The 1964 Mustang Indy 500 Pace Car
It’s undeniable that the Mustang has a great history. And I’ve written about it on many occasions, but still today I stumble upon great stories – parts of history – that make are worth writing about.
The story I came across this time is about the 1964 Ford Mustang Indy 500 Pace Car. Only 3 of those convertibles were prepared by Holman & Moody to pace the Greatest Spectacle In Racing-the Indianapolis 500.
“Ford produced three consecutively numbered Wimbledon White (not Pace Car White) Mustang convertibles for this purpose-5F08F100240, 5F08F100241, and 5F08F100242. Only one of them is known to have survived, 5F08F100241, belonging to Bruce Weiss of Florida. It is a beautifully restored showpiece with all of the original appointments, including the two-way radio and chrome hand holds. Bruce showed this car quite a bit during the ’90s. It hasn’t been seen much since.”
The other 2 are “missing in action” hence the call out to all Mustang enthusiasts to help us find out where they are or what has happened to them. Read all about it here.
These 3 aren’t to be confused with the promotional Mustang Pace Car Edition Coupes of which 190 were built (also in 1964) as an incentive program for Ford dealers:
“Only 190 of these Coupes were built under the direction of Lee Iacocca as an incentive program for Ford dealers. This promotional competition was planned to distribute Pace Car Editions to dealers nationwide as a sales performance reward. Many of these coupes were lost and destroyed over the years. It is estimated by experts that approximately ten restored, roadworthy examples exist.”
Funny part of all this as well is that those Coupes apparently were in Pace Car white where as the 3 real pace car Mustangs were in Wimbledon white. Kinda weird.
So, had one of these in your barn and didn’t think it was all that important? Or maybe you know where the 2 missing Pace Cars are… you might be in for some money.
And just in case you were curious as to what the other pace cars were in the long Indy 500 history, they’re all here.
8 Responses to “The 1964 Mustang Indy 500 Pace Car”
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Hi, I just came across your blog while looking up ’64 1/2 Mustang websites. My parents bought me a Mustang as my first car over 15 years ago. After we had it a few years I was bored one day and looked up the VIN codes and found out it was a pace car replica! We didn’t even know such a thing existed. My husband did some work on it before we got married and that’s what we drove away from our wedding in. Anyway, just wanted to let you know I enjoyed your blog and I’m the proud owners of one of these cars :)
Amy
Hey Amy – it sounds like you have a great Mustang there, kinda jealous now ;)
Thanks for the kind words on the blog, hope you will keep reading.
- Kris
Hi
nice website.
It´s no joke: We found one of the 190 PaceCar promos on a switzerland Junkyard on September 19th, bought it for 50 Bucks in an auction
And it looks like a T5.. So it´s a rare of the rare
I own a 1964 1/2 Mustang, how do I find out if it was a pace car? Martha_92010@yahoo.com May be interested in selling.
Hey Martha, oddly enough Mustang Monthly dedicated an article yesterday about the myths around the Pace Car Mustangs which you can read over here.
Your blog sure is a treasure trove of Mustang related information, Kris. I really enjoyed Amy’s story to boot, to have acquired such a gem as a first car, and unknowingly so, is just awesome. That first car is definitely a keeper!
I had no idea that this was ever used as a pace car, I just love reading this blog and learning a little history along the way about the Mustang, makes one just fall in love with a great car.
nice article here i love reading this kind of articles can you post articles about mercedes? thanks a lot!