Roush 84-86 saleens

You need to buy a copy of The Saleen Book by Brad Bowling. All of your questions will be answered.

silverstonelx said:

here is a bit of a curiosity. 1984 through 1986 saleens were a bit of an odd batch, some came with enkie wheels, some came with raikkens, others with are's; how many were based off of gt's (if any), how many came with t-tops, and what other oddball's have you heard of?

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I agree "Silver," the 1984-86 Saleens are a curious bunch! Great to see an interest in the models that launched the brand.

Saleen Autosport did not keep the best records, so there will always be an point of debate at times.

For the most part, 16" Enkie's were used as the optional wheel in 1985 and then the fill-in wheel during mid-1986. The first few 1986 models were equipped with the previous years 15" Hayashi wheels. It appears you can primarily find the 16" Riken cars in the beginning and then at the end of 1986 production. I believe at one time Mike L. dropped a note of when Enkie's came back into use and for how long, but I can't remember.

The copper 84-0051 was a GT chassis as well as one of the 1985 convertibles. One of the early-model experts would know, but I don't believe GT chassis cars went into the double digits. I can think of two '86 convertibles that were GT chassis based.

Outside of the knockdown units some vehicles were based on what could be found to fill an order/request.

Same logic with the t-tops. Some of factory converted, others where built using the dealer kit.

One thing I never cared for, but is part of the charm, are the early Saleens with the LX seating and/or the LX dash trim. You figure here you have this racy exterior... and its met with a bargain basement drivers environment.

As mentioned, Brad Bowling produced an excellent publication on the topic of Saleen Mustangs. It can be purchased here --> Brad Bowling

Also, check out the archived Saleen material here --> Saleen Owners and Enthusiasts Club - SOEC - Home Page

Always neat to see people dwell about Saleen vehicles!

Enjoy!

Pretty much what everyone else has said is spot on! the Saleen Book will show most of the breakdown but there are a few oddities that pop up once in a while. My previous car (86-46) was an option delete car that had T- tops and not much else! My current car is one of 2 Canyon Red cars and the only one with a tan interior.

Let me know if you have any specific questions and I'm sure one of us can help you get an answer!

It's been forever but I'm back!!!! How's things guys?

Cheers,

Randy

RandyA said:

It's been forever but I'm back!!!! How's things guys?

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I liked your charcoal '86.

davidj said:

I liked your charcoal '86.

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Me too! I can't express in words how much I miss that car

A Saleen four-eye in Charcoal gives off a sophisticated aura. Love the way the Rikens look.

What are the plans for the new Canyon Red one?

davidj said:

A Saleen four-eye in Charcoal gives off a sophisticated aura. Love the way the Rikens look.

What are the plans for the new Canyon Red one?

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It's going to get some serious detail work and make an appearance at the Saleen national show in Colorado this summer (and get driven a bit!) I'm not sure beyond that other than i'd like to do a ground up restoration on it at some point. Currently it has 87 Saleen 5 lug wheels and SVO brakes all the way around so I gotta enjoy it while it stops properly!

RandyA said:

It's going to get some serious detail work and make an appearance at the Saleen national show in Colorado this summer (and get driven a bit!) I'm not sure beyond that other than i'd like to do a ground up restoration on it at some point. Currently it has 87 Saleen 5 lug wheels and SVO brakes all the way around so I gotta enjoy it while it stops properly!

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What is he/she running motor wise? Stock '86 shortblock? Intake? Air inlet? 1987-92 motor?

davidj said:

What is he/she running motor wise? Stock '86 shortblock? Intake? Air inlet? 1987-92 motor?

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It's stock motor now. The previous owner had a turbo'd 87-93 motor that had a few mild mods but he kept the engine when I bought the car. Aside from brakes it's gonna be a stocker for the most part as I did receive the original engine that came out of it.

Randy

Hmmm... that is nice. I almost bought an SVO that color back in '86... sadly the dealer didn't want to cooperate and hot-boxed me and my girlfriend right out the front door and into our car where we could run numbers on my trusty HP12C... we left and never looked back.

When I was in high school, there was a guy (older brother of a class mate of mine) up the street that had a grey 86 Saleen similar to your car. The car was 2-3 years old when he got it. The car grew on me. I stared at it everytime he drove past my house He had it for a couple years and traded it for a 91 SHO. I never understood that Anyway, a couple weeks ago I ran across one for sale locally. I have been debating on looking at it for I fear I will want it and now is not the best time to be spending money on toys. The car is grey in color, which is what I want. Today there was another 86 advertised, a black car. He said it was a GT based car instead of the LX. This one needs work though. What would be the difference between the GT based and the LX based car? What should I look for if I go look at these cars? I know the condition of the seat cloth is important. What else? What is the going rate these days for an 86?

going rate on an 86 varies pretty widely these days. I've seen decent cars for 5-6k up through 18-20k for very nice un-restored cars so I don't believe there really is a guideline. I've seen a couple pictures of the gray car you're talking about posted online. The one thing that stands out is that it has the incorrect rear wing which may be next to impossible to find. The 86 rear wing does not have a third brake light mounted on it like this particular car has (saleen used a Pep Boys "Hilite" brake light that mounted under the wing).

The other things to look for are the wheels which should be 16 inch Riken or Enkei (both were used), the steering wheel (should be a Momo) with the correct horn button which will most likely be black with a silver "ford" logo or an old school "saleen Mustang" logo, the Shift knob, and of course the plaque on the ash tray lid (should say Saleen Autosport 86-00XX (the "X" of course are the car number). the remaining items would be the body kit of course along with the Saleen springs/struts/shocks.

The cloth interior is made in a decent reproduction now so I wouldn't be too afraid of finding any issues with the upholstery. It's the 87 and up "FloFit" seat fabric that's made of unobtanium! The 86 seats were standard Ford "GT" seats

Let me know if you have any questions and I'll do what I can to help get them answered for you. If you can get the last 4 of the VIN along with the bumper number, I can look it up for you in "the book"



Randy