Today, I bring you the September 2010 Mustang of the Month, in cooperation with the folks from the Mustang Owners Club of South Eastern Michigan (MOCSEM). For August, we featured a 2003 Mustang Cobra (more commonly known as a Terminator) and this month we take a look at an original factory-production Ford Mustang police car, owned by Toshi Adair.
The Ford Mustang SSP (Special Service Package) was a rare, factory police package offered on and off through the 1980s and 1990s in the Fox Body era of the Mustang. The SSP Mustangs featured a variety of beefed up items like an engine oil cooler, reinforced seatbacks, a 130 amp alternator, and a full size spare tire. The SSP Mustang also deleted a variety of items “unimportant” for police work like the door moldings, door lamp switches, and exterior stripes. Paint schemes varied depending on where the SSP Mustang was sent to work but the 5.0L V8 under the hood made the 1993 SSP Mustang a confident pursuit vehicle.
Toshi Adair had this to say about his 1993 Ford Mustang SSP:
This is my 1993 Special Service Package Ford Mustang LX, the fifth and newest Mustang I have owned. I found it in the spring of 2008 in California through AutoTrader. I practically bought it sight unseen. I saw a few pictures, but for the price and for what it was, an SSP Mustang, I was willing to take the risk. It arrived in Michigan on Sunday, July 13, the day of our annual Midway Golf car show. I left the show to receive the car and brought it back for all to see.
Upon inspection, it was just about what I had expected. Being that the car sat in Las Vegas for the past five years, the paint was faded good by the sun. The driver’s seat bracket was broken, the A/C had no refrigerant, and there was coolant leaking from somewhere which was later found to be the heater core. All of these issues have been addressed.
This Special Service Package (SSP) Mustang LX is one of 611 built by Ford in 1993. And it just happens that my particular Mustang rolled off the Dearborn Assembly Line on my 21st birthday, November 9, 1992. It was sold in a fleet by Ron Dupratt Ford in Dixon, CA on December 1, 1992. Originally painted black & white (white doors & roof) for the California Highway Patrol, it somehow missed patrol duty and was shipped off to some government agency which I am still in the process of tracking down. Working for the government, it was then painted a medium gray. Upon auction to the civilian market, it was sprayed the Reef Blue as you see it today. I am believed to be the fourth owner.
The Special Service Package adds these items to a regular Mustang LX coupe: a relocated remote deck lid release from glove box, an engine oil cooler, a single-key locking both door and trunk, reinforced front seatbacks, reinforced floor pan, deleted under hood sound absorber, a disconnected engine bay lamp, a certified and calibrated 160mph speedometer, anti RFI bonding straps, VASCAR 2 piece speedometer cable, deleted paint stripe, deleted door molding, 130 amp alternator, inoperative courtesy lamp door switches, full size spare-tire with appropriate cover board and a low coolant sensor which would normally come with the GT.
My goal with this Mustang is to bring it back to what it looked like from the factory. So far I've reinstalled the factory air box, fan & clutch and ten-hole wheels. If you get a chance to see the car in person, you can see where the Reef Blue paint has chipped, revealing white or black paint underneath. Eventually it will get a new paint job and new carpet and upholstery. The only thing I wish is that I still had the 1990 convertible Mustang LX that was sold to purchase this wonderful SSP. I did have the two together for a period and they looked good parked next to each other in the family garage.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Congratulations to Toshi Adair and his 1993 Ford Mustang SSP for being the Detroit Autos Examiner’s September Mustang of the Month and a big thanks to the Mustang Owners Club of South Eastern Michigan (MOCSEM) for providing the winners each month. Check out the gallery on the left for a better look at his 1993 SSP and stay tuned to your Detroit Autos Examiner for my monthly Mustang features and news from around the automotive world!
For more Mustang of the Month awards from MOCSEM and the Detroit Autos Examiner, check out these links:
Comments