exoldsemployee

http://cruisnews.com/article/1970-cutlass-classic-car-against-all-odds?sms_ss=email&at_xt=4dcb1e3c1b7dd723%2C0

ah64pilot

Great article!

slantflat

I had read years ago that No. 1 Pace Car was given to race winner Al Unser as one of his prizes.

I also read that No. 2 Pace Car fell off its trailer after leaving the track, tumbled a couple times and was a complete loss.


Mike Clark
70 Cutlass
Stockbridge, Georgia

exoldsemployee

@ Mike; I have spoken will Al Unser Sr. personally on the phone and a guy who works at his museum. Unser was awarded a ceremony car approx. 6 months a/ he won the 1970 Indy race. Both #1 and #2 pace cars came back to Lansing. I worked with a few guys who where members of the 442 club and one said every once in a while they would go into the area where the pace car was stored to look at it. One day they went in to see it and it was gone. Apparently GM sold both cars to private individuals. #1 was driven around the streets of Lansing for many years (it now has approx. 75k miles on it) then sold to a second party, where it sat in his pole barn for many years. The buying price was $800.. The current owner bought it from the second party after his death at an estate sale for $600 unrestored. The number 2 car is owned by a private owner who lives in Grand Ledge Michigan, my home town. Unser's pace car,that he was awarded for his 1970 win has approx. 7k miles on it and he keeps it at his home, it rarely comes out or is shown to anyone. It's never been in his museum. It was on the track but didn't pace the race. I talked to Mr Unser about #1 pace car one and he's interested in getting reunited with the car that took him on his first victory lap. I'm thinking we should do this at IMS. We are still in the planning stages of that reunion.

slantflat

Wow I was waaay off! I guess whatever I read years ago was just lore. Or some fool making things up for whatever reason.

Thanks for the info!


Mike

yeehaa56

Newbie here with my first posting.

Really enjoyed reading the story about the #1 '70 Pace Car.

I have two photos of Al Unser's 70 Pace Car that he was awarded for winning that year's Indy 500. They are limited in view but they still allow the viewer a unique glimpse at the rarely-seen car as it sits in Mr. Unser's garage. They were taken about 15 years ago or so. One photo was taken while standing directly behind the car. The other photo shows the passenger's rear quarter panel. Unfortunately, was not able to obtain any straight-on side views of the car. Nonetheless, the two photos are quite interesting, in my opinion, in that they show how nice (and new) the 442 convertible still is inspite of a thin layer of dust that covered it at the time the photos were taken.

I don't have the equipment to post the two photos but would like folks here to see them. Wouldn't mind sending them to someone here (the webmaster perhaps?) who could post them and would guarantee that I'd receive them back promptly and in the same condition.

Octania

Just think how much stuff goes sold for scrap metal around Lansing as old timers die off and move out, and no one knows what a D head is....

stevengerard

yeeyaa56 that would be awesome, I'd say run down the block to aWalgreens or CVS they will scan the images in and then you can load them onto your computer and then pst them here or send the images to one of us and we can post them to you. Hate to see you lose those in the mail or something.


I've heard all kinds of stories of #1 and #2 and his car - nice to get some clarification.

1970cs

Car#2 was purchased as a White/black stripped W-30, what raised the red flag was that it had two engines when it was sold to the current caretaker one as W-30 engine the other was painted black. Helen Early confirmed that it was 2 of 2 track/pace car.

Pat

yeehaa56

Steven - If you'd like to be the one to receive them in the mail and then post them here, please send me a private message with your address. I have computer access only at work so I will not be back online until Monday.

For what it's worth, Mr. Unser's convertible is non-air. On the driver's side of the rear bumper there's a round sticker that's approximatly 3" in diameter. Don't know its origin but I assume it was on the pace car when he received it. It spells out "OLDS" vertically and reads:

Obey
Laws
Drive
Safely

Thanks,
Johnny

1970cs

Like this one!

Mr Shifty Sidney

I found a NOS sticker like that at an Indy swap meet about 7 years ago. It is the only one I have ever seen for sale. I have never seen them on the rear bumper. I thought they were placed on the windshield.

Don W

yeehaa56

Exactly but not as nice and bright anymore as the one you posted.

What is the story behind the sticker? Such as: were they on all the pace cars at the track back in 1970?

Another question: I've noticed that the Cutlass Supreme convertible pace cars did not have the black accent on the edges of the front hood scoops. Was this unique to only the Cutlass Supreme ones?

Correction to an earlier post about Al Unser's pace car being non-air. It does have air.

1970cs

The safety sticker was probably a safety campaign that Olds was promoting along with it's name. This is pure speculation on my part!!!

I think we had a recent post on W-25 hoods, that somebody that worked on those on the line and they were, if memory serves that they all were supposed to be black, but quite a few got painted body color and still made out the door.

yeehaa56

Thanks, guys, for all the answers pertaining to my questions!