A
t its debut, the thirdgeneration ’79 Mustang
was one of the most
dramatic-looking cars on American
roads. Its clean, angular styling, was
decidedly European and probably
not surprising since Ford’s then-Vice
President of Light Car and Truck
Design, Jack Telnack, spent much of
the ’70s at Ford’s European operations, spearheading development of,
among other things, the original
Ford Fiesta and Mk II Ford Granada.
Although larger in every dimension than the Mustang II it replaced,
the Fox chassis car was also lighter,
thanks to thinner glass, plus greater
use of aluminum and plastics in its
construction.
It was also the most aerodynamic
car to emerge from
Ford’s U.S. oper-
ations at the time, thanks to a drag
coefficient of .46 for the two-door
notchback and .44 for the threedoor hatch. Although still boasting
the traditional front-engine, reardrive configuration, it was more
modern underneath, adopting modified MacPherson strut front suspension and a four-link live rear axle
with coil springs instead of semielliptic leaves. The Mustang II’s front
disc/rear drum brake setup was carried over, however.
The top performer in 1979 was
the Cobra, a $1,173 option package
on the three-door hatchback that
added special paint and decals, a
choice of carbureted 2.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder or 302ci V-8
engines, four-speed manual or
three-speed automatic transmission, and a special handling suspension based around Michelin’s metric
TRX wheel-and-tire package.
Given its fresh styling and intriguing turbo engine, the new Mustang
naturally made an ideal choice for
pacing the 63rd running of the
Indianapolis 500. As a result, Ford
embarked upon a program to produce not only three actual Pace Cars
for duty on race day, but also a limited run of 10,478 replicas.
These replicas, all based upon
the three-door hatchback (body
code 61R) were built at Ford’s
Dearborn (7,634) and San Jose
(2,844) Assembly Plants between
April and July 1979.
Distinguishing features of the ’79
Pace Car Mustang were special
Pewter Metallic exterior paint (with
black lower body trim), orange pinstriping, and graphics. The Pace
Cars also sported black headlight
pockets, unique dual-slat grille,
aggressive front air dam housing a
pair of Marchal driving lights, and a
non-functional cowl hood with the
center section painted black like the
lower body. Large orange
“Mustang” lettering flanked the
hoodscoop on each side, while
“speeding” pony graphics and
Indianapolis Pace Car callouts were
emblazoned across each flank. The
Issue 2 FOX Mustang Magazine 59