The first generation of Ford’s Mustang was built between 1964 and 1973 and had its roots in the Falcon compact. Every couple of years, a styling iteration would take place, and such was the case with the 1969-70 models. The fastbacks had a slipperier look than their predecessors and that gave way to two new editions, the Boss 302 and Boss 429. Both were hot cars and the latter, which is the subject is this story, is especially rare today. We’re not sure where this all takes place and there is mention of snow. But this Mustang was a one-owner car with 8,500 miles when a Boss aficionado was able to make it his own. Thanks to Barn Finder Larry D for scoping this one out for us here on Motor Trend!
Like so many of us, Alex Myrman was bitten by the car bug in high school in the 1980s. His interest migrated to the 1969-70 era of Mustangs, and particularly the Boss editions. While he has worked on a variety of cars over the years, he always wanted one of those elusive Boss Mustangs but realized that finding a nice one could be a daunting task. While the 302 saw larger demand (1,628 copies in 1969 and 7.013 in 1970), the 429 is something of a Holy Grail at 857 units in ’69 and 499 in ’70.
One day, a co-worker mentioned to Alex that his father had a 1969 Boss 429 that he purchased new, but it had been sitting untouched in Dad’s garage since 1981. It took some time to go visit the automobile because Dad didn’t want to sell it at first. But he finally came around but needed some time to prep the garage for Alex to see the car. But when he eventually got there, Alex found a Candy Apple Red Boss 429 with just over 8,500 miles! It was in good overall condition and still wearing its original tires. The father had made some adjustments to the Ford for more speed back in the day, and it was largely complete, though they never did find the distributor.
Alex and the dad struck a deal and he trailered it home where the first order of business was to give it a good bath. The Mustang cleaned and shined up nicely and we suspect it became a permanent resident at Alex’s home. The known part of the story stops there and that was a few years ago, so we assume Alex got the Ford running and has been enjoying showing it off at various shows and other events. Don’t you just love it when a plan comes together?
I just had a spike in oil pressure in my lower unit.
Cool story. Interesting that in the other garage in the background is a 60’s Corvette and a….. Prius ?
I had a flashback to the colonel in the “A-Team” with the comment about a “plan coming together.”
Russ,
Interesting find and story! Another car I wished I had chased years ago before the price when thru the roof.
Snorkle off,headers,high capacity Holman-Moody Nascar plug wires..wouldnt be surpised if there’s a new carb of at least 850cfm now(original is tiny 735cfm..one of the things that choked the Boss bad)Whoever originally updated it knew what he was doing and prolly had the Ford Garage Tips book by his side,as that book told you how to make the Boss how they wanted but Ford’s need to have a car that drove nice..idled nice..was quiet..started in hot and cold..is why the Boss was choked bad from the factory.I love a Boss day-two’d with the Tips book..they are monsters.
My wife’s father was a Ford Certified mechanic. He had a 69 428 that he drag raced. Broke the record at the drag strip in Gainesville, FL. When they tore down the engine they couldn’t find his “tricks” in the engine. The record held for a couple of years.
This is what made America great.
Ok. I’ll ask. Is it available to buy?
My best customer, the owner of a large collection of Corvettes and Camaros, just bought a 69 Boss 429. It’s a former race car showing about 20,000 miles. It’s solid, and petty complete, but the underside has a lot of modifications that were done to it for racing, that will now have to be reversed. The installation of the 429 was handled by Kar Kraft for Ford, making them almost hand made.
These cars can be a real challenge to restore, since many of the parts used by Kar Kraft, were unique to the 1,356 69 and 70 Boss 429’s, and not shared with any other Ford.
This car looks like a pretty nice example, that someone was really lucky to acquire.
What a great find!! And it cleaned up well.
Minnesota plates
All Hail King Kong!
I recall seeing a Boss 429 New, the Ford a mile or so from home quite often had an interesting piece in the showroom, this included Shelbys.
Great story, well-written, nicely composed with accompanying pics. Cool car.
Discussing this in a chatroom, one of the other guys wondered out loud how many of those 8500 miles were racked up a quarter-mile at a time.
Would like to see the interior!