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!