Hey guys, 1st post here.

I'm curious about the Dakota pace trucks. My family has 4 Indy Rams but I have never even seen an Indy Dakota. I have seen several Dakota convertibles although the elusive Indy it seems has evaded me. Has anyone found out how many (and what styles) were made? I have heard of the "trackside" and "streetside" versions of the '87 Dakota pace trucks and have seen a sales brochure for a '91 Dakota pace truck although I haven't seen anymore evidance of one of those existing either. Is there any online community for these trucks, like the old indyram.org for the Indy Rams? Anybody selling one? I'd really like to have one of these pace trucks.


Daniel

 

I actually stumbled upon one in auto-trader last week. Pretty slick looking truck, 4x4 single cab 318.

http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-s...20009889&Log=0

 

Welcome to DF!
Well its actually not a Indy 500 PACE car! Its just a Limited Special Edition Indy 500 Dakota edition.
You can find a list of the Official Pace cars here as well as other info.
http://www.indypacecars.com/faq.html#q3

Here are a few links with some info.
http://www.turbododge.com/forums/f7/...ace-truck.html
https://dodgeforum.com/forum/1st-gen...00-dakota.html

Here is a Google picture just for everyone's reference.

 

there nice lookin trucks hard to find

 

Thanks. I figured it was like the 96 Indy Rams in that very few if any served any track duty. The Indy Rams were the parade vehicles so that the fans could see the drivers during the prerace parade laps. There was also at least one wrecker painted like an Indy Ram that was used during the 96 Indy 500 but I've only seen a picture of it in the Dodge Magazine issue that covered the Indy 500 from 96 and the Dodges that were there.

Once the race started the Viper was the actual pace car, like the LeBaron in 87.

This site has a list of all of the actual pace cars but it has nothing with the parade vehicles or any other vehicle involved in that years race.
http://www.indypacecars.com/1987.html

 

To fuel my curiosity I bought one of the 91 Dodge/Indy sales brochures that were distributed to dealerships. I found some things to be interesting most notably that while the "Official Truck" of the 91 Indy 500 was the Dakota Sport V8, dealers were encouraged to buy the decal sets and install them on whatever Dakota Sport V8 they had. If that is the case there is no set color, bed length, 2WD or 4WD that would have prevented a Dakota from becoming badged an "Official Truck". Now does anybody have a 91 Sport V8 they want to let go to a good cause?...

 

i actually have two copies of the 87 brochure that came with my truck, i could photocopy one and send it to you

 

Dude that would be awesome.

 

until I get my scanner set up, here's a word for word of the brochure

WARRANTY INFORMATION AND OWNERS MANUAL SUPPLEMENT FOR 1987 INDIANAPOLIS 500 DODGE PACE TRUCK

(IMS logo), (Chrysler motors logo)
Form #81-616-7001

[Page 1]

DODGE - OFFICIAL PACE TRUCK OF THE 1987 INDIANAPOLIS 500

Your new 1987 Dodge Dakota Pace Truck is equipped with a special package of quality engineered Mopar accessories, identical to the Dodge support trucks used in the 1987 Indianapolis 500 Auto Race. We hope the information contained will contribute to your enjoyment of this unique, limited edition vehicle.

Basic Limited Warranty - Special Equipment

-Light Bar - Foglamps -Offroad lamps
-Pace Truck Identification Graphics

The special equipment products listed above are warranted against defects in materials or workmanship for a period of 12 months/12,000 miles, whichever occurs first, from the date the vehicle is originally placed in service. The terms and conditions of this limited warranty are the same as those stated in your 1987 Warranty Information booklet, and we ask you refer to it should you have any questions regarding your warranty.

Instructions For Use: Fog and Offroad Lamps

Your 1987 Dodge Dakota Pace Truck Replica is equipped with a set of Mopar accessory foglamps and offroad lamps. Fog and offroad lamps are operated by pressing the push on-push off switches located on the instrument panel, below the vent control. The upper switch operates the offroad lamps, while the bottom switch operates the foglamps.

The foglamps on your vehicle will only operate when the vehicles headlamps are on low beam, as required to meet federal standards for foglamps.

Offroad lamps can be operated independently of the vehicles headlamps. Please Note: offroad lamps are intended for off highway use only. Use on public streets or highways may be illegal. Please consult local regulations for any restrictions on both fog and offroad lamp use.

Foglamp Aiming Procedure

Local regulations may require proper aiming of foglamps. The procedure for foglamp aiming is as follows:

[page 2]

FOG LIGHT AIMING INSTRUCTIONS

Aim Fog Lights (Figures 1 & 2)
a. Point the vehicle at a target wall twenty-five (25) feet away.
b. Measure the vertical distance from the ground surface to the center of the fog light.
c. Subtract 4" from this measurement and mark it on the target wall directly in frontt of the vehicle (Fig. #1)
d. The fog lights should be aimed in such a manner so that the top edge of the high intensity zone is located at least 4" under the horizontal centerline of the fog lights at a distance of 25 feet (Fig. #2)

[diagram for aiming fog lights]

Note: The vertical centerline will vary according to the distance between the fog lights. During the actual aiming procedure, the fog light beams will streak across the entire surface of the target wall and it may be difficult to determine the center of the high intensity zone. Therefore, when aiming your fog lights, insure the front of the vehicle is parked parallel to the target wall and the fog lights lens surfaces are perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle

CAUTION Your Mopar halogen fog lights are designed to illuminate the road surface and not the face of oncoming motorists. Please be a safe and courteous driver by periodically checking your fog lights for proper alignment.

[back cover]
(Chrysler motors logo)
1987 All Rights Reserved





that's about all it is really. I started a registry for the trucks on facebook, so any owners either post up on the registry on facebook or pm me here, or email the registry at indy500dakota@gmail.com and I'll add it to the registry.

 

Wow. Thanks for posting that!