December 2007
Gary Ross S351
1994 #11
I was looking for
another Saleen because the last Saleen I bought had just been paid off.
I was interested in Chucks SA-20 #07, I actually made him an offer, but
due to computer problems with Chuck’s network, I didn’t here back from
him for a few days, but when the computer problem were fixed, Chuck told
me that the car had just been picked up and headed to Richmond Va.
because of a commitment he made with Mark LaMaskin of Performance
Autosports (PAS). Well as luck would have it,
Mark
was about to have his annual open house and car show in a few weeks,
that gave me time to get the financial stuff in order. I went to Mark’s
web site and saw the SA-20 listed and started looking at the Saleens
that were for sale. About a week before Mark’s open house, I notice a
94 SR listed on his site. The more I read and learned about the SR the
more I like it. So now I had a choice, the SA-20 or the SR? The good
thing was that both cars were at Mark’s open house and I was planning on
going anyway. My original idea was to take my enclosed trailer to the
open house, to pick up one of the Saleens, it’s a 12 hour trip one was
from middle Ga. and I didn’t want to make two trips if I didn’t have
too, but after talking with Mark, I decided just to go and check out the
cars and if I wanted one he would hold it for me.
My
son Bryan lives in SC. and it was right on the way, so the plan was for
my wife and I to go to Bryan’s Thursday spend the night and Bryan and I
leave for Richmond Friday. We ended up leaving at midnight Friday night
and drove all night and arrived at PAS before the open house had
started. We decided on a quick breakfast and headed out to look for a
place to eat. When we got back, the show was open and we started to
look at all the Saleens that were there. There were a lot of very nice
Saleens on display, but I was there to look at two. I still could not
make up my mind on which Saleen I should buy, the SA-20 #07 was the only
automatic SA-20 made and was a convertible, and the 94 SR # 11 was the
very first SR made and was full of history, it had been featured in
several magazines and well, it was a SR. Bryan didn’t have any trouble
deciding, he told me to get the SR, then he started to look real close
at the SA-20, trying to figure out how he could make it his fifth
Saleen. He thought it would go nicely with his SA-10.
I
told him that he didn’t have any room for it, but I don’t think that
help to much. Mark was busy with the open house and I was trying to get
him aside to talk turkey. I have made my mind up and I wanted the SR,
so all that was left was to make the deal with Mark. We finally got
Mark attention and Bryan and I went into his office and made the deal
for the SR. Mark knew the car very well and actually sold it to the
people that were selling it. He told me more of the car’s history and
he asked me if I like to meet the former owners, Larry and Carol
Moneypenny, they were at the open house and I didn’t even know it. When
Mark introduced us they said that they saw Bryan and I looking at the
car all day and they were wondering if we were going to buy it.
Larry
told me that he had pictures of Steve Saleen debuting the SR at Young
Ford dealership the Friday night before the 30th
MCA Mustang show at Charlotte, pictures of Steve driving the SR around
Charlotte Motor speedway, (when he spun the car out in turn four) and a
ton of pictures when the SR was on display at the show. Bryan and I
were at that show and we remember the SR at the Saleen display and never
dreamed that car would be in my garage someday.
By this time it was
getting late and we had an eight hour drive ahead of us, so I told Mark
I would be back next Saturday with my trailer to pick up the SR and he
said that he would get with Larry because he still had stuff that went
with the car, like the original tires and a lot of the magazines that
the car was in. Well with the finances all set all that was left to do
was somehow tell my wife that we just bought another Saleen, then pry
her off the ceiling. (I remember when I won the e-bay auction and got my
first Saleen, everyone knew before my wife found out).
When I got home, I got
the trailer ready for the trip on Saturday. The plan was to go to
Bryan’s again Friday night and leave very early Saturday morning for
Richmond. We both slept in and didn’t leave Bryan’s until around 4AM
Saturday. That would put us in Richmond at about 10:00 AM with no
stops. The only problem with that was that I had the money transfer to
a local Suntrust bank in Richmond and this was Saturday and they close
at 11:00 AM so that was cutting it close. The trip went great and we
arrived at just after 10AM. We met Mark and he just threw me the keys
and we open the trailer door to load it up.
Bryan
fired up the car and we just couldn’t resist just one ride down the road
and back. Come to think of it I bought the car and never fired it up,
much less drove it. When we got back with the car, I swear you could
smell rubber from the back tired as we loaded it up. Mark called me in
his office to sign the paper work and them I realized I haven’t been to
the bank yet. I told Mark I would be right back with a certified check
in a few minutes. As luck would have it there was a Suntrust bank
almost in walking distance. Things went smoothly at the bank and I
think we were there last customer and they closed right after we left.
I remember telling Bryan, “I couldn’t believe that Mark let us load up
the car and we haven’t even paid for it yet, we could of just drove
away.” When we got back I gave Make the check and then I told him you
know I could of just drove off with the car and he said that never has
happen to him yet and as a matter of fact he told me he has never had a
check bounce either, he said that car people are special. I said I
agree. With the car loaded up and tied down it was time to leave for
SC. As it turned out Myrtle Beach Mustang week was the very next week
and we had already reserved out timeshare for that week. The plan was
that Bryan and his wife were going to spent the whole week at the
timeshare and me and my wife were going to join them on Wednesday. We
plan on leaving the trailer with the SR in it at Bryan’s because we were
going to the Saleen nationals that weekend, so it didn’t make sense
dragging the trailer four hours to my house and drag it back two hours
to Atlanta, so we left it there. Bryan was making hints that the SR
sure would look good at Mustang week in Myrtle Beach . I felt it best
just to leave it in the trailer. I was in enough trouble and my wife
and I only had two days in Myrtle Beach and me spending more time with
the SR at the show would not help matters any, besides Bryan and I were
leaving early so we could go to the Saleen Nationals in Atlanta.
Myrtle Beach Mustang
week was great, I remember when they could only get 50 or so cars, there
must have been over 300 but only a handful of Saleen, most of the
Mustangs there were newer. Bryan, his wife Shannon and I left Myrtle
Beach Friday afternoon for his house to pick up the SR and Bryan ’s
SA-10. We left for Atlanta Saturday morning. When we arrived at the
show, the SA-10 in a trailer being pulled by Bryan ’s Saleen Explorer
and my F250 pulling the trailer that had the SR. I was a little
concerned because we were arriving a little late and registration was
closing soon. I wanted to park together so I could get some good
pictures of both cars. As it turned out Bill Price had his SA-10 there
and they ask Randy if he wouldn’t mind moving his SSC over a bit so the
SA-10s could be parked together.
Then I pulled the SR across from him and was immediately asked by one
of the show officials if I would like to park the SR by the other S351.
I said sure so I did. This was the SR first show for me and the first
time I ever had to clean the car up for a show, it had been sitting in
the trailer since I pick it up from PAS. I was really surprised by how
many people knew what the car was, the car does not say SR anywhere on
the car. While Bryan cleaned up the SA-10, I cleaned up the SR. A
quick walk around the parking lot to see all the nice Saleens and it was
time for the awards. After the awards I wanted the SA-10 and the SR
parked side by side for a photo shoot but just as the awards were over
it started to rain, so we quickly put the cars back into the trailer.
As soon as we had the cars tied down the rain stopped, and we weren’t
going to unload them again, so Bryan headed home to SC and I headed home
to Warner Robins Ga.
