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Fox Chassis (Ford) community build anyone?


whale392

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I will agree, all of the fox saleens are my fav's too. As to the windshield banner, you may have to have this and the side graphics custom made. The only window banner I've seen in 24/ 25 scale is from the Saleen speedster kit, but it only reads "SALEEN", it's not the same as you're 88 and older saleens.

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I may go with the one from the speedster kit Ryan. Getting a decal custom made seems pricey.

I have silver trim tape to use for the side stripes Dirk. The side skirts Im not sure what Im going to do, I may try to build up the front and rear corners with styrene and putty, or I may just leave them Cobra.

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The SVO sail panels over the quarter glass is what I was referring to. IF (this is a BIG if) it is a true Saleen, why do it? To ruin real SVO panels to ill-fit them over 87-93 quarter glass? Yes, the guys with the 1979-86 cars do quite regularly use later 87-93 Quarter glass and tail lights, but I have yet to see a 1987-93 go back to the less aerodynamic 1979-86 quarter window/sail panel treatment. My 86 had 87+ quarter glass, and theoretically it is a simple swap to do (just remember, the interior panels have to be changed to do it all correctly). My 1991 has 1983-86 tail lights (and seat headrests) for a bit of old into the new (same with the 83-86 Mustang GT/Mercury Capri/84-86 SVO non-cruise steering wheel I have installed. THAT was a wiring chore).

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You have a sharp eye Bradley, but if you look close, those arent SVO sail panels, they are sail panel covers.

Saleen planned to use them on all the aero cars, and actually installed them on a dozen of so of the first 1987 Saleens built. They quickly found the tape used to hold them on didnt stick well, and they fell off while driving. If you look in the Saleen registry, the majority of cars in 1987 are listed as "sail panel (d)".

This is a picture of a preproduction 1987 Saleen. Notice the sail panel covers and prototype 5 star wheels that didnt show up till late 1988 production.

Red_87.jpg

I always liked the look of the car in the above picture. I bought a set of the sail panel covers years ago when they were readily available and figured out a way to get them to stay in place.

Its not original to my 1988 Saleen, but its original to the way the car was meant to look.

#583 is not 100% factory correct, but anything I have changed has been in the spirit of the original (or later, in the case of the vortech supercharger, which was optional in 1992 and 1993) Fox Saleen Concept. I have had the car going on 17 years and it was my daily driver for the first 5 of those, that made me not as concerned with originality as some would be.

Check out the SCOA website and forum, more info on fox Saleens than you can shake a stick at.

http://www.saleenclubofamerica.com/

Hopefuly I will have more work done on the saleen model soon, You guys have inspired me to make it more acurate.

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here is a pic of the car before I installed the covers.

102_0177.jpg

the back side of the panels, they are abs plastic, I had them professionaly painted.

102_0240.jpg

During the install

102_0246.jpg

I take it as a compliment that detail oriented enthusiasts such as yourselves thought they were SVO sail Panels, that tells me they dont look tacked on.

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here you go

102_0247.jpg

They are longer than SVO panels. They do a good job of covering the uv damaged quarter window moldings too.

I have a glue bomb SVO model I plan on using to replicate these on the one Im building, but I will have to make them bigger to make them fit.

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Thanks for clearing that up, Mike. I am, what you could say, a bit of a FOX guy. I have 4 of them at the moment, with my first (the fifth) having to be scrapped due to an accident. Guess the SVO-style sail panels are/were like Fords 1987 SVO DOHC engine prototype. Good looking Saleen by the way, and my apologies for the toes I may have stepped on by the NOT a real Saleen comment (just going based on what I saw).

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Considering the 1993 Mustang Cobra wears body cladding very similar to Saleen goodies, I can reasonably say that even Ford took notice of Saleen and his 'Racecraft' efforts. One of my all-time Halo wants is a 1993 SA10 (of which only 9 were built) or a 1983 Saleen clone (as only 1 1983 exists....that being the car he talked his sister into buying and letting him modify!).

One of my 1:1 Mustangs is a 1984 TurboGT, the baby SVO for that year. One of less than 4,000 built that year (and less that 4,200 total built over the two years of production). It was a full-optioned car, with dealer-added sunroof. Here I come, buying the remains of it (Ohio rustball) and am converting it into a track monster (staying 2.3T, but with a .030" over, 9:1, Volvo head swapped engine.

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I'd love to have a 2.3 T for my 82 I was almost to the point of going to North Carolina to buy a Turbo GT car was a basket case and had title issues if I remember right but had the complete 2.3t in it. Wouldn't have been as much power as I'm gonna have now but to sneak up on the ricer bois woulda been worth it lol

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