I have always wondered what makes a Boss 302 a Boss 302 what did they do differnt with those the same with a boss 429 and any other ones. sorry if it has already been posted. and thanks for all the replys.

 

The main difference that separates the Boss from the regular 302 is the solid lifters and canted valves. That made them exotic. What made the Boss 302 exotic was its canted valve, big port, and high-revving Boss 302 engine. High revving because you need torque on the high end at the racetrack to stay ahead of the pack. And you need an aggressive mechanical lifter camshaft to excite those extra large 2.19/1.70-inch valves fed from a cast-aluminum high rise and a 780-cfm Holley carburetor. And regardless of what Charles says, the Camaros couldn't keep up with them.

 

so could you actually make your own boss 302 for something or would you need special heads and block and what not. id like to get another old ford something and make a boss motor for it just to **** around with but i dont want to dish out the money for an original one.

 

Sure....the block is the same. The guts are what are different. You could add complete aftermarket aluminum heads for about a thousand bux. Then add a decent 4v intake and a 4v carb, and with decent headers you can make for some potent HP.

 

To add to what Glen has already said, the Boss 302 used a steel crank with four bolt main caps and the same rods used in the 289/271 HiPo. The block is basically the same as a standard 302 except for the four bolt caps and screw in freeze plugs. The most obvious difference between the standard 429 and the Boss 429 is the hemi-style aluminum cylinder heads and the forged rotating assembly. It's quite an impressive power plant.

 

The canted valve heads happen to be small chamber 4v Cleveland heads, so you need pistons that have the same style valve relief as the 351C. The entire bottom end was forged, and the ports were actually way to big for a 302, on the street its really not a great engine. You could build one, but why bother when there are bolt on heads that dont require different pistons/rods and special headers.

 

Yeah, back then, that was the BOSS setup. Nowadays, you can make better street power with modern aftermarket bolt-ons.

 

Absolutely, but then both the Boss 302 and 429 were not designed to be street motors. They were put on the street for one reason only, to satisfy the rules so they could be used for racing. The Boss 351 was a great street motor. Too bad it was so short lived.