SSP Police Package: 1987 Ford Mustang LX
Decades ago during my formative years, I used to dream of attending one of our local Metro Police auctions and buying a patrol car that was being retired from the department’s fleet. Back in the eighties, it wasn’t uncommon in my hometown of Nashville, Tennessee, to score a Crown Vic with the Police Package for around a thousand dollars, as this was typically the opening bid and many of these cruisers sold for that or not much over. Those days of automotive bargains have long since passed, but it’s still exciting to see former law enforcement cars come on the market, especially when they’re of the Ford Mustang variety. SSP are the three magic letters for a Fox body, and this 1987 model comes equipped with all the right stuff.
Ford’s high-performance Special Service Package, or SSP for short, must have been a trooper’s dream come true. The package was available on the Mustang LX from 1982 to the end of the pony car’s third-generation run in 1993, with an estimated total of around 15,000 so-equipped units produced during this period. This particular example previously served the Florida State Highway Patrol, and it must have run down plenty of bad guys as there are over 150,000 miles on the ticker.
However, quite some time has passed since this one’s seen any pursuit action or much civilian use for that matter. The seller says the Mustang has been displayed in a museum for the past 20 years as part of a collection that belongs to his father, but due to health issues, it’s now being sold along with the rest of the herd. No details are provided regarding what sort of attention the exterior has received, and while it’s not perfect, the body still displays reasonably well considering the kind of use this one probably had along with all those miles.
The “E” in the VIN indicates a 225 horsepower 5.0 engine, which has recently been tuned up and gotten a new fuel pump. There’s also a new set of tires, and the Mustang is currently running and driveable around the lot. The seller mentions that this one was given a nitrous system before being delivered to the FHP in ’87, and while the lines are still present, the tank is no longer there. More good news in the drivetrain department is the transmission, which is a 5-speed manual.
Considering its history, the interior doesn’t look all that bad, but a fresh carpet and perhaps sourcing some lumbar seats from a GT of a similar vintage might make things feel a lot more inviting inside. This one would take some work to bring up to a high level, but the coupe could be close to adequate for just a fun weekend cruiser. This 1987 Ford Mustang LX SSP is for sale in Eatonton, Georgia, and can be seen here on eBay, where a couple of bids have taken the price to $8,095 and there’s no reserve. What are your thoughts on this ex-patrol Fox body?
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Comments
No, no, I’m not going there again with these( cough,, heater core) but I’ll be darned. I never heard of a nitrous system on any police car, but by golly, tis’ true. LEO departments could order several options, and nitrous was one of them, however, on the option list for SSPs, the 82-85 were nothing special, but the ’86 and on had a list of features, but none mention nitrous. I don’t buy it, and a SSP was fast enough, a nitrous system isn’t something normally associated with a police car. Believe it or not, they did have a budget to follow.
Epilogue: Having had this car, I can honestly say, I hated it. No, not just the heater core debacle, lots of cars have inaccessible ones, it was just a poor design, and like all these V8 small cars, the V8 was too much. Learned that from the Mustang ll. Museum a good place for it, scary as heck to drive. Just ask the troopers that drove one.
Too, one of the things often talked about with these: the big HP in a small car with a live rear had was a hard lesson taught to some that hadn’t pushed one around before, not knowing how to steer with the rear wheels as on a circle dirt track.
I had two of these Fox bodies, an ’86 GT and a ’90 LX. Both 5 speeds, and I guess I just knew how to drive them. Never got scared, though those Eagle gatorbacks were no go on the slightest snowfall.
I was one of those guys. Had a guardian angel looking after me Halloween eve 1995. I was young and like many teenage boys, I had feelings of invincibility driving on near bald rear tires during the first rain of the season that night. Lost control going in excess of 60mph and a high curb bordering an expressway offramp launched me end over end down the grade. After flipping at least three / four times the notchback came to a rest on all fours. Engine broke away from the motor mounts and the passenger roof was collapsed chest high. If I would’ve had a passenger..well, I hate to think what would have been. I was fortunate to not have anyone else in the car and somehow I only suffered rather minor injuries: broken clavicle and two ribs. When my dad went to the wrecking yard to retrieve some items out of the car for me he took some pics of the Mustang, it looked even worse in daylight. Hard to believe I walked away from that one…
Nitrous as a factory option on any car is laughable, at best…it never ceases to amaze me the b.s. that some people concoct. You would be correct in your assumption that, no, a nitrous oxide injection system was never an “option”, nor was it ever used, by any police department, lol!!!
I’m surprised that the FHP didn’t order these with the optional 12’ snorkel air intake and same length exhaust extension.
I’m not sure what “optional 12″ snorkel” you are talking about, as that never existed and,the same goes for the exhaust, lol…these cars all came with the exact, same factory exhaust which was 2 1/4″ the entire way back, with stainless tailpipes that were all the same, full length. This car featured is a mess that has many aftermarket, backyard modifications…like the cheesy exhaust and fiberglass hood.
Not to be frank but imagine the pee and vomit stains in the caged in back seat? Cop cars are horrible investments, they are driven my amateurs recklessly, they are never properly maintained and sell for pennies on the dollar at auctions. Whomever is bidding 8k on this compete hunk of crap is a x-cop or just plain nuts. Donate it to the local law enforcement agency and let them scrap it for cash. Nitrous on a cop car only means it fell into the hands of the bad guys, not the other way around! jv smashpalace
Fox SSP are highly desired and collectible, as author Mike has pointed out. I’m sure this example will find a new loving owner who will refurbish and enjoy it.
I don’t like to prattle on about classic car prices being too high and this and that. That’s market determined and is what it is. I will say though I never quite got why these SSP cars sell for a pretty large premium over the regular 5.0s. Police cars lead a hard life which is a drawback, especially when the car has significant miles as this one does. And while the SSP has some special features that are no doubt very interesting, the performance difference is miniscule if non-existent because the upgrades were generally designed for severe service use, which no collector car is going to endure in 2024. Just my $.02. GLWTS tho!
Maybe because, in their law-enforcement liveries, they have a cool, no-nonsense look. And the owners value that over the lack of performance difference.
That’s cool. Obviously there is value here for some and I’m not knocking it. But then again, I’m one of the few weirdos who likes the 1987-93 GTs best of all, LOL!
Typically the Mustangs did not get used for carrying crooks, so the back seat has likely seen little use. Most of these were highway patrol. However, that included many hours idling.
Without evidence cog the NOS kit being installed at the dealership it should be considered owner installed once it was sold to the public. When I worked in auto parts we stocked that kit, it was among the most popular modifications for 5.0 Fox body Mustangs. We were located just south of Oakland and dealt with a lot of Mustang owners, gears, Hurst shifter, air intake, Flowmaster mufflers and Centerforce clutches were the only modifications that were more popular. The NOS kit really woke them up, it was relatively inexpensive compared to a new set of cylinder heads, cam swap.
Steve R
Hmmmm… I’ve owned two SSP Foxes and have seen many, many others but never one yet with a cage in the back for the containment of pee and vomit. By “never properly maintained”, I’d guess you’re assuming that after they left service that they were all owned by irresponsible cheap b@stards too broke to maintain the vehicle? Ummm…OK. Granted, this one does not present well at all, but the SSP Mustangs have a strong and loyal following and there are still many well kept, much loved examples. I’d love to have my ‘90 NCHP SSP Mustang back and would buy it back in a skinny minute.
This car was clearly owned and raced by a speed freak after the police were done with it. Cop cars didn’t have nitrous, billet underdrive pulleys, faux ram-air hoods and cobbled exhaust. It appears that the factory rearend was swapped out for the 7.5″ axle from a 2.3L car. I wonder about this being a 5-speed, too, since most were automatics. A patrolman’s right hand was needed for the radio, radar, coffee, etc. so the stick wasn’t popular. It’s a popular swap, though, and easily done. A Marti report should be the first money spent after purchase.
This example’s had a partial repaint and the “STATE TROOPER” lettering was clearly re-applied after its racing days were over (it looks quite fresh). The “museum” appears to be a used car dealer, based on the advertising tag in the rear… there are a lot of suspicious details here.
I think the price is already beyond someone shopping their next drag car. These cars are becoming popular restoration projects, not because they’re Mustangs as much as for their police heritage. Cop-car guys are true enthusiasts. I hope this one gets a good home with one of ’em.
Like Roland sez, the back seat was never used for transport. Another downside was they had to call another full-size cruiser or paddy wagon for transport. While I do agree that cop cars are driven rough, or excessively idled, I disagree with JE^^,, that they were driven by amateurs recklessly. I believe officers got special training with SSPs, and considering how many were used, very few were crashed. A Neb. State Patrol was clocked at 146 mph with one. I was surprised to see out of the almost 15,000 SSPs made, most were the 5 speed.
Say what you will about this thing, but I have two opinions of it. I will NEVER believe that ANY P.D. any where equipped any of their cars with nitrous, and this little darlin’ is WAY overpriced.
I thought police stopped buying Mustangs because they caught fire.
No such thing as a factory nitrous car, SSP or otherwise. Could you imagine the warranty claims? And I couldn’t imagine a police department installing gas on a in -service patrol vehicle. They prize dependability and up time plus cops would kill themselves with the extra power. These were plenty fast in their day out of the box. FHP had quite a few that were manuals, the AOD automatic sucked a lot of performance out of that Windsor.
I lived in Florida, Daytona and Amelia Island, a total of 24 years beginning in 92. I was there when these were in service and never seen one sitting idle nor carrying a crook in the backseat. They were strictly high pursuit and dialed up when someone was speeding from the regular cops up or down I-95 or I-4. I was between Jacksonville and St Augustine on Christmas day, coming back from Ky in my Honda Accord on I-95 running between 80 and 90 because hardly anyone was on the road that day. Looked in my rearview and saw one coming with both headlights flashing simultaneously. I slowed down and was about to pull over and that thing went by me so fast it rocked the car. A guy I worked with had a green one with the full package plus a scoop under the right front bumper for fresh air induction, 5 speed car. It was used by a former detective in Daytona and purchased it with low miles. He was afraid of it due to swapping ends a few too many times and sold it. I wish I had bought that and held onto it.
At 225 hp, he could catch my Maverick hybrid (191hp)…(unless he had a long gun, a shotgun, extra ammunition and for all 3 guns, ballistic vest, water rescue, first aid equipment, statute books, infraction books, misdemeanor books, consent to search along with dozens of other paper forms for that time period that would have given it a nose up look and good traction. Don’t forget at least one 2-way radio as big as a small suitcase.
But back then there wasn’t much that could outrun it. Considering it weighed roughly 3000 Lb’s the car ran well for what it was. Can’t compare them to today’s vehicles. Heck, my 2023 F150 Is faster than my 70 GTO! 400 Hp & 500Ft of torque, 13.73 at 99.6 mph in the 1/4, crazy! No comparison there. In its day it was a formable car to try to outrun. Handled ok for the day also, if trained on how to drive it as troopers were. These cars weren’t beat on like a local cop car. They drove them home and did take good care of them. So most really had a decent life. They weren’t pooled like sheriff or local cars.