Mustang Round Up highlight – 1967 GT500 Eleanor replica

When more than 370 Mustangs gather in one place, it’s safe to assume at least one of them will be an ‘Eleanor’. Such was the case at the 2024 Mustang Round Up in Victoria.

Hosted by the Mustang Owner’s Club of Australia’s Victorian chapter (MOCA Vic), last year’s event celebrated 60 years since the original Mustang’s launch and the 50th birthday of MOCA Vic.

Held at the Dandenong Showgrounds on Sunday, 27 October, the 2024 Round Up combined a Show ‘n Shine that was open to all Mustang owners, with the MOCA Vic State Concours and Shelby Nationals for club members.

Thanks to the 2000 remake of Gone in 60 Seconds starring Nicolas Cage, pretty much everyone these days knows what an ‘Eleanor’ is. The formula of a Mustang fastback in metallic Pepper Grey with Shelby body accents and black Shelby stripes has been reproduced countless times. The Eleanor formula has been reinterpreted in different ways, too, with Mustang convertibles given the treatment, while other cars have used non-standard colours.

The success of Gone in 60 Seconds, and the Eleanor that was unquestionably the ‘star car’ in it, soon spawned an industry devoted to churning out the requisite parts for home builders to make their own Eleanor replica, while several companies have offered complete, turn-key tributes of the famous movie car, too, including Shelby American.

The Eleanor featured is based on a 1967 Mustang fastback and is certainly one of the better replicas going around. It’ll be familiar to some, as it’s been turning heads and winning trophies on the car show circuit for a decade.

Entered by Dorothy Cremona, this Mustang comes from a stable of pony cars owned by Dorothy and her husband Ronnie that has included a 1969 Mach 1, 2009 fastback and a 2010 Shelby GT500 SuperSnake.

As far as Eleanor authenticity goes, the Cremona car is pretty spot-on inside and out, from the dual sports mirrors to the racing-style fuel filler cap, side-exit exhaust, PIAA driving lights up front and Shelby sequential tail lights at the rear.

Under the bonnet, in the heavily braced engine bay, there’s a built 427 V8 with an Edelbrock intake and MSD ignition, plus lots of billet goodies, bespoke parts and an oversized radiator.

Wheels are authentic Shelby-branded alloys from American Racing, with Shelby disc brakes front and rear.

Apart from an RHD conversion, which makes it more practical on Aussie roads, the interior of the Cremona car is authentic, too, right down to the ‘Go, Baby Go’ button on the gear shifter.

A well-travelled vehicle, this Eleanor replica has been to the Mustang Nationals in SA and NSW, Motorclassica and the All Ford Day in Victoria, plus many other car shows – both near and far. Despite being so well known, especially in Mustang circles, this Eleanor never fails to attract attention. And for a build that’s now more than a decade old, this car still looks immaculate.

At the 2024 Mustang Round Up, it was a deserving winner of a Gold Award in the ‘Modified Class – Driven’ category at the MOCA Victorian State Concours.

To see JUST CARS’ report from the 2024 Mustang Round Up, click HERE.