Story and Photo By Rod Short : As featured in MUSTANG & FORD TRADER Magazine

PURSUING PERFECTION
PERFORMANCE AUTOSPORT IS YOUR CONNECTION TO THE BEST PERFORMANCE MUSTANGS

If you've ever shopped for a used performance Mustang, then you know what kind of chore that can be. Sorting though ads, looking, test-driving and assessing problems is a tricky and time-consuming process. Couple that with the growing scarcity of good, clean performance cars and you'll quickly understand why Performance Autosport is and important name to know As a nationally renowned specialist in Saleens and other high performance Mustangs, owner Mark LaMaskin is a valuable resource who can put you on the road with the car you want. "Performance Autosport has been here for a year, but as for myself, I've been buying and selling Saleen Mustangs for over ten years," Mark said when asked about why he started the company. : I saw a need for people being able to locate these cars so I started with the business to allow me to do what I love the most.

Located just outside of Richmond Va., Performance Autosport is a seller and buyer of performance 'Stangs with more that 4,000 square feet of enclosed storage. The business specializes, however in Saleens, which are among the most desirable of all collector mustangs on the market today.

"The Saleen Mustang carries the same heritage as the Shelby did because they are all serialized, they're building cars that are better and faster and they have a real cult following," Ford allows Saleen to sell cars as new on an original MSO. That's why the Federal government considers them a small manufacturer."

As the brainchild of three-time SCCA champion Steve Saleen, these cars have been made for over 15 years with the emissions-legal modifications that make them some of the best performance cars on the road today.

While Saleen Mustangs are certainly fun to drive, even greater pleasure comes from the collectability and value that comes along with the cars as well.

"The first Saleen built for the public was back in 1985, but they actually built three cars the year before,. One was a prototype and the other two were customer's cars," Mark LaMaskin said when asked about these cars," People often call looking for a 1985-86 Saleens with low miles and in great shape, but they're hard to find. When Saleens first came out, they weren't considered collector cars. It was just a good-looking Mustang with a body/suspension kit and some wheels. The toughest Saleen to find is probable the SC model, which was introduced after the 1989 SSC production run. The people who bought these cars drovethem, so it's hard to find one with under 100,000 miles that is also in good shape."

"For someone wanting to get into an entry level Saleen, I recommend that you get a nice car that's complete with all the right pieces," Mark said continuing on. " People call all the time looking for project Saleens, but I don't buy project cars. The parts are too hard to find and the cars aren't worth that much less than a car that's done. By the time they buy a car, scrounge around for parts and get it painted they've got more money in the car than if they had bough a nice car to begin with."

Mark says that ex-state trooper cars and low mileage, 1990 and up 5.0 LX and GT's are also in high demand and that he buys every nice car he can find. Despite their relative scarcity, Mark is adamant about the kind of high performance Mustang he wants to buy and sell. His insights offer a lot of wisdom people should consider before they get too deep into modifying their own cars. "People don't realize how many cars I look at and don't by," Mark said flatly." Out of every ten cars I look at, I might buy two. I walk away from cars with accident damage or paint work. Minor bolt-ons are fine with me, but fiberglass hoods, racing seats, different wheels and tires pretty much destroy the uniqueness of the car. People don't realize when they take parts off, it affects the value of the car- even if they still have the original parts."

Although it has been just six years since the last Fox-bodied Mustang rolled off the assembly line, the future value of these cars and Saleens in particular has never looked better. While that's great if you're already an owner, prospective buyers find this as a challenge. While late model performance Mustangs come in many forms, finding a good quality cat that will retain as much of its value as possible is what Performance Autosport is all about - all of which makes pursuing performance perfection a much quicker trip!