Classic Wheels Spotlight: 1970 BOSS 429 Mustang

Ford Motor Company only produced the BOSS 429 Mustang for two years, 1969 and 1970. Most folks have never heard of it. Ford led the herd during the pony car phenomenon, introducing the Mustang in 1964 ½.

Based on the Falcon platform, the long nose and short deck was considered compact yet most don’t think compact when they think Mustang. Smaller than a midsize it revolutionized sporty, and youth-oriented transportation. Named after the P-51 Mustang fighter plane, it is the longest-running namesake of the company.

Ford intended to bring out 100,000 units in the first year. Incredibly 22,000 Mustangs were sold on the first day and 400,000 units in the first year!

George Blake finished his tour of Vietnam and like most guys he had two things on his mind in late 1968: girls and muscle cars. Devouring any car magazine he could get his hands on he went to his Ford dealership and ordered a brand-new 1969 BOSS 429 Mustang. Months ticked by but he never received the 1969 car. He opted for a new 1970 and got it!

The BOSS 429 Mustang is like no other. Ford, no stranger to racing, needed to beat the Chrysler-powered 426 Hemi-powered Dodge/Plymouth cars on the NASCAR track. Enter the 429 c.i. semi-Hemi monster motor. Back when stock car racing ran stock cars, manufacturers had to sell a minimum of 500 units to the public, known as homologation, to race in NASCAR.

Ridiculously underrated at 375 horsepower, these engines were greatly detuned for the public; carburetors were smaller on these big block engines than high-performance small block Mustangs.

So special were these BOSS ‘Stangs FOMOCO built the entire car with a 428c.i. engine and shipped it down the street to Ford sub-contractor Kar Kraft to remove said 428 and install the 429 motor and the BOSS was born! Ford lost money on every unit but was rewarded with many wins at the racetrack. This conversion included relocating shock towers to accommodate the enormous aluminum heads that rest atop the beast including a 3.90 rear end ratio to get you there in a hurry.

Only available with a four-speed transmission and no air-conditioning, this is the super bad boy BOSS 429.

George was on a winning streak. He received his BOSS Mustang, married the girl of his dreams, and was ready to put the horrific past of war behind him. Sadly, George Blake contracted cancer from agent orange during his tour of duty and passed away in 1982. His wife Janet kept the car for years but did not want to see it go to ruin in a storage barn.

Joseph B., a local resident, is the current caretaker of this rare piece of automobilia. Bringing it back to showroom new, it is one of the finest BOSS 429 Mustangs on the planet.

The classic wheel spotlight shines on George Blake and his BOSS 429 Mustang, thank you for your service, sir.