Most Automotive
enthusiasts young and old can remember vehicles in their favorite TV shows or
Movies when they were growing up. Personally, I was a fan of Televisions
vehicles including the General Lee from Dukes of Hazzard, The Knight Industries
Two Thousand (K.I.T.T. for short) from Knight Rider, and even the GMC Van from
the A-Team. Gone in 60 Seconds, starring Oscar winning actors Nicolas Cage,
Angelina Jolie and Robert Duvall, is the story of a retired car thief, Memphis
Raines, who must steal 50 cars in one night in order to save his brother from an
evil Crime Boss is a remake of the 1974 film by H.B. Halicki. The cars, which
took the names of women to essentially hide the actual make of the vehicle from
the Police, were all rare and valuable, but the one that stole the show was this
’67 Shelby GT 500 named “Eleanor”. Steve Alderson of Laguna Niguel, California
is the Owner of this 1967 Ford Mustang GT500 that was used in the year 2000
film. It also was included in the promotional world tour for the movie. Only 7
of these cars survived the filming of the movie.
After taking a little
abuse and being shipped all over the planet, the car was in need of some work.
It was taken to Jim Iiams and his crew at IMZZ Industries in
La Habra, California. The front and rear received new coil-over
kits with control arms by Total Control. The car also needed a new rear end so
Jim and his guys got to work to build a custom 9-inch posi-traction rear end.
The body was in for some
updating as well. They started with a fiberglass body kit built by Maier Racing.
Then all of the sheet metal was reworked to perfect shape with some much needed bodywork.
Then a custom House of Kolors mix was made by IMZZ Paint Guru Mike Bach. The
whole car was sprayed with the custom color, some racing stripes, and a nice Glasurit Clearcoat
to finish it off.
Behind the wheel of this
famous automobile is a comfortable and cool interior that makes you want to
stomp on the gas pedal until you run out of petrol. The interior was outfitted
with black leather and carpet by
714 Motorsports, The seats include the signature stitching with Carroll Shelby's
name. The radio was replaced with a Kenwood head unit that includes CD player
and iPod
connection. The speakers were all replaced with Boston Acoustic aftermarket
versions as well as a subwoofer in the trunk..
This car would not have
been as important as it was in the movie if it wasn't built with a lot of power
coming from under the hood to escape during the Police pursuit. This GT500 has a 427 Stroker by Roush
Performance putting out 512 Horsepower. It also has a Tremec 6-speed manual transmission. IMZZ Industries installed a Billet
Specialties Tru-Trac pulley system as well as a Be-Cool radiator with Spal
electric fans.