Body Swap - 1962 Falcon Wagon on a 2017 Mustang GT350

Pat’s story started when he bought a totaled 2017 Ford Mustang GT350 that only had 56 miles on the clock. The Mustang had seen better days and had fallen off a car carrier that crushed the roof. Mechanically the Mustang was still perfect.  “I never thought about doing a body swap until I found this car.  The idea behind this car was always to race it” The question was just, what to body swap it with?

Once he got it back to the shop, Pat did a throw inspection on the frame and found it had zero damage, so the plan changed overnight. Pat always had a love for wagons; however, he knew that finding the right wagon would be crucial. When it comes to doing a body swap you need to ensure the wheelbase of the two cars is as close as possible.

Pat found that the 2-door 1962 Ford Falcon wagon matched up to the Mustang within 2 inches. Close enough! As luck would have it, he found a very clean (or so he thought) Wagon in California. The Wagon was still original with only 19,000 miles on it.  So, the process began by putting the two together.

The Build

The project started with a company in Phoenix, they had it for about 2.5 years trying to do the work, but they lacked the vision to complete it.  Once he moved the project to Everett Bros in Fallbrook, CA, things started happening.

The Chassis

The car has the original 2017 GT350 Mustang chassis.  However, there were some modifications done as Everett Bros added a rear cross member inside the car between the shock mounts.

The plan was to go racing so the suspension got an upgrade.

Pat went with a Cortex suspension because it is a full coil-over system with triple adjustable shocks as well as front and rear sway bars.  The rear setup is for autocross. Pat did stay with the original diff as well as the original GT350 Brembo brakes.

The motor and gearbox are all original Ford. It is a 5.2-litre Voodoo motor that maxes at 8200 RPM – stock from Ford. This baby comes with 525 HP horsepower.

The Body

The body of the 2-door wagon was in good shape, or so Pat thought. Luckily the bodywork did not have a lot of rust. Pat sandblasted it himself in the front portion of his shop. However, once it was sandblasted, he found that someone cut a sunroof in somewhere along the line and then filled it back in.  With this knowledge, Pat had to find another 2-door wagon to use to replace the roof.

Step one was cutting away all the metal on the Mustang that was going to get in the way of putting the Wagon body on. Yet, keeping enough of the original frame and structure of the mustang to still weld it onto the Wagon. The only way to do this is to repeatedly put the body on and off the chassis till everything is cut away and fits into place. Once the body is in place, new metal is cut and welded to secure the two structures.

All sensors, backup cameras and other electronics are all still in the car and functional.  The Mustang wheelbase is wider than the wagon. So, the wheel wells had to be cut to give the wheels more space. Custom-fabricated steel fender flares were then added to make up the difference.

With the main body now in place, it was time to work on the front.

Once again custom fabricated steel fender flares were added. On the hood the Mustang cross brace was a bit of an issue, however, this was solved by adding a Steel fabricated hood scoop.

A front splitter was then fabricated to give the Wagon more downforce and a more aggressive look.

The Paint

Pat wasn't sure when it came to color, so Everett Bros set up several test panels in the sun. The winner was Cobalt Candy Blue from House of Paint with a clear from PPG. The result is amazing especially when the car is in the sun.

Interior

A bonus is that the interior was complete and in good condition. They just added seats from Jegs so I could drive it. It has a standard Sound System as well as stock steering. Even the dash and gauges are stock belonging to the 2017 GT-350 mustang. The car is set to go for full interior in the next few weeks but for now I am enjoying it as is!

The Wheels

The wheels are Forgeline – 10” front, 11” rear – 19” wheels, direct from Forgeline. The tire size is 285/35/19 front and 315/35/19 rear.

All about the detail

The grille is a factory original 1962 falcon grille. To add character to this beauty, it has authentic windows with the original glass from 1962. For headlights, Everett Bros used HID aftermarket lights, the taillights are the original lenses with LED inners, which Everett Bros just installed. Also, the fuel tank is the original factory Ford mustang fuel tank.

Asking Pat if anything specific stands out on the car, he is quick to say that the front splitter is all metal with a very thin Bondo coat on it and in his opinion, the splitter is what makes the car look so good. He is convinced that the outcome is 10 times better than he thought it would look. The build of this car took about 3.5 years.

Asking Pat what is next, he is quick to say that he is working on a swap with a 2017 F-450 truck which he plans to swap with a 1956 chevy 5600 cap.  After that, he is looking at swapping a 2014 Z-28 onto a 1968 C10 cab & body.  He would like to thank Chad Everett and his team for finishing the car and all the people who have helped over the years with the car's progress. Lastly, companies that worked on the car are Forgeline and Cortex suspension.