(Originally published May 17, 2013) We Midwestern CC contributors are still recovering from our Iowa confab, but are back nonetheless, with the latest installment of our Indianapolis 500 Pace Car retrospective. The last half of the 1970s would see Pace Cars that were (mostly) far from showroom-stock; they were, however, an interesting bunch.
Buick’s advertising slogan used to be “Wouldn’t you really rather have a Buick?”, and in 1975, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway answered “Yes”. Instead of one of the bigger models, the ’75 Century served as Pace Car that year, joining the 1959 Electra 225 and the 1939 Roadmaster to become one of only three Buicks ever to do so up to that time.
Actor James Garner was its driver, and although certainly was celebrity, he nonetheless had enough racing experience to be deemed suitable for Pace Car duty.
The actual Pace Cars had a 455 V8; a 350 powered the replicas. Buick supplied LeSabre convertibles as Festival Cars. Gary Smith, a young stylist at GM, designed the graphics for this car (and also the 1976 version; his account of these cars can be found here.) Replicas of this Pace Car are fairly scarce, as there were reportedly only 1,813 built. Another source (here), which documents these cars fairly well, indicates that a shortage of decals may have been responsible for the low number of them produced.
It appears Buick went next door to Oldsmobile’s house, knocked on the door and asked, “If you are not using it, may I borrow your big Hurst shifter?” I’ll go out on a limb and say that there never were any Hurst/Buicks other than the one you see right here.
In 1976 Buick was back again with another Century. The biggest difference between the two was the powerplant, as now the 455 was out and a turbocharged V6 was in (thus making this Century the very first V6-powered Indy Pace Car). There is some info on the web about how Buick’s turbo program resulted from some experiments by a Boy Scout Explorer Post involving turbocharging the new (old) Buick V6. A Buick engineer was one of their advisors, and one thing led to another. The car was good for more than 300 horsepower (the reported actual figure was 307 horsepower, which would have eclipsed the 455’s output), and its hood, front fenders and trunk lid were all made of special lightweight aluminum. The driver was country music star Marty Robbins, himself an avid race driver with something like 35 NASCAR races under his belt.
It has been reported that with less than 22-pounds of boost, the 3.8 Turbo Century did a better job of meeting acceleration requirements (90 mph exiting from turn 3; 110 mph exiting from turn 4; and 120 mph upon entering the pits) than did the 455-powered 1975 Century. There is a very nice piece on this car here.
Like the previous year’s Century, the ’76 version was styled by Gary Smith. He has pointed out that while the actual Pace Car had full side graphics, replicas wore a truncated graphic that originated behind the eagle on the front doors. There were about 1,290 replicas made, all of which lacked the high-powered engine and other special features of the actual Pace Cars. Replicas could be had with either a (non-turbo) V6 or a 350 V8.
In 1977, an Oldsmobile paced the race for the fourth time in the decade, setting a new record for most Pace Car appearances by one make within a decade. The featured car was the newly downsized 1977 Delta 88. The actual Pace Cars would come equipped with a unique Targa roof, a feature unavailable in the Pace Car replicas. The Pace Car was also equipped with bucket seats and a floor-shifted transmission. Had that combination (including the Targa roof) been offered to the public, this could have gone down as the most desirable of the post-1976 B-body cars. James Garner would return as wheelman this year.
The actual Pace Cars were powered by modified 403 V8s. There is lots of speculation, but it is understood that these engines received special cams, ported and polished heads, and dual exhausts. Some sources refer to W-30 parts while others attempt to debunk the fact. Suffice to say that these cars were stronger than anything you could buy at your local Olds dealer in 1977. Olds did produce about 2,400 replicas, all of which were powered by a stock 403 and otherwise equipped with Positraction, sport wheels and a sport steering wheel. And the graphics, of course.
Somewhere I have some photos of at least one of these cars (most likely one of the Festival cars) from a trip some friends and I took to the Speedway that year. But rather than look for it, I will use this much better shot.
Nineteen seventy-eight marked the first time Chevrolet would choose the Corvette to pace at Indianapolis, but not the last. Once more, Jim Rathmann was the driver. This Pace Car would be remarkably close to the actual production version, with flag mounts being their only significant difference. Oddly, there were actually only four of these cars at the track, with ’78 Monte Carlos serving as Festival Cars.
According to a member of the C3 Vette Registry, the actual Pace Car was the very first production build of an RPO Z-78 Corvette, complete with emissions equipment and functional air conditioning and a CB radio. The details of this car and the other three Vettes at the track are detailed here. Of course, a stock ’78 Corvette was probably much more suited to Pace Car duty than a drum brake-equipped ’71 Challenger, which had been the last stocker so employed.
The replicas of this Pace Car are one of the genre’s more common, as Chevrolet produced 6,502 of them (one for each Chevy dealer). These also became hyped as “instant collector’s items”, thus commanding big premiums over sticker price. The result is that there are quite a few pristine examples around today, some of them never titled. Don’t believe me? Google “1978 Corvette Pace Car” and try to count the number of preserved examples you can find online.
1978 marked the Corvette’s twenty-fifth anniversary, and the car showed some changes to celebrate. This was the first year of the “glassback” rear window, and was also the first year that a C3 Corvette would sport two tone paint jobs. This was one of the last cars done under the long and successful career of Bill Mitchell as head of GM styling.
For those of you whose interests tend towards something other than GM iron (or fiberglass), 1979 came to the rescue. This may be the only example of 1979 coming to the rescue of anything. Perhaps the lone bright spot of the entire year was the debut of the new Fox-platform Ford Mustang. Come to think of it, the debut would have been in 1978. This would be Ford’s first time back to the track since 1968, when someone named Ford drove a Torino. This time, race driver Jackie Stewart would drive the car to start the race, and good old Jim Rathmann would take over during caution periods. The Pace-Stang was fitted with a special T-top, that would not find its way into production cars until 1981. The silver/black color combination was, by now, the traditional choice.
Roush Industries handled the engine mods, which were extensive. The cars (three of them) started with a 5.0 V8, but were fitted with many parts out of Ford’s performance parts bins. Modifications included 351W heads, a 1970 Boss 302 solid lifter cam, and many other specially chosen parts. The completed engines were mounted to modified C-4 automatics. I have not found actual power ratings on these cars, but we can be sure that they were quite a bit stronger than anything available at a Ford Dealer in 1979. An interesting aside is that all three cars were later repainted white and, with new graphics added, paced the Detroit Grand Prix that year. One of the three cars is in the Speedway museum, and the other two are reported as still in the possession of Roush Industries (and still wearing their Detroit look).
Reproductions were available with the stock 302 carried over from the Mustang II, or the short-lived 2.3L turbo mated to a stick shift. Buyers of the replicas also made do with a sunroof instead of the T-Tops. This was one of the most hyped Pace Car replica ever, with over 10,000 produced between plants in Dearborn and San Jose, and there is quite a base of Ford fans who prize these cars as a bright spot in an otherwise dark period for performance at Ford.
There was actually another desirable Ford vehicle to come out of Pace Car duty – The “Official Truck”. For quite a few years, the Pace Car provider was also expected to supply a number of utility vehicles for track use in addition to Pace Cars, Festival Cars and Official Cars. Chevy and GMC had seen most of this duty during the ’70s, but Ford finally got a turn. These trucks have remained favorites of Ford truck fans and can still be found here and there.
We have now closed out the 1970s at Indy, and it was quite a transition. The factory hot rod era was out, and (for the most part) the custom-built specialty car era was upon us. Our next dip into this topic will take us into the 1980s.
You can find previous installments of this series with these links: Part 1 (1946-49), Part 2 (1950-54), Part 3 (1955-59), Part 4 (1960-64), Part 5 (1965-69), Part 6 (1970-74).
This pace car series has been truly enjoyable. Years ago I came across a stash of either Motor Trend or Car & Driver magazines that had belonged to a great-aunt’s ex-husband. There was a very lengthy article about the ’76 Century pace car and it’s turbo V6. While being pretty mechanically ignorant at the time, the article fascinated me. If only I hadn’t later chucked it in the recycle bin…
Mr. Cavanaugh, you are a sly one by slipping a picture of a Chrysler R-body above the bed of that F-150 official pickup! 🙂
Despite inspiration to compare another CC to the life and times of Forrest Gump, I know what I need to write before the end of May.
I never even saw the bleed-thru R body Chrysler in that ad until you mentioned it. This gives me an idea – Just like the guy who does the Bizzaro comic strip who hides a stick of dynamite or a piece of pie in every comic, I could start to hide little pictures of R bodies in my pieces. We could call it “Where’s Lido.” 🙂
Looks like a scan from Popular Mechanics or something. Those mags paper is so thin that sometimes on scans it will pick up the ink bleed through.
Find me a 1979 or 1980 New Yorker Fifth Avenue with the 360 4bbl with duals and tighten every bolt you can get ahold of and it would be a nice ride. Especially in an attractive color.
The 1981 New Yorkers debuted the ultra plush seats that appeared in the M bodies and other Chryslers in the 1980s, but the 81s were only equipped with 318 2bbls.
My ’79 New Yorker has a factory 360 4v engine, factory 2.71 gears (as opposed to the more common 2.45 rear), orange-box electronic ignition (no more Lean-Burn), and a dual exhaust system with an H-pipe. Let me tell you, that car can MOVE. Your suspicions are 100% correct about these cars when they’re equipped properly.
I think its a Motor Trend scan, MT used to use that Road Test Data graphic.
There was a ex police Mustang that model imported here for use as a pace car at Manfield an ordinary road circuit however the car proved to be incapable of cornering at speed without sliding all over the place so extensive mods were made to the suspension to help it out so I can quite believe makers had to modify road cars for Indy even though there are no real corners on that track.
Last I checked there 4 of them.
In all fairness to the car, the driver was probably not used to something that wasnt an ox cart and or had more than 11hp. Plus the track was near a sheep pasture, so, you know….there were girls to impress.
Why? Its not like you can really go too fast without flying off the edge of those postage stamp islands…
“This may be the only example of 1979 coming to the rescue of anything.”
Besides the Pittsburgh Pirates, I got nuthin’.
Good stuff, JP. I’ll take a ’75 Buick convertible and the stripey Stang. That grayscale-plus-orangescale palette just speaks to my ’70s-born brain.
Ditto on the graphics schemes – there was a world of different in color palettes and design themes between the early ’70s and early ’80s, and that’s mirrored on these cars.
Looking at the copy of the ’79 Mustang pace car magazine spread. Did they shrink Jackie Stewart to half his actual size for the photo?
The ’79 Mustang was not a big car.
Look at the picture above that one, of him driving the ‘Stang: same thing. Stewart was a shrimp; he would have made a great jockey.
Jackie Stewart was not a big man either.
Was? I thought Jackie Stewart was still alive…
You should see how big he’s gotten in old age 🙂
Slight nit to pick: 1978 was definitely not “the first year that a Corvette would sport two tone paint jobs.”
Two-tone paint was also available as a factory option from 1956 to 1961.
Good point. I think the source I found this in meant C3 Corvettes. I will fix that.
One word comes to mind: Garish.
That kind of sums up the seventies, eh?
I was a student at GMI (now Kettering) in the early mid 70s at the time that the Buick V6 idea was developed. It indeed grew from a Boy Scout project that was part of a engineering symposium at GMI. A Buick manager who was a judge/technical advisor viewed the project and was impressed. Gale Banks was brought in to act as a consultant and the legendary Buick Turbo V6 was born. Originally it was done for economy reasons, to give V8 power with V6 economy. In 1981, Banks built a twin turbo version of the Buick V6 that became the impetus for the Buick Grand National. Later, he developed turbo versions of the 6.2 Detroit Diesel V8 as well as the IH Ford diesel V8s.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Tssbs6sQ3_M
We had one of those Free Spirit parade Buicks in the barn in April. As we started getting close to the bicentennial, everyone was getting into the act and all sorts of red white and blue trimmed cars started appearing.
As for the 77 Olds pace car, they used a special cammed version of the motor that required 100 no lead. If anyone has opportunity to get ahold of past epsiodes of My Classic Car with Dennis Gage they did an episode in 2010 that visited two of Oldsmobiles pace cars.
http://www.myclassiccar.com/episode/14/20/
The flavor of the Pace Car experience was available starting in 1978 as the Delta 88 Holiday coupe. The 403 was available with the bucket seats, floor shifter, and specific exterior trim giving you a sporty experience. You could order a sunroof and gauge package to give you almost the experience. The wild open roof only appeared on two cars.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8329/8439983234_d8056f9b17_z.jpg
I have always liked the 77 Delta 88 Pace Cars, too bad the bucket and console weren’t available for another year, I did find it cool that the Delta Pace Cars were sort of one of the last bastions of a sporty full size car you could get, all of them had the biggest engine available, which is very un-70’s, but at least it showed that Oldsmobile kinda cared about the performance of the replicas, if not you would have been able to get anything from the 3.8 V6 and up, also all Delta PC’s had the Oldsmobile 4 spoke sport steering wheel.
True that the targa was not available, and I really don’t know how it would have even been feasible since it also requires the Delta to become a hard top too, and how much would that roof weigh when it was removed, and where would you even put it?
I have seen a few Delta PC’s with factory sunroof options, there was a really loaded one on ebay a while back, but it was rusty enough to almost be a parts car, didn’t all the Delta PC’s have an aluminum hood too?
The deal with aluminum hoods on the B & C cars seem to relate mostly to California emissions standards and weight restrictions. Diesels, fuel injected cars, California models, got aluminum hoods. Aside from a simple magnet test, the aluminum hoods had an “A” stamped at the front near the striker latch. My 1983 Eldorado has an aluminum hood which I discovered when we decided to remove it to replace the power antenna and it became a quick 2 man job.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7p-NC8ru4SI
Interesting video about the 77 Olds Pace Car.
Gale Banks only does diesel now.
The Olds 88 Pace Car, was one of my favorites, at that time, I was hoping for revival of full size GM B body performance cars.
Since the B’s were lighter weight, I was hoping for Impala SS comeback. Not til 1990’s though.
BTW: The 88 was the last full sized pace car. [correct me if wrong]
Eh, well, what full size means today and then are 2 different things, the Riviera convertible that paced in 83 was pretty big, there was an Oldsmobile Aurora sedan that paced in 1996 or so too, but this was probably the last full size RWD car that paced as far as I can recall.
the Aurora was a FWD
The ’78 Corvette was the first Indy 500 pace car I remember being aware of.
Who is the white-haired man sitting behind the wheel of the ’77 Delta 88 in the posed shot? IINM, the edition of the Standard Catalog of American Cars that I have has a section at the back with Indy 500 pace car photos, and this same person is in the several years’ worht of pace car photos from around this period.
I believe it to be Tom Binford. He was a mover and shaker in Indianapolis and became the Chief Steward of the Indianapolis 500 from 1974-95. I guess that getting to pose at the wheel of the new Pace Car every year was one of the perks of the job.
Here he is chatting with Bobby Unser around this time.
A ’79 Mustang Pace Car Replica was the first car I bought (i.e., not a family hand-me-down), and I loved that car. It had the 2.3 Turbo/4-speed combo, and yeah it wasn’t that fast by present standards (or even 80s standards once the Mustang got over 200 hp), but it was a revelation compared with a ’66 Impala 283/Powerglide or a ’75 Granada 302. The 2.3 desperately needed balance shafts and sounded pretty agricultural when you wound it out, but the car felt plenty fast at the time and could be tossed around curves like nothing I had ever driven. And the sound of the turbo as it spooled up was fantastic!
Now up to that time I had driven sticks a couple of times, but it had been a few years, so when I picked it up at Pat Milliken I had the task of driving it up Telegraph Road during ruch hour to get to the freeway home. I was pleased to be able to get it home without stalling and without slipping the clutch too much.
The only real problem I ever had was a case of vapor lock on a warm day after I stopped at the top of Independence Pass outside Aspen on a warm day. Turbos and carburetors do not mix …
I unloaded it in favor of an ’83 Mustang GT management lease car when I was promoted to management roll (luckily before the turbo grenaded), and had a bit of a bidding war between two Mustang fans in the driveway of my house and then it was gone.
That car, with the Recaro seats, but with a 225 hp 302/5-speed and the rear suspension and discs, and Goodyear Gatorbacks from the SVO for me would be the ultimate Fox Mustang experience.
Wow – the CC effect in action! Last Sunday I saw a ’77 Olds pace car replica on a trailer on US101 in central California.
Anyone know where i could find info. About the 1981 omega pace car?
My pace csr
Im sure you heard this before very nice car and if ever in the future you decide to sell your car please give me a call ,my mother had one when I was a teenager and been looking for one for 20 years .Thank you for your time Richard 716 998-3659
I have a 1975 Buick Indy pace car replica for sale. contact Tom 920-277-8050
That incarnation of the Mustang at the Indy 500 reminded me of one of those “which one doesn’t belong” puzzles.
Saw this today:
http://barnfinds.com/indy-500-festival-heritage-1979-mustang-pace-car/
I think that the ’79 Mustang was one of the best looking pace cars of the period. I test drove a used replica powered by the turbo four at a Chevy dealer, and was not too impressed. The Recaro seats, front spoiler with the Marchal driving lights, looked very sharp. The color combination really suited the car. The Fox Mustang sure improved over time.