After witnessing GMC’s highly decorated Indy 500 reproductions, Ford developed its “official truck” in 1979. That year’s Mustang pace vehicle was silver, black, and orange. Over 6,000 Ford F-series trucks sold with the “Indianapolis Speedway Official Truck” package. However, GMC made few copies. This 59,000-mile example had a frame-off fix from 2015 to 2017, which made it look like it was never used. Even though replica Indianapolis 500 pace cars have a long and illustrious past, 1979 was, without a doubt, their peak year. The silver, black, and orange Ford Mustang, which was brand new at the time, was picked as the year’s pace car. The company sold over 10,000 of these highly anticipated cars. Not only is it still the most popular model of an Indy pace car ever, but Ford also sold over 6,000 exact copies of the support trucks Ford provided for that year’s Indy 500. The same company that owns Invoice Pricing also owns Bring a Trailer. Along with 4,225 other cars, this 1979 Ford F-150 was built with the “Indianapolis Speedway Official Truck Package.” A little more than 2,000 more F-100, F-250, and F-350 trucks were built. To make sure they covered everything, Ford even made an F-350 “Official Wrecker” with stickers that went with it. After a full restoration like this, they’re cool, unique, and useful cars these days. Ford wasn’t the first company to make a copy of a truck, but in the late 1970s, it was the first to become popular with the “official truck” look. GMC deserves this kind of praise. In 1974, Oldsmobile made the Hurst/Olds pace cars, and GMC made the backup trucks. It had given basic vehicles for the event before, but it had never fully used Indianapolis’ marketing potential. Since GMC knew it would never be able to make a “pace car,” it chose to not only make trucks but also copy the Hurst/Olds gold-and-white color scheme and sell them to dealers that year. From 1975 to 1977, GMC brought the idea back and made 500 fake “official trucks” each year to go with Buick and Oldsmobile pace cars. In 1979, Ford was hired to provide support vehicles for the Indianapolis 500. The brand-new Fox-body Mustang was chosen as the pace car. In September of that year, for the 1980 model year, the F-series got its first big makeover in fifteen years. The old car would get a nice send-off if it were fixed up and heavily advertised, which would increase sales that spring and summer. Ford also had a closet full of different clothes. Ford used to make many different sets of “Free-Wheelin” stickers for each truck it made. The Bronco Sport recently mentioned this catalog. One of these packages, the 1978 F-series “Styleside Free Wheeling package,” has colors that look a lot like the proposed Mustang pace car. It has orangey rainbow stripes, black highlights, silver paint, and a silver-and-black interior with orange piping and trim. The Ford decal makers created the “Official Truck” bundle by adding images with an Indianapolis theme to what they already had. Because it was so easy to put together, Ford put the package on all F-series cars, from the base F-100 with a straight-six engine to the F-350 4×4 with a 460-cubic-inch V-8 engine. Trucks with flared beds, rear-drive F-350s, and 4×4 F-100s were the only cars left out. Purchasers had to agree to a number of necessary choices, such as adding an extra gas tank and ordering their truck with the silver metallic Ranger trim. It’s important to note that both the Explorer and the Ranger were F-series trims before they were models. There were also other “recommended options,” and many of them had handling packages, power steering and brakes, CB radios, and other tools because the truck was meant to carry people who came to the showroom. It’s not clear how many of the 367 wreckers and 5983 “Official Truck” packages were actually sent to owners with the pictures already on them. It was a surprise that some trucks still needed to get the Indianapolis Motor Speedway decals and letters that were sent in the cab for the dealer to put on them. On the inside, it was a normal F-series, which was strong and simple but prone to rust. When the current owner bought it, you’d never know that this one had old colors and surface corrosion. The engine was completely rebuilt, the body was taken apart to the bare metal, and new paint and logos were put on the truck. There is also a large folder for paperwork. With a restored bike like this one, all you have to do is plan your trips. You won’t have to worry about damaging the bike’s original patina or racking up miles. That’s for sure. If you bring your “official” truck to the track in May of next year, they’ll let you into the infield. If that doesn’t work out, you’ll be welcome at almost any event with old cars. The sale ends on July 17.
