Ford’s specialty performance vehicles attract two distinctive customers—those who believe the cars are perfect as built, and those that see them as the foundation for a lot of modifications. For the latter group, that usually means adding a lot of performance with aftermarket upgrades. For Dan Burback, however, it meant tearing his 2012 Shelby GT500 apart and taking it back to the future.

“The 1967 Shelby GT500 has always been one of my favorite cars, I have always wanted one. I’ve had a lot of old Mustangs over the years, but now I have gotten used to driving newer cars as my daily drivers. The reliability, safety, all the electronics and of course the performance,” Dan explained. “I thought it would be nice to have both classic looks and modern muscle. The new cars have phenomenal performance and great drivability, but I didn’t want to give up the classic looks.”

While many Shelby owners might be hesitant to add the typical bolt-ons to their shiny new rides, Dan went far beyond a cold air intake, tune and an exhaust. Instead, he cut up his 2012 Shelby, and spent four years worth of weekends transforming the modern Mustang into a retroactive celebration on wheels.

Back to the Future

“I cut off all of the outer new 2012 sheetmetal, it only had 300 miles on it at that time, then welded on all brand new 1967 Mustang sheetmetal. No body parts or Windows of the original 2012 were used. I handmade the metal fender flares and rear spoiler,” Dan told us. “I designed and 3D printed the front grille in eight pieces as well as the front turn signals and reverse lights. I printed adapters so the new 2012 light bulbs would twist into the ’67 Shelby taillights and built a handmade Fiberglass front splitter and many more parts.”

Worth the Effort

Beyond the public reaction, Dan loves the car he put his heart and soul into building for over 200 weekends.As you can see, the GT500 SuperSwap was definitely a bold undertaking. But if you love vintage looks and modern driving dynamics, it is hard to argue with the fruits of Dan‘s labor. Not only is he pleased with the results, but his modern vintage GT500 also garnered several prizes, including the Editor’s Choice Award for Best Innovation at the Car Craft Summer Nationals in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Likewise, the car elicits positive responses from onlookers, like “I hate Mustangs, but, damn, I love this car… Damn!”

“The car drives awesome! It’s very easy to drive. It could easily be a daily driver. It’s also very fast when you want it to be,” Dan said. “It drives just like a brand new 2012 Shelby GT500, it’s just what I wanted—a brand new modern classic ’67 Shelby GT500.”

What’s Next?

While the car’s appearance is on point, Dan is still like many GT500 owners. He would like to bolt on a little more power. Given his proclivity for modification, that should be an easy task. From there he can just enjoy this amazing machine.

“I do have plans of upping the horsepower some but mostly just driving it,” Dan added. “The goal was to have a classic car that I can drive, do some road trips, a Power Tour, autocross, track days, car shows, etc.”

It’s good to have goals, Dan. If you can build a car like this on weekends, we have no doubt you’ll find a way to enjoy it on weekends too.

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"The time it took to build: 4 years of weekends!" Dan said. "My original plan was one year but once you cut up a brand new car you can't just stop."