Ciprian Florea
7,284 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.
1969 Chevrolet Corvette Hidden for Decades Emerges With Original V8, Needs a Nose Job
28 May 2024, 15:10 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Third-generation Chevrolet Corvettes are rarely more sought-after than C2 versions. And the cars that enjoy such status must pack big-block V8 engines or rare features from the golden muscle car era. The 1969 example you see here is not one of thos...
Rare 1971 Dodge Challenger Flexes HEMI Orange Paint, Extensive Options List
28 May 2024, 13:21 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 1970, the Dodge Challenger found nearly 77,000 homes in its first year on the market. Sales dropped to only 27,377 units the following year, the last for Challengers equipped with high-compression V8 engines. Even though the namepl...
1958 Buick Special Garaged for Decades Is Amazingly Original
27 May 2024, 15:35 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / The last time Buick had an automobile called the Special in showrooms, Neil Armstrong was walking on the moon, and the Woodstock Music Festival had 400,000 attendees. Yup, it was 1969, meaning the Buick Special was discontinued a whopping 55 years ...
Heirloom 1957 Pontiac Star Chief With Original V8 Springs Back to Life After 42 Years
27 May 2024, 14:08 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / In the mid-1950s, Chevrolet produced one of the most iconic vehicles in automotive history. I'm talking about the Tri-Five. Built from 1955 to 1957 in nearly five million units, the Tri-Five is among today's most desirable classics. Howev...
Stunning 1971 Plymouth GTX 440 Has a Rare Surprise Inside the Cabin
27 May 2024, 10:52 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 1967, the GTX was Plymouth's most exclusive muscle car. Restricted to the two-door body styles and only available with the range-topping 440- and 426-cubic-inch (7.2- and 7.0-liter) HEMI engines, the GTX sported a notably more pr...
This 1961 Studebaker Champ Truck Is Rare, Rust-Free, and Quite Unique
26 May 2024, 16:04 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Are you looking to buy a classic pickup truck from the early 1960s, but the Fords, Chevys, and Dodges of the era are way too common? Well, if scarcity is high on your list, this 1961 Studebaker Champ has you covered. Pickup trucks are not the fi...
Mysterious 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air Nomad Needs More Than TLC To Shine Again
24 May 2024, 14:53 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Produced from 1955 to 1957, the Chevrolet Tri-Five was a big hit. Available in three different trim levels, 150, 210, and Bel Air, the Tri-Five moved nearly five million units over three model years. The Tri-Five is among the most desirable clas...
Early Production 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Flexes Houndstooth Interior and Rare Features
24 May 2024, 13:07 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Do you know how some classic cars stand out as rare through obvious styling features? Let's say the 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429 or the 1970 Dodge Challenger T/A. Well, some rigs aren't like that and require a closer inspection to discover ...
First Wash in 22 Years: 1992 Acura NSX Goes From Dirty to Low-Mileage Gem
24 May 2024, 11:07 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / When talking about barn finds, we usually think about vehicles produced several decades ago. However, more recent automobiles have also been stuck in storage for very long periods. This 1992 Acura NSX (yeah, it's pretty much a classic at 32 ye...
1970 Dodge Challenger R/T Looks Like a Rare HEMI Gem, but There's a Catch
23 May 2024, 19:07 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / When it comes to 1970 Dodge Challengers, there's no denying that the HEMI version is the most desirable. Chrysler's most potent mill from the golden era, the mighty 426-cubic-inch (7.0-liter) V8, found its way into only a few hundred Chal...
1966 Chevy Bel Air 427 Is Not Your Grandpa's Daily Driver, Runs 10s
23 May 2024, 13:15 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Initially introduced on two-door hardtop versions of the Chevrolet full-size in 1950, the Bel Air evolved into a complete lineup of body styles in 1955. In 1958, it lost its range-topping privileges to the Impala and eventually became a fleet model...
1951 Studebaker Champion Restored 40 Years Ago Still Looks Stunning, Also Rare
23 May 2024, 11:04 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / What's the first vehicle you think of when you hear the name Studebaker? Is it the Avanti? Well, that makes sense because the Avanti was the fastest production car of its time in supercharged form. Or maybe it is the Golden Hawk, one of the pr...
1970 Mercury Cougar Houndstooth Edition Emerges With Super Rare Color Combo
22 May 2024, 15:26 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Mercury had been planning to sell its own version of the Ford Mustang before the pony car debuted in 1964. However, Ford didn't give its premium division the green light until more than two years later. The Cougar eventuall...
This Hidden Backyard Is Loaded With Classic Cars Begging for a Second Chance
22 May 2024, 13:34 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / High-profile auction events move a few tens of thousands (if not even more) of classic cars per year. And enthusiasts pay hundreds of millions of dollars to take them home. But as impressive as these numbers sound, the truth is most classic cars ar...
Low-Mileage 1966 Shelby Cobra 427 Is Amazingly Original, Sells for a Cool $2 Million
22 May 2024, 10:04 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Born in 1962 as an AC Ace with a small-block V8, the Shelby Cobra quickly developed into a powerful monster with big-block oomph. By 1965, Carroll had already developed a new chassis and dropped Ford's 427-cubic-inch (7.0-liter) FE engine unde...
1969 Plymouth Road Runner Hides Aftermarket Goodies Under Air Grabber Hood
21 May 2024, 21:00 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced for the 1968 model year, the Plymouth Road Runner became a big hit thanks to its performance-oriented nature and affordable sticker. Following a shortened debut year, the Road Runner found 81,105 homes in 1969, outselling the Dodge Super...
1959 Chevrolet Corvette Parked for 40 Years Shares Chicken Barn With Tens of Classics
21 May 2024, 11:38 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Derelict classic cars are usually found in barns and backyards. However, some rigs also spend their (unfortunate) retirement years in places like basements and fields. The vehicles you see here are waiting for a second chance in what used to be a c...
Holy-Grail 1970 Dodge HEMI Challenger R/T SE Fails To Sell Despite $260K Bid
20 May 2024, 20:24 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / This weekend's Indy 2024 auction saw a 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454 LS6 Convertible set a new record for the nameplate at $600,000 (not including fees). However, the LS6 was among the exceptions. Several holy-grail classics rolled off the st...
1970 Dodge Challenger R/T "The Grinch" Is a Different Kind of High-Impact Mopar
20 May 2024, 13:10 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced for the 1970 model year and discontinued in 1974, the first-generation Dodge Challenger was rather short-lived. In fact, it spent only two years on the real muscle car market because Chrysler discontinued its high-compression big-block V...
1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454 LS6 Convertible Sells for Record Price
20 May 2024, 10:31 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / To say that the current classic car market is volatile is an understatement. Due to economic uncertainty, 2024 saw many iconic rigs cross the auction block for less than expected. At the same time, some classics with throw-away status have set new ...