Let’s take a peek behind the curtain of this law enforcement legend…
Back in the 1980s there was no internet (a shocking fact for some of our younger readers) and so we all heard these larger-than-life stories about all the crazy mods police cars were running. Some of the tallest tales told back in the day surrounded the Mustang SSP or Special Service Package for the Fox Body. Developed thanks to a special project conducted with the California Highway Patrol in 1982, these were used in other states like Florida.
A lot of people were fearful of these SSP Mustangs because they believed cops could use them to catch anything on the road. No doubt this perception was fueled in part by law enforcement as they sought to discourage people from making a run for it. Avid Mustang fans might have added some fuel to the fire, especially once they learned CHP passed on using the Camaro for high-speed enforcement, which was a major chest-beating moment for them.
Fortunately, YouTube channel Late Model Restoration got to put one of these cars on the dyno. This particular one pulled duty as a Florida Highway Patrol vehicle, terrorizing anyone who thought they could blast along the highways without consequences.
Some of theses SSP Mustangs were painted just like other patrol cars, making it obvious to anyone what they were. Others were just black with minimal cosmetic modifications, meaning they were stealthy in comparison to other cop vehicles. That added to the terror element for those who liked to break the law on the open road.
Now we can finally see what these SSP Fox Body Mustangs are all about. Well, we kind of get to see, because the one in question has been modified, so it’s not just like what the cops were running back in the 80s. Still, it’s interesting to see just what kind of power this thing is throwing down and how it compares to the Mustangs and other muscle cars of today.
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