Topic: Identifying 66 Cyclone Pace Car

[Pedro]

Maybe Jeff can help me on this one.
I have a 66 Mercury Cyclone 390 GT convertible VIN 6H28Sxxxxxx
6 - 1966
H - Lorain Ohio manufacture
28 - Indy Pace Car 2 door convertible
S - 390
The usual VIN for a standard GT would be 6H29S
The thing is, I don't know if my car is a PC or not

Mercury history is rather vague to say the least, and so far, I've found that of the 100 Indy Pace Cars, 3 had a special installed 427 and they were the actual pace cars used to lead the race cars around the track. 33 were fitted with a frame to hold flags. All cars were candy apple red with parchment interiors and white top. All but the 3 with the 427's had 390/335 hp but actually had 355hp and all had high lift cams and dual exhaust, handling package, power disc brakes, Rally-pac gauges and a dash mounted tach, and all had 28 in the VIN instead of 29.

My car was stripped and media blasted for the restoration and unfortunately the ID plate was not refitted so I only have the VIN stamped on the front bulkhead near the radiator for ID. Everything in the car is standard 390 GT and it doesn't have Pace Car extras like disk brakes, brake booster, rally-pac gauges, and parchment interior.
The interior could have been changed but I don't think anyone would change disk brakes back to drum and there were no holes in the original dash top where Rally-pac gauges would have been.

There are numbers stamped on the inner fenders but I can’t find any references to these.

Any advice appreciated.
Peter.

[J_Speegle]

A few things to consider

Was it built during the period when the pace cars were March /April ?  IF you contact other owners of these cars you should be able to determine a range.

Are the original colors the right ones.

The whole 28 verses 29 seems to be confusing since decoding depends on what you read and when it was printed  - I've got a 67 and a 70 copy of the NATB Motor Vehicle ID Manuals and in the 67 they list #28 for the 66 non GT Cyclone conv (no code for the GT Cyclone conv) while in 70 they list  #28 for the GT conv and #29 for the non- GT conv

"I have a 66 Mercury Cyclone 390 GT convertible VIN 6H28Sxxxxxx" 

How did you determine it was a GT?  Like Mustangs I'm sure allot of these were changed and "up graded"

Would guess that all of the 100 would have been optioned the same - another thing to compare if you could find an original - it appears there are allot of home made ones out there


http://www.network54.com/Forum/74182/thread/1296095212/1966+Comet+Cyclone+GT+Convertible+Question+%28Need+a+Comet+Guru%29


Guess you need to find a saleman's book or a MPC from Mercury in 66 - sorry only have one for the 65  

[Pedro]

Yeah thanks Jeff, I appreciate your input. As I said in my OP, Mercury history is vague to say the least. There's so much contradictory information out there.

I don't think mine really is a PC. The interior is black which is easy enough to change, but it has drum brakes and you'd be hard pressed to think someone would have changed it from disc brakes back to drums. Also I felt up under the dash top and can't find any holes where rally-pac gauges would have been fitted.

[J_Speegle]

Welcome to the site - sneaky way to get a Cyclone on a Mustang sight

 Looks like a nice car - again welcome to the site

[Pedro]

Thanks Jeff.

Here's another car of mine to make things legit.  LOL

[WT8095]

Maybe Jeff can help me on this one.
I have a 66 Mercury Cyclone 390 GT convertible VIN 6H28Sxxxxxx
6 - 1966
H - Lorain Ohio manufacture
28 - Indy Pace Car 2 door convertible
S - 390
The usual VIN for a standard GT would be 6H29S

Here's what the '75 L-M MPC says about the series codes:

28 = GT convertible
29 = GT or non-GT convertible, depending on 76C or 76H body style