Tips On The Best Fords To Modify

Another modification strategy that we really like are replica racers. Take a '68 Mustang fastback, paint it Wimbledon White, and equip it with colorful graphics like this one-of-50 428 Cobra Jet Mustang factory racer, and you'll have a super-cool restomod that will really turn heads.

Yet another category of restomod is Shelby replicas or clones. With genuine Shelbys costing a small fortune, these are becoming increasingly popular as more and more aftermarket parts become available to help the enthusiast create a GT350 or GT500 replica. Is this GT350 a clone?

Radical customs like this '65 Mustang done for Cher by George Barris are something we don't see too often anymore. Barris was one of the greats, but customs like this are often over the top and not always appreciated by the cognoscenti.

Turning our attention to the Falcons, we see this '63 Falcon Sprint with the 260 engine. With the V-8 engine and four-speed manual transmission, it's almost a factory hot rod from the very beginning of the Total Performance years.

This '63 Falcon is a little deceptive with its plain-Jane trim and poverty hubcaps. The truth is this car is all set to do a 9-second quarter-mile with its 434ci Windsor engine.

The '65 Falcon Sprint convertible is the fully loaded factory hot-rod version of this car. With just a set of Keystone mags and some Radial T/A tires, this car is ready for a front row parking spot on Saturday cruise night.

This '65 Mercury Comet fits into the Falcon category, and these cars also make an excellent restomod. Start with a two-door hardtop, add the factory twin-scoop hood, and you've got an A/FX factory experimental racer clone.

In the musclecar Fairlanes, the beginning is 1962. This post or sedan version is a racer's favorite because the vertical post makes for a more rigid car. This '62 has a hopped-up small-block engine, flame job pinstriping, and steel wheels with hubcaps.

Here's the Fairlane hardtop for 1963. This car is the last of the finned Fords and is a collector's favorite. The first few experimental Thunderbolts were '63 sedans.

Most of the hundred or so Thunderbolt Fairlanes built were this '64 sedan body. Equipped with a solid-lifter FE 427 engine, the Thunderbolt ran low 12s, which was really haulin' back in the day. A favorite subject for Fairlane-clone projects, the Thunderbolt Fairlane makes a colorful restomod subject. This particular car happens to be a genuine '64 T-bolt.

This '67 Fairlane is the next generation of the breed. This slick-looking GT is equipped with a 390 engine and four-speed manual transmission. With the possible exception of the Mustang, this car may be the best-looking Ford ever built. (Great, now I'll never be able to afford one!-Ed.)

Here's another example of the beautiful '67 Fairlane. The late-model Mustang wheels look good and fit the larger car just right. Just this modification along with an excellent paint job can yield spectacular results.