Custom Beauty: Classic Recreations 1967 “Eleanor” Mustang

By elana scherr

elana scherr

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Custom Beauty: Classic Recreations 1967 “Eleanor” Mustang
She's the perfect woman, the apparition that only exists on the silver screen and in your dreams... Read More

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She's the perfect woman, the apparition that only exists on the silver screen and in your dreams. Sleek, sexy and scary as hell. Now not only can you can bring her home, you can customize all the details. Meet Classic Recreations' newest Eleanor.

Since 2007, Denise Halicki widow of original 1974 Gone in 60 Seconds creator/director/star Toby Halicki and co-producer of the 2000 film has been working with Jason Engel of Classic Recreations in Yukon, Oklahoma, building brand-new, officially licensed Eleanor Mustangs that blend the movie cars iconic style with turn-key reliability and modern supercar performance.

CR now offers a variety of built-to-order brand new Eleanor Mustangs, each tailored the customers exacting specifications. Every Eleanor starts with a brand new body, features all-new components and is not delivered until testing proves the car is totally tuned, refined and finished in every sense of the word. Unlike previous wannabe Eleanor builders that conducted business in a less than straightforward manner, every CR order requires a deposit in a secure escrow account, and funds are totally untouchable until the car is completed to owners satisfaction.

Looking beyond the line of famous fastbacks being hand assembled in his 10,000 square foot facility, Engel has several other muscle car projects under construction. Classic Recreations handles everything from paint and body to upholstery, custom fabrication and complete rotisserie restorations under one roof. From cosmetic restorations to brand new builds and custom show cars, Engel is passionate about American iron and speaks with classic understated Midwestern confidence about the vehicles he creates.

"Look, I've always loved muscle cars and when I was a kid I watched the original Gone in 60 Seconds obsessively", Engel says. "So when the new movie came out in 2000 I was the first guy in line at my local theater. Than I saw Eleanor, and it was love at first sight. The production designers took the coolest elements of every early Mustang and blended them together. I knew I had to have one. Since we received the endorsement from the producers, we have built about a dozen cars with several more on order. We use brand new bodies, make all the body parts in-house, and use the best high-tech suspension money can buy. The interiors are hand crafted individual works of art, engines come from one of the best engine builders in the country, and every car is numbered and documented. Because my shop is in Oklahoma, we can hire talented craftsmen who have been building cars for decades. Were salt-of-the-earth car guys, and when we go home at night we read about cars and work on our own pet projects. This isn't just a job, it's a dream come true."

Every Eleanor built by Classic recreations starts with a brand new Dynacorn body. The sheetmetal is scrubbed, prepped and primed before bodywork begins. CR builds its own body parts (rocker panels with integrated side-exit exhaust, hoods, endcaps, decklids, etc) and fits them on the cars several times before paint to ensure perfect gap alignment. The unibody Mustang doesn't have a frame, so the body structure is beefed up with subframe connectors, a Monte Carlo bar and strut tower braces from Total Control.

Total Control also supplies most of the suspension hardware, including tubular A-arms, four-link rear suspension, power rack and pinion steering with a quick-ratio box and shock tower supports. CR uses its own proprietary coil over shocks that offer a comfortable ride while maintaining maximum corner velocity in the twisties. Massive slotted, cross-drilled Baer brakes clamped by forged four-piston calipers bring Eleanor to a halt, and the wheels are hand crafted by PS Engineering.