Welcome to HotPursuit.net. This site has been up for 26 years (since 1998).
I originally intended for this site to carry information about my automotive related hobbies and interests, but
there is info about some of my other projects as well.
I have owned 3 Mustangs since 1988 that were formerly law enforcement vehicles, hence the name. Two of them
have been converted into roadcourse toys, with one of them no longer street legal. I sold my factory-stock 1992 LX 5.0 coupe
that I drove to work everyday in 2004. It was originally a black and white retired CHP vehicle, but was painted a very nice
twilight blue metallic in the summer of 2001.
My first car was the 1986 Mustang LX that I bought directly from the CHP around June of 1988 with 85,000 miles
on the odometer for the low price of $4,500. I didn't didn't have very much manual transmission experience at the time
so this was a humerous moment for the CHP officer that sold me the car as he encouraged me to "give it some gas" as I
stepped off the clutch. 315 lb/ft of torque released through the spinning wheels and I was off to a great start. I
have since modified the car for use on road courses. Actually, many of the cars I buy end up being modified for road courses.
I keep saying to myself, "leave this one alone", but oh well. The 86 Mustang now contains a 14 point cage, harnesses,
more power, and more brake. Safety modifications and reliability are typically my primary concerns since going to the track
is expensive and time-consuming. More reliability equals more play time.
The latest Mustang addition to the stable was a 1988 Mustang LX. I say *was* because there is precious little of the Mustang
parts left. The car was purchased as a rolling chassis and came with a NASA AIX log book. Everything from the footwell
forward was removed and fabricated to facilitate an 8" engine setback to improve the front to rear weight distribution. As
it was a consistent podium finish race car, it definitely suffered from the hasty pit row modifications that you'd
expect.
After the Mustangs, I bought a couple of Taurus SHOs. I guess having at least two of something means that there is a better
chance that at least one will be drivable at any given moment. One of Tauruses was a 1994 ATX (auto trans), and the other was
a 1989 MTX. The 1994 ATX was left in factory condition, while the 1989 Taurus SHO enjoyed an engine swap and other track mods,
while looking like a factory show car. They were not low maintenance cars and are more time consuming to repair due to the
front engine layout and tight space under the hood. The largest benefit was that after working on them for many years,
there are few cars that I find a challenge to work on. I sold the 1989 SHO on eBay to a Canadian for $5,600, so I hope he
enjoys the car for many more years.
I'm very much enjoying my Lotus Elise. I currently have an Ardent Red 2005 Lotus Elise. Working on them is very enjoyable
as there is so much exposure to the engine and transmission once the rear clam is raised on the hinge.
Last update: Dec 7th, 2019