Scott with Steve Saleen and his S281 Saleen Mustang Press Car in happier times

Though the Saleen press car survived, it need a lot of work to become whole again.

Whatever your stance on climate change, global warming, or whatever you want to call it, statistically speaking 2011 was the costliest year in terms of dollar damage and human collateral, especially when it comes to tornadoes. Over the summer tornadoes ripped across the Midwest and Southern states, killing hundreds and costing billions of dollars in storm damage.

One of the hardest hit places was Joplin, Missouri. During the afternoon Sunday, May 22nd, a one-mile wide category E5 tornado struck Joplin, resulting in the deaths of 160 people and with damage estimates ranging up to $3 billion. It has gone down as the costliest natural disaster in Missouri’s history in both lives lost and dollars spent.

Shortly after the storm, the survivors began picking up the pieces and looking for hope where ever they could find it. One of those survivors was Scott Van Hoose, who had been out mowing his lawn when the storm struck. Scott had just enough time to take cover in one of his home’s bathrooms, which withstood the 200+ mph winds of this horrendous storm. But the rest of his home collapsed, including the garage, which housed a unique 2005 Saleen Mustang, the first true press car and one driven for several months by Steve Saleen himself.

We came across pictures of the battered-but-surviving Saleen shortly after the storm, and after seeing our piece Scott wanted to reach out and inform us that he had almost completely repaired his Saleen Mustang, sans the specially-built glass roof.

The story of Scott’s Saleen goes all the way back to 1987, when he first started attending Saleen races and events. Scott has been a Saleen fan almost since the brand began, and back in 2004 he was approached by Steve Saleen himself who told him he could have any of the Saleen press cars he wanted. Initially he was offered the 2004 Saleen Mustang press car, but Scott opted to wait until the 2005 model became available.

It would be over two years before Scott would get that Saleen press car, which was the first Saleen fitted with a glass roof. As it happened, it also had a supercharged engine, refined interior, superior suspension, and everything else you’d expect from a Saleen Mustang.

Steve Saleen himself drove the car for two months to ensure the glass roof worked (it reportedly took seven or so tries to get it right) and Scott was so excited to get a Saleen press car that he even forgot to ask the price. If you go back in time (via the Internet) you will see Scott’s Saleen Mustang in the hands of magazines like Motor Trend and Top Speed.

So it certainly is a special, unique car, one might say it is even irreplacable. That is certainly how Scott felt. But after the Joplin tornado hit, Scott, a former EMT, didn’t have a chance to worry about his Mustang, springing into action to do his best to help people get on their feet.

But once life in Joplin returned to a certain sense of normalcy, Scott was able to turn his attention to his battered and beaten Mustang. Scott had just installed a new clutch with less than 500 miles on it, and had planned on taking his Saleen for a drive just before the storm hit. As you can see from these pictures Scott sent us, the Mustang was in pretty bad shape, and most of the passenger’s side sheet metal had to be replaced, as well as the driver’s side rear fender.

While it may not look like it in the pictures, the expensive scenic glass roof suffered several cracks and chips, sending a spider’s web of cracks throughout the roof. The rarity of this roof has left Scott in a bind. The Saleen scenic glass roof is made from laminated glass and provides UV protection in addition to a great view of everything above the Mustang.

But the Saleen glass roof is also no longer in production, and Ford’s own glass roof does not fit Saleen’s specifications, leaving Scott with no recourse but finding a used one, and these items rarely come to market. Scott has had a few leads, but so far has been unable to pin one down. And being a huge Saleen fan (he even owns a Saleen Mustang-related business, mosaleen.com, making custom idler relocation kits for Mustangs and F-150’s) Scott couldn’t just re-do the roof in a less-than-accurate way.

This is where you come in readers. The Internet is a big place, but word of mouth is still a powerful tool. Scott wants to get his Saleen press car back in one piece, even going so far as to take it for a drive without any glass (including the windshield, he wore a full-face motorcycle helmet for protection) just to get behind the wheel again.

So keep your eyes peeled for these hard-to-come-by glass roofs…and if you do happen to find one, drop him an email, [email protected] and help get this unique Mustang back to the way it was before the Joplin tornado struck. We know Scott will be forever thankful.