The Mustang Brothers Are Building Turn-Key Restomods, and Orders Are Open

Every few months, another shop in some sunny state announces a line of build-to-order Broncos or Mustangs or C10s with modern drivelines, brakes, suspension, stereos, and HVAC systems, usually costing six figures, donor vehicle not included. The “Outlaw” series by the Mustang brothers, Cody and Preston Ingrassia, may just be something different.

Headquartered in a massive warehouse outside gray-skied Chicago, Mustang Brothers is already intimately familiar with restoring Mustangs of all vintages. It is the world’s largest Mustang shop, measured in builds completed annually. Christopher Ingrassia, who founded it as Mustang Restorations in 1980, is gradually handing the business over to his twin sons, Preston and Cody, who are looking beyond the rotisserie restorations for which the shop is known.

This is the first Outlaw built, and it has a real VIN — just like all future builds. Once a “rust-free grandpa car,” this six-cylinder 1968 fastback is now powered by the driveline from a 2012 Shelby GT500: A supercharged 5.4-liter V-8 backed by a Tremec six-speed. Though the SEMA car uses the 5.4, all other Outlaws will use engines sourced directly from Ford Performance, either a 5.0 Coyote or the 7.3 Godzilla. The headers are custom-made by the brothers, who not only designed the “hidden exhaust” setup but routed all the plumbing and wiring through the frame rails of the car to create as clean of an underbody as possible. Check out that polished gas tank!

Other than the engine, every supplier on the SEMA build will be present on the rest of the Outlaw builds. The tubular front suspension is sourced from Mustangs to Fear, as is the rear Watts link setup. A full set of QA1 adjustable coilovers rounds out the chassis. The 18-inch Forgeline Grudge wheels are wrapped in Nitto Invo tires, and the brakes are six-piston units from Wilwood. The car wears Brittany Blue paint, which you may recognize from the 2022 GT500, and a set of white Shelby stripes.

In total, Mustang Brothers will build 75 Outlaws: 25 based on ’65–66es, 25 on ’67–68es, and 25 on ’69–70. Starting price for the ’69–70s will be around $400,000. The ’67–68 cars will be more expensive—around $480,000–$500,000. All prices include the donor car.

“We initially just wanted to build the nicest Eleanor from Gone in 60 Seconds,” says Preston. Since the 2000 remake of Gone in 60 Seconds, he says Mustang builds in the vein of that hero car have been overdone. “I wanted to kinda change the game, and I wanted to see the idea evolve into much more than a knockoff.” When they first began kicking around the concept of turn-key restomods, the brothers were also looking for something they could bring to SEMA to show off their fabrication skills—and make a statement.

One idea led to another—Preston loved the glass roof on Cody’s Range Rover and, when Cody assured his twin that he wouldn’t be “cutting up my new Range Rover,” Preston ordered a few pieces of glass from another Rangie and a Mercedes to find something that would fit. Neither did, so he took the whole roof skin and sent it out for a mold. “That way I knew as soon as the glass came back, all I had to do was kind of trim it down and make it fit into the hole that I wanted to in the roof.” There is precedent for this modern luxury on a Mustang: In 2009, the S197 Mustang was available with a glass roof option.

The S197’s rear glass exposed a view of the rear bucket seats, but the twin’s father, Christopher, thought the shop’s SEMA car deserved something artsier behind the front chairs. He came up with the “tonneau-cover” situation, taking his inspiration from the Thunderbird Sports Roadster. Preston wasn’t sure whether he liked the idea or even knew how to execute it, so Christopher went right ahead cutting up the car and making it fit.

When the Mustangs To Fear body kit didn’t satisfy their vision, the Mustang Brothers made one in-house. “My body guys over here—magicians,” says Preston. “They just started going to town.”

One feature on the SEMA car that the brothers won’t be replicating is the right-hand-drive conversion. It succeeded in grabbing attention at the industry-only show, which is increasingly driven by what gets clicks on Instagram or TikTok. “I got a few more gray hairs, I can tell you that,” Preston says.

If you’re interested, get in touch with Preston and Cody through their website, themustangbrothers.com. Preston’s just bought the donor car to start the Outlaw “series two,” which is based on the ’69 Fastback. Orders are open now.

With a staff that’s grown to eleven full-timers, Cody and Preston will make three or four per year—the shop could do more, but it’s got a lively restoration business to attend to. They’re planning on about four or five restorations per year, plus the same number of concours-quality projects. And that’s not counting the miscellaneous repair jobs—rust repair, engine swaps, interiors, suspension, brakes, convertible tops. “We literally have hundreds of Mustangs come through here,” says Preston.

With this restomod program, the brothers’ mission is simply to deliver the highest level of craftsmanship that big money can buy. Many shops use the same parts vendors to make high-dollar restomods, but Mustang Brothers sees a path to differentiation. “The problem is I see these restomods, and these guys are spending half a million plus on these cars, and they’re undercoated underneath. The guy, if he ever fell in hard times and he wanted to go take the car to an auction or put it on eBay, he’d get half his price. I want to deliver a product that somebody could purchase for the relatively cheaper price than the competitor, but you’re getting a better product.”

“And let’s face it, everybody wants to be the next Carroll Shelby.”

Though your child or grandchild might know them from TikTok, Cody and Preston are serious, curious craftsmen, who believe that the dirty, greasy work of restoration and fabrication belongs in the modern world. If anyone has the skill and creativity to successfully differentiate themselves in the crowded restomod space, it’s the Mustang brothers.