Yahoo Autos 1979 Ford F-150 Indy 500 Special Pickup Is Today's Bring a Trailer Pick
After several years of watching GMC issue vividly decaled Indy 500 "official truck" replicas, Ford created its own for 1979, in a silver, black, and orange scheme matching that year's Mustang pace car.
Whereas GMC issued its replicas in tiny batches, Ford offered the "Indianapolis Speedway Official Truck" package on all F-series trucks and sold more than 6000 of them.
This 59,000-mile example was treated to a frame-off restoration from 2015 to 2017 and presents like a brand-new truck.
Indianapolis 500 pace car replicas are a long and storied tradition to this day, but this unusual species undoubtedly reached its apex in 1979. That year, the then-new Fox-body Ford Mustang got the pace car nod and Ford sold more than 10,000 of the widely hyped, silver, black, and orange steeds. It remains the best-selling Indy pace car replica of all time, but did you know that Ford also sold nearly 6000 matching "official truck" versions of that year's Ford-supplied Indy 500 support trucks?
This 1979 Ford F-150, up for sale on Bring a Trailer (which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos), is one of 4225 F-150s built with what Ford called the "Indianapolis Speedway Official Truck Package." Almost 2000 more were built on F-100, F-250, and F-350 models, and just to leave no stone unturned, Ford also created an F-350 "Official Wrecker" with matching graphics. They're rare, cool, and usable trucks today, especially when fresh off a full restoration like this one.
Ford was already knee deep in late '70s tape-stripe mania when it came up with this truck, but it was not the originator of the "official truck" replica. That honor goes to GMC.
In 1974, GMC was tapped to supply support trucks while Oldsmobile supplied Hurst/Olds pace cars. It had provided plain trucks for use in the race before, but never took advantage of Indy's marketing potential. Since it could never build a "pace car," GMC decided not just to supply trucks, but to paint them in a Hurst/Olds-like gold-and-white scheme and build replicas for dealers to sell that year. From 1975 to 1977, GMC repeated the idea, annually issuing 500 replica "official trucks" to accompany Buick and Oldsmobile pace cars.
In 1979, the then-new Fox-body Mustang got the pace car nod, which meant Ford would also supply the Indy 500 support trucks. That September, for the 1980 model year, the F-series would get its first complete redesign in 15 years. Dressing up the old truck and aggressively marketing it would give it a nice sendoff and help juice sales that spring and summer. Plus, Ford already had a closetful of outfit ideas.
Back then, Ford had multiple sets of "Free-Wheelin'" decals for every truck it made, a catalog it recently referenced on the Bronco Sport. One of these visual packages, 1978's F-series "Styleside Free Wheeling package," could be had with silver paint, black accents, orangey-rainbow stripes and a silver-and-black interior with orange piping and accents; coincidentally similar to the planned Mustang pace car colors.
To create the "Official Truck" package Ford's decal designers evolved what they had with Indy-themed graphics. Since it was so easy to create, Ford made the package available on most F-series models, from the humble straight-six F-100 to the burliest 460-cubic-inch V-8 F-350 4x4. Only 4x4 F-100s, rear-drive F-350s, and trucks with Flareside beds were excluded.
To get the package, buyers had to order their truck with the Ranger trim (long before they were models, both the Ranger and Explorer were F-series trims) in silver metallic and accept a range of required options including an auxiliary fuel tank. There were also many "recommended options," and since the purpose of the truck was to drive showroom traffic, lots of them were loaded up with CB radios, power steering and brakes, handling packages, and other gear.
While 5983 "Official Truck" packages were sold (and 367 Wreckers), it's not clear if all of them were actually delivered to owners with the graphics in place. Surprisingly, the lettering and Indianapolis Motor Speedway decals were shipped in the cab for the dealer to apply, and some trucks never got them.
Underneath, it was just a pure F-series, durable and simple if vulnerable to rust. When the current owner acquired this one, it was riddled with surface corrosion and weatherbeaten graphics, but you'd never know that now. The truck was treated to a frame-off restoration in which the body was stripped to bare metal, repainted, and fitted with reproduction graphics, and the engine fully rebuilt. There's a huge folder of documentation, too.
With a restored machine like this, there's no need to worry about destroying original patina or adding miles, just what adventures you want to take it on. Surely if you drive it to the speedway next May, they'll let you in the infield in your "Official" truck? If that doesn't work out, you'll still be warmly welcomed at just about any classic truck event.
The auction ends on July 17.
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