All-New Steel Replacement Bodies

Go ahead and blush, hot rodders. You have been handed an embarrassment of riches. Not quite three years ago HOT ROD gave you the word: '69 Camaro convertible replacement bodies were on the way-brand new ones, straight from the crate. As the hobby collectively held its breath, this miracle in blue steel actually came to pass. And as it turned out, '69 convertibles in virgin sheetmetal were just the start. Now there are '69 Camaro coupes, and '67 coupes and convertibles, and here comes a '67 Mustang fastback. And there's more, including a '57 Chevy convertible body in steel and a Camaro Gen I/Gen IV hybrid.And there will surely be more to come.

But first we need to lay down a few boundaries on these pieces. For example, the new Mustang body is not a Ford part. It's a Ford-licensed part, and Ford wants you to understand the difference. The Mustang name is one of Ford's most valuable brands, and the company guards it like a mother lion, rightly so. So to all parties involved, this is a Mustang replacement body shell. Dynacorn Classic Bodies manufactures the body under license from Ford Motor Company. Now what you do with the shell once you purchase it from a Dynacorn distributor like Year One is totally up to you: You can use it to replace the rotting husk of your original Mustang, or you can build your own Mustang dream car from scratch. It's your choice.

This whole trend is all about choice. If your passion is musclecars and street machines, you now have more options, more freedom than ever before. What we have here is the street-rodification of late-model street machines. By 1960, fiberglass T-bucket bodies began to appear as the supply of originals was drying up, and by the '70s Model A and Deuce replica 'glass bodies had come to market. In the '90s reproductions of vintage Fords in real steel from companies like Brookville Roadster, RodBods, and Dearborn Deuce became available. Demand drove the supply-the size and scope of the hot rod world was not going to be limited by a shortage of raw material. And now the same thing is happening with the succeeding generations of hot rods: the Tri-Five Chevys, Camaros, and Mustangs. There will be new bodies, for more rods and more rodders. The long and the short of it is this: With these new bodies, the musclecar era can live on forever.

If anything, the reproduction sheetmetal business was a little knocked back by the demand for complete bodies. It was initially assumed that the market would be driven mainly by high-end restoration projects like Camaro convertibles, which bring a pretty penny among the gold-chain set at Barrett-Jackson and elsewhere. Not really so, it turns out. The demand has been universal-across the breadth of the hobby. "If anything, the error was doing the convertible first," says Jim Christina of Dynacorn. So far demand has run slightly higher for the coupe over the convertible shell.

And they have been put to every purpose. If an old body is too rusty to save, it can simply be replaced, far more quickly and cost-effectively than attempting to salvage a hulk. "These cars are 40 years old now," says Jim. "Usually there's not much left. Not long ago I saw a Mustang that took $40,000 to get straightened out." Or if your heart's desire is, say, a phantom '67 Z/28 convertible, here's the starting point to invent your own from the whole cloth. Or if an original body is too rare and valuable to carve up with tubs and rollbar tubing, one of these replacement shells can serve as the basis for a Pro Street or Pro Touring custom, as radical as you please-without perpetrating any crimes against automotive history or committing financial suicide. Now there's more freedom and more cars to work with for everyone. These replacement bodies can ease the pressure on the absurdly escalating prices for original cars, and grow the sport at the same time.

"Since we started down the road on this program," says Jim, "we've heard everything from 'you're ruining the musclecar' to 'this is the best thing since sliced bread.' But really, we can't change the hobby itself. That won't change. We can benefit it, I believe. All we can do is provide the opportunity to build a car to people who wouldn't have the opportunity to build one otherwise."

Here is Dynacorn's latest, a '67 Mustang replacement shell. Front shock towers and core support are included. This example has been painted for show purposes-customer bodies are supplied EDP-coated to protect against corrosion and environmental damage. Dynacorn says its assembly tolerances and welding joints, as well as the quality and gauge of its steel, far surpass the state of the art in Detroit in 1967.

Here's the Dynacorn '69 Camaro coupe. As you can see, new sheetmetal does not mean "ready for paint." These bodies roll out just as they did off the factory floor back in the day, with seam finishing and panel fitting required.

The doors and decklid are not shown, but they are included in the $13,500 list price for the new Dynacorn '67 Camaro coupe replacement body. There is also a $495 crating fee.