Payin' The Cost To Be The Boss

The Boss, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

In 1969, at the height of the Trans-Am's popularity, Ford needed to develop a version of the Mustang to take the fight to Chevrolet's Camaro Z/28. The vehicle that resulted was the Boss 302, which ran a composite engine made up of the Windsor smallblock and cylinder heads from Ford's "Cleveland" big block. The resulting 302 cubic inch motor was unique to the Boss, and had it's own distinct sound and feel, a chattering, high-strung race engine for the street.

Other improvements to the Boss were the deletion of the standard Mustang's rear fender scoops, a new functional hood scoop, tightened up suspension, and frequently a lower rear axle ratio. All of this added up to a pretty serious piece of kit, able to entertain on the road and win on the track.

And the name? Ford President Semon "Bunkie" Knudsen was a big proponent of this project, and when designer Larry Shinoda was asked what he was working on, simply answered "The Boss' car". The name stuck.

The Boss

The Boss, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

A genuine former Trans-Am Ford Mustang Boss 302. And yes, that does seem a bit long winded, so we'll just call it "The Boss".

The Trans-Am was derived from the SCCA's sedan championships, and generally followed the FIA's Group 2 Touring regulations. Divided into over- and under-2 liter categories, the Trans-Am featured a broad array of European and American sports cars, and resulted in some of the automotive world's iconic cars.

Looming large among these is the Boss, Ford's factory racer for the '69 season. Over-2's were limited to 5.0 liters displacement, which rounded out neatly to 302 cubic inches. This resulted in a lightweight, high revving, powerful engine, and one of the more sought after Mustang variants (along with the Camaro Z-28 and the Challenger T/A).

This is an original Trans-Am car from the late 60's, run by the Bud Moore team. It's parked on the grid at Road America about a year ago. I like how the driver has his arm hanging out the window as he's sitting waiting for the start. Just chillin', no big deal!

Gunfighter

Gunfighter, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

A horse of a different color compared to yesterday's entry! North American Aviation's P-51 Mustang is one of the most legendary airplanes to come out of the Second World War. Designed as a long-range escort fighter, the Mustang was only a middling fighter until Packard began to license build Rolls-Royce's equally legendary Merlin engine. This transformed the Mustang into a fantastic, fast, long-range airplane and sealed it's place in aviation history. The Mustang went through several iterations, and continued to serve with American forces until the mid 50's, and with several other countries until the sixties. It remains a popular airplane, with many being used as the basis of racing craft, as well as touring with other warbirds.

This one is "Gunfighter", and flies with the Commemorative Air Force. It's been modified with a second seat, and gives rides at air shows across the country.

California Special

GT/CS, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Available for only a year, the California Special was a factory built limited edition Mustang, and was an attempt to get some of the Shelby magic to rub off on the rest of the range. The package consisted of Shelby styling cues, such as the Marchal foglights, scoops, Thunderbird taillights, and the Shelby hood. Ford meant to build 5,000 examples, but demand for the California Special fell a bit short.

Ford did this sort of small-market limited edition a couple of other times. A nearly identical car to the GT/CS was marketed in the Denver area as the "High Country Special", and a few years later the "Twister Special" appeared in the Kansas area. All of these editions are pretty rare today, and are an interesting footnote to the Mustang story.

Surf Naked!

This is a vintage bumper sticker for Plastic Fantastic surfboards, which were made in Huntington Beach, California, from the sixties up until the 80's or so. It's on the back bumper of a '66 Mustang notchback, an original, black plate, one owner from new California car. I loved this car. It was mostly original (the owner had done some engine work, and it had some different wheels on it), and it wore it's 45 years with pride. Some pitted chrome, faded paint, a little surface rust on the back axle, foggy plastic lenses, that worn spot you get on the door top from leaning your arm on the sill while cruising, it was all there.

And a bunch of period stickers.