Horse Sense: With 15-inch wheels and a wide range of colors, the ASC/McLaren ustang was an attractive yet pricey car-as were the Mercury Capri and Buick GNX, which were also produced by this company. Production totaled 495 units in 1987 and then zoomed to 1,015 the following year, before tailing off to 247 cars in 1989 and just 65 vehicles the ear after.
MAC short-tube headers route the exhaust into a Bassani X-pipe and muffler combination. Backing the engine is a factory T5 tranny with a 10.5-inch FRPP heavy-duty clutch, an aluminum driveshaft, and a set of 3.55 gears that spin the 28-spline Moser axles. With the chassis dyno showing 425 hp at 5,700 rpm and 416 lb-ft of torque, you could say Richard has definitely found some new kicks for his ASC/McLaren ponycar.
Of all the special-edition Mustangs that have come out during the last 20 years, there's none more mysterious than the ASC/McLaren. That could be because so few were made, or maybe some people never really considered them to be performance cars. Whatever the reason, Richard Spradling has done his part to help bring these cars back into the limelight with this modified '88.
Richard beefed up the chassis...
Richard beefed up the chassis and suspension with a set of Custom Performance subframe connectors, Eibach springs, Tokico struts/shocks, and Ford Racing Performance Parts upper and Steeda lower control arms. The front spindles and rear axles were converted to a five-lug configuration and then fitted with a Baer four-wheel disc brake kit with 13-inch rotors on the front and 12-inch units on the rear. A set of great-looking 17-inch ROH wheels followed with 235/45/17 and 275/40/17 Firestones are on the front and rear, respectively.
What was so special about these cars in the first place? It turns out there were significant differences between these cars and production Mustangs. Sanford Block, operator of the ASC/ McLaren International Registry, offered a number of interesting details about these cars
"These were special-purpose, two-door sedans built in collaboration between Ford and ASC/McLaren," Sanford says. "They were built as a coupe on a convertible frame with additional chassis and body bracing, but with many of the items normally seen on a Mustang omitted. Each car coming off the assembly line was black with Thunderbird Super Coupe seats and 15-inch wheels that were used for the sole purpose of transport over to American Specialty.
"Once there, all the cars had a special jig attached to them with suction cups that was used to cut the top off the car. Each of the cars was then fitted with a manual convertible top that featured Mercedes-Benz-style window openings. The windshield frame was also bent back another 10 degrees. The fabric was stripped off the seats so they could be covered in leather, while the rear seat was replaced with an elevated storage platform that contained two storage bins. The door panels were given courtesy lights and extra-long armrests. Every one of the cars was then repainted with Sikkens paint, which has actually caused problems for owners at many car shows since the inner fenders and firewall in the engine compartment remained black."
As for performance modifications, production ASC/McLarens were all sold with springs that lowered the car about an inch and a half, but the brakes and transmissions remained stock. Controversy swirls about the engines, however, as a number of reports have circulated about these cars having much better acceleration than regular Mustangs, as well as nonproduction internal engine parts. There is no firm documentation regarding what, if anything, was done to beef up the engine's performance
Purchased new in 1989, Richard's car was everything he wanted and more-until it reached 50,000 miles. At that point, the decision had to be made whether to sell it and get another car or to put some money back into it by modifying it. A visit to Mark Ray at Harris Motorsports in Charlotte, North Carolina, convinced Richard there was a lot that could be done to this unique Mustang, and it was off to the races from there.
5.0 Tech specs
| ENGINE AND DRIVETRAIN |
| Block | Stock |
| Cylinder Heads | Edelbrock Performer |
| Intake Manifold | Edelbrock Performer |
| Camshaft | Custom Performance |
| Power Adder | Powerdyne supercharger |
| Exhaust | MAC short-tube headers, Bassani |
| | X-pipe, and Bassani mufflers |
| Fuel Pump | 255-lph in-tank |
| Fuel Injectors | 42-lb/hr |
| Transmission | Stock |
| Rearend | 8.8 with 3.55 gears and |
| | Moser axles |