During the 60’s the production of Pace Car replicas was reserved by most manufactures to a very limited number used for the event at Indy and as incentives for salesmen to compete for top honors and a chance to win one of a few hundred produced.
After being chosen for the Official Pace Car primarily based on the phenomenal initial sales, Ford assembled approximately 225 Pace Cars. The production number is based on information in the 1994 book Mustang Production Guide – Volume 1 1964 1/2 to 1966 by Jim Smart and Jim Haskell. Ford Motor Company purged their complete files on all the production cars in the 1964 – 1966 years so records are at best a compilation of owners supplying records that could be verified back to the original sale from the dealerships.
Ford shipped 35 convertibles to Indianapolis for use during the festivities preceding the Indy 500. Due to the short notice and initial sales success of the Mustang the 35 festival cars were sourced from dealer stock and were not specifically built for the event. As such each were equipped with a wide range of optional equipment. All were painted Wimbledon White (color code “M”) with either red, white or blue vinyl interiors and were powered by a D-code 289-4V with either an automatic or 4-speed manual transmission.
3 actual pace cars were produced starting with 260-2V convertibles that were shipped to Holman-Moody for modification. All 3 were modified with prepared 289s and chassis modifications installed to allow the cars to safety perform the high-speed work of pacing the Indy 500.
190 hardtops Mustang Pace Car replicas were distributed to winners of the dealer sales programs known as the ‘Checkered Flag’ and ‘Green Flag’ contests while. This program ran during the month of April 1964 with every dealership having the opportunity to participate in either program. The details on the two contests are explained in the Smart/Haskell book.
Two distinctive differences from regular production Mustang hardtops appear to have occurred. All were painted in Pace Car White (color code “C”) instead of Wimbledon White and all appear to have had the 1965 hood. Another distinctive difference is the ‘acid etch’ lettering on the radiator support which specifically identifies them as pace cars.