Remember in the 1980s when all the car magazines declared that the American V8 was dead and would be replaced by smaller turbocharged engines? Well, this 1986 Ford Mustang SVO was one of the cars cited as an example of things to come. Out of all the turbo cars that were produced, only the 1986-1987 Buick Grand National and T-Type lived up to the hype. Unfortunately, Buick canceled the car when it was at its best. This 1986 Mustang SVO was sent to us by Pat L. It is located in Stockton, California which is just east of San Francisco. The SVO Mustang is listed for sale for $10,000 here on Craigslist. While it didn’t sell too well over its production run, it is still a cool car.
This Mustang SVO is said to have approximately 61,000 miles and the interior looks nice. There is some minor wear here and there but overall it is very clean. I like the aftermarket white shift knob. The seller states that the headliner does need to be replaced. SVO stands for Special Vehicle Operations. It was a division started by Ford Motor Company around 1980 to focus on producing cars with special handling and generating power more fuel-efficient engines.
All Mustang SVOs were equipped with a turbocharged 140 cubic inch inline four-cylinder engine. The 2.3-liter engine was factory rated at 200 horsepower from the factory and 240 lb-ft of torque. As stated earlier, the SVO Mustang was expected to redefine the pony car. However, even with the 5-speed transmission, the SVO was slow off the line and not competitive with the V8 muscle cars of the 1970s that were still on the street. However, many owners state that they handle better than a Mustang GT.
Ford produced 9,835 SVO Mustangs from 1984 to 1986. This car has a rebuilt engine with less than 200 miles on it. The seller states that the engine was rebuilt with SVO performance parts and a thermal barrier coating was added to the inside and outside of the intake and exhaust manifolds. The car has new tires and Koni struts which are not cheap. If this car checks out, it would make a fun daily driver.
Wow… if all is, as it seems- I’ll bet it sells quickly.
Looks like a well-kept SVO. Recent engine work is a plus. I think these are a bit overlooked in the Mustang hobby world. Not many made, and not commonly seen today. But if you want a Fox Body with good performance and don’t have to have a V8, these can be fun. And, for much less money.
I can confirm the SVO handled better than the GT. And slow off the line? 86 SVO 0-60 in 6.8, 1/4 in 15.1 @ 90 mph…GT, 0-60 6.4, 1/4 in 14.9 @ 91. The real issue was price, the SVO was a good bit more expensive than the 5.0.
Also the Svo came with the lower rear gear set Duke. 3.73or3.55? vs the V8 2.73 or 3.08 cogs
3.73 in 1985, 85.5, and 86. The 84 was 3.45.
SirRaoulDuke, the numbers you posted 100% mirror my experiences with owning a SVO. I bought a SVO new off the dealers floor in the 80’s and had a college roommate with the exact same year manufactured new GT. The cars were basically even through a 1/4 mile but the SVO would slowly pull away at about 90 MPH. The SVO definitely handle better, the GT seemed to have a noticeable body roll. The SVO’s were notorious for needing engine rebuilds between 65k – 85k miles and rarely were the same car after the rebuild. The car listed appears the owner did a very good job with the rebuild and addressing performance needs.
This one looks to be in great shape! I think I spy a 3G alternator conversion on the engine too – not one that I knew existed.
Nice SVO! I had an ‘86 that I bought used years ago. Decent car but it did have a few bugs that I never got worked out. Didn’t really have a ton of money to throw at it so I sold it. Acceleration was decent, even if not quite up to GT 5.0 specs.
It couldn’t possibly handle WORSE than a Fox GT!
Nice to see a true unmolested SVO for a change. Seems so many are modified or neglected these days. I hope it finds a good home and the new owner enjoys it. Looks to be a great 2 owner car. I have a similar condition 84 and it is a blast to drive.
I test drove a new 1986 SVO and a 1986 GT 5spd at the dealership. Both cars were quick but the GT just “felt” a whole lot faster. I loved the idea of the turbo 4 but the SVO was just too much for my budget. I ended up with a 1986 5spd Turbo T-bird. Nowhere near as fast as either Mustang but quick, economical, comfortable on long drives and pretty classy (for the time). I should have bought the SVO but, I probably would not have kept it.
@mick. Cool that you got to test drive both a GT and a SVO in 86. I agree, the 5.0 does ‘seem’ quicker but there is just something about cubic inches when it comes to feel. Honestly comparing the SVO to a GT is like apples to oranges. You ended up with a great car in that 86 5spd TC, kind of the best of both worlds. I bought an 83 TBird 5.0L in 83 and it has been a great car and I still have it. I considered an SVO when shopping for car and ended up with a TBird too.
It was later I got my 84 SVO which I still have too. :-)
The Turbo Coupe was indeed a classy car. I had an 1988, five speed of course. That was a great long distance driver.
I had a 87/88 high mileage TC for a short period of time and was amazed how well a ‘worn’ out car like that drove. I wouldn’t mind having another one.
Stan, I worked at a Ford store back then and have many miles in both cars. I don’t ever remember that the SVO could be had with the 3.55 gears. Turbo Mustangs, (not SVO) could be had with 3.55 gears. 3.73 only on SVO. I Built a Turbo Mustang from a stripped Turbo T-Bird. It had 3.55 gears. It as a decent performer since I had the boost cranked up to 17 PSI. But it really needed 3.73 gearing. I did a top end blast on one windy day through Washoe Valley. (Nevada) I clocked 132 MPH in one direction and 128 MPH in the other direction. It would only pull to about 4,800 RPM 5th gear. More gear would have been a better run as it really liked about 5,100 RPM and up. (Not a stock camshaft either.)
The sway bars on the SVO are smaller than the GT and the springs are softer actually lowering the car almost an inch. Plus slightly smaller overall diameter tires. (making much shorter sidewalls since they came with 16″ tires and the GT came with 15″ tires.) I currently have one of each. (5.0 and SVO)
Right on Wayne 👍