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30 Muscle Car Mods That Took Things Way Too Far

Cameron Eittreim July 13, 2020

Driving a modified car is certainly a fun thing to do. But there are certain times when vehicle owners will take mods too far. The muscle car era, in particular, influenced a huge amount of mods, from off-the-wall spoilers to rims that are too big for the vehicle.

The amount of mods drivers can add is endless, which is why a lot of muscle car owners take it too far. The lengths to which owners will go to customize a vehicle is astounding. There’s a market for over-the-top customization that might make many car fans scratch their heads in disbelief. So today we’re going to take a look at some of the cars that went too far below. Some of these even have too much flash for auto fans in a midlife crisis.

Integra
via: Car Domain

30: The Integra Mustang

We’re not sure what the owner was thinking here, but wow. This particular Mustang has been mutated into an early 2000s-era tuner car. It looks like the birth child of “The Fast and the Furious” and a muscle car swap meet. With a style design that you’d expect out of a child artist, this Mustang doesn’t even remotely resemble the original 2000s generation “Edge” Ford Mustang. In addition to the white horse head that’s sticking out of the hood, the car lacks any originality. We’re not sure what exactly the owner was thinking here.

Intergra
via: The Drive

The New Edge Mustang was one of the most popular cars of the new millennium. And the fact that someone decided to create this monstrosity is interesting enough. The Mustang nor the Integra ever shared any share of a market, so we’re not sure why someone would want to combine two different cars. This might be what happens when you have spare parts left over and decide to learn fabrication.

Cyco Falcon
via: Ford

29: Cyco Falcon

The Australian Ford Falcon was a popular car for the company at a time when innovation was everything. The Falcon stood out from the crowd for its interesting design at a time when Ford Australia was at the forefront. The design was ahead of its time, combining a mixture of Australian ingenuity with sportiness. The car was a hit all over the continent and has remained a fixture of the Ford lineup overseas to this day. However, we’re not sure what the owner was thinking here when he decided to create this monstrosity.

Ford-AU-Falcon-TS50-used-car-buyers-guide
via: Ford AU

This particular entry has a lime green paint job coupled with body kits that look like they came right out of 2004. In addition to the hideous body paneling, the car has a hood scoop for some reason that doesn’t go along with the modern styling of the car. This particular Falcon named the “Cyco” is an example of what you shouldn’t do to a car.

Rusto-Wrapped-Stang-Engine-Freaks
via: Ford

28: Blue Disaster

This specific Mustang is a competitor in a contest of who can create the ugliest vehicle. The styling is reminiscent of that movie “Blade Runner. The car looks like a mixture of someone’s creative genius and horror, the car doesn’t make sense at all. The bumper area looks to be made of a rich texture, which doesn’t even make sense on a car of this caliber. Judging by the alloy rims, the Mustang is just the V6 variation, which doesn’t speak much to the exterior design.

Mustang SVT
via: Ford

Generally speaking, most body kits are made out of fiberglass and it would appear that the owner decided to do that on his own. The wooden roll bar on the front of the car also doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, yet of course, the whole car doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. A Mustang should never hit the race track looking this awful.

Rusto-Wrapped-Stang-Engine-Freaks
via: Hot Rod

27: Resto-Wrap Disaster

Vehicle wraps have become all the rage. They’re an inexpensive way to add an awesome paint job to your ride. But sometimes the wraps go a bit overboard and here is one example. This wrap known as the “retro wrap” is a firm example of why not everyone is cut out to wrap a vehicle. It made this modern 5.0 Mustang look like a rust bucket on wheels, and there’s no turning back at this point. We can see turning a classic Mustang into a rust bucket piece of art, but not one of the finest examples of the pony car.

review-2018-ford-mustang-gt-with-gt-performance-pack-level-2-2018-11-28_22-19-07_204209
via: Ford

This particular 2015 Ford Mustang GT was outfitted with a set of black on black rims, which add to the mystique of the car. The 2015 was a particular milestone for Ford as the brand refreshed its image and moved onto a more digital vehicle. So why on earth the owner would decide to transform this into rust is beyond us.

The Sheikh's Mustang
via: Hot Rod

26: The Sheikh’s Mustang

Another interesting car that needs no introduction is The Sheikh’s Mustang. If this looks like a 1930s inspired roadster there is a good reason for that, because that’s the look he was going for. Designed by the Sheikh of the United Arab Emirates this was inspired by a 1920s roadster, and there’s no comparison. The problem is that the design looks deformed rather than unique. That holds true even with the addition of the 6.4-liter Hemi V-8 under the hood. Built on the platform of the 2015 Dodge Ram, this is hardly a factory Ford.

VIA: Ford

There are different ways to go about creating a vehicle like this, take Jay Leno’s rocket roadster for example. But the Sheikh’s Mustang doesn’t look like anything else on the road. Although it does go to show the ingenuity and passion for automobiles that is happening over in the United Arab Emirates right now.

Mad Max Corvette
via: Pinterest

25: Mad Max Corvette

The movie ‘Mad Max’ is one of the most iconic movies in pop culture. The vehicles in this film had mods people thought would look like from cars nowadays. The base Corvette Stingray underneath all the paneling and mods is one of the most sought-after models. The Corvette itself is fun no matter what body style it is. This time, however, it would appear that the mods went a bit overboard.

Mad Max Corvette
via: Motor 1

There is a front to another car that looks like a classic farm truck, and the wheels are a bit much. We’re not sure what the owner was thinking here. This car doesn’t look great in the eyes of many drivers, which begs the question – why ruin a perfectly good Corvette? We might never find the answer to that.

Unicorn Mustang
via: Drive Tribe

24: Unicorn Mustang

The original Ford Mustang is the car that birthed the pony car phenomenon. But it would appear this owner took the word pony a little too literally. The car is themed after a unicorn. The giant hood horn and the sparkling paint job are only two of the outlandish things done to this car. The tail on the back of the car adds some sort of aerial performance to a car that didn’t need anything.

The owner took a classic and made it into a travesty of all mustangs. The car does not have any sort of redeeming value, and the owner is probably one of few who likes this car. But if you have a thing for unicorns this might be the perfect sports car for you.

Camaro SS LED
via: Camaro 5

23: Camaro SS LED Overboard

The Camaro SS has been the brunt of some of the most awful modifications. This Camaro appears to have gotten the grand treatment of LED lights and a paint job mixed into one. The car looks more like a carnival ride than anything, and that might be alright.

Camaro LED
via: Camaro 5

However, if you want a serious sports car, this is just going a tad bit overboard. The LED lighting treatment this Camaro got goes a little too far. The overboard lengths that some owners will go to are hysterical. At least you still have the power of the solid Camaro SS underneath the hood in this car.

Overboard Car Sound System
via: TQN

22: Super Sound Mods

There was a fad during the early 2000s of over-the-top sound systems. This is still commonplace from time to time, but for the most part, the factory sound systems are nice enough. If you take a look at this car, it would appear that the owner was preparing for a competition. The speaker setup is more than the average driver will need, which is why you don’t see this in most of our trunks.

Car Sound system
via: Newegg

The deliberate design of the sound system is made to annoy passersby and just about anyone within the range of the vehicle. If you’ve ever modified a car don’t cram a sound system like this in your trunk. The design is just stupid and all your going to do is rattle your vehicle up.

Chrome Charger
via: PIN IMG

21: Vehicle Wraps

Another kind of mods that has hit the automotive industry are vehicle wraps. These used to be relegated to advertising vehicles, but now you can wrap anything. Vehicle wraps are a cheap way to get a custom paint job without having to spend thousands. If you get the vehicle wrapped the right way the wrap can be removed later on without damaging the paint.

Golden BMW
via: PIN IMG

But the designs are often outlandish and can be a bit too much. For the most part, you’ll want to skip the vehicle wrap phase, as this just costs a good bit of money for no reason, unless you’re in a car show or there is some reason for you to be wrapping your vehicle. There are better mods you can spend your money on.

Donk Chevrolet Caprice
via: Forgiato

20: Oversized Rims

If you’ve ever seen a car with extremely big rim, you’ll know what a ‘Donk’ is. But, the Donk is probably one of the stupidest designs in the car world. That’s because you are cutting away and lifting a perfectly good car just to get the rims to fit onto the vehicle. There are different mods you can use to make a vehicle look good, and these hideously big rims are not it.

Fruit Loops Donk
via: Whip Addict

Nevertheless, the style has seemed to catch on for the past couple of decades. The cars are notoriously annoying to look at and even worse to drive. There’s no turning radius and the style can become dated after a short time.

Stanced STI
via: Wallpaper Cave

19: Stanced Kit Mods

The current fad of creating stanced kits has made cars look downright awful. Lowering is nothing new but stancing your car is a relatively new fad. For the inexperienced, these mods wreak havoc on your suspension if the work isn’t done right. Most people are doing this on their own and will stance just about anything. This is a fad that has gotten a bit out of hand as it was originally intended for track cars.

Stanced Civic CRX
via: Cars on love

The common driver is not going to go anywhere near a track so this type of mods is rather useless for most. If you’ve jumped onto the stancing fad it’s time to jump off. This is just something that doesn’t do the automotive industry any good. You’ll save money on tires and suspension replacements in the long run.

Snake Wrapped Mustang
via: Mustang Nation

18: Too Much Cobra

The Cobra Mustang SN95 is perhaps one of the best Mustangs to ever roll off of the assembly line. The interesting look of the car has made it an instant classic with excellent resale value. There is a reasonable amount of mods for this car that both enhances look and performance. Ford did everything right when it came to this generation of the Mustang and for the most part the company has followed up nicely.

Snake wrapped Mustang
via: Skepple

The Cobra was a limited-edition model and what we have here is an owner that took the “snake” look a little too far. The Mustang Cobra is a standout muscle car that deserves a lot of recognition. No matter what generation of the Cobra you get, try to stay away from snake-themed accessories. It’s a little too cliché.

JDM engine swap
via: Super Street Online

17: Engine Swapping

Another fad that has taken over the muscle car business is swapping out engines, even if the engine is a capable choice such as the GM 350. Enthusiasts are swapping out older engines for the newer LS series of engines. There have even been groups of enthusiasts who have decided to utilize the GM Vortec V8 engines from the large SUVs. It just doesn’t make sense when the car is already capable.

L/S Engine Swap
via: Super Chevy

Many stock engines can be quite capable with just slight tuning. The interesting thing about the engine swapping trend is that many of these cars are perfectly fine. But drivers are on the hunt for the next big thing in terms of performance, which is why many are opting toward these engine enhancements.

Rolls Royce Mustang
via: IMGUR

16: The Rolls Royce Mustang

We’re not sure what the plan was with this one right here. When you go and cram a brand new Ford Mustang on top of an old Rolls Royce chassis, you have something unique-looking. The owner must have been shooting for that classic car look that many of us crave. The result was more of a Frankenstein car than anything, with the body of a classic roadster.

Ford Mustang Rolls Royce
via: Reddit

The rest of the car is built on a Ram platform and then merged with the body of a Rolls Royce. We know it’s a lot to take in, and we aren’t sure what the owner had in mind with this car. This is a unique combination of looks and performance, to say the least.

Mustang with a blower
Via: WP

15: Mustang With A Nose Job

This is one of the strangest Mustangs we’ve seen yet, and not in a good way. This was a car that was designed to be the powerful four-cylinder version of the Mustang, also known as the SVO. But what this owner has done is gone ahead and added a bunch of unneeded mods. There’s nothing that this does to enhance the performance or the looks of the car, either in a good or bad way.

Fox Body Race Car
via: Maierracing

You might just ride by this and think that it’s another junkyard piece. The Mustang SVO was lauded for its performance at a time when gas prices were rising. However, the 5.0 quickly took over as the most popular option and the Mustang SVO faded into distant memories.

El Camino Off-Road
via: PIMING

14: Off-Road El Camino

The El Camino is one of the most notorious vehicles ever built. The combination of a truck and a car all in one package that hadn’t been done before. The car wasn’t very capable off-road, but there are owners like this who decided to lift them anyway.

Off-road Elcamino
via: Four Wheeler

We probably wouldn’t go this route with the El Camino for the simple reason that it’s a performance car at heart. But if you have been looking for an off-road El Camino, here is one right here. The interesting look of the car is enough to grab attention, which might be what the owner wanted.

Engine Blower
via: Hot Rod

13: Elaborate Blower Technique

The Camaro has been redesigned for decades, and owners have done all kinds of modifications. The Camaro in this picture, however, is just one example of what happens when mods go too far. The blower and the intake are just out of proportion with the rest of the car, and you can tell. The owner was going for a certain look, but when you take a car to this level, it’s insanity. The blower mods don’t appear to do anything for the performance of the car.

Blower Motor Pontiac GTO
via: PINING

This is why a lot of these Camaro owners steer clear of mods like this. The design of this Camaro is just one example of what happens when you take the exterior design and mods too far. There could have been other ways to achieve this performance without having to butcher this car.

Mustang Drift Car
via: Ebay

12: Mustang Frankenstein Drift Car

The Mustang in general is one of the most iconic cars ever made, and the first generation is especially sought after. So why this owner decided to mutate a perfectly good Mustang like this is beyond us. As you can see in the picture this Mustang was modified to be a drift car. In between the mods are a little bit of Corvette mixed in with some other performance cars for good measure.

Mustang Drift Car
via: Pining

The rest of the car has been chopped apart and the body doesn’t even resemble a factory Mustang model anymore. The car is a definite shell of what a Mustang should be, especially the first generation. We’re sure that enthusiasts shutter when they see this car.

Camaro Lambo Doors
via: CarID

11: Lambo Doors

Another stupid fad that has come and gone from the automotive industry was the Lambo door phase. People were putting these butterfly doors on just about anything that you could think of, which is odd considering that many of these cars were never designed for this. Instead, the owners thought that it looked cool. But a lot of the time these doors aren’t installed right.

GTR Lambo Doors
via: Car ID

The result is a car that looks deformed and a far cry from itself. This Mustang pictured is just one example of a perfectly good car that didn’t need mods like Lambo doors. The work and the cost that goes into doing this could be put into another aspect of the car’s design.

Mickey Thompson Mach-1
via: Photo Bucket

10: Funny Car Mustang

Most of these early-generation Mustangs have inspired drag racing teams to rebuild. Building a funny car is not cheap nor easy, but we have to wonder why they’d ruin a perfectly good body. The Mustang in itself has a timeless style, especially the ’67 models. This owner decided to build up a funny car out of a factory Mustang.

Ford Mustang Funny Car
via: IBSRV

The result is a car that doesn’t look anything like it should and more or less resembles an array of parts. We’re sure driving this thing is fun but we just can’t get over why you’d want to ruin such a good car. The classic Mustang is going to get harder to come by as more and more collectors snatch these up. So the more Mustangs with mods like this will mean less collectible models on the open market.

Oversized Engine
via: Blogspot

9: Oversized Engines

A lot of the fans of mods like to cram big engines into their vehicles. If you are trying to prove yourself at the track there is no reason why you’d want to skimp on performance. But take a look at this GTO and you will see a car that has gone a bit too far. The overall design of the thing looks a bit obscene with that hood sticking out of the top of it like an actual drag car.

Rocket Engine
via: Gawker

The owner also has a pair of oversized tires on the back, and the only redeeming quality is the paint job. Overall, this was a great example of what you shouldn’t do to a performance car. The GTO had a lot going for it in terms of design and implementation. Taking it out of its element and creating a monstrosity like this is just a shame. The original muscle car look of the GTO is one of the things that made it great.

SLK Lambo Doors
via: K45

8: Another Frankenstein

This is another example of what happens when a fabricator has too much time (and mods) on his hands. The result here is a Dodge Charger that was blended with the early 2000s CLK and the body of a roadster. This car is nothing short of astonishing ugly, and we can’t figure out why anyone would want to drive.

Dodge Challenger SLK Blend
via: Auto Evolution

On top of the obvious problems with the design, the car has some flaws to point out. For starters, the cabin is too high up in the air, and the rest of the car just doesn’t conform with all the mixed parts. We’re sure that the owner had something cool in mind for this car, but the result is just something sad, to say the least. The car could have had a lot of potential.

Gold Corvette
via: Zilla Wraps

7: Gold Paint Jobs

There has been another annoying trend with car enthusiasts as of late, and it involves wrapping a car in foil. If you’ve ever seen one of these cars like the one that Justin Bieber owned, you’ll know these reflective paint jobs are a bit too much. The car is just not designed to be that bright and then you throw a pair of oversized rims on it and you have a problem.

Gold Mercedes S500
via: Tinting Chicago

The cars we see with this kind of mods are just a money pit. You don’t get anything out of doing this to your car and all it does is annoy other drivers when you are in direct sunlight. Probably not the best idea with all the new instances of road rage opening up.

Chevy S10
via: Truck Trend

6: Deformed S-10

This pickup truck is something out of a book of bad ideas. The owner of the above pickup truck took a perfectly good S-10 and tried to deform it with the front clip of a Camaro. The result is something that looks suspiciously weird, and probably not something that you want to drive. The front clip of the new generation Camaro is designed for that car. An older S-10 is not going to have the same curves as this sports car, and thus the finished product looks weird.

Camaro S10
via: Car Domain

We’re sure that the owner fancies himself a real Picasso with this truck. But do yourself a favor. If you own an old Chevy pickup, don’t try to modify it with bits and pieces of other vehicles. The truck will just end up looking weird and costing you more money, in the long run, to get it back to normal.

Escalade Silverado
via: Performance Trucks

5: Escalade Trucks

There is no hiding the fact that the Cadillac Escalade is based on your run-of-the-mill GM work truck. When this became evident with owners many Chevrolet and GMC owners decided to turn their trucks into Cadillacs. With the wide variety of junkyard parts available, this is not hard to do, but now everyone wants to do it. You’ll see a Silverado with the front of an Escalade, and you know that this truck never came like this.

Escalade Silverado
via: Performance Trucks

These mods are fairly commonplace nowadays and many owners will shave Cadillac Deville tail lights into the truck bed. At first, this type of modification was pretty cool, but as the years have gone on, the style has become played out. You can do better than this by your Chevy truck and probably save some money too.

Cougar Street Machine
via: Digital

4: Rolling Coal

Doing a burnout is probably one of the most satisfying things about owning a muscle car. A lot of owners have gone to new heights to try and get a vehicle to leave a big plume of smoke. The term “rolling coal” is one way that the enthusiasts have been able to get these smoke plums bigger than ever. The tires come with a special coal coating on the outer layer, and this creates a plume of smoke like you wouldn’t believe.

Rolling Coal
via: Pining

There are also special coloration that you can get which will give your tires a special type of smoke that comes in colors. Sure, you can do a regular burnout. But if you want to be one of the cool kids on the block rolling coal might be the next best thing. You can get your tires to lay down some seriously cool color combinations.

Nissan 240SX Exhaust
via: YTIMG

3: Extreme Exhaust Mods

We’ve all heard the little Honda Civic at the stoplight that sounds like a fart can. But custom exhaust mods are not anything new to the automotive industry. Many of these owners have found ways to give these cars an added push. But if you like loud sounds there is no doubt that you’ve heard many different exhausts over the years.

Extreme Exhaust
via: YTIMG

Some owners who know how to fabricate can take things a bit too far. You’ll see exhausts sticking out from different areas on the car and in some cases, there are no exhaust pipes. Doing these types of modifications have become a fad and can result in a lot of tickets. If you’re unfortunate enough to live in a smog state you’ll be saddled with all kinds of fines for doing this to your vehicle.

Impala SS Caprice
via: YTIMG

2: Impala SS Fad Mods

Everyone wants an Impala SS. The rare muscle sedan was made for a few years during the early ’90s and took the run-of-the-mill Caprice and made it into a beast. The Impala SS has become synonymous with music videos and motion pictures, but getting your hands on one is not always cheap or easy. There has been a trend of vehicle owners taking the average Caprice and turning it into an Impala clone.

Impala SS
via: Pining

The problem is that this has become too commonplace and now you have to decipher which cars are authentic and which aren’t. The Impala SS in itself is a fun car with a lot of potential. But when you take it and overlap it with an old Caprice, you get a car that just isn’t authentic. And in today’s world of automotive collecting, you want an authentic vehicle.

Nissan Versa Bodykit
via: YTIMG

1: Body Mods

Ever since the original “Fast And The Furious” movie hit theaters, people have been putting body kit mods on just about anything. From the Geo Metro to the Chrysler Lebaron, if you want a body kit you are sure to find one. These cars are a bit unique in the way that they look, and owners have taken a liking to customize. Nissan with bodykit

via: ArttationThe fiberglass body kits can be a bit overboard at times and you’ll often see owners damaging the front end of their vehicles on speed bumps. Do yourself a favor, stay away from body kits. Unless you like being tagged as a boy racer, the body kits don’t do anything for the performance of the vehicle. And when you crash into a speed bump and rip the front off your car, you might be upset.

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