The last good car movie I've seen was the third installment of the "Borning" series. Of course, I grew up with the "Fast and the Furious" and "Gone in 60 Seconds", and while the first franchise holds no more value for me anymore, at least I still enjoy watching the latter one from time to time. But let's be honest, there's only so much "Eleanor" you can live with.
And over the past year, I must have seen at least 5 replicas for sale, either in Europe or the United States. It's a cool car, no doubt about that, but let's not forget that diversity is crucial. This 1965 Mustang restomod just recently came to my attention and it gave off "Eleanor" vibes right away. But there's a twist to it that just makes it slightly better for me right now, and it's also considerably more affordable than its more famous sibling.
As the seller notes, "it took decades searching for the correct components to get this car right". So I guess I won't complain about the fact that I've started working on my car almost three years ago, and I still can't enjoy driving it due to small issues popping up every other day. And the striking resemblance to the "Gone in 60 Seconds" hero car is not an accident, as this was used to promote the movie back in the day.
Your inner geek might notice the dual billet grilles, the Shelby GT350-style hood scoop, and the fastback style. The HRE three-spoke wheels work so well in conjunction with the bodywork, and I'm happy to see they went with a different approach to the racing stripes, as they are finished in "bold purple". The same purple theme goes on inside as well, and I don't think this is the kind of car that will just let you play by the rules when you're behind the wheel.
Photo: Street Side Classics
As with any respectable restomod, comfort hasn't been forgotten, and you still get air conditioning, power windows and locks, power steering, and a stereo system with Bluetooth connectivity. But this was still built with speed in mind, and if that wasn't obvious by looking at the Recaro seats fitted with racing harnesses, then the roll cage is sure to clear things out for you.
And we haven't even gotten to the best part yet. And that's located under the hood. The consignor bought this car from the original owner back in 1974, and apparently, he spent 25 years putting it all together just the way he wanted to. That means that the original 1970 Boss 302 V8 engine is no longer what it once was, as it has been stroked up to 347 cubic inches (5.68-liters), and received quite a few upgrades along the way.
It might have had about 300 horsepower back in the day, but considering it now has a Scat forged crank, Probe forged pistons, a Demon 650 CFM four-barrel carburetor, MSD Ignition, and a Magnaflow H-pipe dual exhaust to name just a few of the upgrades, I wouldn't be surprised if this would be closer to 400 horsepower at present time. Sure, it's not all down to power, but if anyone buys this, do think about supercharging it for the extra fun factor! Until then, consider coming up with $79,995 and going over to Phoenix, Arizona, should you wish to see it with your own eyes.
The things Dragos enjoys the most in life are, in no particular order: cars, motorcycles, diecast cars, and drifting. He's seen (and driven) many vehicles since he started his writing career back in 2009, but his garage currently houses a 1991 Mazda RX-7 FC3S Turbo II and a 1999 Suzuki SV650-S. Full profile
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