My 1998 Saleen S-281.

[tennesseemustangperformance]

As requested, here is a little bit about my 1998. Here are a few of the modifications.

S-351 spoiler.
Cobra leather seats.
Custom fabricated chrome moly roll cage (fabricated by me) with auto locking swingout bars.
Four point racing harnesses.
Double DIN CD conversion with 6 disc changer.
Short short throw shifter with 2005+ leather knob.
200mph gauge conversion.
Full interior swap from a 2003 GT.
324c.i.d. stroker. (Pictured is a WAP, now has a TEKSID block).
Ford Racing 42# injectors.
Fox Lake ported and polished heads (P.I.).
P.I. intake.
Race prepped T-45 transmission.
Custom grind cams.
Adjustable cam sprockets.
Off road X-pipe.
Flowmaster catback (going to have the original Borlas put back on soon though).
Electronic exhaust cutouts.
Saleen S-281E rear seat.
Hand laid carbon fiber valve covers.
Hand laid carbon fiber door sills with Saleen logos.
Billet catch can.
Hand laid carbon fiber radiator cover with Saleen logo.
Steeda caster/camber plates powder coated black.
3.55:1 gears.
Hardened Moser axles.
Snow methanol injection.
Momo carbon fiber style e-brake handle and leather boot.
Forged Probe pistons, Eagle rods, billet crank.
P-51 intake (not installed fully, I have to make some lowering solid motor mounts to get it to fit under the hood).
Heat extractor hood (not pictured).
Leather covered headliner.











Mocking up the intake.

[OxfordS281]

sun roof? love every part of the car especially the color! the wheels the rear seats the interior! and the engine bay is wicked!! i would like to see pictures with the heat extractor hood i love it on the 94-98 body style. the procharger intake is pretty cool itself!

[tennesseemustangperformance]

Originally Posted by OxfordS281

sun roof? love every part of the car especially the color! the wheels the rear seats the interior! and the engine bay is wicked!! i would like to see pictures with the heat extractor hood i love it on the 94-98 body style. the procharger intake is pretty cool itself!

Thank you! Yup, the car actually came with a sunroof, think it was a dealership option. I would love to see it with the heat extractor too... unfortunately with other projects I have not had a chance to paint the hood yet. Gonna have to be my spring project. I need to paint the door fillers too, as I have made a set out of carbon fiber (got sick of replacing the urethane ones). Most of the interior swapped out, and I was very fortunate to have found the rear seat brand new for a good price, so I jumped on it. I just have to have the fronts matched to the rears, and I will be in business. I debated on putting a chrome Procharger logo on the intake tube when I made it, but decided it was too much with the chrome Saleen decal on the CF radiator cover. I am looking forward to showing the car again, it has been out of the car show scene for too long. Thanks again for the comments!

[OxfordS281]

are the seats two tone? gray and black.... i have a set at my house awaiting to me installed on my car, they are in perfect condition i almost do not want to install them lol. Oh i thought you just had not taken pictures of it with the hood on. oh well it will look good for sure. will the p-51 fit underneath without adjustments with the hood or do you still need to make adjustments. your going on the right path with the engine bay thats for sure. i thought when i first looked that you owned the grape ape! but i know someone on this forum does i saw him selling the wheels on it a few months ago.

[tennesseemustangperformance]

Originally Posted by OxfordS281

are the seats two tone? gray and black.... i have a set at my house awaiting to me installed on my car, they are in perfect condition i almost do not want to install them lol. Oh i thought you just had not taken pictures of it with the hood on. oh well it will look good for sure. will the p-51 fit underneath without adjustments with the hood or do you still need to make adjustments. your going on the right path with the engine bay thats for sure. i thought when i first looked that you owned the grape ape! but i know someone on this forum does i saw him selling the wheels on it a few months ago.

Nope, that is Chris Hoff (or at least was). I know the Grape Ape was recently sold, don't know who has it now. His is an S-351, too. Don't let my spoiler fool ya, mine is just a 281 (stroker). I just preferred the 351 wing, so I changed them out. I have been told that I should change out to S-351 decklid decals since the car is close to that sized engine, but this is not going to happen (it is not an S-351, and never will be.)
The P-51 will fit under a stock 1999-2004 hood, but not the 1994-1998. I was told it will need 2 to 2 1/2" clearance on these models. The heat extractor hood gives me 1 1/2", but I still have to make some solid motor mounts that will drop things down another inch to give everything a stock look on the outside. Thanks for the compliment, I am fairly happy with the way the engine is coming together. I am going to have the P-51 powder coated hyper silver like the wheels. I think it will add a nice touch. Then I plan on having the intake tubing formed out of three pieces, one for the blower to intercooler, one to the intercooler to the MAF, and one from the MAF to the intake. The new tubing will be mandrel bent and will also likely be painted to match the body.
The rear seats are two toned, but the fronts are just single color dark charcoal. I am looking to have the fronts redone to match the rears, and would like to have a really soft leather used as well. I also have a friend who does commercial embroidery, she is going to stitch the white Saleen logo in the front seats to match the rears. Eventually, I am going to machine some custom billet aluminum inserts to replace the plastic ones in the seats where the shoulder harnesses come through. The billet pieces will be satin and the front and rear halves will be mated with some flat black Allen head screws. Should look pretty good, I think. By the way, I know what you mean about not wanting to install the seats. I fabricated the roll cage with my mother-in-law specifically in mind (who used to want to ride with us from time to time in the back seat). The way that I did the rear tub ties, it is impossible to ride in the back seat.... "Sorry Dianne".

[RISALEEN281]

Very nice. That roll bar looks great. Upload some more pics...

[tennesseemustangperformance]

Originally Posted by RISALEEN281

Very nice. That roll bar looks great. Upload some more pics...

Why thank you! I will. I should be shooting the hood very soon, and will be sure to post some pics of it then. Also should post some pics of the trunk that I lined in dark charcoal leather (to replace the carpet).

[superstang]

Sweet ride! Very nice! what do you estimate hp at? More pics too!

[tennesseemustangperformance]

Originally Posted by superstang

Sweet ride! Very nice! what do you estimate hp at? More pics too!

Thank you very much! Well, taking into consideration what I have done to it along with the factory ratings, I would say it is at least 200hp to the rear wheels, maybe more.

[superstang]

200hp,haha! You could probably more than triple that! I'd say 650-700hp depending on psi and tune. Which procharger is that? Looks like one I did years back for a customer in ny. Brand new 03 GT stang with 3000 miles on it. I did the SQ PC, been a few years,correct me if I'm wrong, intercooled and all. Took it to Larocca's in jersey for the tune and put down 440hp to the wheels!

[00_ExtrmRnbw]

Awesome looking ride you've got there!

[tennesseemustangperformance]

Originally Posted by 00_ExtrmRnbw

Awesome looking ride you've got there!

Thank you! It is part of the family now.

Originally Posted by superstang

Yes, the P1SC thats the one I used. Very good unit, also did a D-1 on a 90 fox,sick car, with 331 DSS stroker. put out 683 hp to the wheels and a 100 shot of nitrous with co2 also to cool I/C. Now that was a sick car!

It is. A D-1SC is an awesome compressor, and one that I will probably go with this winter. At the time I bought it, I needed top end more than bottom end. I'd say your car did have a good boot in the ****, with the stroker, blower, and juice. 331 is a great choice, I know the 347s now have the oil issue pretty much worked out, but the 331 is still the mill I recommend in almost all cases with pushrod motors.

[tennesseemustangperformance]

With the help of two good buddies (Shane and Mike Jones), I was able to get the roll cage mostly finished up. Shane and Mike machined the slugs for the swingouts as well as the slugs that allow the back part of the cage to be bolted to the main hoop. While there is a bolt for now, there will soon be a billet aluminum trigger on the bottom of the swingout bars that you will be able to unlock, slide forward, and swing the bars outward to get in and out of the car. The sliders are made of precision machined stainless steel, will feature an o-ring (to prevent any noise) and have internal springs to keep them in the outward position naturally. I fabricated the entire cage out of .093" 4130 chrome moly tubing, and designed it to maximize interior space. It is as tight as a roll cage can get and still have all the interior panels inside the car. Hope you all like it.
By the way, the bars are wrapped in Saran Wrap in the pics so as to prevent them from surface rust, as well as to protect the trunk of my car when I was transporting them to Tennessee (we finished the three pieces in Florida on my vacation).





Sorry the car is a shambles right now, I am in the middle of stripping it down for repaint. Also, the gap between the swingout and the main hoop will be gone in installation. The sliders go inside the extensions (welded to the main hoop) to lock it into place.

[OxfordS281]

i love that color and it goes so well with that body style, i sometimes wonder how it would look on a 99-04 style. either way i want your car! :)

[tennesseemustangperformance]

Originally Posted by OxfordS281

i love that color and it goes so well with that body style, i sometimes wonder how it would look on a 99-04 style. either way i want your car! :)

Thank you! I appreciate the comments! I bet a New Edge would look great in it, I have seen an S-197 that was done in almost the same identical color... I will have to dip up pics. I think they are on my cell phone.

[Daytona1783]

The first pic reminds me of my middle school days. I had a poster of an white 95 S351 in my room in back then.

Looks good man.

[tennesseemustangperformance]

Originally Posted by Daytona1783

The first pic reminds me of my middle school days. I had a poster of an white 95 S351 in my room in back then.

Looks good man.

Thank you! I would love to have an S-351, great cars! Maybe someday soon.

[OxfordS281]

any updates? really like this car.

[saleen777]

LOVE IT! Great looking car.

[sidvicious]

Awesome car! The carbon fiber valve covers are sick.

[tennesseemustangperformance]

Originally Posted by OxfordS281

any updates? really like this car.

No, not recently. I have been busy with 00-325. I got sick of State Farm dragging their feet on the hail damage claim from the spring of 2011 (yup, you read right, almost three years ago!). After I am finished with it (and after I get to a good stopping point on my Fox body), I plan on doing a little more to my '98.

Originally Posted by saleen777

LOVE IT! Great looking car.

Thank you! It has been a labor of love, but I am happy with it.

Originally Posted by sidvicious

Awesome car! The carbon fiber valve covers are sick.

Thanks! They were a real pain to do, but I am glad I made them. I ended up making three sets, one is on the '98, another set on my girl's 1994, and a third set has ben sitting in my garage closet for a few years.

[OxfordS281]

would like new pics! :)

[tennesseemustangperformance]

Originally Posted by OxfordS281

would like new pics! :)

It is in rough shape right now... I am in the middle of repainting it. I will post pics throughout the process though. First priority is my Fox, which I should have wearing some new paint sometime after the first of the year.

[es252]

Oh man, that is one sweet ride. I love me some carbon. Nice job! Looking forward to the new pics.