Sure, it’s quite tired and cosmetically challenged, but this may also be one of the cheapest running SVO Mustangs on offer at the moment. The body is tired and have rot-through in places, but a clean interior and motor that still coughs to life are good ways to convince yourself this one is worth a gamble. The SVO is available here on craigslist for a mere $1,750 and the seller claims the title is in the mail.
Thanks to Barn Finds reader Ian for spotting this tired turbocharged ‘Stang. This photo shows the worst of the rot (that we can see) on the body above the left-side taillight. As I’ve figured out over the years, your local bodyshop will enjoy working with you a lot more if you bring them good scrap metal, and this is an easy area to fix if you’re so inclined. Really, with the potential for water to enter in and settle on the hatch floor, there’s a good chance the rot goes far deeper, as I’m starting to figure out with my junkyard find Mercedes-Benz 190 Cosworth.
I place a good deal of emphasis on the cleanliness of interiors when it comes to rough specimens like this, as I believe a car isn’t past the point of saving if the interior can be used as-is without fear of contracting any number of infectious diseases. This one looks decent, with the original sport seats still present along with the three-spoke steering wheel. The seats are torn up and there’s no evidence of modifications, so those are two pluses as it relates to this car’s many negatives.
The seller notes that the turbocharged powerplant will “….run off of carb cleaner but fuel pump is currently no good.” That’s sometimes a pricey part to replace but also not a huge deal (and not surprising to see it not running here, considering the length of time the SVO has likely been sitting.) While not everyone wants a Mustang that runs on boost, these cars remain vastly under-appreciated in today’s marketplace. This one is likely too far gone for most hobbyists to want to take on, but will we be saying the same thing in ten years?
A nice graphic representation of the phrase “Rode hard, put away wet”
It’s hard to believe this is related to the Mustangs I grew up with. To me this looks like a overblown Falcon
I’d be inclined to think of this as a parts car rather than a restoration candidate. You could get it running and driving then park it behind the barn for when you get ready to “fix it up someday”
Always wanted one of these, and still might look to pick one up to go with my ’86 notchback.
Some of the parts can be hard to find, but it seems complete enough, especially for the price.
Buy this SVO for $50ore and you get a rust free body plus more parts. Add some 80s “power of Grayskull” and you will have one decently running, low powered gasoline smelling Mustang.
https://skagit.craigslist.org/cto/d/1984-svo-mustang-rare/6743964747.html
I like to see ’em junky but running. I would just fix it up so it’s operational and safe and then drive it as is. The white really accentuates the rust. You would scare people in this bad boy!
And a ’64 Galaxie lurking in the shadows…
TOAST
“…an overblown Falcon…”
that actually is what a stang is.
Said B4: these R ‘comin in’ right now so grab 1, restore (DD it if U like till) the mrkt improves even more. Also the t-bird, same general age mrkt of buyer.
RICS SVO is dead
I saw this,& thought about submitting it,but
didn’t think it would be posted.Parts car.
This SVT Focus tempted me.
http://roanoke.craigslist.org/cto/d/2005-svt-focus/6731052588.html
A parts car at best, which is a shame as these were amazing cars and currently underappreciated. I owned an ’84 and back in the day, these would out handle most of what was on the road…well ahead of their time, but unfortunately priced out of the times as well. I’m eyeing a new Mustang now, with the 2.3 Ecoboost… nostalgia runs pretty deep for me.
This is a parts car. (I have an ’84 SVO) Find a western car with the interior baked into oblivion for $2,000, swap over the interior, repaint and overhaul. Nice dependable fun car for $15,000 or less.
This reminds me of my first car. A 76 Capri II. This car needs the bumper sticker I had on it, “If this car was a horse, I’d have to shoot it!”
Buy this one for the low price..sit it out in the weather for 10 years or so with the windows down the hood up and the hatch up…then sell the rusted heap for $15 or $20000! It happens every day
I had one of these new and should have never sold it. Far superior to the GT and my 81′ Porsche 911. Most don’t know that the SVO cost about $5,000 more then a GT and that Ford used a heavier flywheel to reduce its acceleration slightly below the GT. An aluminum flywheel and some boost control upped the performance considerable. An oil accumulater was a necessity for track work and turbo life.
Last year I saw a modified one putting down 465-WHP at a tuner shop in Portland.
SVO stands for Special Vehicle Operations. Superceded by SVT
I always thought it funny the 4 banger had 5 lug wheels and all the v/8 mustangs had 4 lug. sort of dumb.