New style of hybrid for old-school car lovers

By Josh Stockinger
Daily Herald Staff Writer
Posted Tuesday, May 23, 2006

The beast in Wayne Julian’s St. Charles garage is something of a Frankenstein for car lovers — but good-looking.

On the outside, it’s a 1965 Ford Mustang fastback with a “Screaming Yellow” paint job.

But strap yourself inside, and you’ll be sitting in the guts of a 2003 SVT Cobra.

Julian’s custom-built machine is a hybrid of sorts — one that blurs the lines between fantasy and reality, he says, one that mixes then and now.

The idea was racing around his head for more than a year before he gave it life. But now the car’s dominating competitions across the country and earning international glory on television and the Internet.

It’s called the SN65. And from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, you can see it at his auto body business, 3985 Commerce Drive, St. Charles.

“I’ve got a year and a half of my life in this thing,” Julian said while surveying the car closely, wiping away specks of dust.

Julian and his brother, Bob, had always been fans of classic cars. But they embarked on the “SN65 Project” with the idea of combining everything they like about old cars — their body styles and builds — with the ferociousness, smooth ride and technology of newer models.

They started with the rotted body of the 1965 fastback and essentially rebuilt it around the chassis and features of a Cobra that Julian bought from Ford.

Actually building the SN65 from the two cars was a lengthy, if not frustrating, experience at times, they said. But Julian — with his brother’s help along the way — kept working to make sure every detail under, inside and outside the car was perfect.

A manual that stands about two inches in height details the process with photos and timelines. It includes the process Julian used to install the 4.6 Cobra engine, to meld the old body with the new chassis, and to reconfigure gas tanks, doors, interior and upholstery to create a flawless vehicle that never before existed.

“Everything he did was an attempt to make it look as if it was a factory concept, and not just something he built,” Bob Julian said of his brother.

“Instead of taking an old car and trying to make it look new again, he took a new car and made it look old.”

In March, the SN65 made its debut at the prestigious Detroit Autoramma, bringing home an award for best-engineered out of more than 1,000 vehicles.

It went on to become the first Ford vehicle to place at the Year One Experience, a competition for primarily General Motors and Chrysler products, Wayne Julian said.

In addition, Hot Rod Magazine and television car shows have written about or are airing features on the project. A Web site dedicated to the car also has received more than 10,000 hits.

Julian estimates that about 3,000 hours went into building the car, and its value hovers in the neighborhood of $300,000.

He wants to build more SN65s and, if given the chance, start turning a profit.

“People love the car,” Julian said. “And I think it’s just going to keep going and going.”

Of course, who knows when Julian will be ready for his first commissioned project.

He’s got the SN65 booked on national tours through much of the rest of the year. Plus, the first project took long enough.

Finally finishing it, “was just like, ‘Thank you, Lord. We’re done,’” Julian said