tbenvie

I've been researching the various years Pace Cars and have now started 1990. This is some preliminary info so far:

Three yellow Berettas were sent to the track for Pace Car duty. One is at the Indy Museum, one was at GM Heritage and auctioned in 2009 and now in Chevy Hall of Fame, the third one is missing.

Ninety six Beretta convertibles were made by Chevy, to include fifty in yellow or turquoise to be sent to the track as Festival Cars. There were major issues, so every one of them was deemed unsuitable by GM and donated to various trade schools for school use, or scrapped. (This same thing happened with the 1991 Buick Reatta convertible. Due to excessive cowl shake the majority of the cars were sent to trade schools, with only a few sold before the program ended). Of the 50 potential Pace Cars, there were 21 yellow and 29 Turquoise. Had RPO "B5A - PACKAGE "INDY CONVERTIBLE" INDY CONVERTIBLE PKG (B5A)"

GM Substituted 1990 Corvettes to be used as Festival Cars: 30 yellow and 50 turquoise.

They can be identified with RPO codes (both)

"YE8 - ENGINEERING TEST VEHICLE ENGINEERING TEST VEH"

and

"ACM - IDENTIFICATION LEAD UNITS".

The 30 yellow cars had RPO code

"53U - EXTERIOR COLOR, PRIMARY, COMPETITION YELLOW"

The 50 turquoise cars had RPO code

"42U - EXTERIOR COLOR, PRIMARY, TURQUOISE MET"

There were also 43 1991 Camaro Z28 convertibles as Festival Cars, all white with black interiors. They all had the pink "Indy 500" decal kits installed at the track.

Chevrolet also made Replica Pace Cars to be sold through the dealer network. These were also either yellow or turquoise Beretta coupes with black interiors that had yellow or turquoise accents and special wheels among other items. They also had the pink decal set. They can be identified by RPO code

"B5I - PACKAGE "INDY GT" INDY GT PKG"

There were 1500 yellow cars, 2 had interior RPO code

"82G - TRIM COMBINATION, CLOTH, DARK MEDIUM GRAY"

while 1498 had RPO code

"35G - TRIM COMB MED DK GRAY (CLOTH) (WITH YELLOW ACCENTS)"

There were 3115 turquoise cars made, RPO code

"42U - EXTERIOR COLOR, PRIMARY, TURQUOISE MET"

They all had interior trim RPO code

"42G - TRIM COMB MED DK GRAY (CLOTH) (WITH TURQUOISE ACCENTS)"

Total of 4615 Replica Pace Cars produced.

So here are some questions as I continue.

1-Does anyone have the track VIN and assignment inventory list for the 1990 race? These list the car, VIN, and the person the car would be assigned. Would be extremely helpful.

2-Why were the Camaros used? I heard the Vette didn't have the needed rear seat, but neither did the 84 Fiero, and if that was a problem why would the Allante be picked in 92, plus Vettes int he future?

3-Why the yellow-turquoise ratio built in the original convertibles, the Corvettes, and the Replica Pace Cars? Why two colors instead of one, and why not equal numbers between yellow/turquoise? Why was the Camaro white?

4-Could the Replicas Berettas be special ordered at the dealer, or did they come to the dealer on a floor plan-already ordered awaiting a future buyer?

5-What happened to the third actual Pace Car? The race winner was Arie Luyendyk and he did not get it, he got a yellow Vette1G1YY338XL5110455). Did PPG get it?

6-Is there truth (proof, not rumors) the yellow Corvettes were assigned to the track officials, but the turquoise cars were not assigned? If so, why?

One thing people have to learn is that there are three types of Pace Cars. First is the actual cars that paced the race. Originally two were provided, but in the last 30 or so years 3 were provided. They are usually highly modified for track duty. One stays with the Indy Speedway Museum (though not always), one goes back to the manufacturer for display in that museum (again not always) and for awhile one went to the race sponsor, PPG. If not, it went back to the manufacturer. the winner of the race did NOT receive an actual Pace Car, but one of the Replicas. Sometimes they asked for something else all together.

The second Pace Car is the Festival Car, originally called a Parade Car. These are given to local dignitaries and track officials usually a month before the race to drive around town and promote the race. They are also used in the 500 Festival Parade for the drivers to ride in. There is anywhere from 50-150 cars in this category.

The third Pace Car is the Replica. These are made for the dealers to sell. Sometimes they are all the same and the dealer is assigned one (or not). Sometimes they can be ordered by a customer, even with engine choices. Lately there has not been any replicas made for the dealers. An example would be the Mustang Replicas with 1000 in 1994 to over 7,000 in 1979 for example.

The cars at the Speedway are on a sheet with VINs and assigned drivers, assigned numbers, etc. These sheets are out there, but only a select few get one and are rarely shared. (The Speedway Museum of the Indianapolis track do not have any). I have been able to find a copy of a number of these, but alas, not nearly as many as I would like. I do not have 1990, but somebody does.

So to talk about the 1990 cars. I have access to a lot of build data and have done a cursory compilation of what I have. For some reason Chevrolet decided to showcase the Beretta Convertible for the race instead of the new ZR1 Corvette. GM had converted a number of Reattas to convertibles and had visions of a number of other convertible models down the road. Berettas were converted and roadtested and given the green light, so 50 yellow and turquoise cars joined the other 46 already made. (Total 96). The cars handling was less than fair, and there was tremendous "cowl shake", a problem Buick would have with the Reatta. Buick added some extra bolt-on reinforcements with no luck, and the entire 1991 Convertible line was sent to Florida for testing a a specific area. Cars were determined after the test to be 1-salable to the public, 2-sold only to GM employees who knew they were not perfect, or 3-not roadworthy and donated to a trade school and/or scrapped. Berettas were deemed not able to correct, so sent to trade schools. The three yellow ones kept for Pace Car duty were highly modified and strengthened.

Chevy substituted Corvettes to be the Festival Cars, 30 yellow and 50 turquoise. (I still do not know why two different colors were used, and why they were not made in equal numbers). Those not familiar with the race or the Festival Cars quickly laughed at 'Vette owners with pink decals, saying they were a "home made" pace car, and not a very good one at that. Little to no research was done on these cars, and a great many Corvette enthusiasts still don't know about them.

For whatever reason Chevy also sent 43 of the first 1991 Camaro Z28 convertibles to the track. These were white, and had the decals applied at the track. I don't know why they were sent-rumor has it because the Corvette had only two seats, but so didn't the 78 and 86 Corvette Pace Car, the 84 Fiero, and why would they select a two seat Allante for 92 if that was a problem?

I have all 3 VINs of the actual Pace Cars, i have all 80 VINs of the Corvettes, and I have 42 out of the 43 VINs for the Camaro. (I will find the missing one as well). I ran an Autocheck on the Camaro VINs and 22 of them have activity (title, registration, inspection, etc) in the last 5 years. Doing an image search I found a number that did not have decals, so the owners may not even know they are Festival Cars. The cars were made between 3/28/90 and 4/3/90. No specific RPO code for the Camaros, but the combination of the codes would give a hint of the cars legacy.

I am running an Autocheck on all 80 Corvette VINs. With 40 complete 31 have had activity on the last 5 years. Two do not show up at all with any activity. Of course, the other seven could be stored away-none of them have a salvage title thus far.

Both the Camaro and Corvette Festival Cars seem to be the forgotten Indy Cars, and many collectors don't even know about them.

Here is a link for the 94 Cobra Pace car info I researched:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/200776700706982/

And here is one on the 93 Allante used to pace the 92 race:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1810267675909744/

Have many other years complete and will publish soon. Could really use help on this one, especially if someone had the VIN lists from Indy. Thanks Here is a track photo showing a Beretta, Camaros, Corvettes.

tbenvie

Finished the Autocheck on the second group of 40 cars. 30 have activity the last four years. No record on six of them. One has a Salvage Title and was not registered after this point in 2013. So 62 out of 80 have activity the last 5 years. Eleven have no activity at all. One Salvage Title. The other six show activity since 1990, but none the last 5+ years-could be in storage or not. Seems the survival rate is pretty high.

Still hoping to find the Indy list of cars and assigned people who would drive them. I have the three actual Pace Car VINs, the 80 Corvettes, 41 out of 43 Camaros, and I have no idea how many Beretta coupes were there. I was told they were just yellow ones, but do not know for sure. Anyone have information?

vetteLT193

The pace car registry might have more info or a contact within GM that can look up the info.

ghlkal

I'm sorry I don't have any answers, but this was an interesting read. Thanks for posting.

rodey0

I have a 1990 yellow parade care with a number 3 in the windshield. It has a plaque on the dash that says Driven in the 1990 race. I am interested in finding who drove the car and any other info but I like you have found nothing for that year. Here is my vin. Hope it helps you. I have the original window sticker and the registration that shows that it was registered to USAC. Most are not registered to them I have been told. I have pictures of my car parked next to a Beretta that was purchased from a museum on the east coast. It was suppose to be an original. The photo was taken at the 500 track during the pace-car reunion https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/n...n-news/218209/. I will try to find the photo and forward it to you. Hopefully I have a picture of his license plate.

1990CHEVROLET CORVETTE-1G1YY3387L5110445

Danny Rodenburg

rodey0

I found this you-tube video from that event My car and the Beretta are at the 1:15 mark on the video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oS0f7Uc1Xx4I have pictures at home and I will look for them.

Danny Rodenburg

ghoastrider1

I remember a large number of those cars (vettes) driven around town. Sometimes I see one even now. I am talking about the yellow wheels ones. Rarely do I see a c-3 one being driven around town, but have seen a few. Dont know if any remain in Indy at all. Wonder if the local chevy dealer has any info.

cv67

Neighbor had a blue one they did exist.

tbenvie

Still looking for info on these cars. I have managed to search a database and found the VINs of all 80 Corvettes, as well as the build info. The Indy assignment sheet would have the car festival Number and the assigned driver, and sometimes would have the name of the racecar driver that was escorted in the car. I also ran an AutoCheck on all 80 cars-could not find info on 8 of them, one has a Salvage Title but still registered. of the rest, they all have been registered in the last 5 years except 5 of them-may be gone or just in storage.

1991 Camaros were also used during the festival Week and I found 41 if them.. I am sure I will find the rest, but not sure exactly how many were used. The list would help determone that for m.

And I do not have any info on the Berettas that were actually used at the track )except the three actual pace Cars-I have that info). So if anyone has this list, could you please share at least the Beretta info with me? thanks

corvetteronw

I seem to recall that the Indy museum at the track has all the data you need.
Good luck!
There is a Buick Reatta section at the Antique Automobile Club of America that has several members that are knowledgeable about the Reatta Pacers.
Here is (I think) a pic of one of the Corvettes:

tbenvie

Actually, the Speedway useum does not have the info-I am trying to find it for them. And Chevy Beretta, not Buick Reatta. thanks for the picture-thats the car in turquoise, but also in yellow.

shovel52

I need to go back into my files a little. I owned one of the yellow parade cars. It was owned by the treasurer of the Indy 500 track. It had photosensitive paint on it. When you would wash it the beads of water refracted the sunlight and the paint would darken a little. You could put a leaf on it out in the sun and pull it off a few minutes later and see the leaf. I really liked the car. All of these cars, yellow and turquoise, were striped up out at National Car Leasing on West US 40 just outside Indianapolis. Somewhere, I have a photo of all of them sitting in their storage lot. I don't know what made me think about that car. I guess all the hubub here about the race coming soon. I have lived in Indy all my life. The pace cars are always a part of the scenery here. I took my Parade Car to Carlisle when I had it. It got a lot of attention. It was a great car.

shovel52

Here is a picture of all of the yellow parade cars at the track. This is an view of Gasoline Alley. I bet that is snow piled up in the corner. Ahhhh, April in Indy.

Neal27

@tbenvie
I own #27 Z28 1991 camaro parade car. Please message me (I'd message you but it won't let me??) I've been searching everywhere for info about this car!!! Od love to discuss

Rubenz

I have the 1990 Corvette race car I don't know which one it is it's a turquoise one and it has a speedway sticker on the windshield and I believe the number on it is 159 I'm not with a car right now I'm out and about but I believe there's a number on there speedway sticker it might be the one that was used for the race I don't know if anybody has any information please get in touch with me and let's find out about my car to see which one it was being built as it was going down the line number 23 or number 14 or whatever number it might have been and I want to know if this is the original one that was used in the race because of the stickers on the windshield been on there since 1990. Thank you.

shovel52

Rubenz, all of the turquoise cars were used as courtesy cars for the visitors and staff and dignitaries that attended the race. The '90 race was kind of weird. The pace car was the Beretta. They made a few of them for the official race and they never made it to the real highway since they were not approved by the NHTSA. The yellow Corvettes were used in the parade for the 33 drivers. Yours probably has a number just so they can track who used the car during the month of May here in Indy. They are all pretty neat. I really liked mine a lot and wish I had kept it. I remember that year pretty well and there were tons of cars and trucks all striped up and motoring around town. This is always a fun time in Indy and brings out pace cars of all makes and models. I am looking forward to this one coming up. Ken

*89x2*

+1, same.

Emily W.

I own a turquoise corvette parade car from 1990.

90IndyGreg

This is my 1990 Parade Car. I have the window sticker and build sheet. I've been told it was #6. the VIN is 1G1YY3382L5110546. I bought the car last March out of Tennessee. It originally went to Florida in 1990, then back to Indiana in 1994. Then to Tennessee in 2004 until I purchased it and brought it back to Indiana.

tbenvie

I know this is an old thread, but I did manage to acquire the complete 1990 Indy Festival List. As I am working to provide a complete list of all cars-all years to the Indy Museum, I am not going to share the complete list but will answer specific VIN questions. So here are a few:

1G1YY3387L5110445-car #80, yellow. Used as a PR car for Chicago.
#27 Z28 1991 Camaro-last six would be 111315. Assigned to Art Haan (Google his name for more info on who he was)
1990 Corvette number on it is 159-#159 is for a Camaro. Post the last six of the VIN
1G1YY3382L5110546-is #57, assigned to Jack Snyder, Board of Directors member of IMS

Hope this helps