Part of the Mustang’s 45+ year heritage is that there are many collectible examples of the breed. Some of them command hundreds of thousands of dollars at auction and others simply need to be preserved for their uniqueness. One of the rarer examples of a collectible Mustang is the Indianapolis Pace Car versions.

As it had been in 1965, the 1979 Mustang was picked to pace the annual Indianapolis 500 race. Ford Designer Jack Telnack (far right) poses with team members and a prototype of the 1979 Mustang Pace Car. Courtesy of Ford

To date, there have only been three years when Mustangs led the pack at the Indy 500 race – 1964, 1979 and 1994. The first, of course, coincided with the introduction of the Mustang. The second, with the birth of the modern Mustang and the last bringing the performance focus of SVT to light.

The introduction of the Fox platform Mustang was immensely important as it signaled Ford’s movement away from the EPA-driven shackles of the past. As old as it may appear now, at the time, it was a tornado of fresh air… and thinking. To celebrate the introduction of the third generation Mustang, three-time World Champion Sir Jackie Stewart would handle the driving duties, pacing the 1979 Indianapolis 500 in one of three specially built pace car Mustangs.

Photos: GTAMC

As had historically been the case, any major revision of the Mustang generated enormous sales in the first year and 1979 was no different, with a total of 369,936 sold. That’s higher than any other year since. To commemorate the Mustang’s important duties in Indianapolis, a special run of 10,478 Indy pace car Mustangs were assembled and sold.

Although the actual pace cars (of which three were built, by ROUSH Engineering) were all powered by higher-output-than-stock 5.0 V-8s, the replicas could be had either with the 132hp 2.3-liter turbocharged “Iron Duke” four-cylinder or a still-anemic 140hp 5.0-liter V-8 with two-barrel carburetor. Back in the day, they were pretty quick, but of much more importance, they were significant – often called the First collectible Mustangs of the New Age of Ford Performance.

So, it is nothing less than incomprehensible how we can bring you the following photos. Posted on the Greater Toronto Area Mustang Club message board, they show an example of what ignorance – or carelessness – can easily bring about. We have no doubt that this is not the first – nor will it be the last – of this fabled Mustang to meet an unsavory fate. We can only hope that someone will take on the challenge and restore this once-proud pony to a better condition.

It is going to take someone with a strong heart and deep pockets to bring this princess back to the ball.

In case you are wondering, the three original pace cars reside in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum. Instead of the sunroof found on the replicas, the original 1979 pace cars had T-tops.