Are are mods to SSP sacrilege

FlyinTiger · #1 04-11-2010, 11:27 AM

IMO, as long as you keep the car on the road, most everything can be put back to stock later. Save your original parts for a future owner. And as previously mentioned, hidden mods are just that. More fun, without drawing attention.

Texaspony87 · #2 04-11-2010, 12:15 PM

Why are there so few people interested in preserving these cars for what they were and keeping that way? I would like to know. To me, as I have said before, hot rod cars are a whole different topic from what this site was created for.

MOstang · #3 04-11-2010, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Texaspony87

Why are there so few people interested in preserving these cars for what they were and keeping that way? I would like to know.

Hi Joe - Looking forward to seeing you at a car show this season. I'm not sure if your question above is directed towards the originator of this post and/or those of us who replied. If inclusive of those who replied, I don't interpret any of us are suggesting that hot rodding an SSP is the way to go.

As a for instance we all know the brakes are a concern if you do much driving of these Mustangs. While I haven't done so myself I could see someone wanting to improve the safety of the vehicle by addressing the brakes (in what would likely be a modification from original spec). Even with the limited driving (mostly to/from shows) I do with my SSP's, this thought has crossed my mind. With the nut-jobs driving (seems they are all on road at same time when an SSP or classic car is driving) it can be scary out there even for us defensive drivers.

mustangretriever · #4 04-11-2010, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Texaspony87

Why are there so few people interested in preserving these cars for what they were and keeping that way? I would like to know. To me, as I have said before, hot rod cars are a whole different topic from what this site was created for.

I agree. Keep it as stock as possible. There are tons of Fox body Mustangs out there available for mods. If you already have a well running stock original SSP why screw it up? But as I've said for a long time, the more SSP's that are modified it just makes my 100% stock SSP appreciate in value just a little more. :-)

ajstoys63 · #5 04-11-2010, 05:21 PM

Yes the brakes are an issue with me also... I am putting as much back to stock as I can however I would like to put the black rims and rear disc brakes on her even though the black rims were not on the '91. I like them!!! I still want everything stock appearing. My car doesn't really stand out like most of your beautiful marked units... But the black 10 holes look sharp on the black SSP. I have been buying all of the little parts and next is a complete strip and re-paint.

ABN2060 · #6 04-11-2010, 05:47 PM

I did a rear disc conversion on my '93 GT and I used Turbo Coupe components which makes it appear stock. You cant really tell from the pictures but it looks OEM from outward appearance. I plan on swaping the conversion over to my SSP. To me that is completelly acceptable.

NoDrama43 · #7 04-11-2010, 05:53 PM

again i would say that it will never look oem to have rear disc brakes on a fox. Ford never built them that way. When you swap it over to your SSP it will just look like another of the 9 billion modded fox body coupes. It will also take away from the value (to us SSP purists anway). Save the original rear end for when you sell the car.

Just my humble opinion.....

ABN2060 · #8 04-11-2010, 05:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NoDrama43

again i would say that it will never look oem to have rear disc brakes on a fox. Ford never built them that way. When you swap it over to your SSP it will just look like another of the 9 billion modded fox body coupes. It will also take away from the value (to us SSP purists anway). Save the original rear end for when you sell the car.

Just my humble opinion.....

Good debate. The only reason I planed on swapping it over is that I'm selling my GT and it appears I am going to have to more or less give it away. If I do that then off comes all the high dollar things I have done to it. I may just return it back to stock brakes and sell the conversion. I still really have not made up my mind.

28HopUp · #9 04-11-2010, 10:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NoDrama43

again i would say that it will never look oem to have rear disc brakes on a fox.

Unless that Fox happens to be a '93 Cobra Mustang! (just razzin' ya there Jim!) Actually, my '85 SSP has the '93 Cobra rear with the 8.8" 3.27:1 gears and 4-lug disk brakes. I'll blame a previous owner in deviating from stock.

Ya know, asking about modifications on a forum dedicated to the preservation of SSP's is like going into a bar and debating politics or religion. But then again, maybe it's a good thing to talk about it here.

I have the utmost respect for members here like Joe and Jim who hold steadfast to maintaining the originality of these cars. It's folks like that who ensure that these cars will be around for the next generation of SSP enthusiasts. But SSP enthusiasts come in all shapes and sizes, and they will have differing opinions on how far away to stray from OEM with aftermarket parts or even Ford non-SSP parts (like a Turbo Coupe rear).

Other factors to consider are rarity/desirability of a specific SSP. Some cars are simply too valuable to not be restored properly. Show cars certainly have their purpose, and their preservation allows the public to see how these cars were outfitted by their respective departments.

But let's face it, other cars from departments with higher in-service numbers, missing documentation, or unknown history are less desirable to SSP collectors. These cars are better candidates IMO to stray away slightly from stock. SSP's like this can still be refurbished and driven, which also shows the public a side of our hobby and the enjoyment we get from taking to the road in our SSP's.

I've typed long enough for tonight. But I hope the discussion continues.

NoDrama43 · #10 04-11-2010, 05:46 PM

ok.....I will weigh in......yeh i know it didn't last long.

I think Joe asks a very pertinent question here. I am sometimes amazed at the stuff people want to do to these cars. Not citing anyones specific post here but brakes are a perfect example.

These cars were put in service and driven 130 MPH every day. The factory brakes were fine then and they are fine now as long as you drive the car with some sort of common sense. Can we make the brakes better? sure we can. Hell I can make the brakes better on the GT500 but why would I?

I see no valid reason to feel the need to have rear disc brakes on an SSP car. Granted the brakes are not nearly as good as anything built within the past 5 years but in reality how many of us are driving these cars aggressively every day. Very few. Having rear disc brakes on a fox body mustang will NEVER look stock to anyone that knows how the cars were built. If you track your car then yes I can understand the need for brakes as standard fox brakes suck on a road track. But why beat an SSP on a race track anyway? I know some do and repectfully I will always 100% disagree with that practice. It's your stuff though so we can just agree to disagree.

Boring the engine 30 over on a 200k motor is perfectly fine IMO. If the stuff is worn out it needs to be fixed. Just don't try to convince me it needs a bigger cam, and then bigger injectors, after market headers etc.

My response to mods is if it is anything other than a stock NOS part or a stock replacement part...it ain't stock. Everyone can do what they want with their own car and I am not picking on anyone in particular. i think this site and our members all have a pretty good idea what we believe in when it comes to the cars. That is why we don't have any members with twin turbo FHP cars.

Given the fact there were milions of fox body non SSP cars built I will always sugest that you buy one of them if you want to "enhance" the vehicles performance qualities.