ICMC - September's Featured Car

Seven years. That's how long it took me to finally get my hands on the Mustang that I'd wanted since the first time I saw it. I was 19 when I first spotted one on the streets of Victoria, British Columbia, and knew that I had to have one for myself. Something about the pewter/black color scheme, orange and red stripes and 6 inch high lettering on the door grabbed my attention and I couldn't get it out of my head. The object of my desire was of course the 1979 Mustang Indy 500 Pace Car Edition. At that time I was a student with a limited budget, so unfortunately there was no way that I was able to pursue the car.

A bit of background: The 1979 Pace Car replicas have a number of features that distinguished them from the 'regular' 1979 Mustang, and paralleled the styling cues of the actual car that paced the '79 Indy 500. This includes a special pewter and satin-back color scheme, blacked out trim, unique grill and deep front air dam, Marchal fog lights, a reverse-style hood scoop (non-functional), true Recaro bucket seats with a distinctive checkered pattern, and simulated engine-turned dash inserts. One of the most unique features of the Pace Cars are the bold orange and red decals that flow along the body lines and then cut up over the roof of the car aft of the rear quarter windows. The "OFFICIAL PACE CAR" lettering was provided in a box with the car from the factory, and could be installed by the dealer, or left off the car for a slightly more subtle presence.

All Pace Cars came with the all-new performance TRX suspension package that included special springs, shocks, sway bars, and metric aluminium rims shod with Michelin rubber. This suspension package substantially enhanced the cornering capabilities of the Mustang, complementing the sporty styling of the car. Engine options were limited to the 2V-302 V-8 (now renamed in metric lingo as the "5.0") and the new 2.3L turbocharged 4-cylinder.

Back to my story; fast-forward to 1997 and my situation had changed dramatically. I had graduated from university, gotten married and was gainfully employed, so I felt that it was time to start a serious search for that elusive pace car that had never left the back of my mind. Luckily, my wife Lisa, being the understanding and wonderful person she is (and a car nut in her own right), fully supported me in my quest. After a few months and some helpful leads from my friends in the Vancouver Island Mustang Association I was able to locate one of these rare cars that was in good condition. Beside being a bit dusty and a suffering from oxidized paint, it was solid, relatively complete and just waiting for the right person to clean it up and bring it back to its former glory. Upon seeing the car I wrote a check and drove our new addition home. It took quite a few hours of cleaning, detailing and buffing, but in the end the paint, decals and interior were brought back to near factory condition.

Our Pace Car is one of only 405 that were designated for sale in Canada in 1979, and one of 185 of the Canadian cars that were assembled at Ford's San Jose plant. The 5.0/4-speed car was built on April 23, 1979, and was originally shipped to Dominion Motors in Vancouver, B.C.. It was sticker-priced at $11,927.30 (Canadian $), substantially more than the run-of-the-mill '79 Mustangs. Options on the car included the Premium Sound System, rear hatch wiper, leather-wrapped tilt steering wheel, interval wipers and a pop-up sunroof.

One interesting feature of this car is that it came with a set of orange pace lights that attach to the roof with magnets, and are powered by a hidden wiring system that plugs into the cigarette lighter and runs up underneath the windshield pillar cover and into the headliner, exiting by the rear of the sunroof. I later learned that a former owner had installed this and actually used the car to pace events at the local speedway 10 years ago.

In March of 1999 I decided to pull the engine and tranny out of the car to be detailed, and allow a thorough detailing of the engine bay at the same time. The block was bored 0.040" over and treated to all new internal components, while all of the accessories were cleaned and detailed. Meanwhile, I stripped the engine bay of 20 years of grime, gunk and undercoating and then repainted it. The wiring harness was also cleaned and detailed while the engine was out. In order to keep costs reasonable, I performed most of the work myself, with help from friends Dennis Atkinson, Steve Cracknell, Marcel Stemkens and Bob Collins.

With the fresh 5.0 V-8 engine bolted back in the sparkling engine bay and running smoothly, the car now had a new lease on life. The hood was repainted to fix a couple of blemishes, and a set of original hood decals were installed to complete the package, just in time for the 1999 show season. In the spring of 2000 the SROD 4-speed was swapped out in favour of a T-5 from a 1990 5.0 LX Mustang.

Since we purchased it the car has done very well, earning quite a few trophies at different car shows in the region. This includes a 1st place showing at the 2000 Bellevue Mustang Roundup in the 79-86 Closed class. Needless to say we are very pleased with the results. Since purchasing the car I have also acquired an extensive collection of memorabilia items relating to the car and the 1979 Indy 500 race, including a rare '79 Pace Car jacket, manufactured by Horizon Sportswear. The car is registered with the Indy Pace Car Registry for 1979 Mustangs, and I have received lots of help and advice from the registry coordinator, Bill Puck, and member Fritz Dowe. I have found the Registry and its members to be a wealth of information, making the project much easier that it could have been.

Like many of use Mustang owners, I still feel that the car is not complete. Future plans include stripping the undercoating from the floorpan and suspension components to do a complete chassis detailing, along with some minor detailing work to the interior and door jam areas. With these cars becoming rarer and more collectible we will be hanging onto this one for a long time. However, there are no plans to turn it into a trailer queen, as these cars (like all Mustangs) were meant to be driven. You can see more of our car, and the history behind the 79 Indy Pace Cars at my website: http://79indypace.stangnet.com

Seven years is a long time, but it was worth the wait!

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