Original Owner: 40 Years Ago, an SVO Mustang Inspired a Stable of Modern Performance Fords

Jeff Frahm calls his 2015 Mustang EcoBoost, which uses a turbocharged 2.3-liter inline four-cylinder engine, “the spiritual successor to the SVO.” For younger Mustang fans who might not know, Frahm was referring to a technically sophisticated but poorly selling turbocharged Mustang from four decades ago. He knows the SVO well because he bought one new and still owns and drives it, with 32,000 miles showing.

The EcoBoost has light mods for track driving, while the SVO remains factory stock. Having tracked both cars, Frahm has a healthy perspective on what 40 years of progress has done for the Mustang. He’s also seen firsthand how Ford’s evolved its performance vehicle offerings over the years.

Launched for 1984, the SVO Mustang emerged from Ford Special Vehicle Operations, the automaker’s in-house performance and racing department at the time. Even as the V-8 Mustang GT was sparking its own hotrodding movement, the SVO team believed a different kind of performance model could pull sports car drivers into the Mustang corral. Their effort produced a car that could match or surpass the well-rounded performance of cars like the BMW 3 Series, Porsche 944, and Toyota Supra.

That was the kind of car that appealed to Frahm. He was driving a 1977 BMW 3 Series in 1983 when he earned his master’s degree in engineering from Michigan State University and landed a job with Ford Tractor in Troy. The company would move the 25-year-old engineer to Iowa and then back to Michigan, his home state, by 1985. There, he used his employee discount to buy an SVO Mustang.

Frahm’s SVO was one of 436 built that Ford officially called a 1985-1/2, which had notable improvements over the ’84 and the early ’85 versions. He paid $13,714.42 before tax, which was about $1,800 off the sticker price.

The European-ized SVO Mustang hit its engineering and performance targets, but the market was a different story. Instead of selling 10,000 a year as Ford initially projected, just 9,837 SVOs came off the line through 1986. Yet, this sales “failure” carved a small but significant niche in Mustang history.

Not His Father’s Oldsmobiles

The SVO Mustang was Frahm’s first Ford. He’d grown up in the Frankenmuth, Michigan area, and his parents drove Oldsmobiles. While in college, he bought a hulking 1965 Olds 98 convertible for $175 and restored it a few years later. Another relocation for the job came in 1986, when Ford Tractor combined with Sperry New Holland and moved to New Holland, Pennsylvania in Lancaster County.

“We lived in that area about four years,” Frahm recalled for Hagerty. “When we looked for a house, it had to have a garage big enough for the Olds.”

Frahm planned to keep the SVO as a daily car for the warmer weather and use an older Chevy S-10 pickup for winter. But a few years later, a new daily entered the picture when he leased Ford’s next unexpected performance car, a 1990 Taurus SHO. He liked it so much that he bought it when his lease ended. The car now has 240,000 miles, with replacement clutches being the most significant work it has received over the years.

When Fiat later bought Ford New Holland, Frahm turned down a job offer in Italy and returned to Michigan. Today, he is a senior product applications manager for Amsted Automotive, which makes transmission parts. “Every GM front-wheel drive automatic transmission has one of our one-way clutches in it,” he said.

In 2002, Frahm added yet another well-regarded but low-selling fun Ford to his stable, an SVT Focus. “I was driving back and forth to Standish, Michigan at the time, and I wanted something with good gas mileage that was still fun to drive. It now has about 93,000 miles.”

The same year, he bought and restored another Oldsmobile—a 1970 4-4-2. Frahm still had a passion for Olds even if his garage had begun to look like a chronology of Ford Performance.

Factory Basics: Ford SVO Mustang

Despite a dismal first crack at offering a turbocharged four-cylinder Mustang in 1979, Ford tried again for the 1983 Thunderbird and, with minuscule sales, as a Mustang GT option, too. For the SVO Mustang, Ford pumped up the ’84 fuel-injected 155-hp engine to 175 hp at 4,400 rpm and 210 lb-ft. of peak torque at 3,000 rpm using an intercooler to allow for higher boost (14 psi versus 10 psi). Ford’s EEC-IV engine control unit, with input from knock sensors, controlled turbo boost and spark timing. Ford specified 91 octane gas for the SVO’s advertised output, but the driver could flip a “fuel calibration switch” on the dash to hold boost to about 9 psi and use regular-grade gas if desired.

The SVO Mustang weighed about 3,200 pounds, around 100 less than a GT hatchback. Weight distribution was 57:43 versus 58:42 for the GT, with the SVO’s handling advantage over its V-8 sibling was mainly down to chassis tuning. The SVO inherited forged steel front control arms from the Fox-based Lincoln Continental, which gave an extra inch of travel. Stiffer springs and bushings, Koni adjustable gas shocks and struts, and thicker anti-roll bars rounded out the tweaks. The SVO had a quicker, higher-effort power steering box than the GT.

The Mustang’s first-ever 16-inch alloy wheels came wrapped with 225/50VR16 Goodyear Eagle NCT “Gatorback” performance tires. The first five-lug hubs on a Fox-body Mustang allowed rear disc brakes from the Lincoln Mk. VII LSC. Early ’84 SVOs used rear traction bars to control axle windup, but these were soon replaced by two additional Koni shocks mounted horizontally. (Ford added this setup to V-8 models the following year.)

The SVO Mustang came only as a hatchback, and its exterior design detoured from the GT’s muscle car visuals. A functional off-center hood scoop fed air to the intercooler, and the odd-looking bi-plane rear spoiler was functional, as well. Paint colors were limited to charcoal, black, red, or silver.

The SVO’s Euro influence showed inside, too, with standard bolstered sport seats featuring adjustable lumbar and thigh support. Revised pedals allowed heel-and-toe downshifting, a must-have for sports car purists. Ford shoveled most of the Mustang’s popular options onto the SVO’s standard equipment roster, including power windows and door locks, air conditioning, tilt wheel, and AM/FM/cassette stereo with Premium Sound. A “flip-up open-air roof,” leather upholstery, and a single-wing rear spoiler were the only listed options. Cruise control was not available, and an optional Competition Prep package deleted the amenities.

“The only option I ordered was the pop-up sunroof,” Frahm said. “I did not get leather seats. Especially for track driving, you tend to slide around a lot more on leather. I had the dealer install cruise control, which never worked well with that car and was probably why they didn’t have it from the factory.”

Mission Accomplished

New, the ’84 SVO Mustang could do 0-60 in 7.5 seconds and the quarter-mile in the mid-15s at around 90 mph. That was a few ticks behind a stock Mustang GT but matched the new $19,000 Nissan 300ZX Turbo and blew the doors off the Alfa Romeo GTV6, BMW 325e, Porsche 944, and Toyota Supra. Top speed was about 130 mph.

The SVO delivered on its handling promise, reaching 64 mph in the slalom versus 61 mph for the Porsche 944, according to Road & Track. A Fairmont-based Mustang beating a Porsche at its own game was big news in 1984.

A mid-1985 upgrade gave the SVO a shot of adrenaline. Engine output climbed to 205 hp at 5,000 rpm and 248 lb-ft. of torque at 3,200 rpm courtesy of a revised camshaft, a new turbo giving 15 psi maximum boost, higher capacity fuel injectors, and full dual exhaust. A 3.73:1 Traction-Lok rear axle replaced the previous 3.45:1 ratio. New aero headlamps improved the front design.

The upgraded SVO’s acceleration now essentially matched a stock V-8 Mustang. The enhancements carried over to the 1986 SVO, though rated output dropped to 200 hp and 240 lb.-ft. Ford sold 3,379 SVOs in its final year.

Sports car-oriented magazines called the SVO Mustang a good value at its $15,000 base price (about $47,000 today!), which undercut the above-mentioned imports by up to $4,000. But the SVO was also about $4,000 more than a nicely optioned V-8 Mustang GT, which is what most shoppers compared it to.

“I test-drove the SVO and the GT, and I liked the SVO better overall,” said Frahm. “Back then with turbos, the controls weren’t as sophisticated as they are today. It had some serious turbo lag at lower speeds. But when the boost kicked in around 3000 rpm, it just had great acceleration, better than the Mustang GT from that point up. I’ve been very happy with it.”

As Hagerty’s valuation experts have reported, collectors view the SVO Mustang favorably today.

Factory Basics: Ford Taurus SHO

Three years after retiring the SVO Mustang, Ford took aim at expensive import performance sedans with the Taurus SHO. The letters signified the Yamaha-built Super High Output 3.0-liter DOHC V-6. Nicknamed “Shogun” by Ford, the engine shared little more than bore and stroke dimensions with the Taurus’s workaday Vulcan V-6. The high-revving Shogun gave 220 hp at 6000 rpm and 200 lb-ft. of torque at 4800 rpm. A Mazda five-speed manual was the only transmission offered in the 1989-1991 SHO.

The engine’s polished, variable-length intake manifold looked like something from a European exotic, and some media likened the dual tailpipes’ song to an Italian V-12. The SHO was just a few ticks off a 5.0-liter Mustang’s 0-60 and quarter-mile times and capable of 140 mph.

The SHO was the fastest sedan available for under $50,000 at the time, which made its $20,000 price a relative bargain, especially with its generous standard features. Finely tuned suspension and 215/65VR15 Goodyear Eagle GT+4 tires gave the SHO praiseworthy handling, too. The stick-shift-only spec held SHO sales to just over 37,000 over the first three model years, which was less than projected but still far better than what the SVO Mustang had done. The SHO continued through two more design generations and was revived for a fourth in 2010.

“Ford had the contract with Yamaha to buy a certain number of engines, but they weren’t selling enough SHOs, so they were doing lease specials for supervisors,” Frahm remembered.

His SHO had plenty of options, including premium audio, a power glass sunroof, and keyless entry. The total sticker price was $24,184 before the sizable Ford discount.

“It was less expensive than leasing a Ranger pickup,” he said. “That was about when we started our family, and a sedan had a lot of advantages for that. I really enjoyed driving that car.” At the end of a year-long lease, he bought the car for just $12,943.

Through 240,000 miles, Frahm’s SHO has been reliable. “I’ve not done anything significant to it, just regular maintenance like timing belts, water pumps, an oil pan gasket, and suspension parts. The engine has never been out of the car, though I did replace more than one clutch. That was kind of the weak point on the car. Other than the clutches, I’ve pretty much done all the work myself.”

He also repaired some rust around the rear wheels and had the SHO repainted.

Factory Basics: Ford SVT Focus

Ford’s Special Vehicle Team, which replaced SVO, issued some exciting models, starting with the Mustang SVT Cobra and F-150 SVT Lightning pickup in 1993. The 1998 SVT Contour was another convincing stab at a sport sedan, but also a market flop. The 2002 SVT Focus took aim at the young tuner crowd. In his 40s when he bought his SVT, Frahm found its combination of zesty performance and commuter-friendly fuel economy irresistible. He had no Ford discount this time.

For its SVT transformation, the normally aspirated 2.0-liter Zetec inline four gained variable intake-valve timing, forged steel connecting rods, a dual-stage intake, high-compression cast aluminum pistons, and a low-restriction exhaust. Horsepower jumped from 130 to 170, and a six-speed manual was the only transmission offered. At 7.8 seconds to 60 mph and 16.1 seconds down the quarter-mile, the SVT was a bit quicker than the Honda Civic Si. SVT’s suspension tuning made the special Focus a gem on the road or track. Car and Driver called its handling “in a class all by itself.”

Ford “Letter Car” Memories: SVO, SHO, and SVT

Hagerty: Do you still drive all your Fords?

Frahm: I do. I live about 15 miles from work. In summer, I try to drive a different car each day. The SHO doesn’t get driven as much, partly because I’m limited on garage space. If I want to get the SHO out, I’ve got to remove another car.

Hagerty: When did you decide you were keeping the SVO?

Frahm: It was always my plan to keep it. I wanted to buy a car I could hold on to. Obviously, I did that a few more times.

Hagerty: You’ve kept the miles very low on that one. Was the driving memorable?

Frahm: It’s been on a couple of long road trips but mostly it was running around the Detroit area and then later out in Pennsylvania. I took it on a road trip down to Florida for a friend’s wedding in 1986.

I did a few SCCA Solo events in Detroit and Hershey, Pennsylvania. Once I moved back to Michigan, I took it to a TrackTime Driving School at Michigan International Speedway, which had a nice infield road course that then links back up to the part of the oval. I did several open track days with the Detroit Shelby Club at Waterford Hills Road Racing, just north of Detroit.

Hagerty: Have you done any work to the SVO?

Frahm: Just normal age-related maintenance items and replacing the steering rag joint and front brake calipers. Those had the phenolic pistons that tended to occasionally crack. When I was recently putting tires on, I saw that one of the front struts had some oil leaking, so it’s going to need new struts.

Hagerty: The Taurus SHO is your high-miler. How did that happen?

Frahm: That ended up being at least partially a winter car. For a while I was working up in Standish, Michigan, driving about 55 miles each way. When our son and daughter went through high school, they both learned how to drive a manual transmission in the SHO, and each drove it for a while.

Hagerty: The SHO had a lot of special parts. Any trouble getting replacements 35 years later?

Frahm: I haven’t had any issues, but it is getting harder if you really want the SHO-specific struts. Unfortunately, I had to go back to the standard Taurus struts and springs.

Hagerty: Have you modified the SVT Focus?

Frahm: I installed high-performance brake pads for taking it to open track days at Waterford Hills. That’s a good track for the handling cars, not just the horsepower cars. The only other thing I’ve done was regular maintenance.

Hagerty: With a turbo four-banger, your 2015 EcoBoost Mustang seems to have brought you full circle.

Frahm: The EcoBoost Mustang is my occasional open track day-car. It has the optional Performance Package with better suspension, bigger brakes, summer tires and 3.55:1 axle ratio. I also ordered the Recaro seats. I added a cat-back exhaust, an oil separator, and a Livernois Motorsports tune that gets it to 308 rear-wheel horsepower [60 over stock] and 376 lb-ft. of torque [66 over stock]. It’s a lot of fun.

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Cars: 1985-1/2 Ford SVT Mustang; 1990 Ford Taurus SHO; 2002 Ford SVT Focus, and 2015 Mustang EcoBoost

Owner: Jeff Frahm

Home: Frankenmuth, Michigan

Delivery Dates: June 1985 (SVO Mustang); October 1989 (Taurus SHO); June 2002 (SVT Focus).

Miles on Cars: 32,000 (SVO Mustang); 240,000 (Taurus SHO); 93,000 (SVT Focus); 37,500 (Mustang EcoBoost)

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