2012 Ford Shelby GT500 with a 1967 Shelby GT500 body

This is a 2012 Shelby Mustang GT500, but you wouldn’t guess it from the outside.

Not unless you look really closely, anyway.

Underneath and inside, modern running gear and mod cons make this 1967 Shelby GT500 lookalike a total sleeper.

Or at least it’s as much of a sleeper as something that looks like a wild old Shelby can be.

The owner, Dan Burback, designed and built the whole thing himself, and even did the bodywork. The only thing he left to someone else was the paint.

As a four-year-long project, the car was only finished relatively recently – last year – but considering that’s one man working almost every weekend on the car, we’re damn impressed.

And so should you be, especially when you see the result.

Burback outlines the process of building the ‘GT500 Super Swap’ on his website.

“I cut off all of the outer 2012 sheet metal then welded on all brand new 1967 Mustang sheet metal,” he begins.

He adds that the fender flares and rear spoiler were handmade.

“It took four years of weekends in my home garage. I did all the body modifications myself except for the paint.

“The goal was to have a classic car that I can drive, take on some road trips, a power tour, track day, etc.

“The car drives awesome! Just like a brand new 2012 Shelby GT500.

“It's just what I wanted, a brand new modern classic 67 Shelby GT500.”

We were curious how much it would cost to do something like this, so obviously we asked the man himself!

“That is the most common question I get.

“You have the price of the brand new Shelby all the new sheet metal, bumpers, windows, lights and so on. There were no used parts used in the build.

“All the parts were expensive but not outrageous, I saved a lot was by doing all the work myself except for the paint. Four years of weekends, lots of hours.

“It's hard to put a number on it but I'm very happy with the way it turned out.”

And we’ve got to admit, when you watch the time lapse it seems like he did it all in a day. This four-year project was a (probably very expensive) labour of love for muscle cars old and new.

Images courtesy of Dan Burback: Facebook | GT500 Super Swap website