Images: Ebay

Thirty six years ago, Ford introduced a controversial, European inspired new Mustang. With an optional turbo four cylinder, and a V8 that could hardly muster 140 hp, this Mustang wasn’t a fire breather. It wasn’t quickly received by some purists, but the car was a sales hit.

Among the options in 1979 Mustang Pace Car for the Indy 500. The Mustang would pace the greatest spectacle in motorsports that year, and a special edition, complete with body kit, special paint, upholstery and pace car livery was available to the public. Today these 1979 Pace Car Mustangs are sought after collectibles.

This recent eBay find, item number 111649094735, is one of the most pristine original ’79 pace cars we’ve seen in recent years. With less than 25,000 miles on the odometer, this car is like a time capsule. Still wearing its original paint, and largely unmolested, it’s rare to find one of these cars original, in this condition.

This appears to have been a high option car as well. It has the V8 engine, automatic transmission, sunroof, and air conditioning. T-Tops were on at least one of the cars that paced at Indianapolis, but that option didn’t return to the Mustang lineup for a few more years. Unlike the cars sold to the public, the actual pace car also featured a Roush built V8 engine, allowing the car to achieve the speeds necessary for pacing the race.

Fox body values continue to climb upwards, making us wish that we’d held on to a few more of these cars when they were in our possession. At the time of this writing the buy it now price is set at $15,000 or make offer. That’s a decent price for a car that will probably only increase in value, especially if the next owner can keep it in near original condition.