This Mustang Police Car Was Highway Patrol’s Secret Weapon During The ’80s
The latest webisode of Jay Leno’s Garage features a Ford Mustang police car, from the ’80s. The Patrol car comes complete with a trunk full of period-accurate accessories.
Jay Leno’s Garage kicked off the New Year with an exciting car. In the YouTube channel’s latest webisode, Jay offers an in-depth look at a 1982 Ford Mustang Highway Patrol car. The video also features former Highway Patrol officer Rich Sappakowski. The duo discussed the car’s interesting history along with that of the Highway Patrol during the 80s. Sappakowski happened to be on the pilot program for the Fox body Mustang patrol car.
Jay Leno shared his insights on the Fox body Mustang patrol car. “This is a 1982 Ford Mustang police car. Now, if you’ve never heard of that, it was sort of a revolutionary idea back in the early 80s. You know they (Police) were driving those Crown Vics. And there were a lot of young comedians driving fast cars, and the cops couldn’t catch them,” said Leno. He further added, “The Highway Patrol figured, we’ve got to figure out some way to catch these guys, and they came up with this the Ford Mustang.”
The car comes complete with a trunk full of accessories, including jump cables, a first aid kit, fire extinguishers, an animal snare, and a box full of flares. At the front, we find a 5-liter V8 with a cold air intake which sucks airs from under the wheel well.
The wheels of this Mustang police car are wrapped in a set of Goodrich radial tires which were rated for sustained high-speed pursuits.
As a result, the tires had to be replaced as soon as they were slightly damaged. The Fox body Mustang patrol car’s carburated powerplant could produce 157 HP of power in its factory tune. A four-speed manual gearbox sends the power to the rear wheels. In addition to the heavy-duty alternator, the patrol cars also came equipped with reinforced floor pans.
“This Ford chases Porsches for a living” was the slogan used by the marketing team for the promotional campaign of this fox body Mustang patrol car. “It is amazing how unremarkable this car is. It is because when it came out in the day, oh it’s got the cop engine it’s got the cop thing you know it’s a high performance, but it’s really not. Just a two-barrel mustang,” said Leno.
Image Source: Jay Leno’s Garage
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