In November 2004, I finally purchased a ASC McLaren of my own. I found it on eBay only 5 minutes from my house. It was in fair shape for being 20 year old and had been in storage for the last 8 years. Lucky for me, the previous owner had a new roof installed in the last year.

The interior needed the most attention. The factory Recaro leather seats has seen more than their fair share of use and were tattered and torn. The door panels were warped and no longer attached to the bottom of the doors. The carpet was descent, but was showing it's age. Since I will not be driving the car during the winter, the interior became my first project.

 

The reason for the oversized center console is to cover the large backbone that was installed in these cars. Prior to the removal of the roof, ASC fabricated and welded in this large brace to prevent the car from folding in half. The backbone runs from under the dash, along the transmission and driveline tunnel, all the way back to where the rear axle mounts. There is also a cross brace behind the front seats the runs from side to side. This backbone is quite impressive.

 

 

As you can see from the larger photos, the backbone is tack welded its entire where it attaches to the floor.

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