My old '98 Saleen S-351R on e-bay

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http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1998-Saleen-S351-Mustang_W0QQitemZ4581436197QQcategoryZ6236QQrdZ1QQ cmdZViewItem

The car looks to be in good shape, although at pics from this distance its hard to say really. Guess someone after me decided to nuke the original motor. I bought it at 12.4k miles, sold it at 14k miles (for a profit) and it now has only 23k miles.

It's dumb that someone decided to re-install the gold Saleen stickers on the sides. I took those off a week after I bought the car. They do not go at all on a black car with chrome wheels.

Wonder what the guy wants for it.

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That's a sweet car, and it looks like a pretty potent little combination there. Wish I could afford it!

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The guy claims that they blew it up b/c of Saleen's tuning. He also makes reference to the fact that the "old 351 making 9psi"... well, when I had it, it made 6-7psi with the stock pulley, a fresh blower belt tightened down correctly. It put out 430+rwhp/450+rwtq.

It was fine like that. I know for a fact that the guy I sold it to put on a smaller blower pulley. That's what blew it up, I'm sure.

I have no clue what this guy would want for the car. When I bought it in '01, I paid $32k for it.

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Wes, What type of internals did the "stock" motor incorporate? Did it have forged pistons, and connecting rods? Just curious as to what Saleen put in those motors. Didn't those things sticker in the mid $50's or so?

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Rob,

I'm getting old and my memory fails me. They did different things in different model years, to be honest. I know the crank and rods were stock OEM Ford stuff. The pistons may have been forged, but I'm thinking in the later years ('98+) they were not due to EPA certification issues. The heads on the '94-95 cars were Edelbrock, and for the '96+ cars they were TFS TW. The '96+ cars came with 36lb injectors and a 255lph in-tank fuel pump. Too small for serious power or rpm.

This particular car stickered for $58+k and was sold originally at Middlekauf Ford. It actually had a "birthday" on the showroom floor. The guy who ordered it backed out and Middlekauf got stuck with it. The first owner drove it 1 yr/12k miles and then traded it in. I bought it then. I remember the day well. Rainy, car looked like crap, idled like crap. The salesman even said, "it idles rough when its cold." I popped the hood and sure enough the bypass valve was off. I said, "get me a screwdriver, and I'll fix your idle problem in 30 seconds." Of course, he made me drive it over to the service area where I told the tech the same thing, and they fixed it. Then I drove it up to SpeedWorks and dyno'd it as it sat. 420/440 with the stock plugs, loose blower belt, etc. Then I took it home and washed it in a light rain, so I could see how the paint looked clean. Made them a low-ball offer way under retail that they accepted. Drove it for 6 months, sold it to a guy in CO. He trailered it home and a year later sold it to a guy in NC. That guy put a smaller pulley on it. He must've sold it to the current owner who's spent a lot of time/$$ on the car.

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I'm a little surprised that Saleen didn't fortify the bottom end any better than that. I would think that the $58K asking price for the car would cover that. At any rate, I still think that the '96+ S351's are some of the coolest Mustangs ever produced.

I have always been a fan of Saleens due to their appearance and "Cool:cool: " factor. I absolutely LOVE the new body style Saleens, but I still struggle with the power issue especially with the Naturally Aspirated versions. I realize that you'd be hard pressed to duplicate the entire package if you were to buy a $28K GT, and then clone a Saleen (body kit, paint, labor, wheels/tires, suspension, guages, 14" brake upgrade, interior appointments, and exhaust) for under the $42K asking price of the S281. At that point, you've got near the same money invested, but it's not authentic, and would appear as a poser anyway. That being said, I'd still have a hard time knowing my $42K Saleen won't outrun a base model GT.

The S281SC is fairly impressive in that it is rated at 400 HP , but is putting 390+ HP down at the rear wheels. This would tell me that little puppy should have been rated in the 440 HP range. However, for $55K I'd at least like to have some forged pistons as opposed to the factory hypereutectic slugs.....otherwise known as "hyper-pathetic", at least where boost is concerned.

At any rate, I didn't mean to go off on a tangent. Back on topic....if the seller has that combo tuned and running right, then that sucker would be an absolute blast to own and drive. That's a sweet car!

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Rob,

I agree with all your comments regarding engine prep on the Saleens. Unfortunately, what the owner said is true... the Saleen tunes were not good on the S351 cars.

All the S351 cars that ran 11s in the magazines were documented ringers. I talked personally with a Saleen tech out in Cali about this very thing, and he told me how those cars were set up compared to the one I had...which supposedly was the same thing.

Anyway, yes this car is nice, assuming it is sorted out and its reasonably priced. There's a '98 Rio Red convertible S351 in NC that I've considered buying. It was not an original supercharged (R) car, but it has a professionally built motor now with a Vortech T-trim and it has only 12k miles. The guy was asking $35k the last time I spoke with him.

I agree... they are awesome looking cars.