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Dec 27, 2023

10 Amazing '60s Muscle Car Restomod Builds

Muscle cars reached their peak in the '60s, but these 10 managed to surpass it

Muscle cars reached their peak in the '60s, but these 10 managed to surpass it thanks to these incredible builds.

Muscle cars continue to capture the imagination of automotive enthusiasts. Over 50 years ago, in the middle of the 20th century, the muscle car was perfected. Today, those same cars are being overhauled with state-of-the-art inventiveness. Some drive like a modern luxury car with up-to-date tech, while others stay truer to vintage originality. Driving one is the best part. In restomods, creativity meets raw muscle. Imagination powers these machines. Restomods are better than the original when they’re done right. All of these are amazing projects that have to be seen.

Here, we have a list of 10 automotive renovations featuring a variety of modded classic muscle cars, ranging from state-of-the-art machine builds to garage-built, handmade examples. Each of these restomods is unbelievable in its own way. The best part about a restomodded car, many people argue, is that is made to be driven rather than hermetically preserved and transported by trailer. Take a look at these and see what you think.

This 1969 Plymouth Road Runner is stocked with the works. It is better than it was brand new. This mod is a true Mopar, through and through. It has a fully-badged 707 horsepower Hellcat SRT V8 engine, original Road Runner trim, including the "beep beep" horn feature, and the sweet whine of a powerful supercharger.

Inside, it stays true to Plymouth's iconic Road Runner. You'll find original gauges and period vents, and, across the dash, it looks like the spitting image of a late-'60s car interior. But it also has cruise control buttons and modern digital read-outs. A vintage radio hides Bluetooth compatibility. As a near-perfect restomod, this car's got old school originality with a bevy of modern conveniences. It's made almost entirely with stock OEM factory parts. A Gerst front suspension and a Cal-Trac rear suspension mate via subframe connectors. It has four-disc Wilwood brakes on 17-inch wheels. Custom tires are shaved of branding a striped in red. Added modifications are truly cool. There's a headlight that looks like it's missing a lamp. Really, it's a cold air intake that feeds the supercharged Hellcat, which, by the way, sounds even better in this lightly insulated old car, enhanced by a MagnaFlow exhaust.

Related: 10 Reasons Why Chrysler Should Bring Back The Plymouth Road Runner

This 1967 Camaro Convertible, painted Son of a Gun Grey Metallic, a C7 Corvette factory color, complements the supercharged LS9 V8 under the hood. It is another nod to Corvette, originally in the 2009 ZR1. This Corvette-inspired pro touring Camaro renovation came about by one son of a gun of a story. Tim Bair had owned this car for over 20 years. Then, his show car, a beautiful candy-apple red convertible Camaro, literally blew up in his face, exploding and catching fire after he lifted the hood and hit the starter. That was the summer of 2019. Hospitalized for 10 days, all he could think of was how to rebuild.

The burnt car had to be rebuilt from the ground up. He added coilover suspension on a custom chassis. Lots of carbon fiber made this build. It was used everywhere, from the exterior body parts, like bumpers, and front and rear spoiler, to the side mirrors. The supercharged 6.2-liter LS9 is paired with a T-56 six-speed manual transmission, leaving behind the previous automatic gearbox. The deep red leather interior is striking against the metallic exterior. Modern bright spots include high-tech lighting. The headlamps, flipping open sideways, are stock ‘67 electric headlights. The rear and front lights automatically dim and shut off. The exterior lighting and Interior dimmers, plus a navigation system, push-button start, and other fancy features, like a digital "Race Pack" gauge set, required complicated wiring. It took 6-weeks for him and his electrician to get the wiring right. All very much worth it. The end result is one stunner of a restomod, reborn from the ashes.

This absolutely amazing car was hand built by a guy who started with a 1966 Chevy Chevelle that was not much more than a dilapidated body on top of a rusty frame. Doss Daley, an engineer from Alaska, designed and built everything from the chassis on up. It was a 5-year project that delivered a ridiculously impressive garage-built restomod. It is fully caged with a race roll bar and race seats. As a NASCAR-inspired street-legal track car, it pays tribute to Smokey Yunick. Daley did the paint himself too. In his garage.

It is solidly constructed with rocker panels that this talented and highly-skilled person engineered and welded to the frame. Everything is welded to the frame and fitted to the custom chassis. Side exhaust adds an attractive touch. The powertrain he dropped in is an LS3 with about 550 horsepower. To fit his custom frame, he also had to build his own headers. This car was Corvette-inspired too with Corvette taillights and hand-cut door handles. A very modern addition is a Formula 1 steering wheel, inlaid with touchscreen access to engine analytics, hand-crafted as well. This car is 100 percent badass. Hoonigan shot some frames of Daley's masterpiece the same week AutopiaLA taped a YouTube feature of this unbelievable restomod project.

The "Hellucination" is a seriously re-imagined ’68 Dodge Charger with a nod from Stellantis. Ralph Giles, the top automotive designer at the company, was all in on this performance restomod, saying the "Hellucination" project is something Dodge forebearers could only dream of. It's absolutely true. A '68 Dodge Charger with 1,000 horsepower is practically unbelievable today.

Speedkore teamed up to create "Hellucination." This modified ’68 Charger swaps in a "Hellaphant" V8, a 7.0-liter crate engine. Speedkore custom-built an all-carbon fiber body, rear suspension, frame, and roll cage. Front A-arm suspension is from Detroit Speed. Also bespoke are Penske dual-adjustable coilover parts and Brembo six- and four-piston calipers, front and back respectively. A ZF eight-speed transmission pairs with the "Hellephant" powerplant and exits out with custom headers through a MagnaFlow exhaust and muffler set. This monster build makes 950 lb. ft. torque. The 1,000 horsepower output "Hellucination," is a carbon fiber dream with a 3.0-liter supercharger, tempered only by the set of four Brembos.

This 2019-SEMA winning build took the 1969 Chevrolet Camaro to a new level. Digitally designed with advanced production engineering using CAD, 3D printing and scanning, and CNC machining that cut the molds, perfection in fabrication was achieved. The restomodding team even detailed machinery cuts to make parts look like they were 1960s vintage GM factory sourced. Named "Valkyrja" by the owner from Belgium, the Ringbrothers made this custom Camaro an example of restomod greatness. Fitting appellation for Valkyrja, the shepherdess of the dead to Valhalla.

It looks every bit like a ’67 Camaro, but you have to admit, even better. Custom carbon fiber covers this car, starting with the panels. A 416-cu. in. LS3 V8 makes a formidable 890 horsepower, outperforming even the 2023 Camaro ZL1's 650 horsepower V8. Output exits through Ringbrothers’ customized 44 Series stainless steel Flowmaster exhaust. Custom wheels and six-piston Baer brakes help slow it down. Valkyrja's engine is a Wegner Motorsports LS3 with a 2.9-liter Whipple supercharger. We could look at this classic '69 muscle car all day long.

Related: These Are The Sickest Restomod Camaros On The Internet

True to a classic American muscle car, this Eleanor restomod is a contemporary legend that straddles the original ‘60s pony and contemporary automotive excellence nimbly. It's made and licensed to replicate the ridiculously popular Gone In 60 Seconds movie car. But it is not cheap muscle.

Fusion Luxury Motors is responsible for rotisserie restoring hand-picked ’67 and ’68 Ford Mustang Fastbacks and re-engineering the cars into authentic Ford Mustang Eleanors. Four engine options include two 427-cu. in. eight-cylinder Roush builds, with either 560 or 480 horsepower, or a supercharged Roush V8 with 750 horsepower. Finally, a Roush 5.0-liter Coyote with 430 horsepower is an option with a base price of $189,000.

The 427 Roush is mated with a five-speed Tremec with a hydraulic clutch. But a six-speed manual Tremec with a double hydraulic clutch is optional. Who knows why automatic is available. It sounds insane with perfect exhaust tones. Coilover front suspension by Detroit Speed and Wilwood brakes are on it, and more "Eleanor" movie branding than you can shake a stick at.

This ’67 Mustang by Charge Cars is out of this world, so much so, it merely looks like its pony car nameplate. The London-based tech company took a ‘60s icon and made it revolutionary. A ’67 Ford Mustang electric conversion in 2019 reboots the muscle car scene.

The interior does not try to resemble the ’67 fastback. Instead, it comes with infotainment capabilities, wireless phone charging, and a contemporary digital instrument cluster. Two dual motors weigh the suspension on each end for an optimum ride. The quad of motors churns out 536 horsepower and 1,106 lb. ft. of torque. This car zips from zero to 60 in 3.9 seconds. Only 499 hand-built units were made available, prices started at $450,000.

The luxury ’67 Mustang by Charge is all about upgrades. It has all-wheel drive, gets 400 kW of peak power, and makes a decent 200-mile range. It's fully modern. Advanced safety like lane departure warning and adaptive cruise control plus two hi-def cockpit screens have little to do with 1967, but everything to do with modern luxury style.

Related: 10 Of The Coolest Electric Restomods We've Seen

This restored Shelby GT500CR is the real deal. There is no other way of experiencing a brand new, authentic Shelby GT500CR unless it's one of the other Shelby reenactments crafted by Classic Recreations. The Texas-based custom house managed to upgrade this mod too, bringing curb weight down 600 pounds by building with aerospace-grade carbon fiber.

Hand-tuned and handcrafted, this living classic spoils with luxury. A polished wood tri-pronged aluminum steering wheel represents this mix. Each car takes about four months, or 2,500 man hours to hand build.

True to form, the Carbon Fiber Shelby GT500CR comes standard with a 545 horsepower 427-cu. in. Ford Performance crate engine. A Coyote 5.0-liter is the best option. It can be supercharged to a ridiculous 810 horsepower. It's plenty. A Tremec six-speed manual can be swapped for an automatic transmission. These cars have official Shelby GT500CR VINs and are eligible to be included in the Worldwide Shelby Registry. Carroll Shelby envisioned the future of Shelby GT500s in carbon fiber. Classic Restorations delivered it.

We can all agree that the original Pontiac GTO, introduced in 1964 and known as the first muscle car ever, can never be forgotten. Its history makes this 1964 Pontiac GTO restomod something to see. Made to be driven, it's almost like owning a new car right off the lot at the peak of the muscle car era. But it's boosted and actually much better.

The first GTO had a 325-horsepower 389 cu. in. engine, which was huge for the time. This one makes 600 horsepower. Under the hood is a swapped LS7 crate engine with an Edelbrock supercharger, tuned and upgraded from an LS2 by BluePrint Engines. It has a six-speed manual transmission. It looks and feels period-correct inside and out, but it has a 2003 computer from a Camaro SS. It has a Bluetooth radio. Period correct analog gauges include oil pressure, boost measure, speedometer, RPM gauge, and one that measures exhaust cutouts. There are two driving modes, either quiet or unreal. Sitting still at an idle, this car breathes. The sound of air cooling the supercharged powerplant is amazing.

This 1969 Dodge Charger was rebuilt in 2021 for New Zealand motorsport champion and TV host Greg Murphy. The legendary race car driver started the project in his garage and then shipped it to Ringbrothers' custom shop in Wisconsin. Taking over the project, and after thousands of hours of building it, Murphy's Dodge Charger was dubbed the "Captiv."

The "Captiv" is totally custom and walks the line. It stays true both to the ‘69 Dodge Charger, like the one in Dukes of Hazard, and the modern muscle powerhouse as much as possible. The Hellcat under the hood is the first clue. It's a supercharged Mopar crate engine, good for 707 horsepower. A Tremec six-speed manual transmission stays true too, but a carbon fiber QA1 driveshaft is an upgrade.

Extensive bodywork, accounting for about 1,000 hours, shines through. BASF Pile Up Yellow paint, a hue Porsche shares, and matte-black racing stripes do complete justice to Gary Ragle's classic design. The chassis and suspension are by Art Morrison. It has adjustable QA1 shocks plus a Flowmaster exhaust upgrade. The custom interior details, dash, and gauge spread is so exquisite it must be seen. Inside, it's sleek and modern with Recaro seats, naturally. Outside, the Hellcat supercharger cover wouldn't fit under the hood, so they cut some space, really adding to the hood's already aggressive nature. There's a lot to see in this captivating Dodge Charger rebuild. It lives up to its name.

This author was drawn to media as a news writer. With aspirations to be that investigative reporter who rips the lid off a government scandal, she began writing for a local Huntington Beach newspaper. Later, as a staff writer at ABIILTY Magazine, she moved toward pop culture writing.