'79 Official race truck?

[79 Indy]

I got my Marti report the other day and it was a great read ! There were 4,225 "Indianapolis Speedway" trucks built in 1979. That's not very many really but it's a lot more than I expected. The report also gave me the dealers name and date of sale. I called the dealer just on a long shot that they might have some info. Believe it or not the dealership is still owned by the same family and when I asked the nice lady on the phone about any old paperwork, she kind of giggled ( I expected that ) and said "sure" (I didn't expect that). She gave me the original purchaser's name and address and emailed me a copy of the original sales invoice.

So........... being the pseudo sleuth that I am I googled his name and sure as heck, he still lives where he did in 1979 and he has a listed phone number. After a couple of phone attempts I got his wife and he called me back today. He thinks he's got some old photos and literature for the truck.Some of the "things" he says he has are the original "Official Truck" stickers that go on the doors, fenders and tailgate. Those stickers were shipped in a box in the seat and the dealers would apply them if the customer wanted them on the truck. MOST of them never got used.

The original owner was forced to part with the truck in 1982 amidst a bitter divorce and he hasn't seen it since ! The guy I bought it from lives just 22 miles from the original owners house ! I don't know the history in between but I'll find it I'm sure.

Again, these trucks really don't have much value as a collectable vehicle. Most people don't even know they existed. This was the first "special edition" truck Ford ever offered. GMC followed it up in 1980 with the Indy truck but Ford laid the groundwork for the trucks at Indy.

I stopped by the local body shop last week and scheduled the truck in for paint. They will start work on it the last week of October and it should take 3-4 weeks.

Now, if I could only find one of the legendary Indy Pinto's. Yes really, Pinto.

As for power. it's got a 351-W in it right now. There's a Coyote motor in the future though. Either in this one or my original Indy F-150 sitting quietly in the corner of my shop.

I'll keep you posted.

 

[fatherdoug]

How cool is that! Neat story! Are you sure the truck has a 351W in it? If it does, the engine has been transplanted.

 

[79 Indy]

The truck was originally a 302 with a C-4. The guy I got it from said it had a late model 302 in it that was junk. He put this 351 and C-6 in it. Certainly not correct or even an option but OK by me. I've restored rigs to concours before. I'll never do it again because it makes you a nervous wreck to drive and enjoy them. This old truck will look box stock on the body and interior. BUT, I am goi g to do the Coyote swap to one of my Indy trucks. If this 351 even hiccups, it'll be this one.

Thanks for the thumbs up !

 

[bucks77ford]

How cool is that! Neat story!

Cool story.

 

[Mil1ion]

I was just given an explorer striping kit for a 79 from a nice guy on ebay after a bought a couple of parts from him.

Now I have the original pattern that a friend of mine who is a commercial artist can reproduce for a few people.

Update:
This is the rear kit for the box # DTTZ-9920000- HE. orange stripes

 

[Mil1ion]

I got my Marti report the other day and it was a great read ! There were 4,225 "Indianapolis Speedway" trucks built in 1979. That's not very many really but it's a lot more than I expected. The report also gave me the dealers name and date of sale. I called the dealer just on a long shot that they might have some info. Believe it or not the dealership is still owned by the same family and when I asked the nice lady on the phone about any old paperwork, she kind of giggled ( I expected that ) and said "sure" (I didn't expect that). She gave me the original purchaser's name and address and emailed me a copy of the original sales invoice.

So........... being the pseudo sleuth that I am I googled his name and sure as heck, he still lives where he did in 1979 and he has a listed phone number. After a couple of phone attempts I got his wife and he called me back today. He thinks he's got some old photos and literature for the truck.Some of the "things" he says he has are the original "Official Truck" stickers that go on the doors, fenders and tailgate. Those stickers were shipped in a box in the seat and the dealers would apply them if the customer wanted them on the truck. MOST of them never got used.

The original owner was forced to part with the truck in 1982 amidst a bitter divorce and he hasn't seen it since ! The guy I bought it from lives just 22 miles from the original owners house ! I don't know the history in between but I'll find it I'm sure.

Again, these trucks really don't have much value as a collectable vehicle. Most people don't even know they existed. This was the first "special edition" truck Ford ever offered. GMC followed it up in 1980 with the Indy truck but Ford laid the groundwork for the trucks at Indy.

I stopped by the local body shop last week and scheduled the truck in for paint. They will start work on it the last week of October and it should take 3-4 weeks.

Now, if I could only find one of the legendary Indy Pinto's. Yes really, Pinto.

As for power. it's got a 351-W in it right now. There's a Coyote motor in the future though. Either in this one or my original Indy F-150 sitting quietly in the corner of my shop.

I'll keep you posted.

great story. I am aware of the Mustang pace car but not a Pinto

 

[79 Indy]

They are rumored to have existed but I've never even seen a photo of one. I actually spoke to the Ford rep in charge of the 79 Indy program and he confirmed there were a few Pintos with similar stripes and paint. He didn't remember how many and he thought it might have been an area dealer promotion rather than anything Ford did officially. They'd be a neat piece if they existed, but I'll bet any that might have been created are long gone. I've never found anything that proves they were produced. No literature, no photos, nothing.

 

[Indyman79]

Hello Fellow 1979 Indy 500 Fans.. I do also have one of these truck with 11,000 miles. It is a pretty cool part of my 1979 Indy 500 collection, which includes a Mustang Pace Car and one of the rare 1979 Indy 500 Pace Wreckers. I have a lot of information, promo's and some NOS parts.. let me know what you are looking for.. John from Detroit

 

[Indyman79]

like nos tailgate panel

^^^Got any spare tailgate panels Dean???

I do have nos tailgate panel, does have some shelf wear. John

 

[primetime]

Hello Fellow 1979 Indy 500 Fans.. I do also have one of these truck with 11,000 miles. It is a pretty cool part of my 1979 Indy 500 collection, which includes a Mustang Pace Car and one of the rare 1979 Indy 500 Pace Wreckers. I have a lot of information, promo's and some NOS parts.. let me know what you are looking for.. John from Detroit

Pics of the rides we can drool over??

 

[79 Indy]

I do have nos tailgate panel, does have some shelf wear. John

Howdy ! Did you have the tailgate panel on ebay recently ? I saw one on there but I felt like it was a little too pricey for me. Post up a pic of yours if you can, and a price too please.

I missed one of the wreckers a few years ago, in a little town called Hollister Missouri. It was the real deal Indy wrecker but I couldn't get the owner to my price so I passed. Kind of regret it now. Holmes 440 bed if I recall correctly.

Post some pics of your truck too.

 

[LEB Ben]

I do have nos tailgate panel, does have some shelf wear. John

I'm interested...shoot me a PM with a price.

 

[SteelSteeds]

Hello to all of you. I'm a newbie here but I've owned at least one of these trucks for many years.

Regarding the decals, I'll be reproducing them very shortly. I currently need two sets for my own trucks and I'll make a few extra sets while we are at it. I have two complete sets of the original lettering decals that came in the box in the seat. I've also got an original paint and decal truck for size and placement accuracy. We will use them as patterns for size and color so the reproductions should be dead on.

If anyone has a question about these trucks I'll be happy to try and help. I've followed them pretty closely for a lot of years. Did you know there were 4,225 of them built ? You could get them in 2 and 4 wheel drive, 302's, 351's or 460's with manual or auto trans. Did you know there were a VERY few factory Indy wreckers with the same color scheme ? I missed one several years ago and it's long gone.

If you've got any info I'm all ears. These trucks are disappearing quickly and I'd love to have the data plate info off of any left out there. Particularly plant, DSO and sequence numbers.

Thanks , Dean

Hey Dean, you posted on another forum a while back, but I haven't seen you there in a while. I just stumbled across this one.
My Indy truck is going in for paint in the next week or two. I am also working on reproducing these stripes, and would hate for us to be duplicating our efforts. I've already done a lot of the leg work. I would love to talk with you a bit, if you're amenable.

To everyone else, glad to see some interest in the Indy trucks! I picked mine up a few months ago, it's a 302/C4 2wd F-150 Ranger with very few options. But it's 98% rust free (the tailgate is very rusty for some reason), and runs great.

I am in need of a few things for my truck, some of which others are also looking for. I too need the tailgate panel, I have one that isn't too bad, but would like a really nice or NOS one if possible. I also will need the factory roll bar as mine has been removed though the holes are still in the bed. I also need some factory black mirrors, mine are in rough shape.

Thanks!

 

[79 Indy]

Heck yeah I'm open to conversation. I talk a lot better than I type anyway. Call me anytime at 479-263-3326. If I don't answer just leave me a message and I'll get back to you ASAP. I'm a full time professional fire fighter, an elected official and an auctioneer. I stay pretty busy. If I don't answer the phone, there's a pretty good chance I'm doing one of those 3 things. My truck goes in for paint before the end of the year, although I have considered waiting until the foul weather is over and doing it in March.

As far as the stripes, I'm all ears on combining efforts. I'll need two sets. I've considered purchasing them from the site listed earlier in this thread but I'm open to suggestions. If it helps, I have two nearly complete sets of the door, fender and tailgate decals. I'd be glad to LOAN them out for replication but only under the most stringent stipulations. I paid really good money for both of them and I don't want to risk losing them.

Call me and lets chat. Thanks, Dean 479-263-3326

 

[SteelSteeds]

It was great talking to you last night Dean! I'm really excited to get this project moving forward.

This morning I purchased an NOS Indy 500 Official Truck stripe package, for one side of a longbed truck. I already had the layout and sizing for all of the pieces, since they are identical to the Freewheeling chromatic decals which I have. This will allow a 100% accurate color reproduction.
As I get closer to having these stripes reproduced, I will update this thread, and start a for-sale thread as well. I can say this much though:
Unlike other reproductions being offered, these decals will have the correct fuel door cutouts, die cut exactly like they were from the factory.
Also unlike other reproductions, the door lettering will not be printed on the set, but will be a separate decal to be used or not at the buyer's discretion. The correct font and lettering size will also most definitely be used...
I can also guarantee the price will be lower despite the higher quality.

More info as it's available!

 

[SteelSteeds]

Illustrated in the 1973/79 Ford Light Truck Parts Catalog / Text-Exterior Moulding Section / Tape Stripes-TYPE 15.


Later on in 1979, Ford replaced D9TZ-9920000-PA with D9TZ-1020000-AA Right Side and D9TZ-1020001-AA Left Side.

This information is not accurate. I found an NOS D9TZ-1020000-AA and purchased it, but it is a type 14 stripe, the Freewheeling pinstripe outline type.

Does anyone out there have any updated information, or other possible part numbers for partial Indy truck stripes? I have the sizing laid out for duplication, but I really want to get some original pieces for correct color and layout.

 

[LEB Ben]

For the record...if either of you , 79 Indy or SteelSteeds, starts getting an influx of PM's...it seems there's been a lot of interest in FW's and Indy trucks lately, so I've been referring them to this thread.

 

[SteelSteeds]

Thank you. I think I have enough posts now to get a PM.
I've been seeing a lot of interest in the Indy trucks, but very little in the FW. Now that I have an Indy, I really want to find a FW too!

 

[2005gps]

pace truck help

hello gentlemen I have two 1979 f150s one with stripes one w /o .Is there a code on vin or warranty plate that tells if both are pace trucks? same interiors orange tailgate panels wheels and one has push bar with marchal fog lights and holes in bed for roll bar are these correct equipment ?oh yes both have 460 /c6

 

[Big Jim F150]

Yes that's the correct equipment for the Indy 500 pace trucks, and that is not. a roll bar on those trucks it's a GT Bar that is what Ford calls it, and that's what the holes in the bed are for, they're the mounting holes for the GT Bars, I had just read an article on the Indy Pace truck in Vintage Truck magazine.