for classic Mopars. My affinity for Dodges and Plymouths goes beyond the muscle car era, but the third-gen Barracuda and the first-gen Challenger rank high on...
Million-Dollar 1931 Duesenberg Found After 55 Years Is Ready for Its First Public Display
8 Aug 2023, 14:55 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / In late 2022, Doug Pray of the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Company was called to rescue a Duesenberg that had been in storage for 55 years. The car turned out to be a rare 1931 Model J worth millions of dollars. The classic was also in good condition, a...
1971 Chevrolet Chevelle Heavy Chevy Is a Junkyard Gem With a Super Rare Package
8 Aug 2023, 11:59 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 1963 as a competitor for the downsized Ford Fairlane, the Chevelle quickly became the jack-of-all-trades of the Chevrolet lineup. For starters, it was available in a plethora of body styles. Chevy offered two four-door versions, three...
This 1965 Chrysler Valiant Signet Is a Rare Canadian Gem in Stunning Condition
7 Aug 2023, 15:35 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / In 1950, Nash introduced the Rambler and created a brand-new segment of compact cars. It was soon joined by the Kaiser Henry J, Willys Aero, and the Hudson Jet. Moderately successful at first, the Rambler gained traction during the recession of 195...
This 1943 GMC CCKW Survivor Was Used To Refuel B-17 Bombers in WW2, It Still Runs
7 Aug 2023, 12:48 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / The Willys MB may be the most iconic light military vehicle, but when it comes to heavy-duty trucks, the GMC CCKW takes the spotlight. Also known as the G-508 or "Jimmy," the CCKW was built from 1941 to 1945 and saw heavy service with the...
Very Rare 1954 Bristol 403 Emerges After 51 Years in Storage
7 Aug 2023, 10:30 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / When discussing iconic British carmakers, we usually think about Jaguar, Aston Martin, Bentley, and Rolls-Royce. There's also Land Rover when it comes to off-road capable SUVs. But there are quite a few once-great marques that we rarely mentio...
1974 Dodge DayStar Motorhome Is a Rare but Sad Sight
4 Aug 2023, 14:44 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / When talking about recreational vehicles from the 1970s, we usually think about companies like Airstream, Winnebago, Shasta, and GMC. That's because these brands built motorhomes and trailers that are still very desirable today. However, the R...
Big Warehouse Opens Up To Reveal Stash of Rare Classic Cars, V12 Lincoln Included
4 Aug 2023, 12:20 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / We usually look for rare classics at car shows because that's where the nicely restored rigs are usually paraded. However, many hide in barns and warehouses, still waiting for their opportunity to shine. If you like your rare classics a bit du...
1971 Dodge Super Bee Has the Full Package: Rare, Unrestored, Numbers-Matching
3 Aug 2023, 20:21 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 1968, the Dodge Super Bee was the company's low-priced muscle car. The brand's alternative to the Plymouth Road Runner, the Super Bee was based on the Coronet from 1968 to 1970. In 1971, its final year on the market, the aff...
1967 Ford Fairlane With 2,500-HP Coyote V8 Is a 7-Second, Road-Legal Monster
3 Aug 2023, 13:07 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Converting production cars to drag strip duty has been a thing ever since World War II veterans began racing hot rods at decommissioned aircraft bases in the 1940s. Come 2023, and it's still happening, and some rigs are downright impressive. T...
This 1969 AMC SC/Rambler Is a Rare Muscle Car With Bad News Under the Hood
2 Aug 2023, 14:40 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Founded in 1954 following a merger between Nash-Kelvinator and Hudson Motor Car Company, American Motors Corporation (AMC) became the country's fourth-larger carmaker. Purchased by Chrysler in 1988, AMC didn't manage to keep up with the B...
1951 Chevrolet Deluxe Barn Find Gets First Wash in 30 Years, Shows Beautiful Patina
2 Aug 2023, 12:45 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 1955, the Tri-Five is so beautiful and iconic that it overshadows every single Chevrolet produced until then. Sure, there's also the fact that Chevy did not offer a V8 like Ford did since 1932. But the truth is Chevrolet built se...
1955 Chevrolet Bel Air Pampered for 68 Years Is Amazingly Original
1 Aug 2023, 13:19 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Built in almost five million units over only three model years, the Chevrolet Tri-Five is anything but rare. However, it's a highly desirable classic that commands a lot of cash nowadays, especially in Bel Air trim. Sure, the Bel Air isn�...
White 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T Is a Rare and Stunning Tribute to "Vanishing Point"
1 Aug 2023, 11:55 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / The 1970 Dodge Challenger is arguably one of the most iconic Mopars ever made. But did you know it's also a prominent movie car? Sure, it's not quite as celebrated as the 1968 Ford Mustang from "Bullitt" or the 1977 Pontiac Tran...
This Bermuda Green 1954 Chevrolet Corvette Is a One-Off Prototype Worth a Fortune
31 Jul 2023, 16:47 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Built from 1953 to 1962, the first-generation Chevrolet Corvette is one of the rarest iterations of the nameplate when it comes to production numbers. Especially the first-year version, built in 300 units, and the 1955 model, produced in 700 exampl...
1970 Dodge Super Bee Hidden for 40 Years Is a One-Owner Puzzle That Requires Assembly
31 Jul 2023, 13:38 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced for the 1968 model year, the Super Bee was Dodge's alternative to the Plymouth Road Runner. Both were the most affordable Mopar muscle cars available at the time and the cheapest way into HEMI ownership. But while the Road Runner na...
The Cadillac Seville APV Is the Luxury Minivan We Deserve but Never Got
30 Jul 2023, 17:14 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / In the late 1970s, Chrysler began working on a small, more affordable van that fitted in a typical garage and looked and handled more like a car. The project came to fruition in 1983 as the Dodge Caravan and its Plymouth twin, the Voyager. The desi...
This Rare 1969 Plymouth Road Runner Hides an Unexpected Surprise in the Trunk
29 Jul 2023, 11:39 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 1967 as a lower-priced alternative to the upscale GTX, the Plymouth Road Runner became the company's most affordable entry into muscle car ownership. And it was a big hit with performance car enthusiasts, moving 44,303 units in i...