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Ssp mustang write up and info

TEXSSP91

Well-Known Member
What is an SSP Mustang?
Mustangs were introduced for Law Enforcement service in 1982, when 406 units were ordered the California Highway Patrol. Camaros had been tried previously for pursuit vehicles, but because of power train problems (remember those early 80's 305 V8's and their self dissolving camshafts?) agencies looked towards other outlets for vehicles to fill the niche between full size sedans and smaller vehicles; they found it in the SSP Mustang. SSP stands for Special Service Package, and was a DSO (Domestic Special Order) available from Ford (for more info on DSO data see the Technical page).

Mustangs were not only 10-15% cheaper than the full size sedans, they got up to speed a heck of lot faster; 0-60 in under 6 seconds with the 5 speed! Handling was excellent, mileage respectable. Ask any cop who got stuck driving one of the 4.3L sedans and then got his hands on the leather wrapped steering wheel of an SSP...it's a tribute to the solidness of the car they held up as well as they did under the 'gentle' treatment they received! Speaking from personal experience, the only police package car I've driven that's come close in terms of performance was an LT1 equipped Caprice or an LT1 B4C Camaro, and that was for acceleration only. This does not include post-1997 cars like the LS1 B4C Camaro, which is an apples-to oranges comparison...but I digress....

Reputedly, over 15,000 Mustangs were produced with the SSP option. All SSP cars, except for 5 1982 hatchback vehicles produced for CHP, were coupe or 'notchback' style cars; no GT or convertibles body style for regular production on these. Agencies could pick and choose many of the items they wanted, and some additional non-standard items like roll bars were installed by states such as Georgia and Oregon to meet their own needs. New York, for example, required a rear window defroster, power windows, and power door locks on all their cars. Other options like door molding delete (to ease decal application), and inoperative courtesy light switches (for officers' safety) were available, along with many of the standard SS options.

The SSP included a list of options regular LX sedans didn't have, and the general public just simply couldn't get. Typically, these cars were not sold to the public unless there was a problem with the order. For example, one individual living in New York happened to notice several new blue 1991 Notchback sedans on the front lot of a Ford dealer in Latham, NY. He stopped to look at the cars, and upon closer inspection, he discovered the cars had been destined for the NYSP barracks at Troop C in Sydney, NY but were refused because of the lack of power windows and locks, a requirement for NYSP cars. He was fortunate enough to purchase the vehicle from the dealer with only 40 miles on it, and all the other cars sold in the same day!

Here's a sample list for available options for 1993 from the Ford SSP brochure. Note that while some of these were a standard part of the SSP package, many such as silicone hoses, were optional. This is for 1993 only, depending on year the options could have differed-please refer to the DSO Data section for information by year.

Engine, 5.0 HO V8 with Sequential Multi Port Injection
Forged pistons, roller cam (Hypereutectic pistons 1993)
Engine oil cooler
Aircraft-type Silicone radiator hoses and clamps
5 speed manual or 4 speed AOD transmission
Auto transmission fluid cooler
Brakes, power disc front/drum rear with rotor shields
Stainless steel factory headers
Dual exhaust system w/stainless tips
Fuel tank capacity - 15.4 Gallons
Heavy duty stabilizer bars, front and rear
Full instrumentation with in-dash tachometer
130 Amp heavy duty alternator
2 Piece VASCAR speedometer cable
Certified calibrated Police speedometer 0-160 MPH
Non operational courtesy lights (safety feature)
Steering wheel, leather wrapped
Relocated rear deck release from glovebox
Single key locking doors/trunk
Reinforced floor pans
Full size spare tire
15" X 8" Cast Aluminum Wheels
Anti RFI Bonding straps
Some of the most desirable features of the SSP options stem from their intended police usage. The 135 externally regulated and later 130 amp internally regulated alternator, for example, was required for the draw of strobes, radios, siren, etc. Silicone hoses were added to help withstand pressure under use (although there is debate over their effectiveness), and reinforced floor pans for body rigidity, since breaking seats was a problem. 'Gatorback' directional tires were added for performance handling and oil and transmission coolers were common. The performance locking rear axle, 5.0 HO roller motor, and often a 5 speed tranny made these a natural for race car conversions. As such, it is much more common to see them purchased for this use rather than a police car restoration effort.

SSP Mustangs were available in all production colors such as red, green, blue, or black, and many states used a combination of marked and unmarked units. Florida for example used their traditional 2 tone black/cream paint for the marked units and unmarked units came in a variety of colors; I know personally of green, black, gray, dark blue, light green, and red unmarked FHP vehicles. The marked units generally had 5.0/T5 drivetrains, and the unmarked units, which went to Sergeants and higher, had the AOD transmission. For more info the FHP Mustangs, see the FHP section below.

Although the SSP had a number of advantages including performance, reliability and cost, there were several disadvantages to the vehicles. Because of the 2 door design, there was no room to transport prisoners, a backup had to be called and the officer had to wait until it arrived, which obviously could be a problem. Additionally, the trunk and passenger compartments often fell short of space for the required police equipment. Some jurisdictions such as the Pinellas County, FL, Sheriff's Office which purchased 4 1993 Mustangs, took the front passenger seat out altogether to make room for electronics, putting the seat back in when the vehicle was sold. Additionally, Pinellas County used a custom designed cage for prisoner transport-not an easy fit! Many states designed custom mounting brackets for police electronics such as radio and siren control boxes to fit in the Mustangs' cramped interior. Also, with a 5 speed in some cars, it became difficult at times during pursuit situations to shift and handle electronics simultaneously.

All SSP cars came with the same standard Mustang suspension and front disc/rear drum brakes and 4 lug wheels and the handling proved adequate with this suspension; special control arms were added near the end of the SSP program to help improve stability. The real complaint came with the power and light rear causing handling problems in wet and snowy weather, which is why these cars received more widespread service in the southern states; Troopers in some states with winter weather actually refused to drive them in inclement conditions! In Michigan, for example, the cars' mileage stayed much lower than comparable Texas or CHP units...no surprise. Nevertheless, the cars were used in colder climates, such as Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, Colorado, Wyoming, and New York.

Other items such as seats seemed to take a beating, and perhaps the combination of police gear and constant use wore them out. It's not uncommon to see patrol Mustangs with a gaping hole in the drivers seat on one side from an Officer's gun belt;agencies such as Delaware complained that the seats actually broke under the weight of some larger-than-average personnel! Ford answered this by offering a reinforced seat back.

As the Mustangs use grew, Ford got a chance to correct some deficiencies that surfaced. One was a rear end failure associated with the 7.5 inch rear used through 1985. This was changed to a 8.8 size rear in 1986 which helped prevent rear end failures from the 5.0's torque. Another was the switch to a true special purpose wheel for 1985-1986 only, and then to the 10 hole rim found in many Mustangs from 1987-1993. One oddity was the painting of the wheel black for several years sometime through 1990, seemingly to distinguish it from a 'civilian' component.

Despite the abuse these cars received, they performed as advertised. The durability of the 5.0 engine is actually quite remarkable considering the type of activity these cars performed. Many restored and otherwise driven examples have well over 100K, and in some cases, 200K miles on the original engines-the same ones used for 70-90K of sometimes hard pursuit driving while in service! It's interesting to note that the 1993 Ford SSP Brochure states clearly "The Special Service Package does not meet Ford Motor Company durability requirements for police packages, and recommended use is for high-speed highway traffic law enforcement service". Regardless, this disclaimer did not defer agencies from relying on the cars for a good deal of use in all aspects of law enforcement.

For an excellent article on the SSP Mustang, check out Jim Dingell's piece at http://www.evooa.org/mssr/mssr.htm.



- Where were they used?
State, local and the Federal govt. all made use of the Mustangs. Both marked and unmarked versions were used, manual as well as automatic. The CHP alone purchased over 2500 units through 1993. The following states have all purchased Mustangs for patrol use:What do people buy them for?
The SSP cars generally get purchased for a couple of reasons: Either racing, restoration, or as a unique daily driver. Because of things like heavy duty suspension, stiffened floor pans, etc, racers like the features the car has. The light weight and low cost made, coupled with the durable 5.0 motor and plethora of aftermarket racing parts made for a desirable racing car start. With the supply from the usual sources dwindling and prices rising, the cars are not as frequently converted to racers as they once were.

Many people are interested in restoring Police cars as a hobby. The laws vary by state as to what's allowed; for instance in Florida it is prohibited to operate a vehicle on a public way displaying the same two tone black/cream paint scheme as the Florida Highway Patrol, regardless of whether it contains any lettering or not; California has similar statutes. Other states allow you to run the same colors but without markings. The best bet is to check with your state on legalities that may apply before you drive a recently purchased vehicle.

If you're interested in restoring a vehicle, some states will actually assist in the process. Usually, you can start by contacting the head of the State Police or Highway Patrol of your state in writing with your intentions; if they can assist, they will provide you with guidelines and information, and sometimes even access to key personnel.



- How can I get one?
State auctions were a good source for these vehicles for many years. As recently as 7/2005, I saw several listed from counties and towns at various auctions around the U.S. Most of the vehicles are now out of service, so there won't be many more coming along through these channels.

eBay seems to have at least one per month appear in various years, shapes, and trim options(see the pricing page). I've seen some fair deals, some great deals, and some not so great deals; it all depends on what you want. Auto trader on-line also seems to have several listed at any given time, although I've observed prices slightly higher than other venues here.

There's also the dealer community of course; you won't find any bargains but you may get a warranty which never hurts when buying a used police car.



- The Saleen/SSP connection:
In 1988, the Oregon State Police had 34 coupes ordered through Damerow Ford in Beaverton, OR. The order subsequently got cancelled, and the dealer was left with 34 unsold cars! As you can imagine, this is not a good situation for any auto dealer, and they scrambled to find a solution.

Saleen Autosports, noted producer of high performance Mustangs, came to the rescue. 17 of the coupes were sent to Saleen for the full treatment, including vehicle ID, rear spoiler, ground effects, interior upgrades, and of course the legendary performance treatment. Quite unusual, Saleen only produced 77 coupes. These cars may have started life to catch those exceeding the 55 MPH limit, but ironically the opposite probably became true!

For a look at a bucktag, door stickers and photos for one of these rare cars, check our Bucktags, Door Stickers and Photo Gallery pages.



The Inside Story on options!
This information was gathered with the help of Bruce Howard, Don Brink.

While attending the Ford 100th in June, 2003, we got the chance to speak with several employees who worked on Mustang production for many years. One of these was Emil Loeffler, involved with the SSP program for the first 10 years. Here's some very interesting pieces of information gathered from our interviews:

1. No spotlights were installed on the line, (confirmed by several workers).


2. Two-tone paint jobs were completed in the body shop at the plant, and the finish was baked on, just like parts on the line.


3. No more than 20 SSP's per day were built, and no two came down the line back to back. This was a special order car, and the extra modifications would cause a slow down in the line, so they were spaced out over the day to account for the speed of the line.


4. Even though the cars were ordered and assigned consecutive serial numbers, they did not get built at the same time, maybe not even on the same day. The four known remaining 92 Michigan SSP's are all within ten digits on the serial numbers, I have been working on this since I got mine.(Bruce).

This information provided by Dave Colvin:

Joe Horvath and I had an opportunity to meet with Emil and his partner in the SSP Project, Gerry, at the Michigan State Police Tests(2003). Emil was more of the Sales/promoter and Gerry was the technical set up guy for the cars.

They had some great stories. It was interesting we even met up with a guy that worked for one of the Big 3 competitors. He was giving Emil and Gerry a bad time because Ford sold the first 300 SSP Mustangs to California for only $6,800 each. Emil said this was done to get California to make up their mind to go with the Ponies long-term.


Emil and Gerry also laughed about the first set of cars that went to Georgia. Apparently the first one that was made for the Georgia Patrol was being inspected by the Georgia State Patrol Fleet manager. He was looking the car over and was digging around under the hood. Gerry was sitting in the car looking it over and the Georgia guy yelled for Gerry to turn the A/C on. Gerry reached to do so and discovered that there was no A/C on it! Somebody forgot to check the box for A/C on the build sheet. It is a good thing that they caught it on this one car. They were able to catch the others on the line in time for A/C to be put on as a factory part. Otherwise they would have had to make it an "add-on" Ford part and it would have made the instrument cluster look a bit different. The one car that was painted up for Georgia and did not have A/C, according to Emil, was sold to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police or somewhere when A/C was not required. Now that would be a Collectors Car to get a hold of. A marked RCMP car with GEORGIA buck tags!

And so it goes! Thanks for the tidbits guys...All the info we can get helps!


a little help from wikpedia ... for all the SSP's here .. all of this is interesting ... i think this should be stickied so .. that eveyone has this info ..
 
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