1975 Indy 500 Pace Car

I am considering searching for and eventually purchasing a 1975 Buick Century Indianapolis 500 Pace Car replica (the red, white, and blue pace car, not the silver & orange 1976 version). These unique Buicks are rarely seen anywhere. My concern is that the wild red/white/blue Indy 500 graphics on these cars deteriorate faster than the rest of the car, being decals, and I have heard of stories of age-deterioration creating hairline stress cracks throughout all decals making them unsightly. The decals are most likely discontinued from GM Parts, making a proper restoration of this model extremely difficult, due to the graphics. I would be forced to purchase a well-preserved car with all decals in perfect condition. Are there any like this out there?<BR>Another compounding problem is that some Buick dealers in 1975, removed some or all of the Indy 500 graphics in order to sell the cars, making the survial rate on this model miniscule.<BR>Are there any owners of these 1975 Century Pace cars that have some input????<BR>Thank you<BR>AK Buickman

AK,<P>Here's my two cents worth...<BR>As you've said these cars are going to be rare, I don't think I've seen more than three or four.... ever. If you find one, the best bet might be to have reproduction decals done. Modern reproduction techniques using computer design are very good and not nearly so expensive as the techniques used twenty years ago. But it'll cost a bundle, I'm sure. I'd think the tough part would be finding blueprints or decent original decals to work from.<P>Here are some links to decal suppliers/producers. Good luck! Those long Actic nights will come in handy with this project!<BR> <A HREF="http://www.osborn-reproduction.com/" TARGET=_blank>http://www.osborn-reproduction.com/</A> <BR> <A HREF="http://www.drdecal.com/DrDecal.htm" TARGET=_blank>http://www.drdecal.com/DrDecal.htm</A> <BR> <A HREF="http://www.avgrafix.com/placard.htm" TARGET=_blank>http://www.avgrafix.com/placard.htm</A> (they do a lot of aircraft work, so large decals shouldn't be a problem.<P>Cheers,<BR>John

I recently purchased a 1976 Buick Indy pace car replica after years of searching. During that time, I considered purchasing a couple of '75 Pace Cars, always worried about the cost and ease of reproducing the pace car decals. <BR>On two occasions. I have talked with owners of '75 Pace Cars who had decals reproduced. In both cases, they told me they simply contacted a local vendor who had little trouble doing the job. I could never get a specific name, but just last year I talked to a big Chevy dealer in the Columbus, OH area who had a '75 pace car and had the decals reproduced by the local company that did touch ups and decals on all his collectible Corvettes. And the decals looked good! I finally became convinced that it can be done, and took the dive to buy this '76.<BR>I would certainly encourage you to buy the '75, since we need to preserve these cars. I am convinced that modern computer graphics capability can make it happen. Any car you're likely to buy will probably have good enough decals to use as a guide in reproducing them.<BR>Feel free to contact me and we'll compare notes!<BR>Alan Oldfield BCA #15140<BR>adoldfield@aol.com

I HAVE OWNED BOTH A 75 & A 76 BUICK CENTURY PACE CAR (SOLD BOTH TO BUY ME 67 CAMARO PACE CAR). MY 1975 WHEN I BOUGHT IT HAD ONE SIDE WITH DECALS AND THE OTHER SIDE WAS PAINTED. IF YOU LOOK AT THE WAY THE STRIPE PACKAGE ON THIS CAR IS-IT IS FAIRLY EASY TO STRIPE OF THE BLUE FENDER AND RED DOOR/QUARTER STRIPES AND PAINT THEM. THIS WAY YOU NEVER HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT DECALS CRACKING, PEELING, FADING, ECT. I WAS VERY SUPRISED AT HOW WELL THE PAINTED STRIPES LOOKED WHEN I FIRST INPSPECTED THE CAR. WITH A TOTAL PRODUCTION OF ONLY 1813 CARS THIS IS A FAIRLY RARE INDY PACE CAR. HOPE THIS HELPS, JIM HAIRSTON<BR> PACE CAR PROFESSOR<BR> <A HREF="http://WWW.PACECARPRO@AOL.COM" TARGET=_blank>WWW.PACECARPRO@AOL.COM</A> <BR> <A HREF="http://WWW.JHAIRSTON@ERAC.COM" TARGET=_blank>WWW.JHAIRSTON@ERAC.COM</A>

Thanks for the fantastic input!!!!<BR>Since reading all of your suggestions, it seems that the bigger job now awaits me- trying to find one of these cars for sale in decent condition...<BR>BMD displayed a 1975 Indy Pace Car at the 1975 BCA Flint National Meet. While I was inspecting that car at the show, my understanding was that this particular car was one of the actual pace cars used at the 1975 Indy 500.<BR>Was this true, and where is this car today? <BR>AK Buickman

I remember seeing this car at the national meet. If my memory serves correctly the old guy Joe Taubits was driving this car around the parking lot. Every one was amazed at the power from this little V6, Turbo, Think that this was the original Pace car. Joe may know where it is.<P>Jim Schilf / palbuick@aol.com

I believe that the '75 Buick Pace Car was powered by the 455 V8. The Buick V6 first appeared in the '76 Pace Car.<P>With respect to the '75 Pace Car replicas, were they available with either a 350 or a 455?

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by AK Buickman:<BR><B>my understanding was that this particular car was one of the actual pace cars used at the 1975 Indy 500.<BR>Was this true, and where is this car today? <BR>AK Buickman</B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>There would be TWO actual pace cars. One is an identical back up (the same graphics and engine). Usually one stays at the Indy 500 museum and the other is returned to the manufacturer. I don't know about the '75 car, but the '81 Regal Pace Car is in the Sloan Museum. Buick displayed it at this years GSCA nationals. Pictures are here: <A HREF="http://home.flash.net/~rjgeorge/81pace.htm" TARGET=_blank>http://home.flash.net/~rjgeorge/81pace.htm</A> <P>------------------<BR>Rich George - b4black@flash.net <BR><B>BEFORE BLACK Website</B> - <A HREF="http://home.flash.net/~rjgeorge" TARGET=_blank>http://home.flash.net/~rjgeorge</A>

I appreciate the updated information;<BR>The replica 1975 Century Indy 500 Pace Cars which were available at Buick dealers in 1975, used a 350 CID engine, and the actual pace cars built for use at the track used 455 CID. I can't recall what modifications the 455 received.<BR>AK Buickman <BR>

Just joined and wondered if you ever found an Indy pace car? I have an all original (not for sale) that I can supply all measurements of the placards that are on the car. I have many photos of the car and have been invited to Flint to show what an original survivor looks like.

I can't really foresee a dealer having the decals removed just to sell the car . . . unless they were tired of having "dead merchandise" (for the general public) on the lot and would sink more money in it just to sell it rather than make somebody a heck of a deal (probably below cost) as the floorplan was getting too high.

If one side was decaled and the other was painted, there might well have been some collision damage on that side after the decal package was discontinued from GM.

The decal stock which almost everybody used (back then) was 3M, with a spec life of 30 years. Unfortunately, some didn't make it that long before they had deteriorated pretty much. Vinyl will shrink with time, resulting in the crazing and such of the vinyl decal itself--just a normal thing which could be accelerated by certain environmental conditions.

As this thread is now about 10 years old . . . any progress?

NTX5467

Actually, quite a few dealers stripped the placards off the cars towards the model year end. They even went as far as putting half vinyl roofs on the cars (look horrible behind the T tops). I know where there is a one owner car that he bought with no decals and a vinyl roof. Wierd but he said the dealer gave him a deal he could not pass up.

I am considering searching for and eventually purchasing a 1975 Buick Century Indianapolis 500 Pace Car replica (the red, white, and blue pace car, not the silver & orange 1976 version). These unique Buicks are rarely seen anywhere. My concern is that the wild red/white/blue Indy 500 graphics on these cars deteriorate faster than the rest of the car, being decals, and I have heard of stories of age-deterioration creating hairline stress cracks throughout all decals making them unsightly. The decals are most likely discontinued from GM Parts, making a proper restoration of this model extremely difficult, due to the graphics. I would be forced to purchase a well-preserved car with all decals in perfect condition. Are there any like this out there?<BR>Another compounding problem is that some Buick dealers in 1975, removed some or all of the Indy 500 graphics in order to sell the cars, making the survial rate on this model miniscule.<BR>Are there any owners of these 1975 Century Pace cars that have some input????<BR>Thank you<BR>AK Buickman

I am representing a gentleman selling this exact vehicle. It is located in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Triple White Convertable, 64k miles. It has never been privately registered, it's worn dealer plates since the factory. It is one of the 10 that were produced of this line, the seller believes it was either the pace car or backup. As it doesn't have the INDY 500 or OFFICIAL PACE CAR logos, I cannot confirm this. I stumbled upon these posts, and thought I'd inform you all before listing it on EBay. Please email derrallen@gmail.com if seriously interested, I'll send photos. 5/29/14

Old thread here.

I think the 1975 pace cars were Century (style 4AH57 on the body tag) 2-door hardtops with T-tops and not convertibles. The actual pace cars had 455 (supposedly only 2 built), the replicas had 350's (1811 built). There were LeSabre convertibles also used as festival cars, but not pace cars. I've heard people claim 10, 33, or 40 of these were built, might want to check with the Sloan museum:

http://sloanlongway.org/buick-gallery/research/automotive-research

http://www.curbsideclassic.com/automotive-histories/automotive-history-indianapolis-500-pace-cars-part-7-1975-79/

http://buickcity.blogspot.com/2009/07/1975-buick-pace-car.html

http://deansgarage.com/2009/1975-and-1976-buick-indy-pace-cars/

I have the original list from Indy that lists the cars that were used, the serial numbers, who used the cars, and where the cars were sold to. It proves there were 2 pace cars, Buick Century's that were used at the track for staff, and Buick Le Sabre convertibles as well. I can dig it out for anyone that would like this info. I have a very large collection of information on these cars as then when people ask about our car i can show them the true facts.

Can you post a copy of the info?

Can you post a copy of the info?

I will dig it out tonight and will try to scan it and put it on here. If I have problems I will let you know and maybe I can send it to someone's email address so they can put it on here.

Well I scanned the 5 pages and I was going to load them on this site. However even trying to load one page it said he file is too large. As I do not know how to reduce the size of the item, maybe someone else knows how I can load these pages on here? I can email the pages to someone if that would help.

Sent you a PM with my email address.

Here is the info on the 1975 Indy 500 cars.

Thank you for your help Sean. Hopes this helps someone.

Looks like 99 cars (see attached info):

2 - Century Pace cars (modified with 455 engines)

55 - Century Pace car replicas

40 - LeSabre convertible festival cars

2 - Estate Wagon festival cars

Looks like all cars came the 350's except the 2 Pace cars (VIN's show they started as 350 cars before modification) and the 2 Estate Wagons.

1975 Buick Indy 500 Car Info.pdf

Did you already have this info? It looks like you did from the attached pdf file you have on your last reply. At least the numbers seem to match.

No, I just took it from the files you emailed me.

Thank you all for the info!! It appears that the vehicle I'm talking about is one of the festival cars, which I was unaware of before. I sincerely appreciate all the help, now I can better (and correctly) represent the car =)

She's never been privately registered, ownership was transferred from factory to dealer, that dealer to another; he's the one wanting to sell it. I feel I can better represent this car, and I have you all to thank. So, thank you very much!!

Thank you all for the info!! It appears that the vehicle I'm talking about is one of the festival cars, which I was unaware of before. I sincerely appreciate all the help, now I can better (and correctly) represent the car =)

She's never been privately registered, ownership was transferred from factory to dealer, that dealer to another; he's the one wanting to sell it. I feel I can better represent this car, and I have you all to thank. So, thank you very much!!

You are welcome. JUST DO NOT represent it as a Pace Car. It would be a festival car. That is how people get confused with what are pace cars.

I really appreciate you all taking the time to help me learn as much as I have about this car. I've found it in all of the different files you guys have posted, and it is indeed one of the festival cars. It's completely original, inside and out; with 65k miles. It's never been privately registered, it's gone from the factory to a dealer, to another dealer that currently owns it. I don't know if you guys could help me out once more, but I honestly don't know what would be a good and fair (for both buyer and seller) starting point as far as price goes. I've been considering listing it on EBay, CL, etc.; but, is there a better venue I should pursue that would get it into the hands of someone that might really appreciate this gem for what it is??

You all have been extremely helpful, and informative. I appreciate it so much more than you can ever know!!

CURRENTLY MY SONS AND I HAVE 4 75 BUICK PACE CARS AND 1 81 BUICK PACE CAR. WE ALSO HAVE A 70 OLDS CUTLASS CONV. PACE CAR. YOU CAN CALL ME AT 724-396-3598 TO TALK. I AM 1 HOUR EAST OF PITTS. PA.

I happen to know where a 75 is sitting and believe that it is for sale needs a lot of work. But I have a 74 Regal with a good body and I do believe the body panels are the same

I really appreciate you all taking the time to help me learn as much as I have about this car. I've found it in all of the different files you guys have posted, and it is indeed one of the festival cars. It's completely original, inside and out; with 65k miles. It's never been privately registered, it's gone from the factory to a dealer, to another dealer that currently owns it. I don't know if you guys could help me out once more, but I honestly don't know what would be a good and fair (for both buyer and seller) starting point as far as price goes. I've been considering listing it on EBay, CL, etc.; but, is there a better venue I should pursue that would get it into the hands of someone that might really appreciate this gem for what it is??

You all have been extremely helpful, and informative. I appreciate it so much more than you can ever know!![ATTACH=CONFIG]250715[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]250716[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]250717[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]250718[/ATTACH]

YooperO,

Did you ever sell this car? Or come up with a price? The pictures show it to be a pretty solid car, is there any rust issues or probelms with the floors/trunk? I have a 1975 LeSabre convt that has a plaque on the dash saying "final production run" as I heard they did for the final XX number of convertibles since that was going to be the last ones GM ever made (other than the Eldo in 76). But I have like these LeSabre Festival cars and I might be interested.

hope to see a post from you-

Duane

some neat photo's