The Mustang's Second Round at Pacing the Indy 500
1979 was a pivotal year in the history of the Mustang. The II label tagged onto the economy-minded 74-78 generation of the pony car was gone, the styling was fresh, sporty and modern, and performance had once again been factored into the development of the Mustang. The Mustang styling team, headed up by Jack Telnack, had injected a decidedly European flavour into the look of the 79 Mustang, which was quite a departure from any of its predecessors. Little did they know that this same basic body style would be in production for 15 years with little more than updates to the nose, tail and interior of the car, until a major redesign would finally come along in 1994; quite a tribute to the original designers. Needless to say, the 79 Mustang was a hit with the public and the press.

In their quest to gain as much exposure as possible for the new Mustang, Ford managed to secure it as the 1979 Official Pace Car for the biggest race in the world, the famed Indianapolis 500. To commemorate this event Ford built a limited production run of Pace Car replicas that were sold to the general public.

Features:
The 1979 replica cars had a number of features that distinguished them from the regular Mustang, and paralleled the styling cues of the actual car that paced the 79 Indy 500. This including 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, true Recaro bucket seats with a distinctive checkered pattern, and simulated engine-turned dash inserts. One of the most distinctive features of the Pace Cars was the bold orange and red decal package that flowed 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 302 V-8 (now renamed in metric lingo as the 5.0) and the new 2.3L turbocharged 4-cylinder. While both engines put out similar horsepower figures (140 hp for the 5.0, and 139 hp for the turbo-4), the 5.0 had significantly more torque than the turbo engine and was decidedly quicker on the street. The 5.0 was offered with either a 4-speed manual or 3-speed automatic transmission, while the turbo-4 could only be ordered with the 4-speed.

The Pace Cars:
While the 1979 Mustang was a decent performer on the street (especially for 1979), it was decided that something a bit stronger was needed to perform the actual pacing duties at IMS on race day. For starters a convertible was not available in 1979, yet open-air styles were preferred at Indy, so that fans and spectators could get a look at the celebrity drivers and passengers on the parade laps. Fords answer was to create 3 one-off Mustangs with T-tops to do the job. Once the new holes were cut in the roof and glass panels fabricated to fit in all three cars were sent to Roush Racing in order to up the performance levels. Jack Roush oversaw the transformation which included blueprinting and balancing the engines, installing Boss 302 rods, crank and aluminium pistons, Boss 302 solid lifter cam, large-port 351 heads, aluminium intake manifold and a 4-barrel carb. This brought horsepower levels up to around the 300 mark, more than doubling that of the production 1979 Mustang 5.0. The automatic transmissions were modified to handle the extra power and give firmer shifts. Next the car was lowered with stiffer springs, and had larger brakes installed, both front and rear.

Only one of the 3 pace cars built for the 1979 Indy 500 exists in its original condition today. The other two were eventually converted to 1983 specifications, painted white and used to pace other events. Both these cars are still in existance, but it is estimated it would cost about ,000+ to restore them to their original condition and configuration. Mr. Roush, how about it?

Production Figures:
A total of 10,471 replicas were built for sale to the public. The production breakdown consisted of:
5,970 with the turbo-4;
2,402 with the 5.0/4-speed, and;
2,106 with the 5.0/automatic combination.
This total does not include the 3 Roush Racing built cars that performed the actual pace duties at the Indy 500. Those 3 cars included significant engine and suspension modifications to deal with the speeds required at Indy.