1 of 5 ARI 428CJ Pace car Mustang Fastbacks
Correction:
Turned out in May 2014 - this
story
below actually belongs to #190031, a Henderson Ford promo car, that was used
most probably at MIS June 6th, 1970 and was not sold before 1971 from their
showroom.
Owner Steven Magee (1971-1977)
'unknown
Racer' (1977-1980)
Gary Pietraniec (1980-1987)
Auctioned in 1993
unknown(1987-2015)
On sale in 2014
Nov. 2015 - Steven Magee
Steven Magee contacted us in January 2002, trying to locate his object of passion and was kind enough to share information about his ownership:
"I was the second owner of the 1970 ARI Pace Car from Michigan International Speedway. The car was a pumpkin orange 428CJ, shaker hood, 4 speed. I sold it in 1977 and lost track of the car until 1985 when someone called me from the Michigan Mustang Club and said they were restoring it. I would like to find out if its still around."
Steven added later:
"After its use at Michigan International Speedway it was sent to the Ford Dealer in Ann Arbor, Michigan to be sold. My neighbor bought it new in 1971 in Ann Arbor and sold it to me in 1975. I kept it two years to 1977, but the gas crunch prompted me to sell it. The guy I sold it two ran it at Milan dragway a couple of times and then sold it to Gary Pietraniec.
The car looked like a twister, same colors and striping, but it had a shaker hood and the 428 CID decals applied to the hood like all the other ARI vehicles. It had the long handled Hurst shifter (4 speed), drag pack rear end (4.11), oil cooler, trans cooler, etc. It was the MIS car as I confirmed it with the Ford dealer at the time (now Varsity Ford on Jackson Road, Ann Arbor). Believe it or not, despite knowing what I had, I let the car go in 77 for $2,000!"
In the early 80ies Gary might have owned the Grabber orange ARI 428CJ MIS Fastback, but sold it in 1987. Gary got knowledge of an original ARI Pace Car convertible, but he had no place to store it, so the garage, that also worked on Garys Fastback at that time, bought it and stored it behind their shop. In 1990 it was for sale and Gary jumped in the ARI convertible.
If you have actual information on the whereabouts of the Grabber Orange Fastback, please let me know by e-mail .
Thanks to a buyer we learned in May 2014 that this car described above is actually #190031, not the original 428 Mach 1 FB.
Steven Magee could finally buy it back as of November 2015. Congratulations from the ponysite.de
What options are on this ARI Pace car Fastback 428 Cobra Jet?
Acc. to Steven Magee:
- Grabber ("Pumpkin") orange paint
- Oil cooler
- Shaker Hood Scoop
- Michigan Int. Speedway decals
- 4 speed trans with Hurst Shifter
- Drag pack rearend (4.11)
- Trans cooler
- 428 Cobra Jet engine
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