RR of the Day - 1986 Mustang SVO
Kicking off our forced-induction week with a tweeeeeee is Flickr member McTaylor's low-miles 1986 Mustang SVO. At least three of us Autobloggers are in love with this car. McTaylor prefers to keep his daily driver looking fairly understated, with only the really cool 2.3 fender badges giving a little bit away. Even then, it's only those in the know that will even pay attention to such details. As it is a daily driver, the mods aren't too wild. The boost has been pumped up to 18 psi by means of a manual boost control valve tricking the wastegate a bit. Premium is a must with that much boost, but we're betting it's a real hoot in the colder weather now gripping the nation (if it's not planted in a snowbank). The rest of the drivetrain remains stock, from the clutch, through the notchy goodness of a T5 to the Traction-Lok rearend. Factory alloys made of Unobtanium have been swapped out for a set of custom-drilled Kosei K1R's wrapped in BFG rubber.
More after the jump
'86 was the last year for the SVO, and put down a healthy 205 horsepower. With the upped boost, McTaylor's car is definitely playing in the '88-94 5.0 sandbox with respect to speed. Of course, power delivery is a bit different, but the slightly soft bottom end torque of the turbo 2.3 will help you stick the launch - as every knucklehead knows, it's real easy to boil the meats off a 5.0. The SVO came equipped with a raft of excellent upgrades, some of which didn't return until the '93 SVT Cobra (nifty taillights included). Supporting this understated and unique Fox Mustang were 4-wheel disk brakes, adjustable Koni damping, and SVO 16" rims with Goodyear Gatorback rolling stock. Heavy-duty equipment for a tarted-up Fairmont in the mid-80's. Inside were special sport seats, a Hurst shifter with a shorter throw for '86, a pedal cluster that better facilitated "heel and toe" driving, leather on the steering wheel, shift knob and parking brake lever, as well as premium sound and power windows and locks. These cars were the most balanced Fox platform car ever in terms of performance, comfort and luxury. When the euro-contender SVOs were pushed aside for the brute force approach successfully employed by the later 5.0 Mustangs, we all shed a collective tear. Fast, efficient, sharp handling, and darn it, the exterior tweaks look as good today as they did back in the days you could still catch Cruel Summer on the radio dial. Next up for McTaylor's classy burgundy pony are more engine-room mods to extract more beans from the Pinto-derived engine, suspension tweaks and a little attention to the tranny and clutch to make sure all the spinny bits stay put, and the power gets to the ground.
More pics and mods list below:
1986 Mustang SVO
MODIFICATIONS
Interior
- 35% Window Tint
- JVC MP3 headunit w/ iPod Interface
- Blaupunkt speakers wired to factory locations
Handling
- Kenny Brown Extreme Matrix Subframe Connectors
- Kenny Brown 4-pt Front Strut Tower Brace
- Kenny Brown 3-pt Rear Strut Tower Brace
- Kosei K1 Racing Wheels (16x7, custom center bore)
- BFGoodrich G-Force T/A KDW (225/50ZR16)
Powertrain
- Gillis Manual Boost Controller
- Walbro 255 lph fuel pump
- MSD Coil
- Motorcraft Plug Wires
- K&N Cone Filter
- Optima Yellow Top Battery
- 2.5" Dual Exhaust w/ Hi Flow Cat
- Driveshaft Loop
How to submit to RR of the Day:
Create a Flickr account if you don't already have one. Search for and join the group called 'Autoblog RR of the Day'. Upload up to three photos of your ride to your own account at a size no larger than 450 pixels wide if possible and include as much information about it and yourself as possible. Even if your ride is sweet, it will not be chosen if there's not a lot of info accompanying it. Click on each photo and just above the picture it will say "Send to group". Click that and select the Autoblog group. You're done, that's it!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
big jimmy 10:19AM (12/04/2006)
one of my faverate Fox body Mustangs
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JJM3 10:26AM (12/04/2006)
I'm a Corvette guy, but I love the SVOs ...
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rwdmtparkingonly 10:58AM (12/04/2006)
Mazda has a 2.3 liter turbo in desperate need of a rwd body, maybe it's time for a new Mustang SVO. This is a sweet car; I think it’s one of the top things to own from the 80’s.
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Steve0 10:40AM (12/04/2006)
The SVO's are fantastic! (I'm biased, I have a 1984.) ;)
One correction needs to be made in the article, though: You note that the Hurst shifter is 1986-only. That is not true. All 1984-1986 SVO's have the Hurst shifter...the only difference is that the 1985 1/2 and 1986 have a shorter-throw.
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Dan 10:46AM (12/04/2006)
Thanks SteveO - it's been revised
Dan
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pete 11:18AM (12/04/2006)
Is this essentially a Merkur Xr4ti?
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John P. 11:13AM (12/04/2006)
loved the svo then, and still do. and the Merkur xr4ti for that matter. I had two of those, unfortunately, the wife didn't agree with my tastes in cars, or manual transmissions.
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rwdmtparkingonly 11:59AM (12/04/2006)
It had the same engine, but I think the Merkur was on on a Ford of Europe platform, not the Fox, with an IRS. That probably made the Merkur handle better back in the day, but the Fox has too be ten times better to maintain and get parts for now.
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John P. 12:37PM (12/04/2006)
The Merkur and the SVO were completely different creatures underneath, the SVO was very much a mustang while the Merkur was built in Germany and had an Independent rear suspension. Both shared one great thing though, that 2.3ltr ohc turbo motor.
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Chris 9:00AM (12/05/2006)
Used to own a highly modified '84 that ran 13.5's with the help of a little NOS fogger (75hp), ported head, 18psi boost and custom turbo and exhaust. Loved the car but traded it for an '85GT Mustang convertible, long since replaced with an F-body(Firebird), but still love the fox body cars. The SVO gave me a real appreciation for the curves and also taught me that I didn't know a thing about driving. It was a good car to learn with though!!!
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Steve0 12:12PM (12/04/2006)
Pete,
The Mustang SVO and Merkur XR4Ti share the 2.3L Turbo engine (and similar looking bi-plane spoiler.) However the SVO's 2.3 was intercooled, the Merkur's was not.
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McTaylor 12:20PM (12/04/2006)
Another tiny correction is that the SVO's came with a 7.5" rear end, which is what is in this car.
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Dan 12:59PM (12/04/2006)
rear-end comment has been addressed, thanks guys for keeping me honest!
Dan
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Stéphane Dumas 1:44PM (12/04/2006)
"Mazda has a 2.3 liter turbo in desperate need of a rwd body, maybe it's time for a new Mustang SVO. This is a sweet car; I think it’s one of the top things to own from the 80’s."
You're not the only one who think about it, I taught the same thing too, maybe someone should buy a Mustang and doing an experiment, swap the 2.3L turbo under the hood and presto new SVO, but first they have to test the waters by showing it on SEMA and/or various auto shows to see how the public will react.
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Bill Maher is an Idiot 4:59PM (12/04/2006)
Am I the only one thinks the third-gen Mustangs have aged the worst? The SVO was a creative engineering exercise, but the styling of these cars is as stale as the expired bread and Big Lots.
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all_that 2:18PM (12/04/2006)
Merkur XR4Ti was a version of the Ford Sierra. I think the closest Sierra model was the XR4i, though there was a Cosworth version at one time, too.
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Graham 2:18PM (12/04/2006)
How do you fit the Fisher in that thing?
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Eric Atoian 2:16PM (12/04/2006)
I have one for sale in Los Angeles ;)
ffastsvo@aol.com
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pete 3:08PM (12/04/2006)
Does it use the pinto motor? Basically the same one as the thunderbird right?
This car seems pretty interesting but as far as non v8 muscle cars go, I like the Buick GN a little more.
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Johnny 2:35PM (12/04/2006)
Yeeeeee Hawwwwww!!!
Need some Yosemete Sam Mudflaps.
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