Modern Ford Mustang GT gets retro makeover

While fitting classic cars with modern parts has become the done thing in recent years, a US group who wanted even better reliability have transformed a recent Ford Mustang into a 1960s look-a-like.

Popular YouTube channel ‘B is For Build’ documented the process of fitting reproduced body panels from a 1967 Ford Mustang onto a 2019 example, having bought the latter car as a write-off with relatively minor damage to be repaired.

Given the changes in dimensions between the first and sixth-generation Mustangs, the muscle car was comprehensively modified under the skin to accept the old-school body panels, though a majority of its modern chassis was left untouched.

The Mustang’s builders even chopped the new car’s roof and windscreen off to ensure the classic design could be as faithful to the original as possible.

Inside, a number of changes were made to not only incorporate the modern technology but make it look as retro as possible, given how much the interior design had changed across 50 years.

There were no changes made to the Ford Mustang’s 5.0-litre ‘Coyote’ V8 engine, aside from a ‘cold air’ intake and an upgraded exhaust system, though the plastic engine cover was removed and its oil filler relocated due to clearance issues with the bonnet.

The finished car was revealed at the SEMA trade show in Las Vegas last month, having cost its owners $US40,320 ($AU66,000) in labour, parts and the cost of the salvaged car.

While that’s about the same cost as a brand-new Ford Mustang GT in the US, the B is For Build team now have a unique muscle car which can turn heads and – in theory at least – run reliably.