1985 Florida Highway Patrol #1422
 

Some of you may have seen the posts about the upcoming get-together at Jim's place (Ohio) in July. In addition to spending some good times with good people, the purpose of the trip is so that I can start work on the '85 FHP car pictured below. I found the car a few years ago in Ohio and told Jim about it. He ended up buying it, holding onto it for me, then selling it to me a short time later. It's been in his barn ever since, waiting on me to pick it up.

It's an original 100K mile car, but who knows what we'll find when we tear into it. I've already got a ton of NOS and replacement parts for it, including a complete top end from a 3K mile '85 that was being torn apart to be raced. I've also got every single correct piece of e-equipment for it, including a new-in-the-box Jetsonic lightbar and JSS controller to match.

This will be my first resto, and the only thing I won't be doing myself is the paint. Jim's neighbor, who restores Corvettes out of his shop, is going to paint it for me.

Another one.

Interior shot.

Wow Mike! That '85 is A LOT nicer than I expected. That's going to be a fun project.

Get the Zip-locks and Sharpies ready!!!

Thanks....it needs alot of TLC, but I can't wait. I haven't had time to do much to any of my cars in awhile, so I'm really looking forward to this.

Those and the camera. :yes:

very nice! nice catch, definitely in a lot better shape than mine. :2thumbs:

Very nice looking project material. Another completed 4-eye SSP is a good thing! Be sure to share some photos of your progress.

The car looks great even like it is, she will be a beauty restored! Can't wait to start seeing the progress!

Thanks guys....I will take plenty of pics to share.

So will this one be ready in time for various shows in 2012?

We shall see.....

Hey, Mike, if you pass through Memphis on the way, give me a call and we can hook up.

Nice looking project ya got there. Can't wait to watch the progress.

Greg

going to be a good time. My paint guy is expecting the car on that Saturday and I have a huge pile of boxes ready for stuff. I have to paint the wall where the shelf is going then build the shelf to keep all parts for this car in one spot. Planning on having that done prior to the arrival of the dissasembly team.

This car is an excellent restoration candidate for sure.

here is where we will be working on the 85...... about where the white Colorado car is sitting...... not much room to work.....

so I have been working on this end......to get all the cars moved and out of our way... :)

one more view....

Mike good luck with the renno...Jim the garage looks great! Funny that Jim didn't mention his neighbor works on Vettes...he's tight lipped about having friends with a Bowtie! :D

more progress to get ready for SSP Week in Ohio. I still have to put up the ceiling, blow in insulation, and hang the gas furnace and lights. That should be done this fall. I have a bunch more stuff to hang on the walls too. I am hoping to finally have this done in time to close it up and turn on the heat when it starts getting cold out later this fall. Garage door installer is coming in two weeks to close off this room from the rest of the barn.

Great space Jim! Can't wait to see it completed.:thumbsup:

thanks. I built it in 2006....hopefully it won't take me another 5 years to get it done. I retire in 4 years and that is my target date to have everything finished and ready for full time restoration projects. This weeks project is going to be a trial run on a few things.....

The barn is looking fantastic Jim! Can't wait to see pictures from the SSP weekend!

Jim posted up a bunch of pics in his Fotki.

My camera didn't survive the trip up for some reason. The pics I do have were courtesy of Bernie's camera.

Here was the first surprise:

The car hit something (low) that tweaked the core support. Think concrete bollard, like they use in parking lots.

Thought I had a pic or two of the quarter damage, but it looks like I don't.

The only other bad spot on the whole car is the passenger fender apron. I need to buy a couple of these, since the '83 DPS car is in worse shape than this one.

The underside of the car looks just as nice as my '93. The column and dash have never been out of the car.

The car came apart way easier than anything else I've ever worked on. I can't wait for the paint guy to get started.

Jim is getting the rotisserie lined up. As soon as the paint guy gets the core support drilled and replaced, it's going on the rotisserie and then getting soda-blasted.

Here's another pic. It's Bernie and I taking out the dash.

One of Jim under the car...

Why do I look so mad? lol.

That's a "hurry up and take it, Jim....it's friggin' hot" look. ;)

Car is back from blasting. The decklid is toast due to some rust issues, and the only other bad spots are the inner apron and front core support near the headlight (passenger side). Both quarters have damage, and the passenger side will be replaced. Luckily, I'll be picking up an NOS apron from Matt @ Fox Mustang Resto tomorrow at the Columbus Super Swap. I'd been looking for a good one for a couple of months, and he just happened to list one on eBay a few days ago.

I'll post more pics when I get home.

biggest, baddest, Ford swap meet in the galaxy... going to be a fun day....

Looking good Mike!

Rotisserie, pre-blasting.

Drivers side.

Drivers door...several old repairs that need to be addressed in the door and lower quarter.

Repair where the roof antenna was.

Hole for the lightbar.

Engine bay.

Another.

Trunk.