Pennsylvania State Police Mustangs
 

I posted this at .org, but I'm going to re-post it here for anyone that doesn't post there...............


In the vehicle usage page it only shows PSP as having 1992 Mustangs. I know they had them in 1985.

Back around 1985 a few friends and I were taking a little road trip across IS90 in PA when I noticed a Ford Mustang come up behind me. I was in the left lane speeding. I moved over to let him pass and he came up on my left side and sat there for a couple seconds. I looked over and it was a PA State Trooper. He had a light on his dash that looked like it was mounted to a bracket that allowed him to flip it up in view when needed, and down out of sight when not. I immediately slowed down and he went ahead of me and stopped someone else.

I don't remember much about the car other than that. I just remember the officer being in uniform, the dash light flipped down in front of his dash, and the fact that he was driving an unmarked FORD MUSTANG!

I was wondering if anyone had any information on the PSP Mustangs??

Who is Fred Johnson? He's listed in the Special Service Mustang Owners Association as having a 1985 PSP SSP.

I know PSP had a Mustang on the interstate in '85. It's the only Mustang I've ever actually seen in service.

If anything, someone at least tell me who Fred Johnson is.

No idea on who Fred Johnson is, but there have been a few mistakes discovered over the years in the usage chart you referred to (nothing is ever perfect, right?).

Definitely could have been an SSP you saw, or a regular production coupe used in-service. We bought both (for some reason) where I work now.

I found a possible phone number for the guy. I'm just going to try and call him myself tomorrow and see what I can find out.

I know the list isn't right. I also bet there's more out there than we know. My Frisco Texas PD car is a 1 of 1. Still has the buck tags and I've confirmed it through the PD. I'm betting there's cars out there we don't yet know about.

I saw that thread....and I'm glad you were able to confirm it. There are tons of them out there that we don't know about yet.

You are lucky to have confirmed yours (luck with some hard work on your part). Many guys have no idea what agency, if any, their cars served with. Something that is often overlooked in other discussions is that numerous governmental agencies (non-LE) and private (fleet) companies ordered these cars, too.

PASP has had many unmarked cars over the years running traffic so it could have been an SSP in 1985 as most all of the cars they used were package vehicles. I don't think they had many though due to the weather conditions. Since Police in PA are not allowed to take radar unless they are PASP, many of the stealths PASP ran out there either ran radar and then paced cars for speed checks when they were mobile.

I was glad to read that you had confirmed through the Frisco PD that they used a Mustang. As Mike noted, it could have been a non-police use car bought by the city. But now you can proceed with the restoration as it was originally used. Since Frisco apparently used different markings, did you decide on a paint/marking design?


Getting back on topic -
Jim, let us know if you find out any information from the gentleman you are trying to contact.

Believe it or not, Frisco doesn't have any photos of their old Mustang. The did email me pics of what the cruisers looked like at that time, and then the (2) style changes since then.

My car went from a white marked cruiser to a black detectives car. So it's last point of service was in no way marked or equiped. FPD has 'School Resource Officer' cars that have more of a simple NYPD look with the patch on the door and Frisco Police in blue letters next to it. I feel that if the car would have been put back in service instead of sold, that's probably the direction it would have went.

I could make it a black detectives car since that's how it was last used in service, but I want to return it to its factory color.

The 1985 PSP SSP Mustang lives!

I have been in touch with the owner. The only thing more fun than finding a SSP, or information on a SSP, is finding one that wasn't known to exist.

Good to hear...keep us posted on what you find out. Also, shoot me the VIN if you want so I can include it in the project we are working on here.

I almost bought that Frisco car myself.....and am glad you picked it up. It is a rare one for sure especially with the vinyl interior. I hope you can get it back in running order as it is a neat car.