1985 Ford Mustang CHP Car

1985 Ford Mustang CHP Car

1985 FORD MUSTANG CHP CAR BACKGROUND
As engines grew smaller and cars became slower in the late 70s and early 80s, it became difficult for police agencies to find cars that were fast enough to do high-speed pursuit duty. The California Highway Patrol asked Ford to come up with a suitable car. The Fox-body Mustang with a 5.0 V8 was the answer. Light, agile, decent handling, and plenty of power (at least for the day). Whether to accommodate this new market, or to create it, Ford wisely pieced together the ‘Special Service Package’ or SSP starting in 1982 and running through the 1993 model year, when the Fox-body platform was retired, during which time around 15,000 were produced for 60 different government and law enforcement agencies. Only such government entities could buy them new from Ford, and many were custom-ordered to fit the needs of that department, or the type of work it would be doing. During this era, Ford took full advantage of the publicity with an ad campaign with the tagline “This Ford chases Porches for a living”.

ABOVE: Even today the 1985 Ford Mustang CHP Car presents an imposing presence. You didn’t want to see one in your rearview. The rims are aftermarket, this would have had alloy “10-holes” from the factory.

ABOVE & BELOW: There were three bodystyles of 1985 Ford Mustangs, the Coupe, the Hatchback or Fastback, and the Convertible. Both the Convertibles and the Hatchbacks were too heavy and their chassis weren’t stiff enough when compared to the Coupe. Because of this, Mustang Coupes, once considered the “cheap Mustang”, now became sought-after by racers who wanted to save some weight and have a nice stiff platform to build off of.

A DISPLAY OF CLASSIC POLICE CARS
These photos were taken at the 2016 Pacific Coast Dream Machines car show/air show in Half Moon Bay CA. Every year this club shows up with all their old cop cars. These Mustangs are always popular, but they also have the big Dodge Polaras from the 60s and going back further than that.


1985 Ford Mustang CHP Car SPECIFICATONS

Production, all ’85 Mustangs
Production, 85 GT only
Production, Special Service
Assembly plant
Price when new (MSRP)
Wheelbase
Length
Width
Height
Track, front
Track, rear
Weight
Fuel capacity
Brakes, front
Brakes, rear
Suspension, front
Suspension, rear
Steering
Wheels
Tires
GT ENGINE:
302cid/5.0L OHV V8
Fuel system w/5-speed
Fuel system w/AOD auto
Compression ratio
Engine output w/5-speed
Engine output w/AOD
156,514
42,428
316
Dearborn MI
$12,145-14,250
100.5″
179.3″
69.1″
52.1″
56.5″
57″
3,160 lbs
15.4 US gal
10″ disks
9″ drums
Independent
Live axle
Rack & pinion
15″ X 7″
225/60ZR-15Carburetor
Fuel injection
8.4:1
210hp @ 4000rpm
180hp @ 4000rpm
Modified strut, coils, sway bar
4-link, coils, sway bar
Power-assist, 15.3:1 ratio
Alloy, “10-hole”-style
Goodyear Gatorbacks

Holley 600cfm 4-barrel
CFI throttle-body EFI

270 lb-ft @ 3000rpm
260 lb-ft @ 3000rpm