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18 economist suntribune wheels thursday may 23 2002 steve racing sure has its ups and downs and racertumedmustangtunei steve sateen ought to know behind the wirerimmed glasses the burly mustache and the receding hairline that nearly has nowhere left to recede the man they call the merchant of handmade speed is an unas suming sort not sure how to fill out this years tax form steve saleen looks like he could lend a hand unsure how your mutual funds are faring steves your man yeah like something went wrong in the gene pool he says racing people used to say geez you look like you could be a school teacher or something but from where he sits today nestled in an irvine calif industrial park in a building as nondescript as the man him self life couldnt look any more real or dynamic especially for someone who once thought he had everything then nearly had nothing then had it all back ive been through it saleen says and i guess i lived to tell about it and what there is to tell is a story that spans two decades in a company he built from the wheels up saleen is to the modernday ford mustang what the carroll shelby was and is to the original pony car of the 1960s muscular rides beefy performance and tirelighting spice after 19 years and thousands of modified mustangs sold saleen has created a reputation for building perform ance street cars that line up against some of the most expen sive performers in the world if you spent the winter in a drafty garage you d need a checkup too limited time only participating gm dealerships may set individual prices lof includes up to 5l of gm premium motor oil offer valid on most gm vehicles jffe available to retail ujtgrnjrs only eg service adyjsprjoj ojfe cogdjipnsaqdjnpre detailojcan1 qpgmpriven offjcial mark province of ontarioused withpjrrnission all weve tried to do was prove we could turn these vehicles into exciting rides the man with the mask of unpretentiousness was there in the early 1980s proving there was a profit to be made building a niche market for brawny hoppedup mustangs he was there when his theory of mass customization turned that same little shop into the largest producer of american spe ciality vehicles and he was there this year in florida to watch his saleenallen speedlab s7r roll to a secondplace finish in the 50th anniversary of the 1 2 hours of sebring he has lived to tell about it because theres so much life in the man himself he has lived to tell about it because he has nearly lost it all ive stuck my neck out so many times saleen says that i feel life a giraffe and it just keeps getting chopped off saleen was a racer before he was a dreamer actually he was an outright winner before he was anything else his interest in fast cars was sparked by his fathers pur chase of a porsche saleen joined the porsche owners club and after some amateur seat time eventually began to race professionally in 1 975 he set three track records in his first year in the formula super vee series by 1 979 he had turned pro driving in the sports car club of america scca formula atlantic series and finishing third in points behind champion gilles villeneuve saleen had sold his house to buy a formula atlantic ride from doug shierson and says he was desperate for any kind of racing success but after running up against the highly financed likes of danny sullivan bobby rahal and geoff brabham he was flatout desperate out of wins and out of money saleen had to go back to amateur racing maybe everything not working out was the best thing that ever happened to me by early 1 982 with a couple of partners and a little risk what would begin to happen would spell out the rest of his life that year saleen completed his first production car the saleen mustang his dream came straight from the pages of carroll shelbys business model only without my own brand of chili he says saleen would integrate racing expo sure and engineering with sales of manufactured vehicles to enthusiasts who knew if wed make any money at it two years later saleen autosports was formed and the saleen mustang was wildly popular sold only at select ford dealerships saleens versions featured special aerodynamics an attractive highly functional cockpit and trackinspired racecraft suspensions he was a huge hit saleen wanted more he almost lost it all with openwheel racing still in his veins saleen returned to the cockpit in 1 989 with unlimited ambitions but limited financial support a run on the cart circuit and a run to nowhere at indy was the undoing saleen and his wife liz were financially stretched thin a recession proved critical it would have been much easier to walk away than to get back up liz saleen said with the financial backing of minneapolis businessman tony johnson the hot rodder returned with a simple philoso phy and a renewed spirit to build custom cars in 1 995 car- guy and film and tv star tim allen became saleens bigname partner to help drive the saleenallen rrr speedlab racing team together they would take saleen mustangs into scca series competition and the thennew saleen speedster would win the scca manufacturers championship the business wouldnt do too bad either power in the hands of a few saleen says of his com panys motto it has been an enviable recipe for success these days he cant build his cars fast enough with pric ing beginning in the low us 30000range it doesnt take a genius to appreciate the unique value and driving pleasure of owning a saleen all cars are sequentially labeled with a seri al on the front bumper all come with a dash plaque on the centre console and all have a metal plate riveted under the hood that denotes the date of production and this month the first production deliveries of the exotic and highly anticipated saleen s7 will take place its a us 375000 sevenliterpowered worldclass supercar that had a years worth of orders filled by march after more than enough starts and stops after more than 8000 cars built and sold saleen is rolling maybe for good anything worth doing isnt ever easy he says its taken a long time to do it jason stein is a feature writer and the editor of wheelbase communications race week racing page he can be reached at jsteinwheelbasecomcom wheelbase communications supplies automotive news and features to newspapers across north america