The Boss cars have always held a place of awe and respect. We have grown to love that solid lifter sound from the Boss 351 and the Boss 302, as well as the mighty power that the Boss 429 can deliver under the right massaging. If there is one car that can turn heads while idling down the show field, it is the Boss-any Boss.
Many hold the Boss cars in the same light as the Shelbys, even though the Boss prices have not reached the nosebleed level of the cars fathered by Carroll himself. Still, the Boss era is kind of remarkable. Here was a car that was bare bones, made no attempt at creature comforts outside of the deluxe interior, and was only available with a four-speed. Even Shelby never did that after the first year. So the Boss is something special, something rare in Ford.
We'll examine the options that were specific as well as the basics. We dole out stats and figures to make even the baseball fans smile. We also muse over some items to make you go, hmmm-we hope.
| Then | Now |
| '69 Boss 302 N/A | '69 Boss 302 $20,500 |
| '70 Boss 302 $3,720 | '70 Boss 302 $20,500 |
| '69 Boss 429 $4,937 | '69 Boss 429 $38,000 |
| '70 Boss 429 N/A | '70 Boss 429 $38,000 |
| '71 Boss 351 $4,124 | '71 Boss 351 $18,450 |
| If New in 2002 | Actual |
| '69 Boss 302 N/A | $20,500 |
| '70 Boss 302 $16,888 | $20,500 |
| '69 Boss 429 $21,199 | $38,000 |
| '70 Boss 429 N/A | $38,000 |
| '71 Boss 351 $16,966 | $18,450 |
| Compared to Shelby | SportsRoofs now: |
| '69 GT350 $26,000 | '69 Boss 302 $20,500 |
| '70 GT350 $26,000 | '70 Boss 302 $20,500 |
| '69 GT500 $32,100 | '69 Boss 429 $38,000 |
| '70 GT500 $32,100 | '70 Boss 429 $38,000 |
| '71 Shelby Europa N/A | '71 Boss 351 $18,450 |
Standard StuffThe Boss cars came with a nice list of performance standard features. The Boss '9 gave you all these and a plush interior. One has to wonder if Ford did this because they felt guilty about the whopping $4,937 price tag.
Boss 302 1969Horsepower: 290 bhp at 5,800 rpmTorque: 290 lb-ft at 4,300 rpm
Suspension: Competition type with heavy-duty front coil and rear leaf springs. Heavy-duty rear Gabriel shocks are staggered to prevent wheel hop. A .85 front sway bar. Power-assisted front-disc and rear-drum brakes.
Engine: 302 cubic inch small-block V-8 with 4-inch bore with 3-inch stroke. Special "Cleveland" cylinder heads with 2.23-inch intake and 1.71-inch exhaust valves. Special mechanical high-lift cam. Block has screw-in freeze plugs and four-bolt main bearing caps. Forged steel crankshaft statically and dynamically balanced. Special aluminum intake with Holley 780 cfm carb. Dual point distributor.
Exhaust: Special cast-iron manifolds feeding into a transverse muffler system.Trans/code: Four-speed (Wide ratio) code 5; four-speed (Close ratio) code 6Axle/code: 3.50:1 (open) A code; 3.50:1 (Traction Lok) S code; 3.91:1 (Traction-Lok) V code; 4.30:1 (Detroit no-spin) W code;
Tires: F60x15 bias-ply raised white-letter tire. Magnum 500 Chrome wheels with argent centers.
Boss 302 1970Horsepower: 290 bhp at 5800 rpmTorque: 290 lb-ft at 4300 rpm