Story time.
I acquired the 89 last August. Since that time, I've been trying to run down exactly what it is.
No, Pontiac Historical Services isn't good enough...I've got that.
My only savior in all this is Jan Larson, a noted 89 TTA expert who has been assisting further research.
This particular car was the #11 built for Pontiac by PAS in City of Industry, California.
It was also the #55 Festival car for Indy that year.
We've confirmed that it was on one of the first 3 trucks that delivered cars to the Speedway seen here...thanks YouTube...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1iq0VkmojM
One of those is it...lol...
And this is where I running out of options.
Indy never kept track of VINs...they literally just unloaded the cars from the truck and numbered them...and they marked them in two ways.
1. They "identified" them by the VIN...by grease pencil or by stickers (ala Berger cars for example). This was likely a "sticker" car but unconfirmed.
2. They wrote the number in black Sharpie magic marker on the rear fascia underneath where the license plate would mount.
The original rear fascia is still on the car with the number "55" still visible...soon to be coming off and bubble wrapped with a replacement going on...lol...
It's also been confirmed as a Track car (actually saw track time), and may be a Parade car (ferried drivers around the track before the race). If it is a Parade car, the number could indicate that it would have carried a driver who qualified between #10 and #15, depending on how many VIPs took up the first cars (James Garner and the Speedway Princess were two of them).
Running out of avenues...nobody kept any records...
A work in progress...
I acquired the 89 last August. Since that time, I've been trying to run down exactly what it is.
No, Pontiac Historical Services isn't good enough...I've got that.
My only savior in all this is Jan Larson, a noted 89 TTA expert who has been assisting further research.
This particular car was the #11 built for Pontiac by PAS in City of Industry, California.
It was also the #55 Festival car for Indy that year.
We've confirmed that it was on one of the first 3 trucks that delivered cars to the Speedway seen here...thanks YouTube...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1iq0VkmojM
One of those is it...lol...
And this is where I running out of options.
Indy never kept track of VINs...they literally just unloaded the cars from the truck and numbered them...and they marked them in two ways.
1. They "identified" them by the VIN...by grease pencil or by stickers (ala Berger cars for example). This was likely a "sticker" car but unconfirmed.
2. They wrote the number in black Sharpie magic marker on the rear fascia underneath where the license plate would mount.
The original rear fascia is still on the car with the number "55" still visible...soon to be coming off and bubble wrapped with a replacement going on...lol...
It's also been confirmed as a Track car (actually saw track time), and may be a Parade car (ferried drivers around the track before the race). If it is a Parade car, the number could indicate that it would have carried a driver who qualified between #10 and #15, depending on how many VIPs took up the first cars (James Garner and the Speedway Princess were two of them).
Running out of avenues...nobody kept any records...
A work in progress...












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