It’s been 5 years since I started my first major project car process, and it’s been quite a frustrating bit of time. From waiting on one piece of the puzzle to the next, there is no textbook answer or manual to building a custom car. Still, today is a good day because the 1968 Eleanor GT500 is much closer to completion This build is not without controversy, of course, as the inevitable Eleanor Haters (Just read the comments) pop up from time to time. For me though, this was always the best way a Fastback Mustang ever looked and I always enjoy dialing things up to 11, which has resulted in headache and heartache…until now! Adding this much power under the hood had caused it’s fair share of issues. I do not want to rebuild after it’s said and done and taking our time during the build has been the main priority. Since Jeff introduced it to the Hooniverse community there have been a few more changes. Identifying how the twin-turbo system was going to be plumbed was quite the undertaking. We had to build a cradle to support cooling fans mounted to both sides of the fuel cell for the intercooler, heat exchanger, and oil cooler. Both would be fan controlled by switches on the dash which could be cut out for highway cruising and switched back on for stop and go traffic or burnout hooliganism. The final electrical bits have also been worked out. Additionally custom interior panels have made and stitched completely in leather. At the moment we had to send the car back for final bodywork and paintwork. We had some issues with the ’71-’73 Mach 1 fuel cap (looks much better than the Cobra high rise cap) and had to work a few more things to get things right. The car got a few scratches here and there and there was a run in the clearcoat I was not happy with. So as you read this the car should be finished up with a final full body respray to a show car finish. Things are starting to shape up for my twin-turbo beast and the next update I’ll have is when she is running. I will try and answer some questions I have had about this car. Will it be a garage queen? Most definitely no, I built it to be driven not trailered around and pampered. If it breaks I will fix it but as it sits it’s built to be driven HARD. Why not build it with a modular motor or with the new 5.8 Trinity motor? Mod motors are very wide and some of the newer 5.4’s and 5.8’s are downright huge! If you see a 67-68 Fastback next to one of the newer Mustangs it’s tiny. Even working with a Mustang II front suspension the firewalls are smoothed out, the 351 Windsor block barely fits in, and with the downpipes it’s a good thing we made more room for them. Why another Eleanor, why not do something original? I’ve always thought this was the best of the generation and begun the restomod theme. I like it, plain and simple opinions are out there but I’m the one who will live with it and I love this car. The power train and build itself are original enough. Things are changing, the next update I will give is when this GT500 is finally alive. [Images: Copyright 2014 Hooniverse/Jason Connor]