You have to agree, this is one sweet looking set of wheels! Larry and Perla Couture of Oklahoma purchased their 1999 Mustang Saleen S281, production #334, brand new in December of ’99 and since that time “Number 334” has won many awards, over 40 to be exact and some of those were best of show awards! “Number 334” has also been somewhat of a T.V. star by being in the spotlight of a BASF commercial as well. Being one of only seven Mustang Saleens painted in extreme rainbow paint in 1999, we can see why!

Before I get into further details, ESM has been reminded that “...actually it is my car, Larry just drives, cleans, and takes care of it for me” says Larry’s wife, Perla. Well, I must say that Larry is one hell of a good husband to actually go out and buy a mean set of wheels such as a Mustang Saleen for his wife, but as Perla continued on, she cracked a grin and informed us “it is a family hobby of ours... we just enjoy showing it.”

You may have noticed that Perla mentioned the word “hobby” which might as well be synonymous with the word “custom auto enthusiast” considering the list of mods this car has had. See, Larry and Perla are true custom auto enthusiasts who are never happy with something that comes from the factory, even if it did visit the superb engineering garage of Steve Saleen and company! Since purchasing this stead in 1999, Larry and Perla has pumped plenty of cash, care, and attention into their favorite pet project... er... “family project”.

The exterior, for the most part, was left in its true Saleen state, except for the addition of a Cervini Stalker II hood, carbon fiber mirrors, euro taillights, and off road amber fog lights. To protect the hood from those dump trucks that just happen to hunt down cars just like this one, Larry and Perla had the 3M invisible bra installed to protect the nose, bumper, lights, and side panels from dents and dings.

Next on Larry and Perla’s hit list of modifications were a new set of wheels and tires. The Makaveli Zaint wheels are what most people notice first about this particular Stang, because the centers have been painted to match the exterior body color! Under the nose, the Makaveli rims consist of a 19”x 9” set up with a 2” soft lip and in the rear, a beefy 19”x11” set up with a 4” soft lip fills the fender wells, with Yokohama rubber providing the traction all the way around.

Larry and Perla knew that even with performance tires you need to have a good set of brakes, so the tires can perform at their maximum level. Considering all of the forward thrust this car has, Larry decided to install a set of Coleman racing cross-drilled rotors along with EBC brake pads to provide plenty of “right now” deceleration.

To complete the overall way the car feels on the road, a couple of suspension mods were needed. Larry and Perla decided to switch out the stock lower control arm for a Steeda lower control arm along with Steeda adjustable coil springs.

Everyone knows that Saleens are fast, and are overall good performers, but why not have the engine looking as good as the car performs? With that, Larry and Perla decided it was time to lace the engine compartment with a ton of chrome. For starters, the coolant tanks, battery cover, pulleys, timing chain cover, cold air intake, valve covers, intake manifold, fire wall valance, and every single plastic part you can think of were sent to Custom Plating of Florida to get the chrome treatment. After the goods were chromed and reinstalled, it looked pretty good, but something just didn’t look quiet right... ahhh, yes... the supercharger. So, without a second thought, the super charger was removed and painted to match the exterior body color. Completing the “bright-n-shiny” engine look, is a chrome ribbed radiator hose and covers.

The engine was now “pretty”, but a few more performance mods were needed to complete the engine package which include a K & N filter, yellow top Optima battery, a set of Mac Long Tube headers, 70mm throttle body, and 90mm mass air meter. Oh have we forgotten to mention that this already supercharged ride is also juiced? That’s right... there is a 50lb shot of Nitrous just waiting to give Larry and Perla that little extra boost when need.

At this point, Larry and Perla were very happy with their “pony car”, but it needed some serious tunes and of course “serious” was the only way this family likes to roll. So, Larry hopped in his car and rolled over to Jackie Cooper Electronics in Oklahoma City. JCE installed a hell of a stereo system that has won many awards for “Number 334” which includes an Alpine radio CD/DVD with LCD monitor, a custom fiberglass subwoofer enclosure painted to match the exterior, with three 10” JL Audio subs, and a set of MB Quart speakers handling the mids and highs. Powering the stereo system are two PPI chrome amps.

The interior was also fitted with a few upgrades, such as a set of Recaro leather seats, a silver carbon fiber dash and door kit, billet knobs and switches, a Steeda trijax shifter with marble shift knob, billet door sill plate, and custom gauges.

Though this Saleen Mustang is production number 334, we consider it to be “numero uno” in our opinion. With one of the best chameleon paint jobs we have seen, along with the right mix of modifications, it is one of the coolest Saleens out on the road today… if you can catch it!