While not a real S351, today’s Nice Price or No Dice Mustang GT has enough Saleen badges and parts to at least pull off the look. Let’s see if we like the look of this wannabe’s price tag.
There are certain species of dung beetles that gather up the poop of herbivores, shape it into a ball, and then roll that ball—backward, mind you—a safe distance away so as not to get trampled by an errant hoof or buried under a freshly dropped steamer. Industrious and efficient, these detritivores are an important part of most ecosystems. We just tend to look down on them because they eat and live in poop.
Now, I’m not suggesting that the 2003 Mercedes ML 350 overlander we looked at yesterday is the automotive equivalent of a dung beetle, but it did exhibit certain similar attributes. The off-roading Benz did appear scrappy and capable, and it was a bit rough and tumble, just like our poop-eating Scarabaeidae friends. Unfortunately, that aspect, along with a couple of expensive repair items noted in the ad, soured any contemplation of the truck’s $6,500 asking price. In the end, that dropped like a turd in an 86% ‘No Dice’ loss.
America’s Supercar
When it comes to great sports car makers, Italy has Enzo Ferrari (among others), Germany has Ferdinand Porsche, France claims Ettore Bugatti, and England has Sir William Lyons. Who could we, in America, call our own native son of supercar fame?
Well, if he has any say in the matter, then Steve Saleen would likely be more than happy to don that crown and be anointed America’s Supercar King. Saleen has, after all, already built and sold a number of high-performance Ford Mustangs and at one time offered the S7 supercar, a bespoke mid-engine monster with a claimed top track speed of 248 miles per hour. If that’s not supercar territory, then I don’t know what is. Today, Saleen Automotive still offers built Mustangs, massaged pickups and Broncos, and the S1 sports car, which may or may not actually exist.
But Steve’s bread and butter has always been race-bred Mustangs, building high-performance editions with improved power output, more capable suspensions, and more Saleen badges than you can shake a stick at. This 1994 Ford Mustang GT is not one of those cars.
Past glories
What this appears to be is an homage to the Saleen S351, a model that debuted in 1994 and offered, as its name implies, a Saleen-built 351-cubic-inch displacement Windsor V8 along with a number of other upgrades over the standard GT and, as expected, a ton of Saleen logos. Steve is, after all, very proud of his name and brand.
It’s a little difficult to say exactly what this car is, as the ad copy is convoluted and opaque about its origins. It does have a ton of the right badging, front clip, and rear spoiler from the S351, but it rocks the wrong wheels and, most importantly, the wrong motor under the hood.
Instead of the real deal’s hand-built 351 with GT40 heads and 510 supercharged horsepower, there’s the GT’s standard 215-horse 5.0 V8 with no blower and, aside from some fancy ignition leads, nothing to imply it does anything crazy. That’s at least mated to a five-speed stick, so this should be as fun to drive as any V8-powered SN-95 ‘Stang.
Badge engineering
As noted, this car really sells the Saleen theme, with decals and aero aids on the outside. And even if the five-spoke Cobra alloys aren’t the right ones, they are close enough. The car comes with a claimed 59,000 miles and looks to be in pretty nice shape. Notably, the lip of the extremely low front spoiler does look a bit beat up, but that’s the only significant flaw visible on the exterior.
The cabin sports a pair of body-hugging Sparco bucket seats in the front, with Saleen’s iconic strengthening hoop rising just behind like the St. Louis arch. Missing is the gauge pod on the top of the dash, another indicator that this is a homage and not a real S351. It all looks to be in serviceable shape and doesn’t need anything immediate. The seller boasts that the car is “Not placked but extremely presentable.” I have no idea what placked is, nor whether it’s a good thing or not. I do know that the car comes with a clean title, and that is a good thing.
For what it’s worth
According to the ad, this Mustang’s current $9,000 asking price is a reduction from the $13,500 previously asked. That obviously didn’t get any bites. The $9K price, the seller claims, is firm, however. The ad advises prospects to “Ask your wife 1st and get your dividends in order before contacting.” Yeah, there’s a lot to unpack there, and we’re going to leave it alone.
Instead, let’s consider that $9,000 price. To put that in perspective, a real Saleen S351 Speedster (those have a cap over the back seats) sold on Bring a Trailer three years back for more than $80K. This being a low-ABV version of the car, lacking both the engine and a proper series production number, it should naturally command far less.
But is it worth $9,000? What’s your take on this Fauxleen at that asking? Is that a fair deal to play let’s pretend? Or is this a homage with a hugely oversized price?
You decide!
Portland, Oregon, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
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