There’s just something about an old cop car, right? Turning old police cruisers and pursuit vehicles into hot rods has been a familiar process for hot rodder over the decades but we’re going to say that few of them embarked on the project with the kinds of goals and vision that Bill Fowler has with his project X Pursuit. The car we’re talking about here is one of the many Fox-body Mustangs that the California Highway Patrol used over the years to catch scofflaws on the highways of the Golden State. The build theme is straight ahead, literally. Plans for the car include events like Drag Week and land speed racing events as well.
Drag Week 2015 was one of the targeted events that Bill wanted to hit but the unrelenting march of time and some weirdness (that you will read about at the link) stood in his way. If Bill’s name is familiar to you, it should be. Most well known for his honking’ 1971 Mustang convertible that has competed on and won (2012) at Hot Rod Magazine Drag Week, this Mustang is a move in the lighter and more aerodynamic direction for Fowler. The car will be powered by the same big Ford mill that his convertible was powered by and with the loss of weight and increase in aero, the four digit horsepower numbers will surely push this car to quick elapsed times and big top speeds.
The story of the car itself is pretty neat. Obviously there was the police portion of its life but then you have the fact that it was used by a manufacturer as a parts development mule, sold to one of his friends who continued to hot rod it and eventually it was sold again and that owner had life issues which saw the car sit under a tree for years, have most of the good stuff stolen off of the engine, and generally suffer the kinds of neglect the we hate to see any project that others have worked hard on suffer.
The car now has a new lease on life and boy it will sure be an exciting one!The chassis and cage work is great, the engine is a honking monster, and you can read up on every inch of it at the link below the photos. This is a good one so settle in and follow the build of Project X-Pursuit.
HIT THE LINK BELOW THE PHOTOS TO SEE THIS MONSTER –
Great to see Bill’s car front and center! Of course, I’ve been following the build thread and let me tell anyone new to the project – it’s a great read.
Go Bill!!!!
Dan
Yeeeeeesssssssss.
Title should be “Lawyer gets in cop car, makes good”
After a pause to re-adjust my clothing I can actually enjoy these photos!
I remember the fine CHP Fox-bodies that plied the highways of the Bear State. I think the Fox Body is the most elegant of all the Mustangs and would love to transplant the engine and running gear of the current bloated travesty of the original car into one of these babies. I have seen fully modified V8s selling for under $4,500 in the UK as no-one seems interested in them so a stock example would go for peanuts.
As a bag of peanuts is about all I can afford for the moment I think its about time Wor Lass put on her glad rags and put her false teeth in so I can lure rich drunken idiots into me craftily worked honey trap……
Good luck with your car by the way, Bill!
What a fantastic build!! Bill and company are very talented.