When Steve Saleen began modifying a handful of Fox body Ford Mustangs each year, it set in motion a long-standing partnership that would yield some of the most sought-after Mustangs on the planet. The 1980s in particular were a great time for performance cars to make a comeback and for the aftermarket to play a significant role in building the vehicles that the big OEMs couldn’t, and this early Saleen convertible seen here on Bring A Trailer is a low-mileage specimen that may have left the shop with some additional upgrades courtesy of the predominant Ford tuner.
With 27K miles from new, this Saleen is like many others that were scarcely used owing to its collector car pedigree. The current bid price is at $28,000, and that likely has more room to go given what these early Fox body Saleens typically sell for. When Steve Saleen first began modifying cars for Ford, the upgrades weren’t quite to the extent that they are now, especially in the horsepower department. Unless otherwise specified, the enhancements were more typically focused on improved suspension and aerodynamics, along with visual upgrades like the decal kit shown here and the color-matched American Racing wheels, which looked oddly like the Ronal design found on European performance vehicles.
Inside, you got nicely bolstered Flo-Fit bucket seats, a three-spoke Momo steering wheel, white-faced gauges, and maybe some Saleen-branded floormats. You may have felt the upgrades more than you saw them from the driver’s seat, as Saleen placed an emphasis on improving handling with a Racecraft suspension and the obviously wider rubber. The automatic is an unusual find in a car clearly intent on providing a performance-minded driving experience, but the seller of this car contends the transmission has been upgraded per the request of the original owner, Ken Schmidt, who apparently had a long-term friendship with Steve Saleen.
Along the same lines, there’s evidence of some performance upgrades as well that didn’t come standard on every Saleen Mustang. Namely, astute observers have noted that the Mustang is equipped with Ford Motorsport SSC-spec shorty headers, and the seller discloses that the radiator has been upgraded to a beefier Ford unit as well. The SSC engine upgrade and transmission upgrade would have been more involved than simply a set of headers, but unfortunately, there’s no documentation confirming one way or another. Still, this is a special car and one of the lower-mileage early Saleen Mustang builds we’ve seen in some time. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Stan Adams for the tip!
Good write-up Jeff. Sharp, desirable car. I don’t know the data but I don’t think Saleen’s clientele would have bought very many automatics and/or convertibles during this time. There is discussion on BaT about the car’s provenance. I think it says something that Saleen is still doing tuner Mustangs today; this lengthy and successful run is rooted in cars like this.
Didn’t know Saleen even offered an AOD equipped model. I think it’s nice, for those who can’t operate a manual for whatever reason. Thanks Lavery, and great comment Bob.
I like but except for the headers, I don’t see much of a performance boost over the same year Mustang GT, it’s mostly handling improvements which is important if you’re going to track it. It looks lowered over stock but it’s mostly cosmetic changes. Now a Rousch. That would be th one to have IMO.
SOLD for 43K.
Glad to see that you are accepting BAT submissions. I haven’t seen many of them here on BF, and they are a good source of interesting vehicles to talk about.