How you got hooked on ssp's?????

[ssp91ssp]

Just like the title reads , how did you guys get hooked on your first ssp????
Did you guys know what they were ? did you see your first a car show ?
drive a unit while in service , someone tell you what they were ?

As for me i've been into mustangs since around 86 with my first 70 mustang fastback... sweet car !
It wasn't till about 2 yrs ago that we began to chat with a co-worker about rare mustangs , It was here that i mentioned to him about some that were used as police units. He's comment was , NO WAY !!!!!

The hunt began that same day , we then came across the 2 sites and here
i am today .The proud owner of 2 ssp's and hooked for more!!! Lol

As for my friend , he now owns a very nice NC ssp and a retired crown vic unit, and continues to search daily for ssp's .

My third buddy in this area now has 2 TX DPS units , always on the hunt also.

Ok , that's my story, how about you guys ???

I'm thinking that some interesting stories are about to surface!! let's hear them .

ssp91ssp
Hector

[ImEvil1]

I went to my first FHP auction in 1990...to buy a Mustang to drive. I loved the 5.0s, and I figured it would be a cheap way to get into one. All of the cars I saw sold that day (Bartow, FL) went for more than what I had to spend, so I left without one. Hindsight being 20/20, I kick myself for not buying the lone '86 there...it was in my price range, but I was young and had to have the new "aero" car. I took the money and put myself through the police academy, instead.

I went to many other auctions from then on looking, but I didn't buy 1187 until Dec. of '97. I originally bought it to drive, in order to keep the miles off of the '93 silver coupe I bought new, but after talking to and getting an education from Jim D. at PPI on how rare the car was, I figured I'd keep it and NOT MOD it (or drive it too much....I did put 6k miles on it).

I've had a take-home since 1994, so it wasn't that big of a deal to park both '93s, either.

[CNTLOSE]

My first Mustang was an '86 GT...this was back in 1992. As I was just getting into Mustangs I was reading every magazine in print. I remember one magazine advertising a brand new SSP for sale to the public. It was solid white and a 5 speed. Later that summer we went to Florida and I saw for the first time in person a FHP SSP on the highway and thought how nice it must be to get paid to drive a Mustang around.

I looked on and off when I was younger to buy one and autocross. Back then most articles you read about the SSP's was how cheap they were and what great cars they made to race since they were typically bare bone coupes. Well I put the idea on hold for several years unitl about 7 years ago I saw a restored FHP at a local cruise in. Wanting one again I began the search but never ended up finding anything worth while...and I was not big into internet car purchasing then.

Well last year I purchased the Cobb County B4C that is in the photo album on the other SSP site. I drove it home and for a daily driver for about two months before winter. It was then I realized that Mustangs were my passion so I sold the B4C to another cop out of AL. I waited over the winter until Mike, "Vintageracer" put up for sale a 1989 WSP SSP. Car was mostly original and had a few of the hard to find items...dual head spot light and idle controler. It was on ebay at the time. We made a deal outside of ebay and I flew to Memphis and was met at the airport by Mike. After dropping Mike off back at his house I headed the approx. 300 miles home. I enjoyed every mile of that ride back to my house.

A week later I was the Mustang show in Indiana and meet several other great guys from the SSP groups. It was there that my wife and I were hooked. Well after realizing all the cost and time it was going to take to restore a mostly plain white WSP car, we talked about getting something more colorful. At the time Doug had FHP0739 for sale and had just posted he was willing to take partial trades.

Doug and I made a deal and met in the BFE, IL. I remember seeing him drive right past us on the "main strip". We could not believe our eyes. Well we chased Doug and his wife down and talked for probably an hour or more. We parted ways and I started droving FHP0739 home. We stayed the night at a hotel in IL and the entire time I just kept looking out the window staring at her.

Sorry for rambling on...but I just got home with her. I took her to get buffed out before putting on the new STATE TROOPER decals...so to say I am a little excited right now is an understatment.

[28HopUp]

I've been hooked on Mustangs and old Fords practically all my life. The year I was born, my dad bought a new 66 Mustang for my then 15yo sister to drive. It was handed down to the rest of us, and is the car I drove thru high school. I've hung onto it all these years.

In 2008 we started the process to adopt an older child from foster care (Debbie & I have another biological son, Jack, who is now 14yo), so my trusty 2006 V6 Mustang needed to turn into something more accommodating (as a side note, I turned a best ET of 14.312 with that V6 Stang). I replaced the Stang with a used 2005 Explorer, but within months I began to miss banging gears down the track in that 06 Stang. A friend suggested that I look for a 5.0L Mustang, which I hadn't considered. Frankly, the styling on the Fox Mustangs never appealed to me. I remember seeing Mustang Carzy's GSP at a show at the beginning of 2008 (she won crowd favorite), but the car didn't interest me at the time. I figured the car had been retired in that condition - not restored to its GSP glory.

A few weeks after my friend suggested getting a 5.0L, I took Jack to school in my 66 coupe, and the gym teacher was working carpool. He held up traffic to talk to me about my car. He then commented that he was selling an 85 SSP Mustang that had been a CHP car. I told him I might be interested in it, but failed to ask if SSP's were even available with a 5 speed trans. I didn't even realize that an 85 was a four eyed car; that's how little I knew about that vintage Mustang. I asked questions online, and joined both SSP forums. Y'all were very patient with me and my questions, and were probably wondering if I was a flipper. It took a few weeks for me and the seller to agree on a price. But I drove it home at the end of September 2008.

Once I got it licensed and insured, I started driving it and researching the CHP's on NET/ORG. When I discovered the unit number written on the side glass, that's when my plans changed. Instead of making this a weekend track star, and I decided to partially restore it just short of in-service condition. The car will (for now) stay all-black, with CHP logos/lettering on magnets. I keep the CHP light/equipment covered up while driving. It's been a very enjoyable experience!

[MOstang]

Hector - +1 great idea for a topic ....

My fascination with Mustangs began as a young man growing up in the suburbs of St. Louis, MO. I was fortunate enough to have parents with the wherewithal to purchase a vehicle for me prior to turning 17 years old. My first car was a 1966 Ford Mustang, which was red with a black vinyl top and interior plus a 289-V8. It served as a reliable daily driver for the next seven (7) years. More importantly, however, it was my introduction to the Mustang world! I owned that Mustang for 14 years before selling it after buying a 1969 Mach I.

I began driving at the same time the Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP) added Special Service Package (SSP) Mustangs to their arsenal. Although never pulled over by an MSHP Mustang, I would have the opportunity to admire them from afar over the next 8 years. MSHP Mustangs regularly prowled the single lane highways near the rural Missouri town where I attended/graduated from college. The SSP's were the hottest cars on the road at the time!

My last memories of in-service MSHP Mustang SSP's would be with my first employer following college graduation. I worked in the west suburbs of St. Louis, Missouri and periodically had the opportunity to observe them while commuting to the office. The MSHP used multiple colors, which significantly increased their stealth and the difficulty spotting these police vehicles. Fortunately for me, though, I was never the subject of seeing one of these Mustangs in my rear view mirror with emergency lights flashing.

A fascination with Mustang SSP's would go untapped until after my relocation to Minnesota some eight (8) years later. While looking at the magazine stand of the Barnes and Noble bookstore near my home, the November 2004 Mustang Monthly cover caught my attention. In the top right hand side were two (2) Mustang SSP’s pictured and the caption “Cop Cars! Special Service Mustangs” referencing an enclosed article. I proceeded to open this magazine and read the ensuing article with great interest. Who would have thought that any of these survived? And even more interestingly, who would have thought people were actually restoring these Mustangs?

Well it wasn't long after that I began researching SSP's in earnest. That same time I missed an opportunity to pursue a 1993 Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP) SSP that was for sale by a gentleman in Michigan. That SSP has since been through a few different owners and now resides with its owner in Minnesota. I kicked myself for a long time but we had relocated with my employer to Minnesota a couple years earlier and I had recently bought a 1969 Mach I. Just was bad time and no money to fund another Mustang.

The bug stuck and a couple of years later I bought my first SSP. A couple of years after that I had an opportunity to buy my 1993 MSHP SSP from a fellow forum member. I was not going to miss another opportunity at one of those and later this winter nearly 2 years afterwards I've completed returning it to in-service condition. Now nearly 6 years after buying that Mustang Monthly magazine I have no more non-SSP Mustangs in the garage, 2 SSP's have come and gone and 2 SSP's are in the stable (89 MSP and 93 MSHP). I'm hooked and have the bug for sure...get a ton of enjoyment out of this niche of the Mustang hobby!

[NoDrama43]

silly me......

I drove past a used car lot every day on the way to the PD. The lot always had a row of 6 or 8 four eyed FHP cars. Still black and tan with new gatorbacks, correct wheels, etc. This was in 1988/89. I thought they were cool but never had the sense to buy one. I bought my first one in 97 and have been in it ever since. I could never get my Chief to buy them though, so I guess I just had to have my own.

By coincidence i did buy an 85 FHP car in 2006. It was originally sold to a guy from that very lot I used to drive by. weird how things happen......... Evil owns it now .....

[chp1982]

I blame my slight obsession with Mustangs on my dad. He had a 25+ year career with Ford and during '88 or '89 he came home with his new company car, a red Mustang GT with a white top and white leather int. I was hooked. I got yelled at probably 100 times for getting in the car and pretending to drive it. Flash forward through quite a few Mustangs of my own, it was probably 2002 when I went to see an '84 CHP for sale. I passed on the car but really thought the SSP cars were cool and unique so I started to do some research. I bought the Ford Police Cars book with the 1982 CHP SSP on the cover. I absolutely loved it. Years went by and I had never seen one for sale let alone pictures of one that had survived the years. Around 2005, one came up on Ebay (M. Riley purchased it). It was way over my budget but I had the bug again. Another one came up on Ebay a couple years later and I bid stupid money on it. Thankfully I lost because not too long after that one was listed, 1982 CHP 0513 came along making me one happy guy!

[stadair]

I was in Fifth grade when the CHP started running these Mustangs up and down Highway 50 in California. In high school my grandmother's sister had the first civilian SSP Mustang I ever saw. She told me how she picked it up at a local auction. Around that time is when I knew I wanted a Mustang someday. I just happend to come across my particular SSP while looking through AutoTrader. I wasn't particularly looking for an SSP. But I knew what they were and the price looked right...and I had never had a coupe before. So, I bought this one and ten months later finally sold the convertible. I don't care to have the same thing as the guy next to me, or build the same thing. Nobody that I know of in my Mustang Club has a CHP Mustang. I like to be different.

[fallon312]

I had a boss 302 that was a trailer queen. I got tired of the car show issues and sold that car. I was then assigned to work homicide and was assigned a maroon 1990 slick top brand new SSP. I was hooked ever since. I remember working a kidnapping and having to travel to another jurisdiction to get the suspect. It was all freeway and I was really getting with it. In my rear view mirror I see a set of wig-wags and figure it is one of my partners coming to help. Well we get to the location and get the suspect into custody. We walk out side and there is the maddest CHP officer’s I have ever seen. His SSP was smoking and he could not keep up with us or catch us. He complained to his boss who complained to mine and well, we had to drive slower. I was hooked ever since. That car would never let me down and I drove that thing liked a raped ape. I will never forget that car and have had mustangs ever since.

[ssp91ssp]

These stories are great !!!!
Keep them coming.


fallen312, stories like these are NOT forgotten!
It's stories like these that we will talk to our young kids about as they learn about cars. I know i will.
Austin my 14yr old already knows some of you guys by just your user name and as i take him to school he wants to know stories like what's been posted.
To me this means that there is already a next generation loving the ssp's and this hobby.


ssp91ssp
Hec