This Rare Ford Mustang Boss 429 is a 1-of-52 Gem

BOLD RIDE

Copyright © 2016 Bold Ride LLC.

 

Posted by Zach Doell 

 

                               

                               

Diamonds may be a girl’s best friend, but lovers of rare Ford Mustangs might be more inclined to emeralds, such as this rare pony car gem. 

 

Built in 1970, this is one of the rarified Boss 429 Mustangs, of which only 1,356 were sold altogether and 499 that year. It packs Ford’s thunderous 429ci V8 monster, street fighting looks, but most importantly it comes dressed in “Grabber Green,” making it one of only 52 ever produced.

It crosses the auction block at Mecum’s 2016 Houston event on April 16th, and one lucky bidder will get to add it to their collection. The rest of us however will just be left green with envy.

While the “Boss” story is very well known, it always deserves a revisit. It’s the late ‘60s and Ford is hoping to launch its big 429ci “hemi” V8 into NASCAR competition, giving the Blue Oval a rival against Chrysler’s famed 426ci “elephant engine.”

Homologation rules specified that in order to do so, at least 500 engines needed to find a home within a street car, and the sporty Mustang would end up being that vehicle.

While large enough to fit a bevy of other engines, the ‘Stang’s engine bay was not big enough to swallow the 429ci behemoth and its massive cylinder heads. To cope, Ford enlisted Michigan’s Kar Kraft to make the engines fit, and in the process they relocated the shock towers outward, stuck the battery in the trunk, and widened the pony car’s front track. It couldn’t handle like its nimbler Boss 302 sibling or dash like a 428 Cobra Jet, but because of their suspension changes, these “Boss 9” cars were said to be the better of the big-engined Mustangs.

This Boss 429 in particular—KK# 2446—seems to have faired quite well over the years. It’s described as a mostly original car, though it was the beneficiary of a restoration in 2010. Inside, the black interior package presents showroom fresh and draws the eyes to the Hurst shifter-topped four-speed manual gearbox, which corrals the Boss 9’s claimed 375 horsepower.

On the outside it’s that vibrant Grabber Green that captivates the eyes, said to be the second rarest color of 1970. If only they still offered this color on the 2016 cars.

As far as prices go. Boss 429s continue to appreciate at a healthy clip, and the best of the bunch can fetch well over $300,000. Tune in in one month’s time to see how this 1970 ‘Stang does.