Pennsylvanians Tom and Donna Gouldy enjoy a good life because they have consistently met their goals along the way. A case in point is this '89 Special Service Mustang Police Interceptor acquired from the Florida Highway Patrol. It took the Gouldys more than a year to nail down this one, but it was worth it. The Gouldys bought this Mustang through a dealer in Syracuse, New York, who had purchased the car at a Florida auto auction.
When the '89 was doing pavement duty in Florida, it was known as Unit No. 1526, stationed at Troop H in Madison. Since the Florida Highway Patrol will not sell these retired cars in the FHP colors, the car was repainted in white, and then sent off to auction. It had just 72,000 miles showing.
The Gouldys decided to restore the SS Mustang back to its as-delivered condition. The restoration took the expertise of Glazier's Mustang Barn in Souderton, Pennsylvania, where the bodywork and painting was done. What discouraged the Gouldys during the restoration was the pricing and limited availability of Fox-chassis Mustang parts. What surprised them was how many of the parts are obsolete today-just 10 years after this car rolled off the Dearborn assembly line.
Without a doubt, a Mustang such as this has a wealth of memories from its time as a Florida cop car. The Gouldys found a spent 9mm shell in the trunk, a mud dauber's nest on the fuel tank, and gasoline receipts-which enabled them to talk with the trooper who drove the Mustang-and more.
In 1996 the car took the Award of Excellence at the Mustang Club of America's 20th Anniversary bash in Atlanta. Other coveted awards include First Place at an MCA National Show in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and a Second Place in Somerset, New Jersey-not bad for a retired cop car.
Taking the wheel of a ride such as this is the best part about owning an SS Mustang. It's a real road car with a five-speed, 5.0L H.O. performance, and extraordinary handling. The 3.08:1 axle ratio allows excellent acceleration, coupled with a top end of 160 mph. Those blue cooling system hoses are specific to the SS Mustang-designed to take extremes of heat and pressure that come with long idle periods and sudden blasts onto the super slab. Other SS Mustang features include a relocated remote decklid release, an engine oil cooler, reinforced front floorpans, a single-key locking system, an auxiliary transmission cooler (automatics only), a heater hose inlet restricter, and black cast-aluminum wheels.
The Gouldys also enjoy a '65 Mustang convertible clad in Caspian Blue that's driven occasionally as Pennsylvania weather permits. And this brings home a point: You can have it all when you're committed to excellence, preserving history, and a finer quality called special performance.