In the early 1980’s the Mustang was living on borrowed time. Gas prices were high, cars imported from Asia and Europe were better than they’d ever been, and the American economy was in a rut. Many high end buyers were scoffing at the old fashioned idea of a V8 rear wheel drive muscle car with a carburetor, that handled about as well as something from a decade prior.

In an attempt to lure more affluent buyers Ford set apart a special engineering department, dedicated to performance known as Special Vehicle Operations (SVO), and set them loose on the Mustang. The SVO team developed a Mustang that could handle, was fuel efficient, and could compete with the best cars of the time from Europe and Asia.

SVO Mustangs were built from 1983 to 1986. They offered four wheel disc brakes, unique styling, adjustable Koni shocks and struts, 16-inch wheels, many interior amenities and more. With a turbo four cylinder making right at 200 hp and 240 ft-lbs of torque, the SVO was nearly as powerful as it’s Mustang GT brother in 1986.

If you wanted a Mustang to go road racing, the SVO was the ticket, and there was even a competition package. By checking option box 41c on the order sheet, the stereo, antenna, power locks, power windows, power hatch release, air conditioning, and more were deleted to save weight. Unlike on later competition oriented Mustangs where this often ups the price, this package actually reduced the MSRP.

In 1986 there were 3,382 SVO Mustangs built, of those just 83 were ordered with the Competition Prep package. We recently found one up for grabs on eBay.

This 1986 SVO Comp Prep, is a typical example of many cars that are nearing 30 years old these days. It needs restoration, and it’s been modified. The original body is there, and the owner claims it is straight and rust free. Additionally the interior is fairly intact, there’s nothing here that a can’t be repaired or restored with a couple of phone calls and few hours of work. In fact the only thing missing from this car is the original hood, something though not easily sourced could be located as well.

A Comp Prep SVO is on our list of dream car Fox-body Mustangs to own one day. If you’ve been looking for one to restore, this might be your lucky day.