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Old meets new

He has a couple of them sitting at home, including an unrestored original. Factor in that he’s been playing about with cars since he was 12-years-old, then it probably isn’t too surprising that Jason Engel, and his company, Classic Recreations, based in Yukon Oklahoma, have decided to build ‘new’ Shelby G.T.500s – cars that combine iconic looks with modern performance and reliability, plus the blessing from Ol’ Shel himself. ‘It all started in around 2000,’ says Jason. Back then, the [remade] Gone in 60 Seconds had come out in movie theatres. A lot of people had gone gaga over the star, a ’67 Mustang fastback that played the role of ‘Eleanor,’ the one car that gave master car thief Randall ‘Memphis’ Raines (Nicolas Cage) fits, as he attempted to steal 50 cars in an effort to save his brother’s life. ‘There was a lot of hype at the time surrounding that car, but I fell in love with it and decided to build one,’ says Engle. ‘Over the years I’d spent a lot of time around cars, learning how to do bodywork and fabrication. We built that [’67] in a barn and block sanded it for a week. We must have had $70,000 in that Mustang by the time we were done. It was all black and we took it to Barrett Jackson’s auction in West Palm Beach, Florida. We sold it for $141,000 and by the time I got back home I had six voice mails on my phone and four orders for similar cars – I didn’t even have any business cards at the time.’

STURDY FOUNDATION

But as with anything in the car business, the path to success can often take many twists and turns. ‘It’s been an interesting decade,’ says Engel, ‘but despite everything that’s happened with the economy, we’re still here and we’re building cars.’ Jason’s company, Classic Recreations is based at a former farming complex, which has proved to be pivotal in making projects like the G.T.500CR possible.

‘Yukon has traditionally been a á farming community, but a driven one. There’s lots of space, but a lot of the buildings around here were well constructed to begin with. When we bought the property we have now, it contained four big steel buildings.

‘We fenced off the land and have created a compound. The buildings will probably be here forever and their respective location on the property; means that we’re able to use them for different parts of the build process, so we’ve got metalworking in one building, engine assembly in another and painting in a separate facility. The result is more like a specialised racecar fabrication shop, but the end result is that you can really produce a top quality, boutique product. And in our business, that’s huge. It’s really helped us forge good relationships with our clients.’

The G.T.500CR (the letters appropriately standing for Classic Recreations), is a continuation 1967 Shelby, but unlike some other cars built over the last decade, each of Engel’s creations is strictly a built to order, a custom tailored car, not set up on a limited run production line. ‘However, there are certain aspects of the build process that are standardised,’ says Jason, ‘including the driveline and to an extent, the suspension, but features, options, paint and interior are all done to specific customer requirements. When somebody places an order for a G.T.500CR; I take their measurements – height, weight and waist (a bit like a tailor would do a suit). That way we can actually build the car around them, so when they sit in it, they are truly comfortable. Take the seats. They’re Carroll Shelby signature buckets, but each set is different, depending on the customer’s dimensions.’

As for the mechanics, although the cars rely on 427 cu.in V8s, they’re a far cry from the FE series big-blocks found in the original Sixties G.T.500s. Classic Recreations use the stroked, small-block Windsor 427 crate motor as a foundation. These engines utilise diesel grade cast-iron blocks and heavy-duty internals, including zero balanced forged crankshafts, H-beam connecting rods, forged alloy pistons and aluminium heads with dustbin-sized 63cc combustion chambers. Out of the box, these engines make 535bhp and 545lb.ft. of torque and they’re versatile, with good tuneability, for both street and track use.

The cars are offered in two states of tune; in the Performance version, the engine is a normally aspirated, electronic fuel-injected version, rated at 545 horsepower. For the upcoming Venom, a F1-R ATI Procharger centrifugal supercharger is added, dialed-in at 17psi of boost. This will gives around 780 horsepower and is aimed at more serious track use. In an effort to achieve levels of reliability and performance unheard of back in 1967, the CR engines utilise BeCool aluminium radiators and low restriction exhaust systems, including JBA headers and Spintech 2.5-inch silencers and tips. Backing the 427 V8 is a heavy-duty Tremec TKO five-speed gearbox that transmits power to modified Ford 9-inch differential with a 3.70:1 final drive.

MAKING IT HANDLE

Yes it is a solid axle, but Classic Recreations has done an extensive amount of work in the chassis and suspension department. Gone are the original Shelby Mustang short-long arm front and leaf-sprung rear set-ups, in their place a custom coil-over configuration, designed to achieve optimum handling, for what is still, a genuine Sixties car.

‘Handling is one area where we can really make a difference,’ says Jason. We’ve stiffened the unibody by adding a roll bar, sub-frame connectors and front strut brace. The front ends on these old Mustangs are notorious for flexing, so it’s one of the first things anybody should do – even if the car is just a casual driver. We’ve also modified the front suspension to use adjustable coil over shocks and specific lightweight tubular control arms.’ There are also new polyurethane bushings; Flaming River rack and pinion steering and a standard hollow front sway bar.

Out back the G.T.500 CR also uses coil over shocks and specific upper and lower links for the 9-inch rear, plus a standard tubular sway bar as well. Brakes are standard Shelby/Baer discs – 13 x 1.1-inch vented, slotted and cross-drilled units up front, 12 x 8s in the rear. In order to clear them, but still prevent contact with the fender linings, the G.T.500CR runs 17 x 8-inch diameter Shelby wheels, though upgrades are available; including massive 17 x 11-inch rear wheels and huge 315 section Goodyear Eagle F1 tyres. The latter form part of the Venom package, offering the driver a decent contact patch when they mash the throttle of that monster, supercharged 427 V8.

Given that modified ’67-68 Mustang fastbacks are still hot property stateside, there are some that will argue it’s an already crowded market and launching the CR is likely to yield limited results, but Engle has his own take on the whole thing: ‘From my perspective I think as much as there are some great cars being built today, there’s a lot to be said about old-fashioned style craftsmanship. At Classic Recreations we pride ourselves on doing a lot of the build process the traditional way – fettling, hand forming and fabricating where it’s needed. We take our time to do it right, instead of just combining parts catalogues for the finished product. We’ve taken some flack from the purists by using original ’67 Mustang shells for our cars, instead of Dynacorn reproduction bodies, but at the end of the day, the buyer is getting the real deal – a continuation 1967 Shelby Mustang with many man hours spent during the build process. And from what we’ve seen to date, as far as our customers are concerned, that seems to be really important.'

Words: Huw Evans
Photography: Drew Phillips