1988 Alabama SSP
 

Does anyone know of any Alabama SSP'S out there for sale? Was looking for a daily driver but my mind isn't made up yet what to get. Since I live in Alabama I thought it would nice to own one from where I live. I have been thinking about starting a father son project. Something we can learn to work on together. From reading the threads I have learned they only used the cars in 1988 and didn't buy that many. If anyone has any information that can help lead the way, it would be greatly appreciated.

Daily driver? Properly restored SSP's are not daily drivers. My opinion :)

The Alabama SSP's are pretty rare, and don't come up for sale all too often. If you find an Alabama SSP, you might not want to make it a daily driver. For one thing, you'd have to keep all of the police markings and lights covered up at all times. You could always restore it just short of adding the markings and lights, which is kinda what I did with my CHP so I could drive it as often as possible (I keep the lights covered).

Secondly, you might end up being to scared to drive it around if it is such a rare SSP. I had a S-code (390 cid) Mustang convertible that we fully restored. I was too afraid to drive or park the thing anywhere. It was such a disappointment to have spent all that money on a car that I couldn't drive. We ended up selling it to Dover Downs, who used it as a slot machine grand prize.

You might want to find a SSP from another agency that had a large number of cars in-service (like Florida). You can restore and drive a FHP, TX, or CHP car without the worry of possibly destroying a truly rare SSP.

Thanks for the input guys. I have been contemplating on what to buy since I started to look for another one. I haven't owned one in a long time but have had several mustangs since I was 16 and wanted to introduce my sons to mustangs. Thought about just buying something to drive everyday or finding an Alabama car to have as a project with my sons. I don't want to do a full bore restoration with markings and lights. Just wanted to find one to make nice just short of markings and lights and drive it when it was nice out if I went this way. Just threw this out there to see if anyone knew of any sitting around somewhere. I will probably just buy something else to drive and enjoy now. I have no idea how long it might take to locate a car from alabama. Does anyone know if they were all Trooper cars or were some city or sheriff cars? Whatever I buy will be with me for a long time. Any and all information is greatly appreciated!!

4 AL trooper cars have surfaced that we know of. They are pretty few and far between.

Many other agencies may have used them in your state, though.

That didn't sound to good. I guess I will buy something to enjoy now and keep a lookout for an Alabama car later. Thanks for the info. I guess the chase is on!

That's probably your best bet.

Definitely your best best. I have been chasing the elusive '89 Louisiana SSP for 10 or so years, only to miss one sell while I was sick last month and not watching Craigslist.

I hate to hear that you missed an opportunity to buy a car you have been looking for over 10 years to find. Maybe another one will turn up soon! I hope you are over your sickness though. A member here owns an Alabama SSP that I use to watch drag race many years ago. I didn't know anything about the cars back then.

Alabama had 36 cars total in '88...4 have surfaced and the one that a friend of mine drove was bought by C&L back in the day...raced....sold to another racer and it is long gone or so far modified it will never be restored. THe trail on that car went cold long ago.

As far as finding one...good luck, many have hunted and most have been disappointed. If you do happen to have the luck like a winning lotto ticket and find one for a fair price(because the last guy was gouging $15K for a car that needed restoration) then you are going to be held to a high standard of conduct if it even resembles an Alabama trooper and you live in this state. I own/operate a GSP in Alabama and have no trouble...but I go to great lengths to show honest intent. There is a guy with an old Javelin replica of an Alabama car and he even has to abide by certain rules/behavior with a '70's Javelin. It gets quite serious when you restore a car from the state you live in so be prepared for that....otherwise it is still very serious to own/operate an ex police car...even driving a crown Vic that resembles an unmarked car can net you some unwanted attention if you are not careful.