Ciprian Florea
7,287 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.
One-of-One 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona Flexes Unlikely Color Combo
5 Apr 2023, 11:17 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 1969 as a homologation special for NASCAR, the Dodge Charger Daytona was arguably the most radical muscle car on public roads. Come 2023 and its racing legacy, limited-production run, and impressive performance turned it into one of t...
1957 Lotus Eleven Driven by Colin Chapman Surfaces in Maine, It's a Rare Time Capsule
4 Apr 2023, 15:29 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / When it comes to classic cars coming out of long-term storage, I've seen just about everything in recent years. From mundane 1950s Chevrolets to rare muscle cars and even million-dollar Ferraris and Bugattis. But I haven't seen a race-spe...
1969 Dodge Super Bee Yard Find Has an Unexpected Surprise Inside the Cabin
4 Apr 2023, 11:03 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Finding derelict muscle cars that are still all-original is perhaps the greatest thing about hunting barn finds. Not only these classics are worth restoring, but they can also become quite valuable when in pristine condition. But most golden-era mu...
1970 Dodge Coronet R/T Abandoned for Decades Is a Rare Junkyard Gem
3 Apr 2023, 16:32 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Most people take their old cars to the junkyard. That's why there are so many scrapyards packed with desirable classics across the U.S. nowadays. Some people, however, do not part ways with their old rigs and park them in barns or backyards. A...
One-of-Few 1969 Chevrolet Yenko Camaro Double COPO Sells for Big Money
3 Apr 2023, 13:55 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / The late 1960s was a great era to be alive and into performance cars. Not only Detroit was offering a long list of powerful muscle cars in flashy paint schemes, but they were also affordable. A Yenko Camaro, for instance, which came with the 427-cu...
1968 Plymouth GTX Drag Races 1970 Ford Torino Super Cobra Jet, It's Pretty Close
3 Apr 2023, 10:47 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Anxious to see the brand-new, 2023 Dodge Challenger Demon 170 drag race the Tesla Model S Plaid? So am I, but it will take a while until we can see the ultimate ICE vs EV quarter-mile duel. Meanwhile, here's an old-school drag race between two...
The 50 Best Chevrolet Models of All Time (No. 10 – 1)
2 Apr 2023, 17:22 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Established in 1911 by brothers Louis and Arthur Chevrolet and General Motors co-founder William C. Durant, Chevrolet became GM's high-volume, entry-level car division in 1918. The brand quickly morphed into one of America's greatest auto...
1970 Plymouth Road Runner Spent 33 Years in a Barn, Now It's a Perfectly Restored Gem
31 Mar 2023, 17:17 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Whenever I see a barn find, I usually think about how it's going to end up as a parts car and rust away in a junkyard. But fortunately enough, not all of them end up like that. Some, this 1970 Plymouth Road Runner included, get a second chance...
Custom 1925 Ford Model T Boattail Looks Like a Rocket on Wheels, Does Only 45 MPH
31 Mar 2023, 15:18 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Powered by a four-cylinder engine rated at only 20 horsepower, the Ford Model T was anything but fast. But that didn't stop Americans from buying millions of them. More importantly, the low output also didn't stop enthusiasts from racing ...
All-Original 1970 Dodge Charger R/T Decaying in a Barn Makes for a Sad Sight
31 Mar 2023, 12:11 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Although I love classic cars regardless of brand and nameplate, barn finds make me a bit sad. And that's because I know most of them will never get the restoration they deserve. And needless to say, it's even more upsetting when the vehic...
Abandoned Fiat 124 Gets First Wash in 38 Years, Goes From Gross to Gorgeous
30 Mar 2023, 15:27 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Is long-term storage a proper way to preserve a classic? It definitely is, but only as long as it's done in a controlled environment. Improper storage not only can lead to rust issues but can also turn a beautiful classic into a rat nest on wh...
1963 Ford Galaxie 427 Gives Off Thunderbolt Vibes, Sounds Vicious
30 Mar 2023, 13:52 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / When it comes to wild factory-built Ford dragsters from the 1960s, we usually think about the Thunderbolt. And that's far from surprising because it's one of the greatest NHRA-spec production models created during the golden muscle car er...
1968 Ford Mustang Looks Like an Unrestored Survivor, Hides Nasty Surprise Under the Hood
30 Mar 2023, 11:29 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / When it comes to classic muscle cars, I'm crazy about unrestored survivors that soldiered on for more than a half-century with all-original features. However, I'm just as fond of unassuming sleepers that look totally stock on the outside ...
Black 1970 Plymouth HEMI GTX Is Dressed to Impress, Also Rarer Than Hen's Teeth
29 Mar 2023, 15:34 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / If you've been following me, you probably already know I'm nuts about classic Mopars in "high impact" colors, particularly Sassy Grass, Plum Crazy, and Panther Pink. And I don't care much about black muscle cars unless it&#...
Triple-Black 1972 Plymouth 'Cuda Left to Rot Outside Gets Rescued for Full Restoration
29 Mar 2023, 14:19 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Most abandoned classic cars have sad stories to tell. Many of them were dropped at the junkyard when the owner decided it was time for a new vehicle and ended up rotting away or becoming parts cars. But others were parked in backyards because their...
Abandoned House Has a Big Barn Full of Rare Classic Cars
29 Mar 2023, 12:12 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Have you seen one too many 1950s American classics sitting in barns in recent years? Well, how about a big barn packed with British-made vehicles? The kind most of us had no idea existed, or we just simply forgot about them over the decades. If you...
1938 Dodge Truck Abandoned for 50 Years Gets Second Chance, Engine Agrees to Run
28 Mar 2023, 18:30 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / When it comes to American-made pickup trucks, we usually think about the Ford F-Series. Introduced in 1948, it went on to become the country's best-selling hauler for decades. So it's not surprising that the nameplate has become synonymou...
Panther Pink 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T Convertible Is a One-Off Canadian Gem
28 Mar 2023, 15:32 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / When it comes to classic muscle cars, it's difficult to pick just one if you're not biased toward a certain brand. As a Mopar guy, I'd take a Challenger or a Barracuda over a Mustang or a Camaro any day of the week, but it's not...
Jay Leno Takes Jeff Dunham's 1975 Bricklin SV-1 for a Spin, Has a Few Giggles
28 Mar 2023, 12:17 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Many of the cars we get to see on Jay Leno's Garage are usually iconic rigs from the past. But he also gets to drive all sorts of new vehicles, including supercars and EVs. But, from time to time, Leno also welcomes unusual classics on his pri...
1970 Plymouth GTX Sitting for 30 Years Hides a Mystery Under the Hood
27 Mar 2023, 19:27 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / What's the first thing you think about when you see a classic car coming out of a barn? Beyond the usual "what an incredible find" or "what a piece of junk," of course. Me, I get obsessed with the history behind it. Because...