Barn Find ASC McLaren: 1986 Mercury Capri
It seems to me these converted Mercury Capris get little to no love in the collector car scene. Converted by American Sunroof Corp. to the sleek two-seater you see here, values always seem flat despite the limited production. This example is claimed to be a recent barn find with under 50,000 original miles and looking quite sharp in red with a camel-colored soft top. Find it here on eBay with no activity against a $7K opening bid.
Details are limited (surprise, surprise) but the paint looks quite sharp, shut lines look good and the soft top appears to be holding up well. These ASC cars always had a trunk lid that seemed like it was acres long, but the real beauty of this car was when the top was stowed. Period-correct gold mesh wheels, smoked taillights and a factory aero kit are all must-have features when rocking an 80s icon like an ASC McLaren.
These did come with some pretty awesome Recaro buckets, and the ones in this car are holding together well. As far as the question as to why these aren’t more loved by collectors, it could be the packaging: after the roof was lopped off and the Recaros and other details added, these weren’t necessarily better drivers cars as a result and any structural rigidity was lost with the softtop conversion. Perhaps looking good wasn’t enough for collectors.
Then there’s also the other limiting factor which is how many of these were preserved as “future collectibles.” This is not entirely different from any Pace Car made in the last 40 years where every collector that got their hands on one threw it into the airtight bubble and waited for prices to climb. Whatever the reason, I’d be shocked if this seller gets his desired opening bid, even though this low-mileage ASC McLaren looks quite tidy outside and in.
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Comments
This is a sheep in wolf’s clothing.
I’m actually thinking it’s a sheep in Mustang clothing.
what’s under the hood.
More than likely a stock 205-hp 5.0. If I remember right, they left the driveline alone for ford warranty purposes
Great cars! Wildly under- valued also!
financembinc.comIK, all ASC McLaren Capris came with the 302 V8. As an ’86, it would have been fuel injected (200hp/285tq). Too bad this one has an automatic…
For these to make sense, you have to look back and remember that there was no factory convertible Mercury Capri; so this gave Lincoln/Mercury dealers something to sell while the convertible was coming back from extinction. Of course, they then killed the whole Capri program and that left ASC modifying Mustangs…
no stick=no fun
The 5.0 SC used the Capri RS/Mustang GT’s 302-cu.in. high-output V-8. In 1984, the Holley-carbureted, 8.3-compression 5.0 made 175hp at 4,000 rpm and 245-lbs.ft. of torque. A hotter camshaft and roller tappets allowed the 1985 SC’s engine to make 210hp at 4,400 rpm and 270-lbs.ft. of torque; and with a 9.2:1 compression ratio, sequential fuel injection, a tuned intake and tubular exhaust headers with dual outlets, this engine made 200hp at 4,000 rpm and 285-lbs.ft. of torque at 3,000 rpm in 1986.
Seems to me like a lot of car for the money especially since the opening bid has been lowered to $6,000. If it sells for anything less than $8K or $9K it gets you more than a comparable used car. I’d love to have it.
I used to see an identical one pretty regularly in the early 90’s. I thought it had nicer lines than the factory Mustang convertibles, a bit surprising for a conversion job. This one looks really clean, and seems like a good deal at this price.
of the 3 yrs made this is 1 of 47 frm 1986…
Easy to ad power 5.0 car but Auto trans will keep it from going anywhere near asking price,
Had the exact same car, color and all. The recaro seats had speakers in the headrest. Cool car and wish I still had it.
Alternative 5.0 compared to the mustang, more sophisticated in appearance, nice looking interior, especially the seats. A 5 speed would have been better, but this car can still move pretty well and there are all kinds of ways to get more, but the question for me would be do you leave it completely original or risk monkeying with a rare car like this whether it is valuable or not? Hmm.
Well someone must have bought it as the ad has ended with no bids and it says the item is no longer available.