Hey Bill, not wanting to be bossy here, but you ought to move this thread to the restorations section. There's tons of good info here that I would hate to have buried in the for-sale section. Or maybe migrate some of the pictures/info onto a new thread in that section. I can't wait to follow this car through the resto!

Bill now what wheels go on it?

Chris, I like your idea and decided to move this to the Members' SSP Section. This thread will become the build thread for the car. :)


Although the 85 SSPs came with the steel wheels originally, we know from the above picture that the wheels were changed on #E408445. Since the in-service picture of my car does not show the wheels, I will most likely go with polished 10-holes on #E408383 as well.

We also know from the pictures of #E408445 and my car that they had an antenna on their rear decklid. Ken's 89 SMPV has a hole in the decklid for an antenna. Sadly, the decklid of my car has been replaced. Since the car has no apparent damage to the body, I assume that the original deckild was replaced because of the antenna hole. So I will get detailed pictures of Ken's SMPV so I can replicate the placement of that antenna on the decklid. I wonder what antenna was used?

Also, it has been said that the rear decklid lights were replaced on the SMPVs with lower profile units. I wonder if they were similar to the ones on this 1986 CHP Mustang? If so, can anybody identify these particular lights?

Looks like Tomar RECT-37. CHP talks about testing them in the paperwork Jim got from Rob R.

Thanks Mike! :)

Bill congrats on a great find. This has been a great year for finding rare SSP's. I look forward to watching your progress on her.

Thanks Matt! :)

Ken sent me a bunch of pictures. Here is the VIN on the dash -

http://images45.fotki.com/v148/photo.../838311-vi.jpg



...here is the VIN label on the driver's door -

http://images51.fotki.com/v303/photo.../838309-vi.jpg



...and here's an inverted view of the Buck Tags -

http://images108.fotki.com/v1629/pho.../838310-vi.jpg

That car's going to to be a great project. When does it arrive and what are the plans for your current SSP?

Agreed on that one. :cool:

Now that I have the title, I will be making arrangements with a transportation company to have the car shipped back to Delaware. In terms of #E408395 (my first SSP), I will be putting it up for sale at some point in the future. I have had a discussion with a member here who is interested in buying the car, but I need to button up a few things first before it is ready to sell.

BTW, the two Senator Ford license plate frames arrived. The chrome looks fine, but the raised lettering and recessed areas will need to be painted. I bought two because for all I know they put the frames on the back too.

HOT OFF THE PRESS!
Jack, aka Va 5.0, has uncovered some EXCELLENT information on the 1987 SMPV pilot program. Jack obtained an 80-page report from 1988 to the California State Legislature about the SMPV program, as found here:

https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publicatio...aspx?ID=117995


Jack just received his copy, and will be sending me a photocopy of the report, which I will scan and put up here. Jack summarized the information as follows:

How cool is that!?!?!?!?! :cool: I will have to dig deeper to find out more info on the Bac-Off flashing lights, which appear to have been halogen lights in the 1980s for use on motorcycles.

This is all I have found so far, which is from a 1986 article in American Motorcyclist -

A small tease.....

Good stuff fellas!

Jack, you ARE a tease! I can't wait to read the entire report. :D

Congrats Bill!! I could've been of help on this one as I'm constantly in San Fernando visiting my mother, plus I only live 40 miles away. Offer stands for anyone researching an SSP for sale out here in the AV/Santa Clarita/SFV area.

Again congrats and can't wait to see the start of the restoration!

Today will be a looooong day!
 

Today is the day that my new 85 SMPV gets delivered! :) Rich graciously agreed to hold the car at his house until I made arrangements to have it transported. I read good things about http://www.autotransportdirect.com/ and used them to broker a quote that was only $150 more than it cost to have my 2012 shipped up from Florida this past May. On Sunday, Rich assisted the driver with getting my SMPV loaded onto the trailer, and the driver called yesterday to say that it would be delivered today. He was not able to give me a delivery window, but said that he would call 1-2 hours beforehand. I have the 2nd stall of our 2-car garage open.

Tomorrow is dedicated to working on my black 85 CHP Mustang. I need to button up some items and fire that new engine. :)

Always an exciting time waiting for deliveries like that! I had one several years back arrive about 8:00 PM on Christmas Eve, which was a great early Christmas gift.

Sounds like the perfect recipe for a great weekend...post up some arrival pics when you can! :2thumbs:

Awesome Bill! Can't wait to see it!

Thanks guys!

The trucker called about 5:30pm to say he was 67 miles from our house. I didn't hear him pull up because they stopped about 3 houses down to unload. It was about 7pm at that point, and quite dark. Once the car was on the pavement, I gave it a quick look-see and paid them. The carb seemed to be loading up, so I drove it straight into the garage.

The car is rough, to be sure. In order for the ignition to turn off, you must release the clutch after turning the key. And the car is halfway gutted already, so it will be much easier to take it apart. My only plan this weekend for this car is to see if we can smooth out the engine so I can get it registered next week. Today will be spent working on the black 85. :)

Sorry, but the only picture so far is a cruddy cellphone shot in low light -

Here's a quick shot in the dawn's early light -

http://images107.fotki.com/v67/photo...Vhome01-vi.jpg

Sadly, a recent owner skinned the original hood to screw that fiberglass piece of doo-doo to the hood frame. Back in 2010 when the car was on ebay, it still had the original hood. The wheels (16" by the way) are drilled 8 times for different lug patterns. These are the same wheels as in 2010, but the hub caps got lost after the wheels were blacked out. I will probably leave the battery unplugged while the car is sitting. The wiring is hacked up, so I don't want anything to short out. Don't let my tone fool you - I'm still quite excited to bring this one home finally!

That's all for now. Headed back out to the garage... :)

A diamond in the rough Bill. Enjoy the ride!

At least this way, you won't feel so bad stripping it down for blasting and paint. You know everything will be right and correct as it goes back together.

Good job. Keep us posted.

Awesome! What sort of timeframe are you on to bring this one back to life?

In my opinion this little 85 is a valuable part of CHP history. I have looked at this car from top to bottom and I am amased that this car has never been in a major accident. I am sure that when Bill is done with the restoration it will be a real masterpiece! AWSOME FIND!!! :D

Can't wait to see progress pics! I'm excited for you... Very nice find!!!

I have an 85 CHP, as well. Why did they make that rectangular hole on the driver side bottom fender? Anyone? Mine has it and I was going to try to fine a replacement. Thanks guys!

Cut out for the siren speaker. Consult the CHP restoration section for details:

http://www.specialservicemustang.net/CHP.htm

Bits and pieces are coming together. I found the correct Regency MX7000 scanner on ebay -

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Regency-MX70...:B:BCA:US:3160


Hope I didn't pay too much for it! :) This afternoon I will be picking up a 1985 white GT hood in nearby New Jersey that I found on Craigslist. I can't wait to get rid of the hideous hood that's on the car now.

I now have in-hand two of the three Bac-Off lights for my SMPV. The only one I need to find now is an amber version.

Very cool Bill :-)

Nice! Are the lenses removable?

Yes, the colored lenses come off. If I can find another housing, I may be able to cast a mold in amber from an existing lens.

Just a quick update (sorry, no pictures).

The car will be headed for my nephew's shop soon to have him address the shoddy wiring and install the missing emissions equipment. Then I should be able to get it tagged. At the same time, he will be prepping the car for paint. The current primer body and white hood creates quite an eyesore, so to keep the Mrs on-board with me having two SSPs I need to make the SMPV less ugly. Kris will paint it white with black lower bumpers, just as it looked while in-service. I also plan to get fresh rubber installed on the correct wheels/caps. Not sure if I can swing new Gatorbacks or not, but I would like to if possible.

Can't wait to see it!

Kris came by, and we got the car running much better. The vacuum advance diaphragm is shot (huge vacuum leak), so we just plugged the hose, which smoothed things out nicely (along with a different Holley carb and timing adjustment). I will say that it is nice being able to drive a car onto a trailer instead of winching it. It's now headed to the shop for some LOVE!

http://images46.fotki.com/v530/photo.../SMPV22-vi.jpg

Forgive the cruddy cellphone pictures (I plan to upgrade soon). Kris has started the disassembly.

http://images15.fotki.com/v1624/phot...3/photo-vi.jpg


The passenger apron looks OK from this angle...

http://images12.fotki.com/v20/photos...3/photo-vi.jpg


...but the underside shows where repairs were made.

[view behind the solenoid]
http://images12.fotki.com/v616/photo...3/photo-vi.jpg

[view to rear of the shock tower]
http://images52.fotki.com/v728/photo...3/photo-vi.jpg

more to follow...

Let's take a look at the cracks and FUBAR repairs

[front apron on passenger side]
http://images58.fotki.com/v154/photo...3/photo-vi.jpg

[bottom of radiator support]
http://images49.fotki.com/v565/photo...3/photo-vi.jpg

[under driver's seat along rocker]
http://images12.fotki.com/v252/photo.../photo1-vi.jpg

[near driver's seat along trans tunnel]
http://images59.fotki.com/v222/photo.../photo1-vi.jpg

[top of rear tunnel by the back seat]
http://images58.fotki.com/v156/photo...3/photo-vi.jpg

[enlarged opening made around shifter]
http://images58.fotki.com/v612/photo...3/photo-vi.jpg

So all of those cracks/repairs will have to be smoothed out, welded, and smoothed again. It's not uncommon, but sad to see so much damage underneath. Here is a shot of the custom bracketry made for the motor -

http://images14.fotki.com/v219/photo.../photo1-vi.jpg


Again, it's not anything that cannot be undone. The whole front suspension/steering is shot, and the k-member may need to be dropped/repaired/replaced (it has a 1" cut in it). The initial measurements look good, so it should not need any time on a frame machine. The pinion in the rear is wobbly, and the clutches are gone in the differential. New control arms and bushings will be needed for sure out back as well.

It's a good thing this car didn't end up in the wrong hands because the amount of work involved to make it safe may have been enough for others to scrap it.

Congrats Bill !

I am sure it will all be done correctly and the right way.
Once this stuff is done, it's a lot easier and will look better faster.

I bet it feels good to be starting on it !
Keep the pictures coming !
Thanks !