1988 Alabama DPS (my next SSP)

[nighthawk756]

Well, my wife and I had pretty much decided that the next SSP I bought would be one that needed very little to complete. I've built a lot of different cars from the ground up and have grown a little tired of the full on restorations. And so has my wife.

But then, thanks to Bob Powell and his son Jonathon (Bullitt1609), a car just came to the surface that I never in a million years would have expected. It's more of a project than I was willing to take on but this is one of those occasions that I fear I'd be kicking myself if I didn't. Me and the wife unit are still making the final decision if we are or not....she's been very good about it. I was fully expecting my next one to be my last. She knows I'm dying to have an 85-86 and said that I could still get one of those but my FHP "and" this car would have to be "done" before I did. So yes, she's been very accommodating to my dilemma. Here's a few teaser pics for the moment and I'll get more....

[28HopUp]

Nice (both on the car and the accommodating wife!). GL with the purchase. :)

[nighthawk756]

Property #....it's also on the core support

[nighthawk756]

Property # on core support

[nighthawk756]

Another pic

[nighthawk756]

Another

[nighthawk756]

Door sticker for those wondering what agency....

[nighthawk756]

Buck tag....hard to read and hard to get a pic

[nighthawk756]

Not many of these Alabama DPS cars surfacing very often....

[kapracing]

Not many of these Alabama DPS cars surfacing very often....

AWESOME!
I kinda sorta like those cars just a little bit lol
Nice find :-) looks really good in pics. If you do get it, I may have to ride over and check her out :-) ...

[nighthawk756]

AWESOME!
I kinda sorta like those cars just a little bit lol
Nice find :-) looks really good in pics. If you do get it, I may have to ride over and check her out :-) ...

Thanks Bobby!

I'm really surprised that the frame rails are straight so no hits to the front. Very little surface rust here and there. Other than Johnny Racer putting white face gauges in it, a cold air kit on it and taking the a/c off....it appears untouched otherwise.

[kapracing]

Thanks Bobby!

I'm really surprised that the frame rails are straight so no hits to the front. Very little surface rust here and there. Other than Johnny Racer putting white face gauges in it, a cold air kit on it and taking the a/c off....it appears untouched otherwise.

Sounds like a good one. Any way you can pull some of your resources and find out who drove this particular SSP ?

[nighthawk756]

Sounds like a good one. Any way you can pull some of your resources and find out who drove this particular SSP ?

Yeah, I'll be working on that tomorrow. I'll start making some calls and see what I can find out. :thumbsup:

[Va 5.0]

Wow, nice find.

[nighthawk756]

Wow, nice find.

Yes it was....but I can't take credit. A member here's father spotted it for sale in a yard with "State Trooper $5500" on the windshield. He made a deal and brought it home to get it off the market and away from the "drag racer" variety buyers. They already have Aaron's restored AL DPS so they don't need another one but wanted to save it for an enthusiast.

[MOstang]

nice find :thumbsup: .

[nighthawk756]

Does anyone have a carfax account that wouldn't mind running one on this car?

Thanks in advance!!

[kapracing]

Does anyone have a carfax account that wouldn't mind running one on this car?

Thanks in advance!!

If no one does maybe you and I can go in on one?

[nighthawk756]

If no one does maybe you and I can go in on one?

Yeah, we may have to....

[nighthawk756]

Been thinking....all the resto's of these....(all two of them lol)....have Jetsonics. But we know for sure that at least one had a Code 3 bar, the one in my avatar actually. Unless I can find info confirming a jetsonic for this car, what say the gurus here if I put a Code 3 on it????

Only thing is, I'm not sure how the Code 3 was set up. I've never known the State to use red so I'm assuming it was an all blue Code 3???? Anyone ever seen one of those? Or how hard would it be to make one all blue?

[28HopUp]

Since there is an in-service picture with that lightbar, I would see no reason not to use one if there is no evidence on the car to indicate otherwise.

Thank you for the pictures! Here is the revised page for this SSP in our Project:

http://www.specialservicemustang.net/VINlist/ALDPS/1988ALdso210316/info261744.htm


:)

[MOstang]

I tend to agree with Bill and I don't think it would be difficult to make that particular light bar all blue.

[kapracing]

X's 3


But if your gonna put one one it; and you do find out officers name that drove it; and make contact ;I'd put it back how he remembered it.

Personally, I'm not putting a lightbar on any of my aero GSP's. I'll probably put the ones below bumper on the 83...

Just my two cents worth :-)

[nighthawk756]

Interior shots....pretty dirty but after a good cleaning, most of it should be salvageable....

[nighthawk756]

Another....

[kapracing]

Another....


Did I tell you I like this car? Lol
Looks good :-)

[nighthawk756]

Did I tell you I like this car? Lol
Looks good :-)

Why yes you have....lol :D

Thanks Bobby! ;)

[nighthawk756]

Well, looks like the wife and I have decided to take on this worthy project. A car this rare deserves to be restored and not rotting away or turned into a drag car. (the PO already turned down a teenager wanting to buy it for that very reason)

I wish I had the ability to restore it as quickly as Aaron did with his. But looks like I'll do some major cleaning, stop the little bit of surface rust from getting worse and get all the mechanicals up to snuff so it can be a driving project. I still need to finish the FHP first, then I'll dive into the Bama.

So here goes nothing....:D

[kapracing]

Well, looks like the wife and I have decided to take on this worthy project. A car this rare deserves to be restored and not rotting away or turned into a drag car. (the PO already turned down a teenager wanting to buy it for that very reason)

I wish I had the ability to restore it as quickly as Aaron did with his. But looks like I'll do some major cleaning, stop the little bit of surface rust from getting worse and get all the mechanicals up to snuff so it can be a driving project. I still need to finish the FHP first, then I'll dive into the Bama.

So here goes nothing....:D

Brad,
Congrats! Any luck on finding out any of its past?

[nighthawk756]

Brad,
Congrats! Any luck on finding out any of its past?

I actually have our shop manager working on finding info on it as we speak! I sure hope the records haven't been purged. Wish me luck! :D

[MOstang]

:2thumbs: Nice!

[kapracing]

I actually have our shop manager working on finding info on it as we speak! I sure hope the records haven't been purged. Wish me luck! :D

GOOD LUCK!!!

Keep your fingers crossed for the both of us...

[nighthawk756]

Just got off the phone with one of my very good friends that's a retired Alabama State Trooper Sergeant. He was issued one of these cars in the first batch and kept it until it was retired. Found out some very good info that I wasn't aware of.

The Mustang Monthly August 1990 issue that's in the SSP related articles section here on the site eluded to a "training car" for Alabama. 30 were "issued" cars and one was a EVOC car. Well, he's now the second Trooper that confirmed to me that it wasn't ever used as a "training car" but was actually issued to a Trooper instructor at the academy. All the initial training that was done, the Trooper's drove their issued cars the whole time. I even asked if it was ever used as maybe a "chase" car for training and he said no.

And here's another interesting tidbit....these cars actually had roof numbers also. He said he actually has an aerial shot of the cars when they were in the well known "V" formation for photos. He said all the roof numbers are clearly visible. He said his was 179. So if I'm unable to track down exactly what unit # mine was....I might just make it 179 in honor of my friend.

Another funny story he told me....when they got to the academy, they assembled in one room and their names were called. They went up, signed for the car and was given the keys. He said as soon as they called his name and unit #, he said every instructor said out loud "fastest one of the bunch". They had driven them all to give them a shakedown so to speak before issuing them out. He said they weren't kidding....a fellow Trooper clocked him at 157 in his.

Another interesting thing was, he said that 2 instructors from FHP actually came up and trained our instructors. Gotta love insider info!

[nighthawk756]

I'm not sure if the roof # thing is common knowledge or not but it was new to me.

Guess if I'd paid more attention to this pic....you can barely see part of the roof number....duh! :D

[MOstang]

Cool info you uncovered. :thumbsup:

[28HopUp]

Very cool! :2thumbs:

[kapracing]

Very cool indeed Brad! Yours don't have any filler in the right quarter does it? Could be your in service pic if so LOL !

[nighthawk756]

Thanks guys! I thought it was interesting.

And I'm not sure Bobby, haven't got that far with it yet....remember, mine will be at a snails pace compared to how quick you get em restored haha. :D

[kapracing]

Thanks guys! I thought it was interesting.

And I'm not sure Bobby, haven't got that far with it yet....remember, mine will be at a snails pace compared to how quick you get em restored haha. :D

I had noticed the dent at the edge of the passenger quarter in that in service pic. Would be pretty easy to look up inside with a flash light to see if there had been a repair made there :-)

[nighthawk756]

I had noticed the dent at the edge of the passenger quarter in that in service pic. Would be pretty easy to look up inside with a flash light to see if there had been a repair made there :-)

Yeah, I haven't had a chance to really go over it thoroughly yet....as soon as I bought it it went straight to a buddy's shop to get the ac put back on and some of the minor mechanical stuff sorted out. Gotta get it running/driving good then work on it as I go. Since I need to get the FHP finished up first, it's much closer to being done lol.

[nighthawk756]

Just a little spring cleaning update....good ol pressure washing always helps lol. Before and after pics coming up....

[nighthawk756]

After

[nighthawk756]

Before

[nighthawk756]

For some reason it isn't loading the next pic hmmmm

[nighthawk756]

After....still not great but better than it was....baby steps! lol

[kapracing]

Pretty big difference to me:-)
Lookin good Brad !

[MOstang]

Amazing what a difference a little cleaning can do :) .

[28HopUp]

That looks MUCH better! :)

[nighthawk756]

Thanks guys! It's going to take some elbow grease to get her back somewhat presentable. But she's in better hands now.

[nighthawk756]

Even with all the stuff Johnny Racer did on this car....all the ground straps are still in place. He installed flowmasters on it and reinstalled the muffler straps....who would have guessed?? Haha....:D

[Sarge]

Brad is your Code 3 the 360 model ?

[kapracing]

Even with all the stuff Johnny Racer did on this car....all the ground straps are still in place. He installed flowmasters on it and reinstalled the muffler straps....who would have guessed?? Haha....:D

Looks like your getting some good luck also:-)

[nighthawk756]

Brad is your Code 3 the 360 model ?

Looks to be an LP6000 looking at the pic below....it would've been all blue lenses also.

[nighthawk756]

Looks like your getting some good luck also:-)

A little bit anyway....lol :D

[nighthawk756]

Buddy of mine had a stock intake and valve covers in better shape so we swapped....she's getting there little by little.

Before....

[nighthawk756]

After....

[kapracing]

BIG IMPROVEMENT !!!
Lolling good Brad :-)

[nighthawk756]

BIG IMPROVEMENT !!!
Lolling good Brad :-)

Thanks Bobby!

[kapracing]

Dang smart phone!
Just noticed what auto correct put

Lol meant LOOKING !!!!

[nighthawk756]

Well, I just got back from my own fact finding trip to Montgomery. I was pretty successful. Found the folder on my car and even Aaron's car he restored that the Powell's now own. I even have copies of the auction paperwork. The folders have the original issue paperwork with what Trooper drove them, what post and county they were assigned to, tag #'s, the Unit # and even the original purchase receipts/dealership paperwork. I also found about 14 other folders on the some of the other mustangs. When they were originally put in service, DPS was still running S-00000 tag numbers so the tag # and the unit # didn't match. But a few years after, they switched to the ST000 tags and then they matched them to the unit #.

I also lucked out and they still had NOS roof numbers and door and trunk "state trooper" decals sitting on the shelf that they let me bring home with me. Now, they're about 25 years old so whether or not they can be used remains to be seen but still very cool! :D

My unit # was 186 and was assigned to Selma post in Dallas county. That Trooper handed it off to another Trooper in the same post and county. And then it went to the last Trooper in Demopolis Post in Marengo county and was retired in April '94 with 158010 miles on it. I've already made contact with the last Trooper that's retired and he's trying to dig up some in service pics for me. Interestingly enough, I was considering trying to run a Code 3 bar on it to match the one that had one on it while in service.....the paperwork only has property numbers and no description of what style bar. But in my folder there's paperwork showing where the original bar was swapped to another bar with another property number in '89....so I'm going to do some more digging to see if I can track down exactly what kind of bars were used. If the last Trooper has pics then that will show me the last bar so I'm going to try to get in touch with the first Trooper to see what bar was on it originally.

Aaron and Jonathon, your car was unit # 192 and was assigned to the same Trooper at the Evergreen Post in Escambia county for it's entire service. It was retired in May '94 with 128743 miles. :thumbs_up

[ImEvil1]

Nice! It'll be interesting to see what kind of bar it ran.

[kapracing]

Sooo freakin cool !!!
Good job Brad... :-)
Guess you shoulda bought a couple lottery tickets yourself !!!! Lol

[MOstang]

Awesome results from your trip! :2thumbs:

[kapracing]

Hey Brad,
Is that new avatar pic a in service pic of your Bama DPS?

[nighthawk756]

Hey Brad,
Is that new avatar pic a in service pic of your Bama DPS?

No, I got it from Aaron's thread about his info trip to Montgomery back when he had his bama car.

I'm still waiting to hear from the last trooper that had mine if he was able to find his pics. And I'm still working on getting contact info for the first trooper it was issued to.

[kapracing]

Ohh ok,
Kinda got my hopes up there lol

[nighthawk756]

Ohh ok,
Kinda got my hopes up there lol

I did find out that the last bar that was on the car was a Jetsonic. I talked to a lady in inventory in Montgomery and she was able to find a minor description with the last property #....it said "signal light/speaker federal" That last word "federal" confirmed it to be a Jetsonic and not a Code 3.

But she wasn't able to find anything on the first bar and different property number. So the mystery remains for the moment on what bar was on it when it was first issued. Hopefully I can get in touch with the first trooper that had it and he'll remember what bar or have in-service pics for me.

[kapracing]

Kewl!
Keep us posted!!!
Maybe it turn out to be the code 3 :-)

[nighthawk756]

Kewl!
Keep us posted!!!
Maybe it turn out to be the code 3 :-)

Yeah, I'm kind of hoping it was the Code 3 to be a little different. Talk about rare among the rare. Only 1 of the already rare 31 cars had the Code 3.

But I like the Jetsonic bars too so really it doesn't bother me either way. I just want to know for sure what it had.

[MOstang]

You're doing a good job putting the puzzle pieces together.

[nighthawk756]

You're doing a good job putting the puzzle pieces together.

Thanks Mike! It's taking some leg work but I'm getting there. ;)

[MOstang]

The fact finding is at least half the fun, don't you think?

[nighthawk756]

The fact finding is at least half the fun, don't you think?

I definitely agree!! :yes:

[sspanthony]

Keep up the Outstanding Job !!!!!

[kapracing]

No, I got it from Aaron's thread about his info trip to Montgomery back when he had his bama car.

I'm still waiting to hear from the last trooper that had mine if he was able to find his pics. And I'm still working on getting contact info for the first trooper it was issued to.

Brad,
Any progress in this department?

[nighthawk756]

Brad,
Any progress in this department?

The last Trooper that had it didn't have any pics. The Trooper that had it before him, said he was going to look for me but never got a return call from him. I need to try calling him back I guess.

[kapracing]

The last Trooper that had it didn't have any pics. The Trooper that had it before him, said he was going to look for me but never got a return call from him. I need to try calling him back I guess.

If your anything like me it's easy to get side tracked so I just thought I'd remind you :-)