1992 Kansas Highway Patrol SSP

[MOstang]

Good detective work .

[ImEvil1]

Just be careful drawing that conclusion. I haven't read the rest of the article, but I don't see how the one "prototype" (test) vehicle that they were discussing correlates to a later order of X number of cars.

I think I mentioned this to you before, but our city ordered three 1992 SSPs and they were all marked with the same interior code as yours, but came with the correct, low-back seats. The build sheet for one of them is posted on this website (the one I drove in-service and later bought at auction).

[FoxChassis]

The "Articulated Sport" cloth seating (code D) became standard in the P40E (LX 5.0L coupe) starting with the '91 model year. For the non-A/S cloth seating (code F in '91/'92 or G in '93) to be installed instead I think there would have to have been comments on the build sheet, or some other document that the assembly line folks would have used to install the correct seats for that order.

I have not yet seen a '91 SSP door tag with trim code D.

I have seen a few '92 SSPs with trim code D on the door tag but none of the buck tags from the same car have a clear shot of the trim code, so I can't compare the two to see if they're the same or different. The ones that I have seen with trim code D are 131914, 131920, 148008, and 170585.

Every '93 SSP door tag that I have seen has trim code D.
Every '93 SSP buck tag that I have seen has trim code G.

[ImEvil1]

Good point, Mick. I hadn't even thought about comparing the two. Check out the buildsheet I found in the '92 I drove.

http://www.specialservicemustang.net/images/92SSP1.gif

It also lists D as the trim code, though. I'm looking through old pics to see if I have a clear one of the bucktags.

Aaron, I know you posted the tags earlier in the thread, but do you have a better pic of them?

[FoxChassis]

That's an interesting build sheet. Wonder when the change-over was to that type.

I do see the DA trim code on that one. Don't see any comments at the bottom about installing any different interior trim. Wonder if the buck tag was stamped FA.

The trim code on the buck tag is at the beginning of the fourth line. Aaron's tag is damaged right there. Might be able to see the stamping from the back side.

[ImEvil1]

Originally Posted by FoxChassis

That's an interesting build sheet. Wonder when the change-over was to that type.

I do see the DA trim code on that one. Don't see any comments at the bottom about installing any different interior trim. Wonder if the buck tag was stamped FA.

The trim code on the buck tag is at the beginning of the fourth line. Aaron's tag is damaged right there. Might be able to see the stamping from the back side.

Yeah, I noticed that too. I can't find a decent pic of the tag for the other car. Everything I have is blurry.

Only seen those sheets for '92 and '93 cars. Normal builds with all of the info printed like that on the back (blank) side.

[FoxChassis]

Didn't realize until now that that stuff was printed on the back side of the 'traditional' build sheet. Looks like it's all of the major equipment.

[1988Bullitt]

I am not basing my information off this article, in fact there are a couple things in this article that are wrong. It also depends how you read “three other prototype cars” it should read three types of cars are being tested not 3 cars. There were 7 mustangs on DSO 53-0149. My understanding is there was 7 Camaro’s and SHO’s put into service for testing at the same time.

I have other information and pictures that prove that my car had sport seats. If you look closely at some of the other pictures of the other 6 two tone KHP cars in service you can see they have sport seats. Another fun fact, the car pictured in this article is actually my car, plate #64 driven by Greg Kyser.

I need to get some sleep but I will post some info tomorrow.

[1988Bullitt]

Originally Posted by ImEvil1

Good point, Mick. I hadn't even thought about comparing the two. Check out the buildsheet I found in the '92 I drove.

http://www.specialservicemustang.net/images/92SSP1.gif

It also lists D as the trim code, though. I'm looking through old pics to see if I have a clear one of the bucktags.

Aaron, I know you posted the tags earlier in the thread, but do you have a better pic of them?

This is the best shot I have on my work computer, it's a DA, I will get a shot from the backside since there is a bend in the tag.

[1988Bullitt]

John (xxtrpr) found this article from the Wichita eagle, it talks about getting 7 Mustangs, 7 Camaros, and 7 SHOs.

Wichita Eagle, The (KS)
1992-01-04
Section: MAIN NEWS
Edition: CITY EDITION
Page: 1A


SPEEDERS LOSE EARLY WARNING ROOFTOP LIGHTS MOVE INSIDE PATROL CARS
Mike Berry/Eagle Western Kansas bureau


Speeders, beware. It's about to become a little more difficult to get away with your lead-footed driving habits.
Those distinctive, visible-at-a-mile-and-a-half "cherries" are coming off the top of some Kansas Highway Patrol cars and are being moved to the dashboards. And once that distinctive patrol car silhouette is gone, it will be harder for speeders to spot troopers.
Trooper Craig Davis, who has been driving a so-called slick-top patrol car for about a month, said he already can note a difference.
''I'm getting better speeds now," said Davis, who is based in Garden City. "I'm clocking more at 80 and 90 miles an hour now," he said, explaining that serious speeders aren't able to spot him at a long distance and hit the brakes before he can get their speed locked on radar.
And some speeders rush right up behind his car before they realize they're overtaking a patrol car, Davis said.
Davis drives one of seven "slick-top" cars in the Garden City patrol division that had their top lights removed and the new dashboard flashers installed around Thanksgiving.
The conversion of those cars was financed by a federal truck highway safety enforcement program, said Capt. Dave Jones, division commander. He said the troopers have been surprising quite a few people.
Statewide, the patrol will get 22 new cars in a couple of months, and it will be up to individual troopers and their commanders whether a car is outfitted with the traditional rooftop light or a dashboard-mounted flashing light. The cars will continue to wear their regulation blue and gray paint jobs with the gold Highway Patrol shield on the front doors.
''Our goal is not necessarily to write more speeding tickets, but to reduce the amount of speeding," said Sgt. Terry Maple, the patrol's spokesman in Topeka.
The patrol hopes that heavy-footed drivers will slow down once word gets out that they can't count on spotting a patrol car before it spots them, Maple said.
Jones said the dashboard-mounted lights also are cheaper to buy and easier to install and are expected to increase the patrol cars' gas mileage and top speed. The dashboard mounts have reflectors that keep the lights out of the driver's eyes.
Patrol officials will study the effectiveness of slick-top patrol cars during the next year or so before deciding whether to make a permanent switch. A few patrol cars on the Kansas Turnpike have operated without rooftop lights for several years, Maple said, but the patrol wants more data before it makes a decision.
Jones and Maple both said safety will be the key element in making that decision. Some are concerned that motorists may have a harder time spotting a stopped patrol vehicle without the top light, although the cars still will be equipped with amber warning lights in the rear windows.
No matter what happens with the light question, the silhouettes of some of the patrol cars will be changing. Seven new Camaros, seven Mustangs and seven Ford Tauruses are expected to join the lineup this year as the patrol experiments with smaller, less costly, more fuel-efficient cars. Each patrol division will get a set of the three new models for tryouts, Jones said.
The patrol has been using full-sized Ford and Plymouth models.