The other love in my life..my '85 Mustang

Evil D · #1

I could probably make a multi page thread telling the story of this car. It was originally a Kentucky Highway Patrol pursuit car (SSP is what they were known as from the factory, which stood for Special Service Package, which notated the special equipment installed for police/service duty). It is one of only 10 cars used by KY in '85 for police duty, so it's rare in that aspect, and factory V8 5 speed '85 coupes are hard to find as it is. It was retired in '01 so it had a long life. The previous owner built it up as a drag car for his wife and she raced it for a couple years until i took it off their hands. By the time i got it, there wasn't much SSP left...it was basically a street/strip car. Because of that, and knowing i had the racing bug, there were never plans to restore it back to police duty condition.

Lots of bolt on parts and go fast stuff, and fast forward a couple years...i had always had a love for the '79 Pace Car Mustangs and the '82 GT, because they used a unique front nose and valance that no other Mustang ever got. Ford never used that nose on a coupe body, and being partial to the coupes i had always wanted to swap the nose over and make it happen. My chance came when a friend stumbled upon a parts car way out in the country that had the nose i wanted on it. This is how it got the menacing front end.

In '08 i finally got serious and built a 347ci stroker for it, with all the usual goodies. It dynoed 362hp/364tq at the wheels on a Dynojet chassis dyno. Considering it's running on some old school ported '69 Mach 1 heads, i'm pretty happy with the numbers.

Anyways, for years the car looked pretty beat. I got it with a crappy Maaco paint job, and then when i swapped the nose the front end was black and the rear was blue so we spray bombed it in black/gray primer which is how it looked for years. Then, the doors rusted out and got replace with some red doors...it was pretty run down looking. Needless to say it was quite a sleeper looking the way it did and having the power it has.

Well, the car has sat in a shop now for 15 months getting some on and off body work and prep for paint, and yesterday it finally got sprayed. This morning i got my first look of it and i'm in love all over again. It still has some work to be done before it's back on the road but i couldn't resist taking some cell phone pics to share with the various forums i'm on.

The color is a Lexus color called Desert Sage Metallic...

Pics do not do the color justice....plus it was early this morning in low rainy light...this thing looks outrageous in the sun.

rosconey · #2

some day ill do my 62 polara-have a 484 stroker for it-

but its such a basket case and parts are impossible to find i will have to hit the lottery to ever see it run-lol

still i trudge on and buy what i can when i find it for that one day the stars align

btw -the stang looks sweet-hey at least it aint a cheby

tonydahose · #3

very nice, congrats :)

psimonl · #4

Sorry to say this, but it's not the nicest car I've seen.........

But just like the Motorcycle I had, it must be the thrill of a life time..... The car that just YOU know how to handle.... The Beast that only YOU can control.....The Machinery that YOU know way in and way out....

The only thing (or person) you can rely on because YOU know, if something goes wrong, YOU will know how to fix it.

You were made for each other....

Just like Dr. Frankenstein......

Too bad life is not that way with...

Lover

Children

Work

people

Neighbords

Yourself.......

Sorry.... I don't feel good...

Simon

Evil D · #5

Yeah, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Not everyone loves boxy '80s cars, but 420hp sure does help the like factor :D

StangBang · #6

Hard to find those ol four eye foxes! I'm diggin the swapped front end, definitely a look you never see. :D

That paint almost reminds me of the legend lime paint, I like it. It is definitely different. I love the black wheel combo too, were those specific to the SSP units?

Great numbers as well :) Being in such a light body helps too

I'm lookin forward to some glamour shots from you :D

Blerv · #7

Nicest looking 85 I've seen :) . I generally prefer the 87+ foxes but that's sharp! I had a modded 84 Mustang SVO and our family built up a 88 procharged track car.

Thx for sharing :) !

Evil D · #8

StangBang wrote:Hard to find those ol four eye foxes! I'm diggin the swapped front end, definitely a look you never see. :D

That paint almost reminds me of the legend lime paint, I like it. It is definitely different. I love the black wheel combo too, were those specific to the SSP units?

Great numbers as well :) Being in such a light body helps too I'm lookin forward to some glamour shots from you :D

Theyre ARE 16s, the same as what some of the fox Saleens ran. It originally had steel 15s on it.

Blerv wrote:Nicest looking 85 I've seen :) . I generally prefer the 87+ foxes but that's sharp! I had a modded 84 Mustang SVO and our family built up a 88 procharged track car.

Thx for sharing :) !

Thanks, it sure has come a long way, ill post some progress pics when im not on my phone. It isnt quite finished yet but very close. Ill have nicer pics hopefully this weekend. Its similar to legend lime but its more olive toned and in low light the shadows almost look gray. You can stand by it on a partly cloudy day and watch it change colors as the clouds block the sun.

Evil D · #9

If you couldn't tell by looking at it, the rear bumper cover is missing in those pics...it hadn't been painted yet when i took those pics. Anyway here's a bunch of random pics from back when i first got it and how it's changed over the years. It pretty much went from ugly to uglier but it has always gotten faster and faster :D

When i first got it...huge/cheap fiberglass hood, aluminum spares used as drag skinnies in front, cheap Maaco paint job...not much to look at.

Got a different hood, albeit a different color...matching rims and cleaned it up a little

Here's the engine i started with. It was dirty but ran fantastic.

A little elbow grease..and later some spray paint

The first real go fast parts i put on it (besides a 3.73 gear and exhaust that it came with) were a Stealth intake and 650 Holley, along with some nicer valve covers to clean it up a little. By now it also had full length headers, an electric fan, ditched the AC/smog, and an aluminum drive shaft.

Evil D · #10

Then the nose swap happened. I came across a parts car, couldn't resist and in a few hours it took on a whole different attitude.

Then it got sprayed in primer and got some Weld Draglites

It stayed that way for ages until i came across my ARE rims (still primer, just wet in these pics)

Then i built the 347 and cleaned out the engine bay some more

(crappy cell pic of the stroker on the stand)

Evil D · #11

Rewired the engine bay and gutted all the unnecessary wiring (absolute nightmare)

But it eventually came out looking like this (scroll back up and check out that first engine pic...it's come a looong way)

Dyno tuned the stroker (also had swapped on some rust free doors)

Once the paint is finished, it's getting a new Edelbrock Victor Jr. intake and a custom built Pro Systems carb, and the original valve covers have been powdercoated and are going back on after all these years.

Here's an exhaust clip of the 347 running, and a couple passes i made in it back when it was a 302 just with heads/intake/cam installed. I haven't raced the 347 yet since it's been in the shop for paint.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRMzXl6NAWc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Opa1JPaU_Zg

It still had a lot left in it with the 302...it didn't hook for crap and would spin 1/2/3 gears even on drag radials. With more traction i think it would've gone 12.5s...not bad for over 250,000 miles on that engine. I'm hoping for mid 11s with the 347.

Donut · #12

Nice car. I adjusted the colors a bit and excuse me that I went a little overboard on the bright side, some of the whites got washed out.

I imagine this is what it looks like in the sun.

StangBang · #13

Great pictures man it really has come a long way!!!!
I like the looks of the drag lites too

I love it man thanks for taking the time to share :cool:

tonydahose · #14

wow, you did a ton of work. it looks like someone was plaing with a drill in that paasenger strut tower :D

Evil D · #15

tonydahose wrote:wow, you did a ton of work. it looks like someone was plaing with a drill in that paasenger strut tower :D

Yeah these cars are bad for that. You figure the factory put holes in for so many reasons, on six different engine options up to '85 and each year the hole locations just got revised and added to so there are holes that werent even used. I really wanna weld them all up and paint the engine bay but that didnt happen. Its getting painted but not welded up.

tonydahose · #16

spackle :D

FLYBYU44 · #17

Love those Mustangs. My Brother used to have a 82 hatchback, just looked like crap because he gutted the inside and painted it flat black, it had a 400hp 5.0 in it though. He had a automatic in it that you shifted manually at full throttle. He let me drive it one day and it was a rush, hammering through the gears, smoked the tires right past second gear. :) He even took all the carpet and spare tire out to make it lighter, plus most the dash, he's a little crazy like that. :D

fret · #18

That is a nice one. I have always like Mustangs. I used to undercoat the new ones back in "64". I got to drive a few of them. I wanted one but I did not have the cash to get one. Mustangs are nice.

2edgesword · #19

Evil D, glad you're making some headway with your project car.

Mustangs have gone through quite an evolution during their history. I was always enamored with the early '70's generation of Mustang. Fortunately for me the 2008 saw the retro of the Mustang back to something similar to that early '70's style and what I didn't have the means to buy back then I can afford today :) ...

StangBang · #20

Hmm all these other Mustang fans... Maybe we should start a pic thread