Touched by McLaren: ASC Faceoff
American Sunroof Corporation had a hand in developing a succession of limited-production vehicles for domestic brands including Ford and GM for a number of years. As of late, several of their products and one that’s a homebrew special have popped up, like this limited production ’85 Mercury Capri ASC McLaren convertible here on eBay. Though short on details, 1985 was the first year McLaren made some serious suspension improvements and it should have Recaro seats – but that custom soft-top will be a bear to fix.
This 1987 Ford Mustang ASC McLaren here on eBay appears to be in better condition, but it could also be a case of some resale red paint being applied (I thought I spotted some fairly obvious orange peel). Still, it’s tough to beat red on gold BBS wheels for a paint combination and if the reserve price is set at $5K or lower, it could be a fun summer driver on the (relatively) cheap.
If you feel the Mustangs are played out, then there’s this valiant attempt to spice up the Pontiac Fiero with some OEM horsepower. This 1984 Fiero here on eBay is in the process of receiving an engine transplant from another McLaren project, the short-lived 1990 Pontiac Grand Prix McLaren. The seller is going overseas and can’t take the project with him, so it’s up for grabs with no reserve (though the $2,999 starting bid seems ambitious).
And no matter which one you bring home, you’ll absolutely need this official, NOS ASC license plate here on eBay on display so no one doubts your car’s unique heritage. But please, don’t buy one unless you have an actual ASC product in the garage – no one likes a faker. But with the low-price options above, now may be a good time to make a bid and bring one of the limited-production specials home. Which one would you choose?
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Comments
McLaren has worst pictures ever.
ASC was a great corp until Heinz Prechter killed himself and that was the end of his automotive company. Really sad he was a great man and made great products.
the one seller has 314 vehicles on Ebay including a TVR 280 with a V8 in it. the mustang and capri would be interesting projects if you can live with an automatic. nice finds
The top on the Capri is actually from the same year Mercedes SL (r109). So easy fix
Great find! One cool thing about the Capri is that the ASC McLaren was the only convertible version available at a dealer when new. Basically, once Mercury killed the Capri, ASC started dong Mustangs to keep things going )and perhaps to keep amortizing some tooling). IIRC, the early ASC Capri had heated seats, too, which was a big deal then. Of course, I’d love to see one with a clutch pedal or, even better one of the midnight blue hatchbacks with the orange accents…
I find it odd that someone would hack up a 90 GP McLaren to put the drivetrain in an 84 Fiero. Having had both cars, (yes I had an 1990 CP ASC McLaren and multiple Fieros) if someone was going to do that type of a transplant, i’d think they’d go for the 88 Fiero with the much better suspension.