A few years ago (ten!) I spotted this ASC McLaren Mustang out and about in Rhode Island on a typical New England winter day. For those new to the ASC McLaren, it’s an aftermarket 2-seater Mustang droptop created by the American Sunroof Company (ASC), and of which 1,806 were made between 1987 and 1990.
A quick scan of the ASC McLaren forums leads me to believe this was Sterling Silver Metallic, which was available between 1986 through ’88. Since it has the revamped front end, this would make it an ’88, ’89 or ’90. The wheels appear to be from a later Cobra Mustang (but don’t quote me on that).
It didn’t look like it was in all that bad of shape, but I have to wonder, why on earth would you drive such a rare ‘stang on a winter day? Perhaps like all of us with multiple cars in varying degrees of drivability, this was the only vehicle of this person’s fleet that was running. With MA plates, it wasn’t local.
I scanned through the ASC McLaren registry to try and see if this car was listed and if it was still on the road with no luck. If this is yours, please drop a comment. I’d love to find out the backstory!
Spotted in Washington Park, Providence Rhode Island on February 8, 2016
Related CC reading:
’87-’90 ASC McLaren Mustang – Two Seater Aftermarket Chop Top
I’m so glad I blew up the photo. At first, I had thought there was no top (or a ragged one) and that there was rust on the rocker panel (it’s a seatbelt). Ten years is a long time – I hope this one is still kickin’!
It’s a car, drive it. I’ll drive whatever I own whenever and wherever I want as long as I’m the one paying for it and it’s properly equipped for it (mainly tires).
It may be rare but you also hardly ever see them (or hear about them) anymore, so either they’re all just hibernating in a garage or they aren’t valued enough to survive and mostly forgotten. Offhand, while well aware of them, I could not give a reason to buy one over a factory Mustang convertible. (There probably is a reason but I don’t know it without doing some research).
Nice find though!
Looks outfitted with snows also, the top seems ill fitted and not greatly weather tight… Definitely looked like a clean solid car. Put it in the garage, at least cover it thru the inclement weather. I’d rock it.. My 96 gt convertble stays parked and covered in my driveway .. When the salt is off the road she goes out
It makes me cringe when I see an older unique car out and about in snow & salted roads. Hope they did some serious rust preventive treatments. When I moved to Canada from Dallas in 2003 with my 1996 Sebring LXI coupe I annually spent about $100 each year for rust preventive treatments. When I sold the car in 2010, zero rust. I drove my 2011 Camaro in Canada winters for ten years, annual rust preventive treatments. Now in Virginia, kept dry, zero rust.
Curious – what rust preventive treatments did you use? I’m assuming undercoating? Any reputable brand that you can vouch for (Midas, Mr Lube, etc?)
I’ve been thinking of doing that with my mustang because I’m having to go into the office now (instead of garaging it all winter) but haven’t gotten a lot of suggestions/recommendations from people I know.
I don’t have a problem seeing base engine RWD 2drs (e.g. Challenger SXT, base Camaro and Mustang, 86/BRZ) out in the winter when running winter tires.
However, when I see the odd Mustang GT or other V8 engine sport coupe during what I call the off season, it makes me just think “If you really wanted this car, you should’ve thought ahead and made sure to have enough money to buy a decent winter beater before pulling the trigger.”
The curiosity got the better of me and after five minutes of googling without triple fact checking anything it appears that the reason they are “rare” is that the drivetrain is no different than a Mustang LX/GT V8, and the convertible conversion from a tintop car results in a car without a rear seat, albeit with a more raked windshield and likely a lower top as a result. All while the factory itself already offered a factory convertible option which was ignored in order to do it from scratch. Which is a bit of a head-scratcher really. There’s a bodykit that’s debatably better than the GT’s, and the deletion of Ford and Mustang badging on the car along with a different set of wheels.
The wheels on this car though look like the stock LX V8 wheels from a late-run Fox Mustang so a retrograde step from the McLaren ASC original replacements but then again these here were some of the most attractive stock wheels on a Fox-body, I can’t fault anyone for that. The sagging top and what looks like a damaged front bumper has me thinking this is an (at least) third owner car who may not even realize he has a car that is apparently 1 of 1806 examples and perhaps wishes he had sprung for a used WRX instead in that weather.
Sometimes rare is just that because nobody was really interested in spending a huge chunk of money more than the factory offiering for something that is not really any better and to many, possibly worse. Although 1806 over four model years (87-90) may still be considered a success by the converter.
I think to me personally the most desirable Fox-body Mustang would be a 1993 LX 5.0 notchback, then an LX 5.0 Hatchback, then an LX 5.0 convertible, then a GT any body, then probably this, and if I got to the non-V8 cars I’d start looking at Camaros instead…Although if it had to be a modified car I was interested in, I suppose a Saleen Mustang would be preferable, to me anyways. Or just stick the engine in a Volvo wagon?