’79 Mustang Pace Car Features
Aggressive front air dam and grille
Standard
TRX metric tires (P190/65R390).
Although the 131hp 2.3-liter turbo-four drew
most of the attention from “buff book” writers
in 1979, many of whom believed the V-8 was
on borrowed time, in practice, despite a short
3.45:1 rear axle ratio (versus 2.47 on V-8 fourspeeds, 3.08 for automatics) it was still slower
than the 140hp 302, which could clock a 0- to
60-mph time of around 9 seconds (Car and
Driver actually reported 8.3 seconds for their
’79 V-8 test victim) and cover the standing
quarter-mile in under 17.
Although decent by late-’70s street-performance standards, for actual Pace Car duty, the
stock driveline wasn’t deemed stout enough to
keep up with the open-wheel racers on parade
laps, thus the three Mustangs selected for real
Pace Car duties were given fortified engines,
courtesy of Jack Roush Performance. Items
included a Holley 600-cfm four-barrel carburetor, ’69 Ford dual-plane high-rise intake manifold, ’71 351 Windsor heads, with 1.84/1.54inch intake and exhaust valves, TRW forged
pistons, ’69 Boss 302 connecting rods, ’70
Boss 302 solid-lifter camshaft, and other highperformance features. All of these cars sported
modified C4 three-speed automatic transmissions and a special T-top roof conversion
designed by Ford’s in-house glass division and
fitted by outside contractor Cars & Concepts
(street Pace Car replicas all came with a flip-up
air roof). The actual Pace Car for the race was
driven by ex-Formula 1 Triple World Champion,
Jackie Stewart, who at the time worked as a
performance consultant for Ford, while the
other two Mustangs served as backups.
All three actual Pace Cars still survive to this
day; one is at Indianapolis in the Speedway
Hall of Fame Museum, while the other two are
housed in Jack Roush’s personal collection.
The ’79 Indy 500 winner, Rick Mears, was
given a stock 302/four-speed replica as a prize
and not one of the actual Pace Cars, as has
often been reported.
Among third-generation Mustangs, the ’79
Pace Car replicas were arguably the first to be
considered truly collectible and today rank as
some of the most interesting and unique of all
the Fox-chassis cars.
Rear spoiler and dual exhaust tips
Standard
Recaro adjustable front bucket seats
Standard
Pewter Metallic paint &
Pace Car decal lettering
Standard
Houndstooth seat inserts front and rear
Standard
Indianapolis Speedway
quarter-panel logo
Standard
Michelin TRX wheels and tires
Standard
Cowl-induction hood
Standard
Engine-turned dash (note 306 miles)
Standard
Pony logos
Standard
Issue 2 FOX Mustang Magazine 61