SEMA Convertible: 1988 Saleen Mustang
A Fox body Saleen Mustang is a special car, no doubt; but to make it even more of a standout, find the one that was parked on a SEMA display in 1988. The seller claims this is the car that General Tire parked in their booth to draw attendees in, and it would have been a fine choice back in the day. The Saleen is bumper number 13 and a very early build, according to the seller, and equipped with several desirable options. Mileage is listed as 81,000 so it has clearly been used, but the condition looks like that of a much younger car. Find the Saleen here on eBay with a suggested opening bid of $32,000 and no action yet.
The Fox body Saleens were not so much pure performance builds as they were a mixture of greatly improved aesthetics and marginally better performance. Suspension tuning was greatly improved but you didn’t buy one of these for gobs of additional horsepower under the hood. The looks were killer, though, and peak 80s in terms of styling. The side skirts, rear apron, front air dam, rea spoiler, and decals all combined to make for a very sporting Mustang. The seller notes this one is also fitted with the optional and desirable five spoke wheels.
Other options include cruise control and 3.55 rear end. The interiors featured Recaro-inspired bucket seats that look to be incredibly well preserved in light of the mileage shown. The backseat featured matching upholstery and likewise looks like it was never sat in. The seller reportedly bought a pair of Saleens for he and his wife to drive to car shows but is now letting this one go to create room for a later S351 model. Of the 708 Saleen Mustangs made for this model year, 137 were convertibles – and that number likely grows smaller if you take into consideration the options this one has.
Those wheels are indeed quite nice, and the polished lips are still in excellent condition. The seller notes a few additional changes from stock condition performed by the previous owner, which includes a color change of the top from white to gray, and then several chassis enhancements in the form of subframe connectors and upgraded rear control arms, and the exhaust was also replaced with an aftermarket system. The paintwork is original and that and the decals all present extremely well. The SEMA connection is certainly an interesting anecdote, but the overall condition of this Saleen Mustang is what makes it compelling as a potential purchase.
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Comments
Am I allowed to use the word ugly here? I know, lets take a perfectly good Mustang, add useless body panels and paint, then jack up the price. Yeah, that should sell to the country club set!
I think it looks quite nice, especially the wheels. And I usually hate white cars but the stripes help…
Nice piece, but the REALLY cool Fox Mustang to find would be the Saleem Stang that was built for the Seal Beach Ca Police Department in ’88 or so, to test an advance fire suppression system. I used it in a segment for WILD ABOUT WHEELS that I produced for Discovery TV back in 1990. Cool car.
Item location:
Friendswood, Texas
Beatiful example of the Fox body Saleen. These have been climbing although the market has flattened out somewhat. Still a well documented Fox Saleen will always be very desireable.
3.55 rear end was optional and wll worth extra $$ over the standard 3.08. Although cruise control was rare option for Saleen in ’88, not sure how desireable it really is as cars with CC retained Ford stock steering wheel. Those without CC received a very cool Momo steering wheel.
Five-spoke design wheel was not available until late into production. The first Saleen to receive them was 88-0461. #13 is an early production car and should have come standard with American Racing mesh wheels.
Ended:
Jul 04, 2021
Starting bid:
US $32,000.00
[ 0 bids ]
Item has been relisted:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/164944253094?ViewItem=&item=164944253094&vxp=mtr
Sold for $28,850.00