The quad lights and original paint make this a rare one
The Fox is one of the most widely loved Mustang platforms, made up of cars that ran from 1979-1993. In its time there were a number of variants, special editions, body styles, and aftermarket tuners. However, one that I’ve had a soft spot for I spotted a while ago, the Saleen Ford Mustang. With a recent article from the Car and Driver archive showing up on my feed, I decided to look into what really made these Mustangs special.
From the get-go it is clear this isn’t a regular Mustang GT. Equipped with an aggressive aero kit from front to back, a spoiler bordering on scandalous, BBS style aluminum wheels, and a unique paint job it could be spotted from a distance. This particular car is a pre-1987, as shown most easily by the quad headlights that were on the Mustangs from ’79-’86. Starting in ’87 when the car was facelifted, they featured the aerodynamic lenses that Ford started pushing to all of its cars. The model year of 1986 for this particular car was taken from the license plates as this still wears its original California plate.
Steve Saleen started making his modified cars in 1983 for the ’84 model year. While early ones such as this didn’t necessarily come with many changes in terms of straight-line performance or engine modifications over the standard GT due to strict emissions rules, particularly in California, that doesn’t mean these cars were a simple appearance package. This is evidenced by the “Racecraft Suspension” logo on the front panel.
Spoiler with more square footage than an Ikea dinner table
The car sits lower to the road with its new suspension setup. Its stiffer springs are supplied by Racecraft while the dampening is done by Konis. While it retains the standard Mustang suspension setup, the live axle is quelled by additional bushings, bracing, and meatier tires. The braking system is also upgraded to back up the modifications with many of the same components also used on the SVO series of Mustang.
Interestingly enough, the two sold against each other in the dealer showrooms as Saleen had reached an agreement with Ford to have their car in dealers. While information online says this may have sold for less than the SVO Mustang, this seems to conflict with everything else I’ve read. MSRP for Mustangs in 1986 are as follows:
Mustang GT (3-Door): $10,691 ($30,987 adjusted for inflation)
Mustang SVO: $15,272 ($44,265 adjusted for inflation)
Saleen Mustang: *Note* This is said to be for the ’86 Convertible. I believe this may be a typo. C&D states $19,900 for their 1987 car base price: $19,900 ($57,679 adjusted for inflation)
Rounding back to the power plant, the GT and Saleen share the same “5.0” V8 engine. Producing 200 horsepower and 285 pound feet of torque, it was significant enough to make it one of the quickest cars of its day. A comparable Camaro Z28 would be producing 165hp with 245 lb/ft although a 190hp and 285 lb/ft engine was available. The 2.3 in the SVO also managed to produce 200 horsepower with 240 pound feet of torque, but it came with the trade off of significant turbo lag. I think given the price increase most Mustang enthusiasts would rather have the V8 than the more sophisticated 4 banger. Leave that to the Thunderbird.
What else did they get if the guts are the same? They did come with more options and rarity. The interior is an upscale GT decked out with specialized gauges, seating, fabrics, wheel, shifter, sound system, and even a built in radar detector. This is all good and well, but many of these were available on the market a la carte as they were from brands like Momo, Hurst, Kenwood, and Escort.
Image courtesy of Car and Driver
So what is the general consensus on the car? Vehicles like this one catch a good price on the used market and have looks that I think might be the very best of what the aftermarket had to offer. I however find something like that hard to justify purchasing in the first place. I am however glad they existed. It allowed the Saleen brand to grow in the market and led to bigger and better things. We have cars like this one to thank for that. Seeing one in good condition out and about (this one was at a shooting range) makes me all the happier.
Related CC reading:
Long Term COAL: 1989 Saleen Mustang – 25 Years Together And Still Going Strong
I remember these fondly in my formative young adult years. My brother salivated for a Mustang GT but once he got in a position to buy a new one the insurance rates were so ridiculous he had to settle for an EXP (booooo….).
Didn’t the Fox serve as the Mustang platform through 2004?
While technically a new platform the SN95 Mustangs (1994 thru 2004) were based on an updated version of the Fox Platform.
Source: Wikipedia Article…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Mustang_(fourth_generation)#:~:text=Marking%20the%20first%20major%20redesign,conventional%202%2Ddoor%20coupe%20design.&text=Prior%20to%20the%20redesigned%20Mustang's,a%20supercharged%204.6%20L%20variant.
For me, this is the worst generation of Mustang. Everyone thinks it’s the mach 2, but for me, it’s this one. Horrible design from every angle.
Yeah, MazdaStangs from ’79 – 2005…
I wholeheartedly agree with Nick but It would be a boring world if everything were the same, wouldn’t it?
I just was never into cars that had all kinds of decals slapped on them, whether factory or owner added. To me they say “look what I have”! If the observer already doesn’t know what you have I doubt the adornment will impress. It might help the cops find the car if need be.
To me the 69 GTO “Judge” started the silliness. When it first came out the ’64 GTO had very little badging. Forward to ’69; “The Judge” had abundant, silly, colorful decals. I know John DeLorean liked “Laugh In” and was his inspiration for “The Judge”.
Did “The Judge” name sell more GTO’s? I don’t know but there sure were a lot of them around. Probably helped “Laugh In’s” viewership, too.
To each his own
The black-and-white interior photo from Car and Driver is from a ’87+ Mustang