1988 ASC McLaren Mustang. Lot 144.

1988 Ford Mustang ASC McLaren Convertible – $3,900 RNM

August 31, 2022 Update – The high bid of $3,900 fell short of the seller’s reduced reserve price of $17,900. If you want to buy this ride for the Buy Now price of $14,900, register and log in to bid on this page and select the green “Buy Now” option.

Guys With Rides is proud to offer Lot 144, this 24K original mile, silver over black, 1988 ASC McLaren Mustang convertible, which we are offering in an online, reserve-style auction format on behalf of the private seller.

Bidding opened Wednesday, August 17, 2022, and will continue for fourteen (14) consecutive days ending at 4:00 PM Eastern on Wednesday, August 31, 2022.

This 1988 ASC McLaren Mustang convertible is part of a collection located in Northern Minnesota.

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1988 Ford Mustang ASC McLaren Convertible – $3,900 RNM

High Bid: $3,900

In the early 1980s, American Sunroof Company (“ASC”) was a growing “OEM” (Original Equipment Manufacturer) in the automotive industry doing convertible conversions and other limited editions of several different cars. ACS’s relationship with the McLaren engine development branch of Bruce McLaren Motor Racing spawned a Capri coupe in the McLaren colors of blue and orange. That limited edition car started the ASC McLaren series on the Fox-platform Mustangs and Capris built from 1984 through 1989.

Enter Peter Muscat. He was a free-lancing engineer who knew ASC founder Heinz Prechter. Peter came up with the idea of developing a two-seat roadster based on Mercury’s version of the Fox-Body Mustang, the Capri. Prechter loved the idea, and ASC took over the concept and developed it for series production with buy-in from McLaren to provide several styling and performance enhancements.

Apart from the famed 1965-1970 Shelby derivatives, ASC/McLaren cars were the only Mustang/Capris to be specially prepared for aftermarket conversion by Ford. Stock coupes received a body buck tag on their radiator support bar stamped “D32 ASC MCLAREN.” After said “Body in White” arrived at ASC’s factory, workers removed the steel roof, bent the A-pillars back nearly two-and-a-half inches, and then welded in several reinforcements in the rear seat area, under the windshield, and along the transmission tunnel to add torsional strength back in.

The 5.0 SC retained the coupe’s distinctive blocky four-headlamp nose treatment, and the IMSA GT-inspired flared fenders. The convertible offered two hidden storage compartments in the carpeted area where the coupe’s rear seat would be, and, unlike the production Mustang convertible, the modified car’s top folded completely into the body, resting under a flush hard tonneau with a power release, like the contemporary Mercedes-Benz 380 SL. ASC’s shops completely repainted the modified cars and also installed unique upgraded interior trim.

When ACS determined Ford and Lincoln-Mercury dealers were more interested in an image car, they decided the stock 5.0-liter V-8 was already a good performer and only modified the suspension. McLaren provided ACS with unique springs that lowered the vehicle one-and-a-quarter inches while Carrera 50/50 shocks provided better road feel.

The 5.0 SC used the Capri RS/Mustang GT’s 302-cubic inch high-output V-8 that by 1986 made 200 horsepower at 4,000 rpm and 285 foot-pounds of torque at 3,000 rpm. While the example featured here relies on a Borg-Warner T-5 five-speed manual transmission, as few as ten examples were built with the four-speed overdrive Ford AOD automatic transmission. Interestingly, the stock front disc/rear drum brake combination of the time remained in place.

The ACS McLaren Mustang featured several luxury touches that tried to make it rival the Mercedes SL of the day, right down to a similar-looking Haartz cloth, triple window, and convertible top. The combined conversion cost and the new Mustang typically averaged in the $25K-$30K range, roughly the equivalent of $60K today. Unfortunately, the high outlay was not enough to entice buyers, so only 1,806 Ford Mustang and Mercury Capri examples were built during its short three-year run.

Here is a complimentary CarFax® for this 1988 ASC McLaren Mustang. To review the CarFax, please click on the picture below. When finished, click on your browser’s back button to return back to this listing:

A Complimentary Lemon Squad Pre-Purchase Inspection (“PPI”) was just completed on August 23, 2022, confirming the quality of this 24K-Mile 1988 Ford Mustang ASC McLaren. To view the results of the PPI, click on the picture below. When finished, click your browser’s back button to return to this page:

To help you make informed bids, we’re providing you with access to Classic.com, the analytics and search engine for the Classic Car market, that provides an interactive graph of recent comparable sales year-to-date. By clicking on the green dots, you can navigate to each comparable car sold as a way to help you make an educated bid on the car we are featuring for auction here:

If you have any questions about this 1988 ASC McLaren Mustang, please comment below or call Rudy directly at 877-468-6497. Thank you for looking, and happy bidding!

Exterior Gallery

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Interior Gallery

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Underhood And Undercarriage Gallery

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Tires And Wheels Gallery

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Vinyl Top And Windows Gallery

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Documentation Gallery

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7 Comments

Greg Davis on August 17, 2022 at 5:31 PM

What’s the story on the braded title? Also, is there any interior, engine, or undercarriage pics available?
Reply
- Guys with Rides on August 19, 2022 at 9:12 AM
  
  Hi Greg,
  
  We’re anxiously awaiting the pre-purchase inspection and the additional detailed pictures it will provide. Unfortunately, bad weather in the seller’s area continues to delay getting more pictures in outdoors. Regarding the Branded Title shown on the CarFax, the seller was surprised to learn this flag. The current caretaker purchased the car approximately six years ago. The seller then was the son of the deceased second owner, who obtained the car as part of his father’s estate in 2005. Given this car’s ultra-low mileage, we believe there was some sort of mileage reporting error when the son transferred title and ownership to himself following his father’s death. The current owner reports the mileage to be only 23,980 and is confident all of the pictures we will soon provide will leave no doubt as to the low mileage originality of this rare car.
  Reply
edward thomas on August 26, 2022 at 5:53 PM

I am trying to bid on the Mustang but find no place on the site to place same. Help me with this please
Reply
Michael on August 29, 2022 at 2:41 PM

I am curious to know where in Minnestoa this car is. If I bid and win, I will more than likely need to have the car shipped.
Reply
- Guys with Rides on August 29, 2022 at 3:00 PM
  
  Hi Michael, this car currently resides in Beaudette, Minnesota. The zipcode 55623.
  Reply
  - Anonymous on August 29, 2022 at 5:46 PM
    
    Great, thank you!
    Reply
Gus E Levin on August 31, 2022 at 4:46 PM

Hello,
Is there any paper trail to verify the mileage, based on the Carfax either something was not checked off correctly or clarity would help
Reply

1988 Ford Mustang ASC McLaren Convertible – $3,900 RNM

High Bid: $3,900

Exterior Gallery

Interior Gallery

Underhood And Undercarriage Gallery

Tires And Wheels Gallery

Vinyl Top And Windows Gallery

Documentation Gallery

7 Comments

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