Perfectly Paired

Tom Welle PAIRED envisioned a Shelby clone but ended up with something much better and truly unique, combining ’13 Mustang GT underpinnings with a ’69 SportsRoof body

- Al Rogers

With the recent success of the newly designed Mustang, there have been countless attempts by overzealous car builders to crossbreed the old with the new, only to realize the finished product missed its mark. Then a loyal Mustang Monthly subscriber from Minnesota reached out to us with a picture and description of his one-of-a-kind Gulfstream Aqua ’69 Mustang with its flawless execution of conceptual design and built on a ’13 Mustang GT platform.

Several years back, Mustang enthusiast and avid car collector Tom Welle bought a nonrunning ’69 Mustang Mach 1 with plans to use it as a foundation to build a Shelby Mustang clone for his only granddaughter. Not long after purchasing the car, the idea crossed his mind to crossbreed it with a newer-model Mustang platform. He planned to take the body shell of the ’69 and drop it onto a newer-model Mustang platform. The idea of pairing the sculptured iconic look of the ’69 Mustang SportsRoof with the performance, power, handling, durability, and creature comforts of the newer Mustang was enticing.

Over the years, Tom had become friends with award-winning car builder Barry Dohrmann, owner of Dohrmann Custom Automotive in Foley, Minnesota. Barry is a talented out-of-the-box creator with the vision to build one-of-a-kind hand-fabricated automobiles.