Yes, these things do happen. Taking newer cars and adapting older body parts to make them look like vintage vehicles. Some end up looking great. But others… You decide if this mashup of 1969 Shelby Mustang body pieces bonked onto a 2008 Mustang were a success or a dismal failure. 

Who made this 1969 Shelby Mustang mashup?

Retrobuilt Motors professionally created this GT500 tribute. It is what the company calls a reverse restomod. After taking off all of the lower body, it fabb’d up a new one from 1969 Mustang sheet metal, for a Shelby GT500 look-alike. 

With the price of nice 1969 Shelby GT500 Mustangs at over $100,000, this one came in under $65,000 in a recent eBay auction. We know what the disadvantages are to a mashup like this. The positives include reliability, easier serviceability, and parts that aren’t as expensive as diamonds. 

What other mods were to the 1969 Shelby Mustang mashup?

And Retrobuilt didn’t leave it stock underneath. For rigidity, it added a new tubular K-member. The suspension received both a beefy sway bar, a Panhard bar, and Roush billet A-arms. The Roush pieces change the geometry to improve handling.

The engine didn’t go untouched. A 4.6-liter Modular motor has been modified to increase the stock engine’s 300 hp. A Comp Cams Thumpr cam, cold-air intake, and H-pipe combined with Roush mufflers bring air in and out quickly. A manual TR365 Tremec five-speed spins the 8.8-inch rear end. The positraction rear is running a 3.73 gear.

Retrobuilt has done other Mustang mashups.

This isn’t the first rodeo for Retrobuilt and a 2008 Mustang mashup. It has created a number of famous Mustangs imagined around a 2008 version. Back in 2019, it did a Bullitt version of the Highland Green 1968 movie icon. And the project started out as one of Ford’s 2008 Bullitt-inspired Mustangs. 

The project began with the removal of all of the body panels with the exception of the roof, the same as with the GT500. The fiberglass panels were splashed from a real 1968 Mustang. Those panels were then cut up to conform to the 2008 Mustang’s shorter wheelbase. Things like door handles, bumpers, and mirrors were all taken from original cars or were reproductions. 

Finally, the Mustang was sprayed Highland Green, after which engine mods were also performed by Retrobuilt. BBK aftermarket exhaust, Brenspeed Detroit Rocker Cams cam, and a custom tune by Johnny Lightning Performance finished off the powerplant. Inside, an MGW short-throw shifter makes for quicker shifting of the five-speed manual transmission. 

These Mustangs feature classic coachbuilding quality

As with the GT500, the level of build quality is on a par with custom coachbuilders. These aren’t kit cars. And with Retrobuilt specializing in Mustangs, and having molds to possibly do more, there may be more mashups like these in the future.

As the Mustang is authentically American, so too is taking a newer vehicle and giving it a retro look. So is this a success or failure to your eyes?