Bought an 86 SSP!
 

I posted over at SSPmustang.org, but someone recommended I post here as well. I picked up an 86 ex-dps car yesterday, needs a good bit of work but it is super solid and has one of the buck tags as well as the door tag still. I have a couple questions about it though...

It has a console in it, but the TX DPS cars (and all ssps) should have been console delete correct? Also, the bottom part of the dash (under the radio) is broken off. I'm curious if that is where a radio or scanner might have been mounted, but I'm not sure. Does anyone have any info or pictures of how a DPS interior would have been outfitted? I have not found any 85-86 DPS interior pictures for reference.

Also, how can I find out what unit number the car was?

As soon as I pick the car up I'll post some pictures.

And if anyone has a line on a very nice to mint red '85-86 interior I'd be very interested

Yes, it should have a console delete...
It should be outfitted very much like this:

Agency Info TEXAS

http://www.specialservicemustang.net...s/84DPSint.jpg

Matt

Very cool, that helps a bit. I'm a little wet behind the ears as far as the police stuff goes, so I have quite a bit of research to do on all of the different police equipment I need. There is a two button audiovox controller (I have no idea what it is) attached just to the right of the steering column on the dash panel, is that left-over dps equipment?

here's also a few exterior photos of 86 Texas DPS SSP's courtesy of Roman Collins site.

1986 Texas DPS SSP

And it's hard to tell, but it looks like the dash might actually be cut-out under the factory radio location... so maybe the car is not incorrect....

Congrats on the purchase Chris. :thumbsup:

I can take some photos of the '83 DPS car I'm working on...but it'd be good if you can post up some pics, also. The ashtray that mounts below the dash probably would have been removed, but that didn't involve cutting the dash up. I'd bet that the Audiovox deal mounted in the car had nothing to do with DPS.

Tony S. (TxDPS over or .org) or Tom M. (1989 Tx DPS SSP here) can probably help with figuring out your unit number. I'm still working on that for mine (did a title search, but the records that far back have been purged by the state).


There's some good info on the Texas Resto Doc, but it's definitely a work-in-progress. Thanks for posting the link, Matt.

Very cool, I'll get in touch with them. It looks like it should be the same SHO-ME's mounted on the rear deck, does that sound right? Any idea what antenna should have been mounted on the trunk deck (pass side)? The hole is still there

Decible Products DB702

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...5_814_full.jpg

I think Mike has it in the restoration doc as well.

Looks exactly like this as this is the DB702 in black and not the white that was found on the mustangs. there was a mix of black as well.

Matt

Awesome, i saw that was listed in the resto doc on the later cars, wasn't sure if it was the same for the earlier stuff. Cool, I'm getting a list together here rather quickly

those antenna bases are hard to find now as they haven't been made in a long time. There might be some one that has an extra one lying around.

Matt

Good deal. Definitely the Sho-me style halogens for the rear deck. I may have one more white antenna coil here at the house, but I'll have to check. I bought a huge lot of radio stuff on eBay awhile back and had 5 or 6 of those in the box (one NOS one).

And while I'm bugging people for information, any ideas on what radio equipment, siren, scanner, radar gun, etc the car needs?

Lots of good info on that stuff in the Texas Doc. GE Mastr radio heads (I have an extra one of those, too), PA 150/200 siren, etc etc. :)

There was a second page! That makes a big difference. Looks like I need to figure out which Radar gun was used, the S-80 looks like it was not used in 86, the gun looks a little different. Might have to work a deal on the radio head as well. I'm lucky that I've got two buddys one a cop and one a sherriff. Both have hooked all of this equipment up before. I'd be lost otherwise!

We're not too far away from you, either, if you get in a jam. :)

The S-80 is correct as was at least one other that came out in that time frame. You will not go wrong with an S-80. I need to find one myself for my NE car. The 87 Texas car with the red interior with the shotgun and mini 14 has an S-80 in it. It's in the doc Mike put together.

Matt

Great deal, I google searched them and came up pretty dry as far as finding them for sale... Guess I need to hutn around on ebay and see what I can find. Too much fun

I think it's a blast....searching for and finally finding a really rare resto item. Definitely a step above just a regular resto. :)

I'd personally go with one of the Decatur radar units. Roman's DPS page (a kick-ass website, BTW) has three pics of '86 cars with what looks like the Decaturs. Matt posted a link to those cars earlier in this thread. I have one of them the house right now, if you want a better pic of what it looks like. I'm putting it in the CSP car (along with a VASCAR...Trooper that drove it said they used both).

Either way...both of those pop up on eBay fairly regularly...that's where I found both of mine (S-80 for the '83 DPS).

here's my decatur...

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...5_688_full.jpg

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...5_687_full.jpg

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...5_696_full.jpg

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...5_695_full.jpg

That's exactly what I was thinking, all of those pictures pretty clearly showed a decatur... so I think I will try to track one of those down. The real challenge is going to be figuring out how to mount all of this correctly, as I have not found an interior shot for an 86 yet. That and I still know next to nothing about what everything does, how to use it all correctly, etc... so I'm going to need to do some research and develop a basic understanding of what all of this was used for. Pretty cool stuff though.

I'm already set on a full body resto, full interior resto and putting all of the correct equipment in it... but toying around with putting a paxton or something on it. The car will see very light street duty, more likely weekend cruises and shows.

Mounting shouldn't be too bad....you may find some of the the original holes under the dash, also. There's pics of an '83 and '84 in the Doc, and I'd think the '86 would be set up the same. The radio head and siren were just mounted under the dash. My car has holes in the console delete where switches were probably mounted to control the lights. I still have an old radio mic clip mounted on there as well.

I'm sure the car will be happy to have a drivetrain again. :)

There sure aren't many restored 4-eyed DPS cars around...

And thanks for the pictures Matt, that helps a lot now I know what I'm lookin for. Got a lot of work ahead of me!

That's a nice setup, Matt. :thumbsup:

No problem...

Yep that is most of the stuff I have for the 87 I have in storage. I know it still needs a lot of work as well as a complete drivetrain too but it will come in time. It still only has 99K original miles on the body though.

Matt

Here's a site for the Decatur radar...
Decatur Radar Equipment

Any pictures yet?

Matt

Here are pictures for those who have been waiting. As I said, not much to look at but it's a start. The car in front of it is a very hacked (inside, has a cage) '86 GT T-Top, it belongs to the buddy of mine who owns the shop. It will donate front fenders to the DPS car, and he has a new front LX bumper as well that will fix the "bow" this one has currently. The front core support is going to have to be drilled out and replaced, someone apparently jacked the car up or towed it onto a trailer by it, so that has to be fixed. Obviously a full interior. I believe I've found a used 5.0 to go in it for the meantime, I'll need to source a trans and rebuild the rear end. And then of course all of the proper SSP equipment. Lots and lots of work ahead of me. Anyway, on to the fun stuff:

http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k9...55/TXDPS06.jpg
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k9...55/TXDPS01.jpg
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k9...55/TXDPS02.jpg

http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k9...55/TXDPS03.jpg
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k9...55/TXDPS08.jpg
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k9...55/TXDPS04.jpg

Great start!! Got to love it. Let me know if I help you with any questions on the parts or other...

Looks like a good overall project to start with. Can't wait to see some progress pics.

Nice save! At least this one ended up in the right hands, rather than the crusher.

I'll post progress as I make it, again I could really use any nice red 85-86 interior stuff. Thanks for the compliments!

I found some more stuff today...

Chris, so whats up with you and the car? How are things going?

Matt

Hey Matt, sorry I hadn't gotten back to you. I think i'm going to hold out and see if I can find a full interior in a little bit better condition, maybe save myself some money and trouble. I know that if I'm patient someone will be parting one of those interiors...

I bought a new front clip for the car, (fenders, bumper and extentions) that are in really good shape, I need to find a good core support to replace mine with, it's tweaked on the bottom like someone jacked up the car there. Once I get all of that done, I'll send it off to body and paint. Anyone ever consider taking the door tag off and putting it in a frame or something with the bucktag (the only one left) for safe keeping. Will it even come off of the door in 1 piece? Just thinking out loud...

Probably someone wearing a uniform, at about 55MPH. :)

Many of these cars are like that...from in-service u-turns in the medians across the country.

Sounds like you are making good progress.

The radiator core support on my '86 is also banged up but ford told me they do not make it anymore, even though I have a price from them for $356. LateModelRestorations has an after market one for about $136 but they have a problem getting it and sending it out to me (I don't think they can get it). What I had done was have the shop person straighten it out as much as possible and them welding a straight piece or metal along the bottom to make it flat so that the bumper cover can be straight. I don't plan on making my car concourse car so it is good enough for me.

Both of my '86's are like that. Their tweaked but not enough to replace. The WSP is on the upper support while the FHP is on the lower driver side. The driver side sway bar bracket has been re-welded on the FHP also. If these cars could talk, what stories they would tell.

So are yall trying to tell me that these things weren't babied from the day they rolled off the truck? lol I guess I'm too damn picky, although finding a nice core support isn't going to be easy either.

To a certain degree. :)

I think that the cars that were take-homes were probably (generally) taken better care of, but if a curb needed to be jumped or median hopped for a good reason, it didn't matter. Personally, I didn't like taking all of my gear out of my cars and finding a pool shop to drive, so I took good care of all of mine.

If you need a core support contact Onetrickpony.com also known in Miami as Eddyson. I don't have their number off hand. They have a lot of mustang parts all over the place.