Eric

Meet a Webmaster
Eric Courtwright

Meet Eric Courtwright, SVOCA Webmaster. Eric and his wife Robin, have 2 sons (Nash, and Evan) live in Richmond Kentucky, along with a couple of big black Labrador Retrievers.

I'll never forget the first SVO I ever saw. I was at a Ford dealership in 1986, in Campbelsville (a black 86) KY. While only 15 years old, the Ford blood was strong in my family, and I had been reading about the SVO for over 2 years. The salesmen in the building didn't know as much about this car as I did. After going over the car with a fine tooth comb, I knew this SVO Mustang was something different. 4 wheel-discs, 56/ 43 weight distribution 16" rims, and a turbo!. I vowed then some day, I would have one!

In 1992, my 1982 Mustang 2.3, 5 speed with 220,000 miles was feeling a bit tired. I was out on a business call in Winchester KY, and noticed a 1985 SVO sitting on a GM (YUCK) lot . This must be destiny I thought. I just had to go drive it. After looking the car over, I noticed it had been bumped from the rear end. The rear bumper cover needed replacing, along with some paint work. I didn't think much of that, as working on cars was second nature for me. I had been working on blue ovals since before I was tall enough to reach the toolbox. I went for a test drive, and came back very disappointed. The car didn't handle well, and had some very loud noises coming from the rear end. I talked with the salesman, who made me listen through his rant before giving me a price of $4500, I nearly fell over. I said look guys, if you want to take $2500 for this car, I'll drive it home, They didn't like my offer, so I went home and sulked. This SVO just wasn't going to be mine.

In 1998, the SVO bug began to itch again. This time I had a steady job, a wife, and was ready to find a SVO. I started my search on the internet. As rare as SVO's are, I'm just not going to be able to find one locally. After about 3 months of searching, the perfect candidate came along.

In early February 1998, I ran across this nice little 1986. She had everything I wanted. The body was completely straight. Not more than a door ding on the entire car. Engine was in drivable shape, but a little tired, with 110,000 miles. It had been sitting for about 3 years, being driven only once a month by the owners son. The turbo was shot, (I was told) but the car ran good. After seeing several pictures of the car, and having several conversations with the owner, I decided I needed a plane ticket. I flew to Arizona, with a 2 way ticket, but I never used the return ticket. I picked up a new set of tires before I got out of Flagstaff, and was on my way home to Kentucky.

After getting the my SVO home, it served as a occasional driver for the next year. In October 1999, I pulled the engine for a rebuild, some paint, and lots more. The project is still in progress. I have hopes that I will be driving again by April, 2002.

Here is a pic of Eric's SVO at the SVO Club of America Reunion 2004, while on the auto-x course. If you've never attended one of our events, you should, it's a blast!

Eric the Webmaster for the SVOCA website. The SVO is always in process of updating, It's not uncommon to see Eric, and any or all of his 3 brothers, 2 sons, father, or even his wife out working on the project. Eric Is a Computer Systems Consultant for HSBC Banking corporation, where he keeps their computer networks, and systems running smoothly.

You can email Eric at eric@svoca.com.

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