SOLD THROUGH eBAY
1999 ½ #249 Ford Mustang Saleen Speedster Extreme Rainbow Hellion Turbocharger (Turbocharged)
VIN: 1FAFP45X9XF178991
1999 Saleen Speedster Extreme Rainbow Hellion by Chad Bornholdt | Photobucket
(IMPORTANT!
Immediately before purchasing this vehicle, a tractor-trailer had totaled out my 18th Mustang and 3rd Saleen: Speedster #04-031, which I had owned for 10 days. In those 10 days I had bought Roush convertible seat belt guides ($100) & added length to them for the upgraded Saleen racing seats ($100). Then I performed a trick of my own: I always reformat & attach a terabyte hard drive to the stereo system so every movie/song/photo I own can be always contained within the car without changing media. (I do this to all my vehicles.)
Hereafter I will refer to this previous Saleen as “04-031.”
I removed the seats, convertible top motor, Saleen dash gauge pod, & all stereo equipment for placement in #99-249.
GOAL:
My intention was to purchase a black naturally-aspirated Speedster to create a turbocharged Extreme Rainbow Speedster.
(Best of all worlds: body style, power adder, & impossible-to-find color; Without, however, having to search forever only to seriously-overpay for a collector vehicle that I intended to drive like a normal vehicle.)
PURCHASE:
I bought Saleen Speedster #99-249 for $22,650 on 1/25/12.
It had 33,170 miles.
Naturally-aspirated (not supercharged.)
It had 1 key & fob.
A vinyl convertible boot cover.
Triple black (exterior/interior/vert.top.)
03/04 Terminator hood.
Regular GT seats (not the upgraded Saleen racing seats.)
The previous owner told me it had the following problems:
Missing the Saleen badge on the center dash.
No Speedster top.
One of the 10” wheels had curb rash.
The paint on the front facia was spider webbed.
(It is common for new Saleen owners to learn about parking curbs the hard way.)
Small stone chips on front.
The convertible top motor was slow on the driver side.
On the day I wired the money I contacted Saleen & got all new decals, emblems, & the missing shift boot emblem on their way (~$400.)
On the day it arrived via truck I drove it 1 mile & learned that it also had the following problems that were unmentioned to me:
The transmission was messed up so badly that it wouldn’t even go into 2nd gear.
The Saleen Momo shifter knob’s set screw was stripped. (Saleen Momo knobs are cheaply-made.)
I immediately pulled it into the shop & had them remove the transmission, all interior, & all stereo equipment.
I had “Mack’s Transmission” in Houston rebuild my T45 (~$1500) & purchased a new Spec Stage 2+ clutch/pressure plate/throwout bearing (~$400) & a Ford Motorsport ‘2000 Cobra style’ shift knob (~$50.)
TURBO:
I had spoken with John Urist, the pro racer & owner of Hellion, about my intentions. He told me not to push the stock engine beyond 550hp (~460 rwhp) & that his smallest turbo at the lowest boost (7psi) could exceed that.
At his suggestion, I ordered & had the following installed (~$6000):
Hellion 99-04 Mustang GT Single 62mm Turbo System
I added the following options:
Turbonetics billet wheel (~$150)
Turbonetics ball bearing upgrade (~$400)
Heat shielding (~$100)
(Also suggested by Urist)
Remove UPR DRAG racing K-Member kit:
K-Member, A-Arms, Caster/Camber Plates, & coil over kit (-$700)
Add Maximum Motorsports Street & ROAD racing track K-Member kit:
K-Member, A-Arms, Caster/Camber Plates, & coil over kit (+~$1750)
(This created a need for an alignment (~$100.))
As part of the turbo installation, I had the Saleen dash gauge pod from 04-031 installed on the dash of 99-249.
Also, as part of the turbo installation (& because I’m conscientious of “lean condition damage”), I purchased a DynoJet Wideband 2 Air/Fuel meter (~$450), an Autometer Phantom fuel pressure gauge (~$100), & had them installed in an Autometer #10003 dual gauge instrument bezel (~$100.)
PAINT (~$8000):
In my constant contact with Saleen prior to this car, I had created a good phone relationship with a herein-unnamed employee whom told me that the closely-guarded Extreme Rainbow paint was not a paint code, but rather a recipe for mixing 15 different BASF products into 3 different paint jobs which you then apply one paint job at a time after starting with a black car. (I will provide this information only to the person whom buys the vehicle.)
This employee sent me a fax with the recipe for how many grams of each part to mix.
Said employee then told me what paint shop to use & called the owner to coach him on mixing and applying the paint.
Upon reassembly after paint, I had the painter replace the front grill insert with a “Mach 1 style” grille ($70.)
(As an aside, I bought (2) 1:18 scale die-cast Saleen models ($200); One had correct interior & wheels but was hard top. One was convertible but had white interior & wheels. I dismantled the convertible & had it painted with the real car, then reassembled it with the correct wheels/interior. This will come with the car.)
INTERIOR:
Sound Deadening: (~$150)
Upon arriving home from paint, I installed a DynaMat imitation in the interior & trunk (mostly to remove the familiar Mustang “tinny” sound heard when closing doors/trunk.)
Stereo System:
We replaced the 99 single-din stereo bezel with an 04 double-din stereo bezel so as to fit my 7” touchscreen.
We installed my Pioneer AVH-P4300DVD 7” touchscreen head unit (~$400) from 04-031. It plays DivX video files (which are the video equivalent of MP3), JPG photos, & MP3s.
I had bought a Western Digital 1 Terabyte Passport extended hard drive (~$120) for 04-031. I had modified it so that the Pioneer head unit now thinks it is a thumb drive.
I had added over 12,000 songs & 2,800 videos (including movies/TV shows/music videos)
I attached the hard drive to the USB input on the Pioneer, now in the glove box of 99-249.
We attached the AC/AudioVideo Gameplate Adapter (~$50) from 04-031 into the glove box.
We swapped the (4) stock door bottom & back seat 6x8 speakers with the Pioneer 6x8s (~$200) from 04-031.
We swapped the (4) stock door mirror & back seat tweeters with the Pioneer polydomes (~$200) from 04-031.
I had Audio Trendz in Beaumont install a Kicker DX400.4 amplifier (~$200) & 40CWRT102 shallow-mount free-air 10” subwoofer (~$200), both in custom trunk boxes.
I then swapped the convertible top motor (which was slow) with the one taken from 04-031.
I then swapped the stock GT seats with the upgraded Saleen racing seats from 04-031.
TUNING
I purchased the SCT tuner software ($350) & a blank SCT handheld programmer ($100.)
I went to Wally Bian, owner of Auto Adrenaline Performance, whom used my software to teach me (~$500) how to program SCT handheld programmers (while he, alone, programmed it & I watched/learned.)
We made several programming changes, checking each air/fuel & horsepower result by making dyno pulls on his chassis dyno.
(I don’t remember the insignificant adjustment/dyno pulls, but…)
On what would have been our 2nd to last dyno pull it made 446 rwhp @ 12.35:1 AFR.
Remembering what John Urist of Hellion had said about not pushing the stock engine beyond 550hp (~460 rwhp), we made what we figured would be the final adjustment (hoping to come in right under 460 rwhp.)
That pull netted 464 rwhp @ 12.48:1AFR, which is more than Urist said was safe for the block.
So, we undid the last adjustment & put it back where it was beforehand, then made one last dyno pull to ensure it was going to be safe.
That (final) dyno pull netted 437.4 rwhp & 503.1 lbs/ft rwtq at 12.43:1 AFR (which is a little less power on that individual pull than it had moments ago made with the same settings.)
This is where I have kept it, through present day.
(Some who claim a “very safe tune” know what is & isn’t safe. Some do not. Some leave the interpretation up to their dyno tuner, whom may or may not stop at a safe point. With Urist’s metallurgy advice coupled with Wally’s tuning expertise & honesty I am certain that we made the correct decision to leave power on the table in what actually is an honest “safe tune.”)
THE REST
Afterwards, I bought 2 new OEM wheels (~$800) to replace the one curb-rashed one. (I have an extra that will go with the car.)
I got 4 new tires (~$1200) (regular, not drag radial.) This was the first I’d driven it!
Finally, I put my “Lightsaber” license plate on it.
Then I drove it. (Before then I’d only driven it to the tire shop once!)
The Saleen registry shows:
“November/2012: Color Change to Saleen Extreme Rainbow.”
I have spent $46,000 (that I know of!) on the car & am ready to move on to something else.
Now has approximately 42K miles.
Car will come with everything listed here & all extra decals/emblems/parts I have.
MUST SELL
$19,999 OBO
http://s286.photobucket.com/user/bornholdt/library/1999 Saleen Speedster Extreme Rainbow Hellion
Call/Text Chad 8-three-2-three-6-eight-6-eight-1-eight
1999 ½ #249 Ford Mustang Saleen Speedster Extreme Rainbow Hellion Turbocharger (Turbocharged)
VIN: 1FAFP45X9XF178991
1999 Saleen Speedster Extreme Rainbow Hellion by Chad Bornholdt | Photobucket
(IMPORTANT!
Immediately before purchasing this vehicle, a tractor-trailer had totaled out my 18th Mustang and 3rd Saleen: Speedster #04-031, which I had owned for 10 days. In those 10 days I had bought Roush convertible seat belt guides ($100) & added length to them for the upgraded Saleen racing seats ($100). Then I performed a trick of my own: I always reformat & attach a terabyte hard drive to the stereo system so every movie/song/photo I own can be always contained within the car without changing media. (I do this to all my vehicles.)
Hereafter I will refer to this previous Saleen as “04-031.”
I removed the seats, convertible top motor, Saleen dash gauge pod, & all stereo equipment for placement in #99-249.
GOAL:
My intention was to purchase a black naturally-aspirated Speedster to create a turbocharged Extreme Rainbow Speedster.
(Best of all worlds: body style, power adder, & impossible-to-find color; Without, however, having to search forever only to seriously-overpay for a collector vehicle that I intended to drive like a normal vehicle.)
PURCHASE:
I bought Saleen Speedster #99-249 for $22,650 on 1/25/12.
It had 33,170 miles.
Naturally-aspirated (not supercharged.)
It had 1 key & fob.
A vinyl convertible boot cover.
Triple black (exterior/interior/vert.top.)
03/04 Terminator hood.
Regular GT seats (not the upgraded Saleen racing seats.)
The previous owner told me it had the following problems:
Missing the Saleen badge on the center dash.
No Speedster top.
One of the 10” wheels had curb rash.
The paint on the front facia was spider webbed.
(It is common for new Saleen owners to learn about parking curbs the hard way.)
Small stone chips on front.
The convertible top motor was slow on the driver side.
On the day I wired the money I contacted Saleen & got all new decals, emblems, & the missing shift boot emblem on their way (~$400.)
On the day it arrived via truck I drove it 1 mile & learned that it also had the following problems that were unmentioned to me:
The transmission was messed up so badly that it wouldn’t even go into 2nd gear.
The Saleen Momo shifter knob’s set screw was stripped. (Saleen Momo knobs are cheaply-made.)
I immediately pulled it into the shop & had them remove the transmission, all interior, & all stereo equipment.
I had “Mack’s Transmission” in Houston rebuild my T45 (~$1500) & purchased a new Spec Stage 2+ clutch/pressure plate/throwout bearing (~$400) & a Ford Motorsport ‘2000 Cobra style’ shift knob (~$50.)
TURBO:
I had spoken with John Urist, the pro racer & owner of Hellion, about my intentions. He told me not to push the stock engine beyond 550hp (~460 rwhp) & that his smallest turbo at the lowest boost (7psi) could exceed that.
At his suggestion, I ordered & had the following installed (~$6000):
Hellion 99-04 Mustang GT Single 62mm Turbo System
I added the following options:
Turbonetics billet wheel (~$150)
Turbonetics ball bearing upgrade (~$400)
Heat shielding (~$100)
(Also suggested by Urist)
Remove UPR DRAG racing K-Member kit:
K-Member, A-Arms, Caster/Camber Plates, & coil over kit (-$700)
Add Maximum Motorsports Street & ROAD racing track K-Member kit:
K-Member, A-Arms, Caster/Camber Plates, & coil over kit (+~$1750)
(This created a need for an alignment (~$100.))
As part of the turbo installation, I had the Saleen dash gauge pod from 04-031 installed on the dash of 99-249.
Also, as part of the turbo installation (& because I’m conscientious of “lean condition damage”), I purchased a DynoJet Wideband 2 Air/Fuel meter (~$450), an Autometer Phantom fuel pressure gauge (~$100), & had them installed in an Autometer #10003 dual gauge instrument bezel (~$100.)
PAINT (~$8000):
In my constant contact with Saleen prior to this car, I had created a good phone relationship with a herein-unnamed employee whom told me that the closely-guarded Extreme Rainbow paint was not a paint code, but rather a recipe for mixing 15 different BASF products into 3 different paint jobs which you then apply one paint job at a time after starting with a black car. (I will provide this information only to the person whom buys the vehicle.)
This employee sent me a fax with the recipe for how many grams of each part to mix.
Said employee then told me what paint shop to use & called the owner to coach him on mixing and applying the paint.
Upon reassembly after paint, I had the painter replace the front grill insert with a “Mach 1 style” grille ($70.)
(As an aside, I bought (2) 1:18 scale die-cast Saleen models ($200); One had correct interior & wheels but was hard top. One was convertible but had white interior & wheels. I dismantled the convertible & had it painted with the real car, then reassembled it with the correct wheels/interior. This will come with the car.)
INTERIOR:
Sound Deadening: (~$150)
Upon arriving home from paint, I installed a DynaMat imitation in the interior & trunk (mostly to remove the familiar Mustang “tinny” sound heard when closing doors/trunk.)
Stereo System:
We replaced the 99 single-din stereo bezel with an 04 double-din stereo bezel so as to fit my 7” touchscreen.
We installed my Pioneer AVH-P4300DVD 7” touchscreen head unit (~$400) from 04-031. It plays DivX video files (which are the video equivalent of MP3), JPG photos, & MP3s.
I had bought a Western Digital 1 Terabyte Passport extended hard drive (~$120) for 04-031. I had modified it so that the Pioneer head unit now thinks it is a thumb drive.
I had added over 12,000 songs & 2,800 videos (including movies/TV shows/music videos)
I attached the hard drive to the USB input on the Pioneer, now in the glove box of 99-249.
We attached the AC/AudioVideo Gameplate Adapter (~$50) from 04-031 into the glove box.
We swapped the (4) stock door bottom & back seat 6x8 speakers with the Pioneer 6x8s (~$200) from 04-031.
We swapped the (4) stock door mirror & back seat tweeters with the Pioneer polydomes (~$200) from 04-031.
I had Audio Trendz in Beaumont install a Kicker DX400.4 amplifier (~$200) & 40CWRT102 shallow-mount free-air 10” subwoofer (~$200), both in custom trunk boxes.
I then swapped the convertible top motor (which was slow) with the one taken from 04-031.
I then swapped the stock GT seats with the upgraded Saleen racing seats from 04-031.
TUNING
I purchased the SCT tuner software ($350) & a blank SCT handheld programmer ($100.)
I went to Wally Bian, owner of Auto Adrenaline Performance, whom used my software to teach me (~$500) how to program SCT handheld programmers (while he, alone, programmed it & I watched/learned.)
We made several programming changes, checking each air/fuel & horsepower result by making dyno pulls on his chassis dyno.
(I don’t remember the insignificant adjustment/dyno pulls, but…)
On what would have been our 2nd to last dyno pull it made 446 rwhp @ 12.35:1 AFR.
Remembering what John Urist of Hellion had said about not pushing the stock engine beyond 550hp (~460 rwhp), we made what we figured would be the final adjustment (hoping to come in right under 460 rwhp.)
That pull netted 464 rwhp @ 12.48:1AFR, which is more than Urist said was safe for the block.
So, we undid the last adjustment & put it back where it was beforehand, then made one last dyno pull to ensure it was going to be safe.
That (final) dyno pull netted 437.4 rwhp & 503.1 lbs/ft rwtq at 12.43:1 AFR (which is a little less power on that individual pull than it had moments ago made with the same settings.)
This is where I have kept it, through present day.
(Some who claim a “very safe tune” know what is & isn’t safe. Some do not. Some leave the interpretation up to their dyno tuner, whom may or may not stop at a safe point. With Urist’s metallurgy advice coupled with Wally’s tuning expertise & honesty I am certain that we made the correct decision to leave power on the table in what actually is an honest “safe tune.”)
THE REST
Afterwards, I bought 2 new OEM wheels (~$800) to replace the one curb-rashed one. (I have an extra that will go with the car.)
I got 4 new tires (~$1200) (regular, not drag radial.) This was the first I’d driven it!
Finally, I put my “Lightsaber” license plate on it.
Then I drove it. (Before then I’d only driven it to the tire shop once!)
The Saleen registry shows:
“November/2012: Color Change to Saleen Extreme Rainbow.”
I have spent $46,000 (that I know of!) on the car & am ready to move on to something else.
Now has approximately 42K miles.
Car will come with everything listed here & all extra decals/emblems/parts I have.
MUST SELL
$19,999 OBO
http://s286.photobucket.com/user/bornholdt/library/1999 Saleen Speedster Extreme Rainbow Hellion
Call/Text Chad 8-three-2-three-6-eight-6-eight-1-eight
Last edited:
