How many boss 302 will be built

That honour — and the championship — went to a Torino Talladega. It also sent Chrysler back to the drawing board and they developed the Dodge Charger Daytona and Plymouth Superbird, proof that racing really does improve the breed. WHILE the Boss was built to go in a straight line and through the odd left-hand bend, the Boss was designed to turn both left and right, to stop and go and ultimately snatch back the Trans Am championship from Chevrolet.

The order from Knudsen therefore was pretty straightforward — the cars needed to be invincible on the track, while the street-going versions had to look every bit as unbeatable. Former GM stylist Larry Shinoda was fascinated by aerodynamics.

He also insisted on the rear deck spoiler as an option, although none of the race teams ran them. Getting the cars to handle was of prime concern and that task was handed to Matt Donner, the Chief Ride and Handling Engineer. Even though it was touted as a sports car, like most American cars at the time, understeer was the order of the day. The handling was also helped by the first use of series tyres on a mass production vehicle. The F Goodyear Polyglas tyres were so fat that the front guards had to be cut and rolled to clear them.

With dismal performance and reliability problems from the exotic tunnel-port used during the Trans Am series, Ford had to come up with an engine that would hang together under the extremes of circuit racing. They also had to build at least of them to keep the SCCA happy. Using the tunnel-port block, which featured four-bolt mains and screw-in core plugs, as the basis for the new race engine, the boffins at Ford soon discovered that the heads slated for the new Cleveland engine would bolt straight on with little modification.

With massive 2. Boss heads also came with guide plates, machined spring cups and heavy-duty dual springs over the standard 4V heads. The internals were suitably beefy as well. With forged and cross-drilled cranks for dropped in , forged rods and pistons, a cranky solid lifter cam and a cfm Holley on a high-rise dual-plane intake, the little cuber was built to scream and to last.

The engines also ran windage trays, baffled sumps and a factory-installed rev limiter — the first thing people disconnected — to give it the best chance of survival. Externally the cars were subtly different from the regular Mustangs, even the Boss You could pick any colour interior you wanted from the catalogue but, not surprisingly, most people opted for black vinyl. Once the dust settled and the spanners were put away, rolled off the assembly line, considerably more than any other Boss Mustang.

Ford offered optional Recaro racing buckets, which drastically improve the car's track-readiness and make the interior look much more aggressive. The Laguna Seca edition takes the aggression even further with a half cage replacing the rear seats.

And if you look in the dashboard, Ford chose to include a base radio rather than a navigation head unit, proving this is a track-focused car rather than a daily driver.

So long as you don't get the Laguna Seca, the Boss doesn't compromise much on the practicality of a standard Mustang. The rear seats aren't massive and nor is the trunk, but these are probably not why you are looking to buy a Mustang. Fuel economy isn't woeful for a V8 sports car with EPA ratings of 17 mpg in the city and 26 mpg on the highway. If you like Mustangs and want a car with a bit more pedigree than a run-of-the-mill GT model, a Boss is an excellent way to stand out while also getting one of the best track-focused models Ford ever built.

Not only is the Boss one of the coolest looking Mustangs, it has the heritage to go along with it and the rarity to become a future collectible.

Combine these factors with the current prices - which are nearly half of what you'll pay for an equivalent new Mustang - and the Boss represents phenomenal value. This is the best affordable Mustang around. The Performance The Boss isn't as potent as a brand-new Mustang but is still powered by a 5. The Interior Mustang interiors aren't exactly awe-inspiring but the Boss does have a few interesting touches to make it feel unique compared to a normal GT. The Boss was made to be a road course legend, and almost right out of the gate, it succeeded.

And then—poof! For , the Mustang had a new body style, and the Boss was no more. Unlike other famous nameplates that get regurgitated again and again, often as little more than stripe-and-spoiler special editions, the Boss name was parked on the shelf for 42 years. Then, for , the Boss was back. And it was worthy, with horsepower from an engine that could turn rpm. In other words, it was not just some half-baked marketing exercise designed to cash in on a bit of decades-old intellectual property.

In fact, as with the original and Boss s, Ford touched every inch of the and cars in much the same way: stiffer springs, bigger antiroll bars, better brakes, an optional Torsen limited-slip differential, sneaky and owner uncorkable side exhaust pipes, and even a hardcore Laguna Seca option package that cranked it all up to So it was no surprise that when the Boss was introduced, it was big news.

The car put down the numbers. The media loved it. And, most important, so did Mustang people. I wonder if I have any friends with fighter jets. Gate 6 is the competitor entrance, the gateway to this perfectly manicured and often humbling haven where drivers have gathered for decades, just like we were on this morning.

We met when I traded him, of all things, a Boss engine in exchange for him painting my GT Phil bought this car, his personal Boss , as a shell in Over the next decade, he swapped in some upgrades to help make it a better track car but stopped short of any kind of invasive surgery.

Edelbrock aluminum 2V cylinder heads with a mild camshaft upgrade top its stock Boss block, while a Tremec TKO five-speed gearbox sits in place of the factory toploader four-speed.

To slow it all down, aftermarket four-wheel disc brakes tug on the upgraded inch wheels with low profile tires. Inside, newer aftermarket seats keep you from being flung about the cabin when all that hardware is put to use. The engine, while largely stock, feels more lively thanks to the time-honored tradition of using 2V-style heads to pick up port velocity, although back in the day a lot of Boss owners used port plates—literally little metal plates that effectively raised the floor of the humongous ports and reduced their size to speed airflow—in the stock cylinder heads.

The simple bolt-on upgrades to the chassis really improve its dance moves as well. Last but not least, proper modern brakes really inspire confidence. Sliding, bellowing, bumping, their front ends reached for the sky at the big end of the three long straights, and their noses slammed down on the bump stops as they struggled to slow for the brutal Turn 5.

It was spectacular stuff. I understand that I can unsubscribe at any time. Privacy Policy. Contribute: Send us a tip Contact the editor. Share This Article:. Follow Us Today:. Used Ford Mustang.

Used BMW 4-Series. Used Chevrolet Camaro.