1986 Utah SSP Rescue

[86UtahSSP]

Cobra Jet, thank you for the comments. I found the license plates on EBay. I’m really pleased with the patina plate. It has several years staked on each other. Possibly saw service on an SSP in its day!

Bill, thank you for the comments. I really grew attached to the patina so I threw some Poppy’s Patina high gloss to seal it in.

Rick

[86UtahSSP]

A little work has gone into the car since last year. Thanks to community members like Anthony and Jon, I was able to source some OE SSP wheels and sand beige seats. Juan got me hooked up with some Utah door decals. I was also able to install some new KYB rear shocks and quad shocks to reduce some of the rough ride. I’m excited to get the car displayed at Carlisle in a couple weeks. More photos to come once the car gets staged at the show. I hope to see some other SSPs there!

[86UtahSSP]

So many of you probably saw the photos of the car from Carlisle. It definitely has come a long way in the past year and a half. Other than some small items (headliner, sun visors, etc), it is time to decide how far this will go. Does this go to paint and body? Do I just mitigate the rust on the undercarriage and engine compartment, leaving the body panels patina? The engine also has several seeping leaks from bad gaskets, so I’d like to pull it and do a refresh, but try to avoid a full rebuild. Let me know your thoughts!

[Cobra Jet]

Well, the question is kind of open ended. The bigger question should be how far do you want to go with it from a financial perspective?

The engine aspect, definitely reseal it and go through it (new timing chain, new oil pump, gaskets, thermostat, etc). The engine is easy, tons of Ford 5.0 parts around to refresh it.

Do you want a nut/bolt resto from ground up, or do you want it restored so some patina is left?

It does look cool with the Patina though, have to admit it shows “use” which we all know these SSP’s were not rolling showrooms when they were in service…. They were driven, in some cases hard, but always Fleet maintained. They showed signs of paint chips, door dings, scrapes, scratches, wear/tear etc.

IMO and don’t get me wrong, a totally nut and bolt SSP restoration is neat, it’s like it just rolled off the factory floor - BUT then after all that time/money, some are afraid to drive the and get dust on them or risk a rock chip etc. At that level of restoration and worries what fun is the car then if the owner is going to be afraid to take it out and cruise it?

My 93 is restored with patina. I like it like that, it shows it was used and I don’t really care if it doesn’t meet the level of a full blown resto comparison. Meaning, when it was in TX after it was auctioned and owned by several, it was repainted back to its proper marked colors. The exterior, interior and engine bay when I received it, was not in very good shape. It literally took me 1.5 days just to buff the exterior (compound/polish) to get it to look decent. It is in nice shape but there’s some imperfections from use. The interior of the engine bay and chassis shows its “use” or patina along the inner fenders, K-member, firewall, and rad support. The interior, I removed everything except the dash shell and re-dyed back to its original color. The carpet my wife and I cleaned it very well. The seats, well I haven’t found front LX seats yet that are correct so right now it has 1990 tweed sport seats in it.

Overall, it’s in good shape - it’s clean with the patina as mentioned. I’m fixing things as I go just like anyone else, but I will not be doing any nut/bolt restoration nor will the chassis or engine bay look brand new. I am fixing things with correct Ford parts when I can find them. I’m also gathering period correct equipment as well so it can be like it was when in-service. I don’t have the funds to go that deep. PLUS as I mentioned above, I AM THAT GUY who would be so concerned after spending all that $$$ about getting a nut/bolt restoration chipped, damaged etc that it just wouldn’t be fun to drive or cruise it. As it sits now, I keep it clean, I can drive it anywhere and don’t have any such concerns if a rock from the road pings off the side of the car or bugs bounce off the front bumper cover. I mean I am very OCD with it as far as detailing it and the details as to how it presents, and I’m careful when driving, but know what I mean?

As far as the financial aspect - weigh it out IF doing a total ground up to showroom new restoration…. What I mean is, will you ever recoup the total $$$ vested in the vehicle from purchase, to repairs, to the ground up resto job? If you’re upside down if needing to sell, then all the time/money put in didn’t mean anything other than enjoying doing it…

These SSP’s are fun, a challenge today to gather all of the period correct equipment, and they definitley get attention at shows and on the road.

It’s like keep it fun and be able to drive it, or have a gigantic 1:18 scale model that collects dust, stare at it because you don’t want to drive it in fear of dust/bugs/road debris or don’t want it to get rained on… LOL…