Sandy, what info do you have for this car

DaytonaTim · Post by **DaytonaTim** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 1:02 am

Sandy wrote:What color was the horse?

Oh, it was "ascMcLaren Red".....

Post by **negusm** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 1:27 am

I know Ponydude thinks his car was "tan" at one point, but I think he found the "yellow primer" that you speak about. His car is an 85 asc.

-Mike

Sandy · Post by **Sandy** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 3:03 am

asc did not use the entire VIN on paperwork that I have, only the last 6 sequential #s
Therefore, I have never been able to tell which cars were the Six cylinders.
Six cyl. units did not have the option of Recaros, well, at least in the paperwork. Were any made? I dunno. If so, how many, I dunno.
They had the standard door panels and NO wood, again...on paper, AND in the 1-page brochure. Furthermore, they were limited to red, white or black. No Paris Blue, Atlantic Blue, or Platinum Silver.
According to paperwork.

They were all Automatics, as the 4-speed stick was NA with the 6.
According to paperwork.

Options? They arrived as Capris with A/C P/D/L ~ P/W and Light Group & Tinted Glass. Standard Am Fm Stereo & Cassette (This was an option, but was included on them).
According to Paperwork!

There is not paperwork to tell how many were 6s. I asked several times, from several different employees. None of them named the same number, most said "Under a dozen" One person was more emphatic and stronger in his answer. His answer was a bold 9. There is no way to tell. I have found 3 others, making yours #4. 2 were on e-bay and 1 is in Florida, but I understood that 2 years ago it may have been totalled.

http://www.ascmclarencoupe.com/ascLiter ... hing_2.jpg

Post by **negusm** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 3:18 am

Can you post the buck tag info, the door tag info and the vin for this car? Maybe decoding it can shed some light on the situation. It very often does.

-Mike

DaytonaTim · Post by **DaytonaTim** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 12:02 pm

negusm wrote:Can you post the buck tag info, the door tag info and the vin for this car? Maybe decoding it can shed some light on the situation. It very often does.

I will get the info off of the radiator support tonight.

As far as the door tag goes, it is faded so bad I cannot read it at all. I have a couple of contacts at West Virginia University and I will try and talk to someone in the Forensic Science department to see if they can help me read the door tag. This will have to happen more towards summer though because the car is off the road for the winter months.

Sandy, did you mark the VIN#'s down for the few V6's you have found? If not, this may be a new facet of info worth recording for future reference.

The car I have came out of Florida. It was down in Sarasota, about 40 or 50 miles south of Tampa.

ponydude · Post by **ponydude** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 1:16 pm

That's the first time I have heard mention of the pale yellow primer used by ASC. That very well could be what I'm seeing. I will investigate further for my own satisfaction.
I keep learning more all of the time. Thanks to all of you guys.

Sandy · Post by **Sandy** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 1:42 pm

The 2 on e-bay did not have their VINS posted. I might have the 3rd, not sure. I do know that the ordering of the 6 Cyl. cars was all messed up. Because it was "an afterthought idea" the ordering process was not originally designed for a 6 Cyl. The ordering process from FoMoCo triggered a 1986 Mercury Capri RS (302) along with the standard items that went with the RS. Now, along comes the mid-year decession to add a 6-Cyl. So, goodbye RS, hello GS. Everything changes....BUT, the ordering now has to be done "manually" and the ascMcLaren code now would trigger a 302 RS. Therefore a GS has to be ordered, and that triggers a different interior and different standard options, that may or may not necessate the inclusion of add'l. options to bring it up to RS levels. For the most part, that was not done. According to paperwork the 58Y was not included, meaning that the 6-Cyl. most likely came with a Am Fm Stereo and no cassette. UNLESS the person at thedealership caught that, and specifically ordered the optional Am Fm Cassette Stereo. Other tings like that, too. While they got the standard interior (cloth) or the GS Capri, ascMcLaren did offer a "Leather Option" which was the standard seats were taken out & recovered in leather with the ascMcLaren logo on the upper seatbacks. (Yes, I understand you have Recaros in leather) I have no clue how that happened..... The 6-Cyls had the standard door panels and no wood on dash. See the picture I enclosed, above.

Now, the reason. ascMcLaren was in very close contact with their top dealers. They actually made two running changes, based upon dealer contact.

#1. Several dealers voiced that potential buyers were turned off by all the striping on the 1984-1986 COUPES. So, ascMcLaren came out with the EuroCoupe, that featured much less striping. 47 were ordered.

#2. Several dealers reported that the females that were drawn to the SC5.0L were turned off because of the 302 (and the gas prices soaring) and the added insurance costs of the V-8 and also turned off by the price. Dealers told thast they could sell more women if they could offer a 6 cyl and at a lower price, thusly was born the 6-cyl model. As I said, an exact # of them built I think was never kept. Best guesses are between 9 & 12.

DaytonaTim · Post by **DaytonaTim** » Tue Jan 24, 2006 6:15 pm

negusm wrote:Can you post the buck tag info, the door tag info and the vin for this car? Maybe decoding it can shed some light on the situation. It very often does.

Here is a closeup Pic of the radiator support tag.
Does the info on the tag mean anything to anyone out there?

http://www.ascmclarencoupe.com/phpBB/al ... pic_id=688

Still no luck on reading the door info sticker. I will keep trying though.

Here are some other pics too:

Closeups of where I sanded the rocker to check the paint
http://www.ascmclarencoupe.com/phpBB/al ... pic_id=689

Closeup of tonneau cover area showing paint layers
http://www.ascmclarencoupe.com/phpBB/al ... pic_id=690

Pic of how I am modifying the tonneau cover. Any comments?
http://www.ascmclarencoupe.com/phpBB/al ... pic_id=691

General Pic of interior and V6 engine compartment
http://www.ascmclarencoupe.com/phpBB/al ... pic_id=693
http://www.ascmclarencoupe.com/phpBB/al ... pic_id=692
http://www.ascmclarencoupe.com/phpBB/al ... pic_id=694

Post by **negusm** » Tue Jan 24, 2006 6:57 pm

CAPRI = Capri
609421 = CUN from VIN
61D = Capry Body Style
3 = ??
0049 = ?? (maybe paint rotation code)
1CC = Raven Black
DF = Black Out Door Frames
ST = Steel Bumpers
AC = AC
06 = ??
HB = Heated BAck (rear Defrost)
S = ??
WD = Power Windows and Doors...except I think it should have been (PWD)
02 = ??
Y = Sand Beige Interior
EI 06 2 x 2 = ??

From this I can also see it is an automatic tranny car (no MBW for 5 speed).

Why did you sand the body tag? Just take a rubbing next time. Poor body tag.

Post by **negusm** » Tue Jan 24, 2006 7:00 pm

Boy, that car looks black to me. Sandy I think you have to file it in the folder marked "Mysteries".

Ponydude, I bet that yellow primer is what you are seeing. It does almost look like paint.

-Mike

RARE-ASC · Post by **RARE-ASC** » Tue Jan 24, 2006 7:35 pm

sure looks like it was always black if not someone did went to a lot of trouble to color change her in that case wonder why? If Sandy says he is 100% she started life as a red one

DaytonaTim · Post by **DaytonaTim** » Tue Jan 24, 2006 7:35 pm

negusm wrote:Why did you sand the body tag? Just take a rubbing next time. Poor body tag.

I tried......but I got fed up with it shifting on me..... figured a pic would be easier.

Hey thanks Mike for the tag details. It definately puts the paint contraversy to rest since both the sequential number and the paint code are on the same tag.

Post by **negusm** » Tue Jan 24, 2006 7:45 pm

DaytonaTim wrote:
negusm wrote:Why did you sand the body tag? Just take a rubbing next time. Poor body tag.
I tried......but I got fed up with it shifting on me..... figured a pic would be easier.

Hey thanks Mike for the tag details. It definately puts the paint contraversy to rest since both the sequential number and the paint code are on the same tag.

No, not really. The body tag just says what FORD painted it. It doesn't say what asc later painted it!

Is there an asc tag on the radiator? ascMcLAren Coupes got another small tag that reads "ascmclaren coupe"

-Mike

RARE-ASC · Post by **RARE-ASC** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 1:38 am

negusm wrote:
DaytonaTim wrote:
negusm wrote:Why did you sand the body tag? Just take a rubbing next time. Poor body tag.
I tried......but I got fed up with it shifting on me..... figured a pic would be easier.

Hey thanks Mike for the tag details. It definately puts the paint contraversy to rest since both the sequential number and the paint code are on the same tag.
No, not really. The body tag just says what FORD painted it. It doesn't say what asc later painted it!

Is there an asc tag on the radiator? ascMcLAren Coupes got another small tag that reads "ascmclaren coupe"
-Mike

never seen the small tag on a vert? Sandy do you know?

DaytonaTim · Post by **DaytonaTim** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 3:20 pm

negusm wrote:
No, not really. The body tag just says what FORD painted it. It doesn't say what asc later painted it!

Is there an asc tag on the radiator? ascMcLAren Coupes got another small tag that reads "ascmclaren coupe"

-Mike

Well, maybe I should say it cinches it in my mind.

Just trying to think (typing) out loud, this is the way I see it:

For the car to have left Mclaren in the color of red and to get to the point we are at now the following would have had to happen

The car would have been ordered, from Ford, in red but arrived in black
Mclaren would have had to paint the entire car red. This would have required them to shoot under hood and under trunk lid.

The car went out the door red but somewhere in it’s history someone sanded off only the red coat and repainted it black. There is no doubt the factory black coat is still on the car. This sanding off of the red coat would have had to have been done in the following places:

Under the soft tonneau cover
Under the trunk lid
The under side of the hard tonneau cover
In the storage compartment for the top

Mclaren would have had to paint all these areas red because nobody would accept a new car that was red on the outside yet black in these areas.

******************************************
I think a more plausible scenario would be:

1) There was a typo in the records

2) The car was ordered red but arrived in black. Mclaren realized the mistake and went ahead and modified the car into the convertible and reordered another red car. The “mistake” car had to be a convertible because there were no V6 coupes. This “mistake” car was probably sent to a dealership as a floor model display. That may explain why the “deluxe” interior was installed.

Mclaren being a small assembly/modification plant would expend a very large percentage of their workforce, time, and money attempting to correct a “mistake” car. It would have been much more efficient (cheaper) for them to send the car through the line and get it out to sell. Even if they took a $5000 hit on the sale of the car they would have been money/time ahead then disrupting their assembly work schedule.
*******************************************

I am not putting this out to attempt to convince anyone, but more to try and prompt any other ideas or variations.

Mike I checked and yes there is another tag on the Rad Sup. It is about 4 inches form the other tag, toward the center of the car and it says

Mclaren Convertible
Convertible

Tim