Saleen PJ Edition laps faster than Parnelli's 1970 Trans Am Champion

[Nethead]

Motor Trend, March 2007, pages 122--128:  Streets of Willow racetrack, Rosamond, CA.  Canadian Harry Lipetz owns and lavishly cares for the schoolbus yellow Mustang Boss 302 that Parnelli Jones drove in nine of the eleven Trans-Am races in 1970--qualifying in that car for five poles, winning three of the races (Lime Rock, Mid-Ohio, and Laguna Seca--which the Nethead here attended while stationed in nearby Monterey, CA), and earned 124 of 142 championship points in fabled Number 15.  Harry Lipetz graciously loans Number 15 to Motor Trend for this test.
The 1970 Boss 302 is perfect, its 302 CID V8 cranking out 480 HP, tipping the scales at a trim 3109 pounds, and running on racing Goodyears just like it did over 36 years ago.  Its opponent is the 2007 Saleen Parnelli Jones Edition, its 302 CID V8 cranking out 400 HP, tipping the scales at a street-legal 3602 pounds, and running on 275/285 Pirelli PZero Rossos.  73-years-young Parnelli Jones laps the Streets of Willow in his '70 championship-winning Boss 302 in 1 minute, 3.934 seconds.  Then he laps the Streets in the Saleen PJ Edition in 1 minute, 3.494 seconds.  MT Road-test Editor Neil Chirico got the PJ down to 1 minute, 3.191 seconds.
This shows just how slick the PJ Edition Mustang really is--running on street tires, down 80 horsepower and just 7 pounds shy of being 500 pounds heavier, the PJ beats a famous Trans-Am championship winner on racing tires.  Even a '70 Boss driven by Parnelli Jones himself, who knows that '70 Boss 302--and probably any Boss 302--better than any human being, alive or dead. 
The Willows is a tight track--sharp corners and modest straights.  On a track like Daytona, the 480 HP of the '70 Boss 302 could be used to more advantage, but then there's the PJ Edition's fifth gear to have to contend with on Daytona's long straights...
The latter-day 302 has a 3.55" bore, a 3.80" stroke and, according to Motor Trend, uses an iron block!

Great article--much better than the PJ Edition article in Modified Mustangs!

[SVT666]

Motor Trend, March 2007, pages 122--128:? Streets of Willow racetrack, Rosamond, CA.? Canadian Harry Lipetz owns and lavishly cares for the schoolbus yellow Mustang Boss 302 that Parnelli Jones drove in nine of the eleven Trans-Am races in 1970--qualifying in that car for five poles, winning three of the races (Lime Rock, Mid-Ohio, and Laguna Seca--which the Nethead here attended while stationed in nearby Monterey, CA), and earned 124 of 142 championship points in fabled Number 15.? Harry Lipetz graciously loans Number 15 to Motor Trend for this test.
The 1970 Boss 302 is perfect, its 302 CID V8 cranking out 480 HP, tipping the scales at a trim 3109 pounds, and running on racing Goodyears just like it did over 36 years ago.? Its opponent is the 2007 Saleen Parnelli Jones Edition, its 302 CID V8 cranking out 400 HP, tipping the scales at a street-legal 3602 pounds, and running on 275/285 Pirelli PZero Rossos.? 73-years-young Parnelli Jones laps the Streets of Willow in his '70 championship-winning Boss 302 in 1 minute, 3.934 seconds.? Then he laps the Streets in the Saleen PJ Edition in 1 minute, 3.494 seconds.? MT Road-test Editor Neil Chirico got the PJ down to 1 minute, 3.191 seconds.
This shows just how slick the PJ Edition Mustang really is--running on street tires, down 80 horsepower and just 7 pounds shy of being 500 pounds heavier, the PJ beats a famous Trans-Am championship winner on racing tires.? Even a '70 Boss driven by Parnelli Jones himself, who knows that '70 Boss 302--and probably any Boss 302--better than any human being, alive or dead.?
The Willows is a tight track--sharp corners and modest straights.? On a track like Daytona, the 480 HP of the '70 Boss 302 could be used to more advantage, but then there's the PJ Edition's fifth gear to have to contend with on Daytona's long straights...
The latter-day 302 has a 3.55" bore, a 3.80" stroke and, according to Motor Trend, uses an iron block!

Great article--much better than the PJ Edition article in Modified Mustangs!

Nice.  i love this new car.  It's the best limited edition Stang yet.

[Nethead]

HEMI666:  The Nethead here does, too, and regret that I haven't got $61,565 in the piggy earmarked for entertainment...not that I ever did...

[Michael Estorol]

Saleen do seem to be very good...  at marketing.

[SVT666]

Saleen do seem to be very good...? at marketing.

You think he's good at marketing?? You should drive one of his cars.  The marketing pales in comparison.

[Michael Estorol]

You think he's good at marketing?? You should drive one of his cars.? The marketing pales in comparison.

don't get me wrong, I have no problem with it -- to hark back to another thread, this kind of thing reminds me of Aston Martin hyping themselves up with James Bondery.

[SVT666]

[Nethead]

Saleen do seem to be very good...? at marketing.

Michael Estorol:? Soooooo, MyCholesterolDude, what do you drive that can turn a lap around the Streets of Willow racetrack in 1 minute, 3.191 seconds or less???? Or even in 1 minute, 3.534 seconds or less--Parnelli's best time in the most famous Trans-Am racecar of all time (and the car the Saleen Parnelli Jones Mustang honors so well)???

And that 1 minute, 3.191 seconds lap was in a street-legal, California emissions-legal, air-conditioned, radio/CD player equipped vehicle on DOT-approved tires.?

You don't need "marketing" when you're selling cars that can do what this car can do--'know what I mean?

[FoMoJo]

There's not many Mustangs that look as good as a '70 Boss 302...



...but this one comes real close!



Pretty amazing performance as well!

[Michael Estorol]

Michael Estorol:? Soooooo, MyCholesterolDude, what do you drive that can turn a lap around the Streets of Willow racetrack in 1 minute, 3.191 seconds or less???? Or even in 1 minute, 3.534 seconds or less--Parnelli's best time in the most famous Trans-Am racecar of all time (and the car the Saleen Parnelli Jones Mustang honors so well)???

Well, my 2cv would probably struggle to get much below 5 minutes, so my opinion is worthless.

But surely you'd agree that 36 years should represent some sort of progress, even in the Mustang world, so excuse me for being underwhelmed, and slightly cynical, about an obvious publicity stunt.

[SVT666]

Well, my 2cv would probably struggle to get much below 5 minutes, so my opinion is worthless.

But surely you'd agree that 36 years should represent some sort of progress, even in the Mustang world, so excuse me for being underwhelmed, and slightly cynical, about an obvious publicity stunt.

The car this car beat around the track was on racing tires, is 500 lbs lighter, is a race car, and had 80 more hp.  The Saleen is a street legal car with suspension setup for the street on street tires.  I would say I'm impressed.

[Raza]

Oh my god I want one.  But, I don't need that much power.  How about 350 and 3000 pounds flat?

Although, 400bhp and 3100 pounds makes it a wonderful Corvette alternative, especially at only 61K. 

[SVT666]

Oh my god I want one.? But, I don't need that much power.? How about 350 and 3000 pounds flat?

Although, 400bhp and 3100 pounds makes it a wonderful Corvette alternative, especially at only 61K.?

Bullshit.? 350 hp is not enough for anyone...unless that's at the rear wheels

[Michael Estorol]

? I would say I'm impressed.

okay, and I don't want to labour the point, but look at it another way:
In 1970, how much faster was a street-legal Boss Mustang than a competitive 1934 sports racing car - an MG Magnette for instance, which probably (I'm guessing) had a similar power/weight ratio ?

[Nethead]

Michael Estorol:? Dammit!? The Nethead here had the lap times of the 1934 MG Magnette around the Streets of Willow racetrack on the tip of my tonque just moments ago but they have momentarily slipped my mind, so please forgive me if I don't quote them immediately...?

What we really need here are lap times of other cars around the Streets of Willow.? The article states that the Parnelli Jones Edition is two seconds quicker around this track than was a GT500 in some earlier Motor Trend roadtest--a car with 100 more horsepower and 90 more pounds feet of torque, but 277 pounds heavier on taller profile tires and possibly with an inch or more greater ground clearance.? The air temperature may have been hotter when the GT500 was tested, too, but two seconds is a big lead in a one-lap comparison.? There are lots of cars that could not match the GT500's lap time--the GTO and Charger SRT8 are two that come immediately to mind--so they would be a coupla seconds further behind the Parnelli Jones Edition than would be the GT500 head-to-head.? I'll do some googling on "Streets of Willow" and see what turns up--with the understanding that even identical lap times might not be so if tested under the conditions of the track and the atmosphere that existed on the day that the PJ Edition was tested.  Drivers can make a substantial difference, too...

[Nethead]

okay, and I don't want to labour the point, but look at it another way:
In 1970, how much faster was a street-legal Boss Mustang than a competitive 1934 sports racing car - an MG Magnette for instance, which probably (I'm guessing) had a similar power/weight ratio ?

Michael Estorol:  MyCholesterolDude, the Nethead here having gotten a brief night's sleep since my first reply to you, has had additional items come to mind.

Between 1934 and 1970, there were massive changes in automobiles and their constituent parts--check out the tires on a 1970 Boss 302 versus the tires on a 1934 MG Magnette and that should be all the substantiation I need for my statement. 
Between 1970 and 2007 there has not been such quantum leaps in performance in automobiles--much of what has occurred has been in response to legislation and the equipment mandated therein.  Check out the Corvette--the 1970 had a leaf spring rear suspension and a pushrod engine.  See any change in that thirty-seven years later?  In fact, the 1970 'Vette might have at least had a coil spring front suspension--but it's leaf springs now!  At some point in the past, Chevy decided that it was a waste to have a modern coil spring suspension on just half of the car, so they did the GM thing and dumbed down the front suspension to match the rear suspension.  1970 cars had seat belts, but not airbags.  1970 cars had no front-end crash standards--check out the front bumper on Parnelli's 1970 Boss 302.  There were rudimentary emissions controls on most 1970 cars (trucks were probably still exempt), but the emissions-legal PJ Edition gets 400 HP & 370 feet pounds of torque on 91-octane unleaded!  Most 1970 cars had leaf springs like the Corvette, but they are only on trucks and Corvettes today.  And it was around 1970 that struggling American Motors raised eyebrows by deciding to make air conditioning standard on all Javelins, I think it was--the first time A/C had been made standard on a US small car!  And few 1970 cars offered 4-wheel disc brakes--discs on front and drums on the rear were typical, and substantial numbers of 1970 cars still came standard with drums at all four corners.  I'm not sure if any pickup truck even offered front disc brakes as an option in 1970.  I believe the Mustang is the only ponycar to ever make 4-wheel discs standard on all models--the others were still equipping cheaper models with rear drums at the time each of them went extinct.  Really, the big performance changes since 1970 are wholesale adoption of fuel-injection, disc brakes, coil springs, IRS, computer-controlled electronics, radial tires, and more-than-four-speeds manual transmissions (more-than-three-speeds in automatic transmissions).  Offsetting that are 87-to-91 octane unleaded, the weight of the hardware to comply with Federal and State regulations, tuning for emissions and fuel economy, the weight of the ever-increasing number and types of accessories, and the general size increase necessary to hold all the required equipment and consumer-demanded accessories.
Somedamnhow, the street-legal Parnelli Jones Edition manages to outlap one of 1970's most feared racecars on a tight-cornered 1.8 mile track with a naturally-aspirated engine of the same displacement on street-legal tires while the '70 Boss 302 has racing Goodyears and is in no way street-legal now or then!  And the PJ Edition was spotting the Trans-Am champion 493 pounds!!
1.8 miles is 9,504 feet covered in less that 64 seconds, turns and all.  9,504 feet divided by 63.191 seconds is an average of 150.4 feet per second, or over 102.5 MPH for the lap.  That's seriously quick!  And blazing for an air-conditioned 5.0 liter with power steering and power brakes!  Try that in a Monte Carlo SS, but not until you've made out a will...

[Nethead]

There's not many Mustangs that look as good as a '70 Boss 302...



...but this one comes real close!



Pretty amazing performance as well!

FoMoJo:? Yeah, Fo, Boss 302s were awesome vehicles in their day--I saw my first one in late '69 on an industrial backstreet in Oakland--it looked identical to your posting except it was orange instead of yellow--and it was not "Valencia Orange" (which is a shitload more yellow than it is orange) but a genuine orange!? All the stripes and decals were black like the ones in the pic you posted, of course.

I couldn't stand those wings on the back--which you could also get on Mavericks, Comets, etc.? I don't like them on the Saleen PJ, either.? I don't care for the shaker hood scoop--an item on Mach1s back in the day but not on Boss 302s--nor the "panels" Saleen has put on the C-pillar windows.? All the black stripes ain't cool either.? Although Parnelli's Boss 302 never raced with those rear window slats, street Boss 302s had them and those I kinda like--especially with the August sun beating down in the afternoons.? And what's with the chrome rims around the taillight recess and the grille opening?? The billet fuel door is nice; the front bumper fascia is different from a standard Mustang GT's, but no better really; and the interior upgrades are cool (a less chubby steering wheel would improve this car and any other Mustang).

Where the Saleen PJ sparkles is in its handling, braking, and acceleration!? And for being a PJ Edition!? Just like Motor Trend says, the Saleen PJ is the best of the specialty S197 Mustangs to date.? Ford should be taking notes for the upcoming Bullitt!?

Speaking of the Bullitt, there's some website that claims that the Boss engine we're hearing about--not the resurrected pushrod Boss 302 Ford introduced at the '06 SEMA show--is pretty much the '04 Cobra Quadcammer with some detail changes to up the horsepower to perhaps 500.? Let's hope the appearance options are only (a) Dark Highland Green paint, (b) a billet fuel filler door, (c) removal of that awful faux gascap in the rear, (d) perhaps an under-the-front-bumper carbon fiber splitter (but no nasty side skirts or aprons or hoodscoops or rear wings), (e) a retractable antenna, (f) very dark charcoal tinted windows/windshield/taillights/turnsignals/headlights, and (g) I guess it would be forgivable to paint the taillight recessed area black.? If this is the only Mustang that gets Dark Highland Green paint, then no dorky "Bullitt" badging is required--if it's Dark Highland Green, then it's understood that it's a Bullitt!? All other colors need not apply.? Put the money into a lowered high-performance suspension for blitzkrieging the hills and curves of San Francisco, brick wall brakes, and Space Shuttle acceleration!? What else d'ya need?

[Nethead]

MyCholesterolDude: ? I found this time for a motorcycle around the Streets of Willow:

Eikenberry sets a new record
at The Streets of Willow

PRESS RELEASE? ?Eikenberry, who held the previous lap record at The Streets, retained the distinction of being the fastest man around the newly re-configured circuit, setting a new official motorcycle lap record of 1:18.7 on his Dunlop-shod, California Superbike School-sponsored, stock-engined 636cc Kawasaki ZX-6R using GP Suspension 25mm Supersport Cartridges.?

And this:

Title? ?:? ? MI class record, Streets of Willow, CC w/Bowl
Owner? ?:? ? John Cherniack - Date : January 28th, 2007
Track? ?:? ? Willow Springs Raceway - Streets of Willow
Desc? ?:? ? John Cherniack shows you an MI Class record time of 1:31:497 around Streets of Willow, Counter Clock-wise with the Bowl in his 1999 996 Carrera.

l'm sure John Cherniack's posting has a colon where it should have a decimal point--"1:31:497" no doubt should read "1:31.497"!

That Saleen Parnelli Jones Edition is beginning to sound better and better with its 1:3.191!

[Soup DeVille]

Does anyone else think that 480 HP number quoted for the '70 TA car is SAE gross, while the new one is net?

[Raza]

Does anyone else think that 480 HP number quoted for the '70 TA car is SAE gross, while the new one is net?

I think that.  That would make the power outputs about even, right?

[Nethead]

Does anyone else think that 480 HP number quoted for the '70 TA car is SAE gross, while the new one is net?

Soup DeVille:? No doubt about it, DudeVille is wide awake and right on top of it!? Yeah, Soup, you may have a real point there--horsepower was computed differently back in the day--and by formulas that produced higher figures than the formula in use by the SAE today.? ?Boss 302s were never rated at 480 HP, so this figure comes from somewhere other than a Boss 302 brochure off a counter in the dealership's customer lounge.? Possibly Parnelli knew dyno figures from 1970, although I'm not even sure dynamometers charted horsepower then the way dynos do it today.? Today's formula is considered more accurate, so the Saleen PJ figure is probably a quite-close-to-exact SAE net figure, and it's anybody's guess as to how close-to-exact the Boss 302 figure may be...

Good eye, Soup!

[Nethead]

The AutoWeek article on the Saleen Parnelli Jones Edition:

2007 Saleen/Parnelli Jones Limited Edition Mustang?

Parnelli just wanted a paint job for his '70 'Stang, instead he got 500 new ones with his name on the side.?

By MARK VAUGHN

AutoWeek | Published 01/18/07, 3:05 pm et?

AT A GLANCE:
2007 SALEEN/PARNELLI JONES MUSTANG
ON SALE: Now
BASE PRICE: $59,015 (plus $1,300 gas-guzzler tax and $1,550 transportation)
DRIVETRAIN: 5.0-liter, 400-hp, 390-lb.ft. V8; rwd, five-speed automatic (Parnelli  says it's a 5-speed manual)
CURB WEIGHT: 3550 pounds
FUEL MILEAGE: n/a
0 TO 60 MPH: 4.5 seconds (est.)

You could count the American racers with the credentials of Parnelli Jones on one hand (assuming no band saw accidents): Dan Gurney, Mario Andretti, A.J. Foyt and Carroll Shelby. They are an elite bunch, with championships in diverse arenas as well as enough engineering smarts to start their own car companies, which a couple of them did.

It?s not necessary to review Jones? accomplishments, but just in case you were born in the video-game age, here we go: He won the Indy 500 in 1963 in a car called ?Old Calhoun? and almost won it again in 1967 in that whooshing-cool turbine car; won the Trans-Am championship back in 1970 when it was a bigger deal than NASCAR, by only a single point over the formidable Mark Donohue; won the Baja 1000 twice in that wild ?Big Oly? Bronco with the huge wing on top; and took a class win at Pikes Peak in 1963 driving a Mercury stock car. That?s in addition to numerous sprint car titles, USAC championships and a career begun as a jalopy driver on the dirt tracks of Southern California.

He was even more successful as a team owner with business partner Vel Miletich, winning 53 Indy car races and the Indy 500 twice with Al Unser driving. He ran his own Formula One team from 1974 to 1976.

His business sense, with that of Miletich, meant most of Southern California at one point drove around on the Firestone tires he sold. (?Get Your ?Stones From Parnelli Jones,? the bumper stickers said.)

So last year, when Jones inquired at Saleen about getting his personal 1970 Mustang repainted, it wasn?t like just your average 5.0 reader had wandered into Saleen Inc.

Steve Saleen, meanwhile, is no slouch, with a long racing resume of his own that includes nine championships and an even longer carbuilding CV, first as a ?tuner? (a word Saleen now abhors), then as an increasingly bigger manufacturer of everything from S281 Saleen Mustangs to Ford GTs and the all-conquering street-blaster twin-turbo S7.

So when these two automotive forces came together, they almost had to produce more than just paint.

?At first I just wanted a paint job,? said Jones. ?Then we got to talking.??

Long story short, since we only have two pages, they made the Mustang you see here, a car inspired by Jones? Trans-Am championship-winning Boss 302 of 1970.

?The whole purpose is really a tribute to Parnelli,? Saleen said. ?We tried to capture all the things that were memorable in that period of time.?

Those memorable things come in cues both subtle and obvious from front to rear on the car, including, Saleen said, ??the stylized headlights with that ?70s slant, the chrome detail that was so popular at the time, the sports slats on the rear glass, the wing, and the big number 15 on the side.?

The cosmetics are just the beginning. ?To be authentic, it had to have an honest-to-goodness 302 motor.?

That motor starts as a 4.6-liter modular three-valve sohc V8. Saleen strokes and bores it to 5.0 liters, adds 24 pounds/hour injectors, ported aluminum heads, performance camshafts and dual exhausts. The engine management is recalibrated to make the most of those improvements, and then the stock internal parts are replaced with forged-aluminum pistons, forged-steel con rods and a forged-steel crank so the whole thing doesn?t blow up.?

?That?s an honest blueprinted engine with 400 hp and 390 lb-ft,? Jones added. The transmission is a five-speed manual with a short-throw shifter routed to an 8.8-inch differential with a 3.73 final drive.

To get all the power to the ground and be able to drive around a corner with it, the Saleen crew went to work on the suspension. The heart of the setup is the Watts linkage in the rear, which replaces the Panhard rod found in the stock ?Stang.

?A Panhard rod works well for NASCAR where you?re always going left, but it?s not real good for going over bumps and transitioning,? said Bill Tally, vp of engineering at Saleen.

While the Parnelli/Saleen rear is still built around a solid-beam axle (an IRS would have been too complicated and expensive), it is kept on the ground by two cleverly placed Watts links on each side, swiveling from outboard body mounts directly onto the back plate of the diff.

It allowed a stiffer rear roll bar and a generally stiffer setup without any great compromise to ride quality.

The rest of the setup includes RaceCraft Suspension pieces like stiffer springs, shocks and bushings front and rear, none of which is shared with any other Saleen Mustang.

We drove a short route with Jones himself over the twisting hills of the Palos Verdes Peninsula where Jones lives.

The car is smoothly improved over the stock ?Stang in every department. You feel the extra power and torque, naturally, but you also get much better steering feel and quicker cornering. The whole thing works together well; it?s not like a crude aftermarket setup with a monster blower and no brakes.

?I call the car ?happy,? ? said Jones. ?It?s a lot of fun to drive, it?s a real balanced car, exceptionally balanced.??

Your checkbook better be exceptionally balanced if you want to buy one, though, since the price is $59,015. There will be only 500 made, with more than half of those already ordered. So if you want one, you?d better log onto www.saleen.com pronto.

Or maybe there?s no rush. Saleen points out that Jones? teammate on that 1970 Trans-Am team was George Follmer, who drove an almost identical Boss 302 Mustang and has indicated he is not averse to a commemorative Mustang of his own. So you never know.

That's the AutoWeek article.? Note the weight and price differences between those given in this article and those given in Motor Trend.

[LonghornTX]

I am in love with this car.....I just wish they would allow some of the parts for private sale, like the wheels and watts link.....

[Nethead]

I am in love with this car.....I just wish they would allow some of the parts for private sale, like the wheels and watts link.....

LonghornTX:  LongDude, Saleen gets those Minilite reproduction wheels somewhere (note the offset difference between the real Minilites on the Parnelli's '70 Boss 302 and the Minilite reproductions on the '07 Saleen PJ)--possibly Europe where I believe the original Minilites of forty years ago came from), so it's just a matter of some research to find out where.  I doubt if the company that makes them for Saleen would have done so for a production run of just 500 cars.  If you're really clever, you might find some original Minilite wheels thru places that sell salvaged stuff like that.  Check 'em carefully, though, because forty years could have taken its toll--absolutely do no buy them from anyplace where you cannot personally inspect each one.  If you're lucky enough to find some that fit your vehicle in an offset and width that doesn't rub on something, read up on how to care for magnesium alloys since the "lite" in those original Minilites stood for aluminum-magnesium alloy.

The Watts link--something you don't want to try to fabricate in your garage--might be available thru Saleen once the 500 PJs are all built.  You will need a Ford 8.8" rear axle if you want this to be an easy mod to your car.  It would be even better if you have an S197 to bolt it up to.  Earlier Mustangs probably had different spacing between the rear frame rails. 

If this Watts link doesn't fit what you've got, I believe the Charger (or perhaps it's just the SRT8 Charger) has one, too.  But that rear axle is not a preferred rear axle...

The ultimate rear axle is a Ford 9", and Currie Enterprises of Anaheim, CA may have that rear axle and a Watts link to go with it.  Their quality is as good as any on Earth and their prices are decent, too.  There are some other off-road aftermarket outfits that might offer Ford 9" rear axles with Watts linkage.  Googling may work, too.  I think it's www.currieenterprises.com.

[SVT666]

The Watts link is available for sale since its not a Saleen engineered part.  It is available for Mustangs from 1964 right through to 2007.  You just have to google it.

BTW Nethead, the Ford 8.8" rearend is legendary in its own right.  It is just overshadowed by the 9".  My brother-in-law put a built 8.8" Ford rearend in his 900 hp 1997 Camaro.

[r0tor]

i think i'd take the street legal new P-Zero Rosso tires over 36 year old race tires

[LonghornTX]

LonghornTX:  LongDude, Saleen gets those Minilite reproduction wheels somewhere (note the offset difference between the real Minilites on the Parnelli's '70 Boss 302 and the Minilite reproductions on the '07 Saleen PJ)--possibly Europe where I believe the original Minilites of forty years ago came from), so it's just a matter of some research to find out where.  I doubt if the company that makes them for Saleen would have done so for a production run of just 500 cars.  If you're really clever, you might find some original Minilite wheels thru places that sell salvaged stuff like that.  Check 'em carefully, though, because forty years could have taken its toll--absolutely do no buy them from anyplace where you cannot personally inspect each one.  If you're lucky enough to find some that fit your vehicle in an offset and width that doesn't rub on something, read up on how to care for magnesium alloys since the "lite" in those original Minilites stood for aluminum-magnesium alloy.

The Watts link--something you don't want to try to fabricate in your garage--might be available thru Saleen once the 500 PJs are all built.  You will need a Ford 8.8" rear axle if you want this to be an easy mod to your car.  It would be even better if you have an S197 to bolt it up to.  Earlier Mustangs probably had different spacing between the rear frame rails. 

If this Watts link doesn't fit what you've got, I believe the Charger (or perhaps it's just the SRT8 Charger) has one, too.  But that rear axle is not a preferred rear axle...

The ultimate rear axle is a Ford 9", and Currie Enterprises of Anaheim, CA may have that rear axle and a Watts link to go with it.  Their quality is as good as any on Earth and their prices are decent, too.  There are some other off-road aftermarket outfits that might offer Ford 9" rear axles with Watts linkage.  Googling may work, too.  I think it's www.currieenterprises.com.

Good points all, but having done a "surface scratching" search for the wheels, does not bring up much.  I know these wheels, like all the exclusive parts on this car, will not be sold in the aftermarket.  Luckily the piece I want most (the watts link) is available through other vendors.

[LonghornTX]

The Watts link is available for sale since its not a Saleen engineered part.  It is available for Mustangs from 1964 right through to 2007.  You just have to google it.

Eh, are you sure?  I am pretty sure that this particular watts link set up is exclusive to the PJ edition.  Of course, I would love a link proving me wrong  .

[Nethead]

HEMI666: Yeah, Hemi, the 8.8 is a great axle.  It's considered the hot swap for the rear end of a Cherokee, esp. the Explorer model 8.8s with the disc brakes--cheap, strong, effective, reasonably light, and you get a fine set of discs as a bonus.  It's preferable to the GM 10-bolt and 12-bolt in the rough, too.  You don't swap it out for a 9" until you destroy it--and that will take a long time if you launch well and shift well.  ARB makes Air Lockers for it, too--and there ain't no better way to lock those rear axles than a good Air Locker!

LongDude, I think you'll find Minilite repros if you look hard enough--they may not be the reproductions on the Saleen PJ, but whatever vehicle you're driving may need a different lugbolt-pattern, offset, diameter, and width than those on the PJ.  There are adapters to fit almost any wheels to any lugbolt-pattern, but adapters are hardly the hot tip because they're unsprung weight that adds nothing to the performance of the car itself.  Sorta like pushrods for your wheels...Now, there are ways besides adapters to get the wheels to work on your car--the most common being to change the lug-bolt pattern--let a reliable welding shop or racecar fabrication shop do this for you or you could have a wheel break off your vehicle at a very bad time.  It is even possible to weld up the lugbolt holes in the wheels and have new lugbolt holes drilled into those wheels--but this involves welding up aluminum lugbolt holes in the wheels.  If you actually come across genuine Minilites that need a different lugbolt pattern to fit your vehicle, research this very carefully since the magnesium in the alloy may make for some very sophisticated welding being necessary to safely modify those wheels...Good luck, Longhorn!  You will probably decide that learning to love some other wheels that will bolt right onto your vehicle is a much less costly effort--and you'll thank yourself for your fiscal shrewdness for years and years afterwards...

[Raghavan]

Hmm, 3500 pounds... Not bad for a musclecar, and much better than the porky GT500.