The Ford Mustang had the honor of pacing the field at the Indianapolis 500 about six weeks after its introduction in 1964. 15 years would pass before that happened again, this time with the new Fox body the Mustang used from 1979 to 1993. The seller owns two of the cars, largely identical, with one being in great shape and the other a project car. The catch is that he/she won’t sell them separately, so you must take the pair. Located in Princeton, Wisconsin, this dueling duo is available here on eBay where the bidding stands at $10,100 (reserve unmet so far). Thanks for the interesting tip, Larry D!
Totally new in 1979, the “Fox body” Mustang replaced the Mustang II of 1974-78 when Ford decided to build it as a gussied-up Pinto. This era of the Mustang is often grouped into two segments: the 1979–1986 cars with their quad headlight arrangements, and the 1987–1993 autos with their aerodynamic composite headlamps and front fascia styling. These changes to the Mustang must have impressed the brass at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and they chose the revised automobile as the Official Pace Car of the 1979 Indianapolis 500.
To commemorate this occasion, Ford built nearly 10,500 replicas of the track car for mid-year release (the 500 is always in May). All of them were finished in two-tone pewter and black with orange and red graphics. The front end featured an air dam with fog lights and a full-length cowl-type hood scoop (the rear spoiler was optional). The passengers got to enjoy Recaro seats with black and white patterned inserts. Buyers had their choice of a 140 cubic inch inline-4 (turbocharged) with a 4-speed manual transmission or the 302 V8 with either a 4-speed manual or automatic transmission.
How the seller came about not one but two of these cars is not mentioned. But since they are a pair today, they must remain that way when the cars are sold. So, the winning bidding can drive one of them home while the other will have to go by way of a trailer. Looking at the pictures, it’s hard to tell the cars apart except for the wheels, interior and engine compartment. Let’s do a snapshot of the two cars.
Running Twin
This one has the 302 V8 that has been reworked to 306 cubic inches with a roller camshaft and other goodies. The transmission has been upgraded to a later Borg Warner T5 with some adjustments to the rear end. The body and paint look good with no reports of any rust. Temporary front seats from 1986 are in the car while the original Recaros are out waiting for the next owner to redo them. You can identify this Mustang by its silver pony wheels (not shiny). All the Indy graphics are intact.
Project Twin
You can pick this one out by the shiny polished wheels. This one has the 4-banger under the hood with the original 4-speed and 7.5″ axle. At 65,000 miles, we’re told this car sat for about 25 years before the seller came along. Unlike its twin, this one has rust, principally on the floorboards. The fuel lines and the brakes will all need replacing, with the latter not being hooked up so the car can roll freely on old tires. The seller has tested the engine by running it off an external gas can, and it does well although the turbo wheel is frozen. Not all the Indy decals were installed when it was new.
There were a healthy amount of Pace Cars built and, as is the case for specialty models like this, many were kept. I think this was a pretty good looking package, with the pewter paint flanked by flat black and orange trim, and with the Recaro interior (though the fabric was particularly frail). These two don’t look bad, however…
I suppose the seller’s thought process is to save himself the hassle by selling them together. But doesn’t that reduce the amount of potential buyers? That said, currently there are nine bidders, which isn’t bad. These don’t bring big bucks unless in tip-top shape, I wonder what is the reserve.
Thanks Russ.
The MUSTANG II was NOT Pinto based, old rumor.
2nd Generation, Arizona Platform. Also underpinned the Pinto.
What was the pace car that the driver lost control of in Turn 4? IIRC, he was dealer whose ‘ship sold the most Belch-Fire V8s in that year in Indiananoplace.
1971, Dodge Challenger, The race was marred by a crash involving the pace car at the start. Eldon Palmer, a local Indianapolis-area Dodge dealer, lost control of the Dodge Challenger pace car at the south end of the pit area, and it crashed into a photographers’ stand, injuring 29 people, two seriously. They made 50 Pace car replicas that year.
I don’t care how rich and connected you are, unqualified people should never be allowed to drive around crowds at high speeds. That always bothered me when that happened. I had only been in this country a few years when it occurred and I wondered what kind of country would allow such a thing. My initial thought, and one that has not changed, a country where money over rides common sense.
So now we know that Russ Dixon has prejudice against the Mustang II. Making the statement that the 74-78 Mustang was nothing but a gussied up Pinto shows that this writer knows nothing about cars and is just vomiting what he has been told. Hey Russ.. do some research on a car before you disparage it. You lose credibility by making such statements.
Feel better now, bol-shag?
There’s one of these locally in a driveway with a for sale sign …
Were these mass produced and and not event specific?
Mass produced but rarer than a GT and obviously a regular hatchback or notch back Mustang.
I see the seller has more Mustangs in the background.
Incorrect wheels.
These came originally with metric sized TRX wheels/rims that are incompatible with common tire sizes. TRX sized replacement tires are very expensive, so probably cheaper to just shelve the original wheels somewhere along the line. There are TRX wheel replicas for Mustangs in standard tire sizes, these would look much better.
It’s a stretch (literally), but the 390mm TRX wheels on the Mustang translated into 15.1 inch wheels.
It was a fight, but you could put 15-inch tires on those wheels.
Ford made replicas of the Indy pace cars and sold them all over the country. Chevy and Dodge did the same.
Ah … thanks George … this one is up North here in Southern Ontario.
So except for being old, there’s no other real value to them, unless you are a mustang fanatic =p
Good thing there aren’t many Mustang fanatics around! 😁
Mass produced but rarer than a GT and obviously a regular hatchback or notch back Mustang.
Just for you trivia buffs playing along at home, the 79 Mustang was the only year that had the inside door handles at bottom of the doors.
I’ll show myself out now.
With as low as you sat in that car, the bottom of the door was a perfect place for that door handle. Same in the 79 Capri’s, of which I had two.
HEY GRANT
How do u know the driver was “unqualified”? Or is that just your assumption?
Is far as money being more important that’s pretty much all over the world in most countries.