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1970 Mustang Boss 302 Barn Find Update!

Chase's Boss 302

You might remember back in June we featured Reader Chase V’s Boss 302 that he found stashed in a barn! Well after getting it out of the barn he sent it off to SEMO Classic Mustang to be gone through. They finished it just in time for Chase to take it to the Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals, where it left with a Celebrity Pick award! Now that it’s back on the road, he thought we might enjoy seeing it! It might not look much different than when we first featured it, but that’s the point of preserving a car like this. He’s sent me a few photos of the process and the finished product and hopefully he will be able to get us some photos of the process of getting it road and show worthy!

IMG_6368

From Chase: SEMO had the car since July & basically did everything you would do in a restoration, except restore it! The car was completely disassembled, cleaned, detailed, photo documented & exhaustive efforts were made to source date code correct parts to replace any incorrect parts. An example is they sourced a complete, date code correct exhaust system – from manifolds to tips. They also found the Boss specific 15 inch dog dish wheels and trim rings.

Build Sheet 2

We wanted to ensure the car would be safe on the road, so the entire driveline was disassembled and rebuilt. The engine sat for 37 years with one spark plug out of it, so we ended up boring the engine .30 over. All engine internals are correct. The transmission and rear end were disassembled, each piece thoroughly cleaned, new seals installed and reassembled. New rubber was installed on suspension components.

IMG_6860

The car has 31,000 original miles, its numbers matching driveline, all the original sheetmetal and is still wearing most all of its original paint. During deconstruction, it was found that there were a few spots where paint had been touched up, but there are no signs of bodywork. I contacted the previous owner (owned since 1976) and he said he never did any body / paint work, so anything had to have been done prior to 1976.

Boss 302 Engine

Every possible effort was made to only use date code correct parts. There are some parts that are simply impossible to find in original / useable condition, so we had to use correct reproductions. Tires, headliner, battery & brake rotors as an example. With those exceptions, everything else on the car is date code correct.

Display Stand Trunk Up

SEMO took the car back to Missouri so they could button up a few final details. Since I live in Michigan, we will just keep the car in Missouri until spring. We plan on having it at the MCA 40th in Indianapolis in September as well as the Mid-America Ford & Shelby Meet in Tulsa in June. We will do a variety of other shows next summer as well.

Courtney Hansen 2

Lastly, we had the Elite Marti Report done on the car & it winds up that it is the only (1 of 1) 1970 Boss 302 in Wimbledon white that came configured from the factory with the options that it has. That was a nice surprise as well. It was almost exactly 1 year ago that I found the ad on Craigslist for this car. This is proof that if you keep looking, searching, talking with people, you never know what you are going to find. There are still some gems hidden out there. I have attached a couple photos from the show. Even Courtney Hansen liked the Boss!

I want to thank Chase for keeping us posted on his Boss! What a great looking car and I’m so glad he decided to preserve it, rather than restore it. It sounds like he made a great choice by taking it to the guys at SEMO and they did a fantastic job preserving it! It’s hard enough to restore a car, but making sure every piece is factory original or at lease factory correct is a whole other animal. I wouldn’t mind finding this Boss in my garage each day, but I wouldn’t be able to resist the urge to drive it everyday! What about you?

Comments

  1. Avatar Dolphin Member

    I thought this story was good before but it just keeps getting better. The car looks like it came out as well as a 45 year old barn find car could possibly be, and as original as possible too. Comparing the photos from the summer, the disassembled photo above, and the finished car it looks like you have ended up with the holy grail of Boss 302s: a beautiful unrestored car in a unique build configuration that looks and runs terrific. And all done so quickly with a Craigslist car. I don’t think this happens very often.

    Congratulations on a great find, and a great job of making it the best it can be.

    Like 1
  2. Avatar Alan f

    Outstanding!
    I like the new trend of “preserving” muscle cars….it seems like they have more identity than “restored to much” cars….
    Nice work and great find!!!
    Alanjnc

    Like 1
  3. Avatar Jim

    Lord almighty…what a gorgeous Ford! Very nice resto…the Boss 302 was a splendid car, and this one looks great!

    Like 0
  4. Avatar Rancho Bella

    After having owned three 70 B2’s I can write that these are good cars. They handle well and can be driven to the store. Kind of an all around little beast.

    The problem with most people is they don’t understand what the car was designed for. Not a drag racing but a good road car and oddly, the harder you push them into a corner the better they become.

    Like 1
  5. Avatar rdc

    lovely car.

    Like 0
  6. Avatar Dutch 1960

    So was that a build sheet or perhaps a window sticker under the brake pedal?

    Like 0
  7. Avatar Luke Fitzgerald

    Build sheet – they get wet in Mustangs instead of getting eaten by mice in big Fords – HOW MUCH DID THAT COST ? – I cannot even begin to imagine that

    Like 0
    • Avatar Dolphin Member

      Yes, expensive, but I think it’s respect for a great original car that makes this happen.

      Average 2015 auction price for these in excellent condition is slightly over $70K. That’s for restored cars. For a mostly original unrestored car like this it would be higher. The top prices paid for these at auction are much higher than $70K, and I think this one would be in that category.
      [http://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/default.aspx?carID=10561&i=8]

      The money spent will likely more than be recovered when / if the car is sold.

      Like 0
  8. Avatar Karl

    One of my friends has had one of these since we were in high school together in the late ’70s. His is Grabber Blue, and I see it in his driveway every time I visit my mother in my hometown. It’s definitely a runner; he’s had other Mustangs as well but his Boss 302 is the unquestioned flagship of the fleet. He told me years ago that he was getting offers in the mid five figures even then. I don’t know quite what he’s had done to it, but his car may well be in the same category as this one.

    Like 0
  9. Avatar AMCFAN

    It is a nice car and I don’t want to get beat up over this. For me a barn find is a car found in the time frame or state in which it was parked. Being a kid riding my Huffy Drag bike and watching the cars go by the house. Guys who had performance cars 80% of the time had custom wheels. Anyone could buy a car off the lot. The motor could be stock but if it had steam roller tires in the rear, air shocks and some Thrush mufflers it was cool.

    I often laugh but in the 90’s I remember the first time I saw a Roadrunnerchallenger Mopar something or another with dog dish hub caps. I thought WTF! I had never seen a car with those!

    This car was restored and touched up not from the way it was found but back to when it left the factory. NOT THE SAME. I would have paid more for it as it was in the first post if he would only have got it running and left it alone. Now it is ready for Barrett Jackson or someother collector car auction and believe that was intended. It is no different then any of the other over restored cars and joins the rank with the other restored non original cars To each their own.

    If it had not for American Motors almost taking the second place Trans AM title away frrom the Mustang in 1968 with the Javelin. The powers at Ford were not happy that a little Rambler almost put the hammer on them with their brand new team/car/ with only a single 4V carb. There wouldn’t have been a B2

    Like 1
    • Avatar rdc

      From what I read, it was not restored, but mostly repaired. It has sort of gone from a barn find to a “survivor”. That is a car that has more or less stayed intact throughout its life. Seems this one slept a long time. :)
      I call my old 20-year-old BMW with 236,000 miles a survivor as it is still running and in excellent condition as things were repaired as needed.

      Like 0
    • Avatar MustangMason

      I got to see this car in person at muscle car nationals and spent a lot of time with it and the owner. The thing the photos don’t show is the little nicks and scratches Although this car is a barn find it was preserved to be able to compete nationally as a survivor car thus the dog dishes. The huge tires in the first set of photos he said he still has in the barn and even said he will do some small local shows with the mags on this summer for fun. People were all over this car at muscle car nationals. Awesome car and by far the coolest display stand I’ve ever seen!

      Like 0
    • Avatar paul

      AMCFAN-I believe you are mistaken when you say “NOT THE SAME”. The car was NOT “touched up” the paint wasn’t touched at all, it was just washed. The rubber hoses etc were replaced with original, it wouldn’t exactly be reliable or safe otherwise. Father & son project and they did great work-

      Like 0
    • Avatar Jett

      An engine rebuild and replacement of seals or hoses is not a restoration. Sounds like it only has 31,000 miles, PLUS original paint and interior, so necessary mechanical work to make it drivable would still count as a survivor in my book.

      Like 0
  10. Avatar AMCFAN

    rdc I took it that way too. Then I saw the picture of the motor painted factory fresh. I wonder if……My 1990 Toyota truck has nearly 300K on its clock. It is time for a rebuild. Pretty sure before I re install I’ll paint it back factory fresh. Then that seam tear in the seat. I’ll buy a new seat cover. While at it I’ll pull the rubber mat and stumble on the build sheet. Lucky me. Then I’ll buy a new rubber mat. Then I may as well touch up the engine compartment and detail the chassis. I have been lucky with parts so far. Found a complete exhaust with a cat converter and factory steelies. Now if I could find those Yokohama’s.

    Like 1
  11. Avatar Jim Marshall

    A friend purchased a 69 GT 500 back in the mid 70’s for I’m thinking 3500.00 and sold it for what he thought was a tidy profit in the 80’s. He did make a decent profit but nothing compared to what it was eventually worth or valued at. These high performance Mustangs of the 60’s and 70’s have really gone out of sight as well they should.

    Like 0
  12. Avatar Keith

    Very Nice!

    Like 0
  13. Avatar piper62j

    A true hot item.. I remember these when they were new. Wouldn’t mind owning one today..

    Like 0
  14. Avatar AMCFAN

    Seeing this car at a “National” show or where ever with Barn Find or Survivor is misleading. For what the car IS now that should give everyone a green light with a 1/2 or 3/4 restored car the right to post a BF banner on their car too.

    It would be nice if a matching display was made to be honest with the crowd and show the bill from the Mustang restoration shop. Show everything that was done. Show everything that was replated or replaced. While doing so be carefull to leave a few imperfections in the paint enough to pull it off. Not going to happen.

    Had the car been removed and carefully preserved and cleaned and displayed in an honest manner just as it was found that is one thing. But never the intent. Why would you take it to a Mustang specialty shop?

    The motor and driveline have been removed and detailed. The engine compartment was painted. The interior has been replaced. Has reproduction tires installed. Only the tip of the iceburg to be sure. The real intent here is when the show circuit is over to collect the awards and trophys and head to Barrett Jackson. Time to get paid.

    Reminds me of a time When a husband and wife team were trying to corner the AMX market in the 1990’s. Buying everything from nos parts and cars. Found an original mint garaged since new 9500 mile1970 AMX. They blow the car apart to nothing then build it back. Painting each panel seperate then adding everything new along the way. It is no longer a factory built car. The intent was to increase the value nothing more. Same goal with the B2 above although it wasn’t entirely blown apart.

    Like 1
  15. Avatar Spridget

    Y’all probably won’t see this, but an update on the car: I saw the car and met the owner yesterday at the Pinehurst Concours, where the car beat numerous restored cars to take third in it’s class!

    Like 0
  16. Avatar Walt

    found this on craigslist 5 years ago, kids selling it 4 gma. Think Gpa past on[orig owner] No Cal car, straight body, no rust, fairly low miles, did a little work[their kids ran it down], home cosmedics- inside & outside, got me a nice daily driver fairly cheap & no one knows

    Like 1

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