In the late ’60s Ford’s Mustang was in need of a power increase to compete with all the new Pony cars entering the market. The choice was made to offer several new engine options. Two of the most infamous options were the Boss 302 and Boss 429, which are now some of the most sought after Mustangs. This 1970 Boss 302 was supposedly in the original owner’s garage for 25 years and is now being offered here on eBay by the second owner.
The interior in this Boss looks good and has had new carpets installed. The seller believes this car only has 70,000 miles and that it is still very original. The Boss was meant to be driven hard, but still offered enough features to be driven every day. The seats are comfortable, yet supportive enough for most high speed maneuvers, and the power steering is accurate but light.
The 302 cui V8 is based on Ford’s Windsor V8 with the large Cleveland heads strapped to it. This free breathing engine produced a respectable 290 hp, but most importantly was very durable. The Boss 302 lead Ford to Victory lane in the Trans-Am Series in 1970 and proved to be a fast and durable race car.
This car has some rust issues, but the original paint and patina look great. Deciding whether to restore this car or leave it original will be a challenge. On one hand it’s only original once and it looks great the way it is right now. But on the other hand this car deserves to look its absolute best and needs to have the rust fixed to preserve it. What do you think should happen to this Boss? Would you leave it as is or restore it back to like new condition?
If you don’t restore it you need to live in a dry climate or ac stored & don’t drive it if the humidity is high. but the bottom line is the roof, bottom of the fenders & more importantly the inner unibody at the front fenders in the engine bay are starting to rust. These cars are more valuable restored than in this condition.
if you do not fight against the rust… sooner or later… rust will win the battle and you will lose your Boss ! So… don’t hesitate : restore it and make it look brand new… again ! :o)
You will love the result… 200% sure ! :o)
~ Shinoda’s coup. restore it to drive, – not show, not Barrett-Jackson. enjoy!! strong potential.
Get ride of the rust !!!
do a sympathetic resto, fix the rust, blend the paint and clean up the engine compartment, tune up the engine and drive it on occasion
I like Boss 302s, but sorry to say I think there is more to fix here than the car will be worth after the restoration is finished. From the description and photos, it looks like there is rust pretty much all around the edges of the lower body and in at least some of the fenders and floors, and the rusty edges will be the hardest and most expensive rust to fix. Then there is a good paint job to do at the end. And then there are the mechanical problems that are mentioned, and possibly additional ones that aren’t known.
I would guess that if you are paying someone to do it, all that work and the required parts could add up to more than the $32K – $54K value range for an excellent restored 1970 Boss 302, depending on the quality of the work. Then add in the price of the car, which we know will be more than the $20K current bid.
Better to buy someone else’s restored car that won’t cost as much as this one to buy and restore. Or spend even less on a good driver and just enjoy it.
The car deserves its time in the limelight right now. It is a survivor, its a thin of pure beauty that we all enjoy to see and hear the story of. Take it to a few showes as is, make sure to have a relationship with her that you can cheerish, and then before cancer spreads take her back to show room shine. Have both worlds
Nice, if the bidding does not go ballistic this would be a nice father/son mild resto project. Keep it a driver, local car shows and the memories will be priceless over time. Maybe then the great-grandson will get a million for it.
I know a little about these having owned three of them. Sold my last one four months ago. Non matching Boss engine block with all correct Boss items, the most rust free Mustang I had ever owned. You could eat off the engine, new suspension to include Detroit Eaton Boss springs and Koni’s, new brakes and hoses, No rips in the correct interior.
$46k…………and it took months to get that.
These handle better than any Mustang to that time but weigh in at about 3400 lbs. The manual steering is best for these as the power steering removed the road feel. Why did I sell? After driving a Lotus Elan and Europa everything else feels like a Sherman Tank.
One more thing. I see this one has an incorrect distributor. A correct one runs between $1200 and $1500 U.S. Yes, this B2 should be de-rusted and painted. I see another $30K To $40K to get is close to correct. All suspension required as well to include drive train and hopefully those factory pistons have been changed, nasty business those TRW’s. For those that don’t know, suspension springs start dying after ten years.
Of all of the cars that I have owned and drove the boss 302 was the most fun to cruise around in. I own two of them both where 1970 and I’m so sorry I didn’t have them. I hope that whoever buys this car gets rid of the rust and repaints it. Enjoy it.
Drive it, enjoy it, make the mechanical part really good.You’ll get more people looking at it this way and not be so scared to let someone touch it. That’s what i would do.
These in stock/factory form were a debatable 400hp, insurance reasons for the 290hp quoted since the market was targeted to young adult males. It was interesting to learn a much bigger Holley carb (780cfm?) was used on this set-up than the 429BOSS!
I owned two of them and the best thing about them was the way they drove,with there suspension they were a blast.
Leave it as is ! Mechanically fix whatever to make a driver and enjoy it that way. I’d rather see an original as it sits than making it shinny again. My thoughts
great car restore it i restored 67 rambler its good for anouther 50 years know one likes rust cancer wish i had this car nice