Scott Skalitzky has always had a thing for the '71-'73 Mustang SportsRoof with its wide stance and long lines. In particular, Scott is fond of the powerful '71 Boss 351. "I always thought the '71 SportsRoof looked best in black," Scott tells us. "So when I found a black Boss 351 for sale, I had to buy it."
Scott had plenty of questions for the seller in Atlanta, many miles away from Scott's home in Wisconsin, so Scott decided to round up a buddy and take a drive down to Georgia to check out the black Boss 351. Over a weekend, he bought the car and drove it back home.
Scott's excitement was exceeded only by his determination to return the car to showroom condition. It was an unusual Boss 351, clad in black with the white Interior Décor Group. When Scott embarked on his restoration, his goal was to enter the Boss in the Mustang Club of America's Concours Driven class because these cars were originally built to be driven and enjoyed.
Scott wanted the car as authentic as he could get it. In time, he would learn about the rarity of NOS '71-'73 Mustang parts, which had an effect on how he approached the restoration. He painstakingly restored this Boss 351 using genuine Ford parts where possible and reproduction parts when there was no other choice. The 15 x 7-inch Magnum 500 wheels are wrapped in reproduction Goodyear Polyglas raised-white-letter bias belted tires. They don't provide the kind of handling we get from modern radial tires, but Scott doesn't care. His objective was authenticity.
Being loyal to factory authenticity was not easy for Scott, who performed the entire restoration himself. He had to search for genuine Autolite parts from the era. He had to find factory original '71 Mustangs, including Boss 351s, to learn what came on them and what didn't. Scott tips his hat to Bob Perkins, just 30 miles away, who graciously allowed Scott to view his low-mileage Boss collection in order to get the details right.
On the car's first show outing, Scott entered it in the MCA Concours Driven class because he had driven to the show. He wound up taking Gold in Concours Trailered. The car was so good no one could believe it was driven.