History of the Saleen Mustang

It all started in 1983 when Ford came out with the 83' Mustang GT.

 Steve Saleen who was racing Pontiac Firebirds, saw that Chevrolet and Pontiac were lagging
behind Ford in the engine development area. Saleen liked what he saw in the 83' Mustang spec sheet.
It had a 302 V8 with a Holley 4 barrel carburetor, T-5transmission, 7.5 rear end with 3.08 gears,
fast ratio rack and pinion and much more.

To Saleen's eye the Mustang body was a pleasant sight, Ford's gentle smoothing
of the front nose and reconfigured taillight treatment brought the Mustang into the new
 aerodynamic era. Steve Saleen did think it was still stocky and tall looking. Also, the suspension
and chassis were not up to par, knowing that it needed better springs, shocks and chassis stiffing.

Well the idea came start building a custom production car, a lot like Carroll Shelby had done
for years. He also knew it would take the help of Ford's cooperation to make it happen.
After contacting a friend to help draft and sketch out the plans for this new Saleen Mustang,
Steve went to Ford with his idea. After many meeting, Ford gave the go ahead.
Now with Ford's Blessings, Saleen Autosport was born.

The first Saleen Mustang was produced in 1984. Only 3 were built. They included
specific rate springs, Bilstein gas struts and shocks, urethane bushings, 15" Hayashi
wheels. For the exterior, a complete aerodynamic body kit and special Saleen graphics.
For the interior, it included a 170mph speedo, custom leather shift knob and steering wheel.

In 1984 Steve Saleen's "Saleen Mustang" proved there was a market for a specialty Mustang.
The next year, he found out just how big it was.

         In 1985 Saleen set up shop at Burch Ford in La Habra California. Burch was an easy
dealer to work with and kept a low profile. They set shop up in the the body shop and set off
to build a 140 cars for 85'. There were not many changes for the 85' model. They now had an
option for 16" wheels

Jumping to 1987, Ford had now gave the Mustang a makeover. An all new aero front end and rear end
with new smooth looking taillights. The biggest thing that was the real selling point was the 5.0L V8 that
was fuel injected and made 225HP and 300 lb-ft of torque.

With such a strong platform on which to build, Steve Saleen was finally able to develop a complete
package for the Mustang by attacking the brakes. After a couple years of testing on his personal
85' Saleen, they came up with a  5 lug, 4 wheel disc brake set-up. Combined with new ARE 16x7
front and 16x8 rear wheels, Steve made an all new Saleen Mustang. Sales soared in 1987 to 280 cars.

Saleen was on a roll now. By 1993 they were building the standard Saleen Mustang, a limited
model carrying a "SSC" name and even some Saleen Rangers.

When Ford did a complete redesign of the Ford Mustang in 1994, Saleen had to work furiously
with Designer Phil Frank at their Long Beach facility to adapt the "Saleen" to the new body. A completely
new body kit and rear spoiler were designed to help with handling and downforce.

 Another new addition for the 94' model was 18" wheels and option for 13" brakes. With this new body style,
came a lot of other new parts for the Saleen. Interior upgrades included custom leather seats, gauge pod,
 200mph speedo and more. This body style stayed the same up to 1998. Once again Ford did a restyle
to the Mustang. So, once again Saleen had to make changes as well.

Now to current day, we have the Completely new Mustang for 2005. Saleen Has  once again
Surprised everyone with his styling and performance improvements over the standard Mustang. One of
the biggest additions is the all new Saleen supercharger that produces over 400HP at just 4psi of boost.

As long as Ford continues to built the Ford Mustang, you know that Steve Saleen will also continue to
build the ultimate American sports car!

The above information has mostly been comprised from Brad Bowling's book " The Saleen Book".

There is much more info in this book, than what has been written in this page. If you are a big Saleen
buff, you need this book. It covers the Saleen Mustang from 1984 to 2003.            

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