ccwebb

Hello All,
New to the forums and news to Mustang lineage.
I have to looking at pics of old BOSS Mustangs and was wondering if there was a common factor that made them BOSS.
It seems that the BOSS designation has been given to some late model Mustangs too. Any similarity or qualifying factor?
Thanks for the help.

boss_dude_429

basically it's just the motor and suspension and rear end that makes them special, thought there were some special options for a boss back in the day i hear

ccwebb

Cool, thanks. Looks like these specs changed from year-to-year or generation to generation.

knuckless

there was only one generation of boss mustangs, 69 was the first year and i think 71 was the last year with the boss 351. they also all came with 4 speed toploaders it was a special order rare mustang. its not like you could combine all the parts and make it a boss, its like a shelby or a mach 1, rare and expensive

tarafied1

The only "real" BOSS Mustangs were the 69/70 Boss 302 and Boss 429 and the 71 Boss 351. The Boss 429 was built so Ford could use the Boss 429 engine in Nascar. The Boss 302 was built mainly for Trans Am racing and the Boss 351 is considered one of the most usable HP and torque of the 3 Boss Mustangs. Ford never made any other "Boss" Mustangs but some late model Boss Shinoda Mustangs were made by the aftermarket (like Shelby, Saleen, Roush) kinda thing. In 82 Ford advertised "The Boss is back" but the car was a GT not a Boss.
The 302 Boss was a 4 bolt main block with Cleveland style heads. The Boss 429 had hemi heads with a 4 bolt main block and steel crank. The Boss 351 was a 4V Cleveland. They all were limited to certain colors, 4 speed trans, etc. Each year and model had some unique features of there own. This is just a little detail, I hope it helps.

andrewmp6

the 302 boss was build so they could road race in trans am the 429 boss was build so they could race the car in nascar yes they use to race mustangs back then.for them to enter both cars they had to make so many street ones like the winged mopars.the 71 boss i have no idea why it was made.the newer ones where just the boss name they did nothing different to the car.another ford you should look up is the thunderbolt was a factory built drag car was fast for its time too.

67coupe

The Boss 302s had a rev limiter mounted on the fender apron. Pretty hitech for 69.

THUMPIN455

The Mustang wasnt raced in NASCAR, at least not NASCAR that is and was on TV. That is the realm of Galxies, Torinos, Cyclones, etc. Big cars and intermediates. They put the B429 in the Mustang so they could produce the required 500 vehicles needed to prove it was a street option. Its called homologation, and the rules didnt say body with a certain engine, it was open to any body with any engine they built to meet the requirement.

FYI the Cleveland based Boss 351 was different than just a 4V Cleveland. They also had 4 bolt mains like the Boss 302, but they also had an adjustable valve train. The standard 2v and 4v Clevelands do not, and the valvetrain is changed by different length pushrods. The B351 was only one year, the following year they called it the HO and it still had the adjustable rockers. Memory escapes me as to what year it was, 71 comes to mind, but if I cannot recall correctly and positively, I dont set it down as a fact..

Thunderbolts were pretty impressive. 427 Side oiler in a 64 Fairlane, fiberglass hood, without most accessories and things that add weight. Factory cars in drag racing were the big cars, Galaxies, Catalinas, Impalas, that type of ride. Dodge started putting Max Wedge and HEMI engines in lighter cars, using aluminum front sheet metal, and gutting everything else out of them. The Thunderbolt was built to compete with the Wedges, just so happens in 64 the 426 HEMI came out so the T bolts werent quite as dominant as they would have been vs the Wedges. GM instituted a ban on racing in 63, so GM didnt really do factory cars and lightweights after 63, its a shame, it would have been fun to watch.

69boss429

Boss Mustangs had the rare combination of true purpose built race engines installed in street legal cars.
This is what puts the "BOSS" in Boss 429 Mustangs.


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