Since the first Indianapolis 500 in 1911, there have been manufacturer-supplied cars to pace the field. One of the most popular automobiles to have this honor was the Chevy Camaro, which did it four times between 1967 and 1993. And, of them, the most famous of all Indy pace cars may be the ’69 Camaro, which paced the 53rd running in May of 1969. This drop-top is said to be one of those cars or an authorized replica, which is in rough shape and located in Las Vegas, Nevada. It’s available here on eBay where the bidding has reached $19,600.

Camaro production exceeded 243,000 units in 1969, the car’s third year on the market. The numbers remained strong as the model year ran for 15 months due to delays in readying the all-new 1970 Camaro’s for the assembly line. More than 17,500 were convertibles. The 1969 pace cars would carry both Super Sport and Rally Sport trim and be Dover White in color with Hugger Orange stripes and a matching interior, finished off by a “ducted hood.” Chevrolet provided 133 of the cars to serve in pace and festival capacities. While some had 396 cubic-inch V8s. most had the L78 350 rated at 300 hp with an automatic transmission.

To capitalize on the marketing possibilities the Indy 500 presented, Chevy commissioned that 3,675 replicas to be allocated to their dealer network. These included the RPO Z11 trim package for what would be known as the Indy Sport convertible. The bulk of these special cars was built at the Camaro’s primary assembly plant in Norwood, Ohio. The seller says this vehicle is an Indy car, and the data on the cowl tag seems to jive with a real deal.

This Camaro has a 350 CI/300 hp V8, but the seller does not know if it’s original to the car. It will need to be rebuilt, though the crankshaft has been machined. The TH-350 automatic transmission is period correct but not numbers-matching. A ton of work will be needed to whip this automobile back into any kind of running order. The body will need a ton of work, as well, including the floorboards, trunk, and fenders. The hood and taillight light panel are new, and the doors have been sandblasted and epoxy-coated. The grill and most of the headlight parts are missing with the RS peek-a-boo covers. So, the cost of acquisition will be just a starting point for this project.