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.
Winnebago Chieftain Ramp Truck Conversion Is Half RV, Half Hot Rod Hauler
11 Aug 2022, 12:46 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in the early 1970s, the Winnebago Chieftain was one of the most desirable campers of its kind. Come 2022 and it's become somewhat collectible, but many of them are still rotting away in junkyards. Here's one that was rescued fr...
Digital 1964 Plymouth Scamp Is a Belvedere Truck Out for Chevy El Camino Blood
11 Aug 2022, 10:16 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Back in 1957, Ford put a bed on a full-size car and created the Ranchero and the coupe utility segment. Chevrolet did the same in 1959 and spawned the iconic El Camino. Mopar, on the other hand, didn't jump on the car-based pickup bandwagon un...
One-of-One 1970 Ford Mustang SCJ Spent 30 Years in the Desert, It's a Sad Sight
10 Aug 2022, 17:19 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / With almost 191,000 units built, the 1970 Ford Mustang is anything but rare overall. However, this model year spawned quite a few rare gems. The Boss 429 is perhaps the rarest, but the Boss 302 is also a hard-to-find version. Then we have the Cobra...
1966 Dodge Monaco 500 Gets First Wash After Years in a Barn, 440 V8 Lives
10 Aug 2022, 16:07 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 1965 as a replacement for the 880, the Dodge Monaco was the company's flagship model for 12 years, until it was redesigned into a midsize in 1977. A popular nameplate back in the day, the Monaco is nowhere near as desirable as th...
1970 Dodge Coronet Is an Unrestored, 1-of-1 Go Mango Gem, but There's a Catch
10 Aug 2022, 13:10 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / First introduced as a top-level, full-size car in 1949, the Dodge Coronet was relegated to entry-level, intermediate duty by the mid-1960s. With the arrival of the fifth-gen version in 1965, the Coronet also became an important player in the muscle...
Rare 1968 Hurst/Olds Drag Races 1967 Pontiac GTO, the Underdog Wins
10 Aug 2022, 10:08 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Classic muscle cars might not be as powerful and fast as modern supercars, but they're just as exciting to watch when they hit the drag strip. This 1968 Hurst/Olds vs. 1967 Pontiac GTO encounter proves just that. One of the most iconic musc...
1973 Winnebago Indian With Refreshed Interior Is Ready for the Perfect Summer Vacation
9 Aug 2022, 20:04 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Vintage motorhomes are undeniably cool, but they can be difficult and expensive to maintain. Some also complain that they're not exactly comfortable either. Well, this 1973 Winnebago Indian is a nice blend of old-school looks and modern amenit...
World's Rarest 1971 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser Found in Storage Unit, Needs Second Chance
9 Aug 2022, 16:06 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / When talking about rare and desirable Oldsmobile cars, we usually think about the 442 and Cutlass from the golden muscle car era or the first-generation 88. I'm pretty sure no Olds gearhead would mention the Custom Cruiser in this conversation...
Barn Find Gold: Four Rare Ford Mustangs See Daylight After 30 Years
9 Aug 2022, 14:32 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Saving a first-gen Ford Mustang with a numbers-matching engine from a barn is great news if you're into classic cars, but things get even better when the pony in question is also rare. But what about when the said barn is home to four such mus...
1953 Cadillac Wagon Is a Mysterious Field Find, Unexpected Surprise Under the Hood
8 Aug 2022, 16:26 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / "Cadillac" and "wagon" are two words we don't see together unless we're talking about the second-generation CTS. But grocery getters wearing the iconic wreath can be traced back to the late 1940s. All thanks to coachbu...
These 1970s Dodge Muscle Cars Spent 40 Years in Hiding, All Are Time Capsules
8 Aug 2022, 14:27 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Stumbling upon a classic muscle car that spent decades in storage is as exciting as barn finds get, but things become even better when the garage in question is home to not one, but three Mopars from the golden era. Just like this trio of 1970s Dod...
1951 DeSoto Gets First Wash After 60 Years in a Barn, Reveals Beautiful Patina
8 Aug 2022, 11:02 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / When it comes to barn finds, most classic cars come out of storage after 20 to 40 years. But some vehicles are forgotten behind closed doors for much more than that. This 1951 DeSoto, for instance, spent at least 60 years away from sunlight. The...
1968 Hurst/Olds Barn Find Drag Races Mint-Condition 1969 Olds W31. And Wins!
3 Aug 2022, 16:01 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / "Never judge a book by its cover" is a saying that applies to pretty much everything today, including cars. And as this video will show you, it also fits the bill perfectly when it comes to drag racing. This quarter-mile showcase bring...
2023 Ford Maverick Tremor Becomes Track-Ready Truck, Flaunts SVT Lightning Vibes
3 Aug 2022, 13:41 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Introduced in 2021 as the company's most affordable truck, the Ford Maverick became an instant hit in the U.S., with customers placing more than 100,000 reservations in just a few months. While Ford has yet to deliver all these trucks as of...
Next-Generation Dodge Charger EV Rendered With Alfa Romeo Cues, Still a Sedan
3 Aug 2022, 11:02 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Dodge recently confirmed that the next-generation Charger and Challenger will take the EV path. But are they going to retain the muscular looks that made them famous? Well, here's a rendering that keeps the next-gen Charger eMuscle as aggressi...
Unofficial 2022 Plymouth Duster Is a Dodge Challenger Super Stock on Rallye Wheels
2 Aug 2022, 14:13 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Remember all those rumors about Chrysler planning to revive the Barracuda nameplate under the Dodge division? Well, we haven't heard any news in a long time, but we do know that the V8-powered Dodge Challenger is going away after the 2023 mode...
Stash of Classic Mopars Hidden on a Farm Field Includes 1968 Charger, 1974 Challenger
2 Aug 2022, 11:17 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Once the pride and joy of their owners, many classic cars are currently wasting away in junkyards. But while some were dumped to be scrapped, others have been left to rot away in backyards and fields. Cars like these were probably meant to be resto...
1969 Dodge Super Bee A12 Drag Races 1970 Oldsmobile F-85 W31, It's Extremely Close
1 Aug 2022, 11:40 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Modern supercar drag races are super fun to watch, but, to me, things become much better when the vehicles in question are of the classic muscle car variety. Especially if they're rare and in excellent condition. Like the Dodge and the Oldmosb...
1968 Dodge Charger Sees Daylight After 28 Years, Numbers-Matching V8 Fires Up
31 Jul 2022, 19:28 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Why do we have so many classic cars in junkyards and barns in 2022? Well, most of them were abandoned as they became obsolete, while others were locked in storage when their owners were no longer able to drive them. Some, however, remained behind c...
1965 Ford Mustang Stored for 40 Years Is a Rangoon Red Gem With 1964 1/2 Goodies
30 Jul 2022, 20:07 UTC · By: Ciprian Florea / Are you in the market for an early 1964 1/2 Ford Mustang and you're having trouble finding one? Well, here's a 1965 version that was built so early in the model year that it still has a lot of 1964 1/2 parts on it. On top of that, it'...