Bodacious Boss 429

Only produced for two years, the Boss 429 is arguably one of the rarest muscle cars to date.

Car: Ford Mustang Boss 429

Year: 1968

Where: Chelsea Coffee Co, Silver Springs, FL When: 06/01/2019

The Boss 429 is arguably one of the rarest and most valued muscle cars to date, the Boss was only produced for two years with only 1358 made. Ford introduced the 429 Boss in 1969 to compete with the MOPAR Hemi engine in NASCAR.

Ford modified a version of the big block V8 design, also known as "Ford 385 Engine". The 429 cu in (7.0 L) 385 Cobra Jet V8 was built as a full on race engine, the exhaust ports were so big that it was nick-named the "Shot Gun Engine".

This new engine was now too big to fit into a standard Mustang body, Ford hired KarKraft to modify the front end of the car. They used a 428 Mach 1, changed the inner fenders to make additional space. The battery was also positioned in the trunk and a sway bar was added to the rear end to improve handling as the car was now nose heavy. This was the first Mustang to be fitted with a sway bar and it handled much better than other big block Mustangs of the time.

Because of the modifications, the Boss 429 had a slightly different appearance to other Mustangs. The front bumper was thin and rounding, wrapping around each side of the front end and a smooth but functional front spoiler helped keep the front wheels on the ground. Similarly the hood scoop was much wider on the Boss 429 than other Mustangs, and it was indeed functional.

The power was legally rated to 375 horsepower, although 500 horsepower was definitely possible. The engine has been said to hold up to 9000rpm for an extended period of time without fail, however for insurance purposes it was limited to about 6200rpm. With such a low rpm limit the 429 was able to hit 30mph in 3.2 seconds, 60mph in 7.1 seconds and 100mph in 13.6 seconds.

This particular Boss featured is part of the collection of rare muscle cars housed in National Parts Depot Headquarters in Ocala Florida. It is driven occasionally by NPD owner Rick Schmitd, these photos we’re taken at an early Sunday morning cars and coffee in Ocala.