Pat L. sent us this rare and low mileage 1971 Ford Mustang Boss 351 to stare at. The car’s original owner possessed the car from 1971 to 2006. To date, it has only accumulated 11,778 miles. When someone says a car is a survivor it can mean a number of different things to different people. This Boss 351 Mustang is listed here on Craigslist for an asking price of $104,000. The car is located in Danville, California just east of San Francisco. The car has only been up on Craigslist for 3 days.
The black interior contrasts well with the Performance White exterior. The Boss 351 engine is backed by a 4 speed transmission and the interior looks new. There were 1,806 Boss 351 Mustangs built in 1971. The car is documented as a 1 of 1 on its Marti Report and includes the 1971 sales invoice and other documentation from the original owner. The seller includes a number of great pictures of the car and it all looks original.
This car is special because of the engine. Ford built the Boss 351 with forged rods, 4 bolt main block and solid lifters. It was known as the R Code engine and rated by the factory at 330 horsepower and 370 lb ft of torque. Only the Cobra Jet 429 and Super Cobra Jet 729 produced more power. The seller states that everything is original down to the shock absorbers except a note that the engine was replaced by Ford in December 1971 at the dealership.
So, is this a survivor? For me, a survivor has the original paint, original drivetrain and original upholstery. Obviously, a survivor will have had maintenance including new tires and a new battery but no restoration work. This car had its engine replaced when it was only a couple of months old and then it was hardly driven since. I love the NACA scoops on the hood. Even though this was a much bigger car than the prior generation Mustang, it is beautiful and a definite head turner.
Pretty incredible car, assuming the door panels are original, one of the best “preserved” sets of arm rests on the panels I’ve seen. Age alone seemed to make those pretty brittle.
Very nice car. The white body with matte black accents just works. Always preferred the 71-73 sport roofs over the 69-70s. Some say the 71-73 are bloated, but styling was nicely done. But my faves are 67-68.
71-73 r tanks, I have a 65 & 69 fastbacks & r more fun 2 drive, lighter & see out of. I got a 84 HO 302 in 65 T5 tranny & 351 M code w/Borg Warner /close ratio 4speed in 69, both r gear drive. Both a Chevy/Mopar killer
Odometer numbers don’t line up…gotta be tampered with.
Having never tampered with an odometer, but in case I ever do- Is it that hard to line up the numbers? I see comments such as yours a lot on BF and it always seems to me that if you are going to bother doing it why wouldn’t you make it less obvious?
I don’t think you have a sarcasm detector.
Old mechanical odometers are intentionally designed so that the numbers don’t line up if you run them backwards by disconnecting the speedometer cable, hooking up a drill and literally running it in reverse.
The more sophisticated mileage tamperer will disassemble the whole dash, remove the odometer tumblers, and set whatever mileage they like that way.
Oh Frank, that is such BS. They should boot people from this site that spew BS tech like that. Did you NOT SEE that his comment was SARCASM??? Because all of the idiots here post dumb comments about how, if the numbers don’t line up precisely, then it’s been tampered with…which is completely FALSE.
jwzg… not necessarily. This car supposedly has tons of documentation that support the mileage claim. The photo’s also seem to support the claim as well. Old mechanical odometers aren’t exactly precision instruments to begin with. Old cable lubrication can cause issues with smooth operation, if it binds slightly it will transmit a shock to the odometer like a miniature hammer drill, those little shocks can add up quickly. The lubrication on the internal gears in the speedometer head is likely original, 51 years old, and can cause less than smooth operation. When this car is driven another 225 miles to 12,000 miles I bet there will be more issues with alignment. I’ve owned well over 100 old cars, and can tell you that very few had perfect alignment, even cars with under 100k miles. But tampering is always a possibility with cars… do your homework. Documentation is key! Beautiful Boss 351, pretty ambitious price in my opinion.
This one doesn’t have a sarcasm detector either ;)
The number of times odometer number alignment comes up on BF makes me laugh, so I thought I’d get in a little sarcasm.
This is a beaut, and I don’t doubt the mileage at all.
jwzg,
I was in the vintage auto parts business for 40+ years, and I’ve seen FoMoCo, MoPaR, and GM speedometers, brand new, sitting on the shelf in the original boxes, with mis-aligned odometer digits. Up until the Feds started tightening up on dealers who re-set odometers, no one cared, especially the manufacturers who built the speedo units.
I worked for a Ford dealer when this car was built, and I know first-hand that the vast majority of new Fords didn’t have a row of lined up zeros in their odometers.
What is important is the thin spacers between the digit discs that will turn with the disc when moved backwards, and those thin spacers turn from black to white. .
I’m a court-recognized expert in transportation matters, including forensic mechanic work, and it’s my opinion this odometer has not been altered. Replaced with a NOS speedo? possibly, but it’s not been “rolled back”. Based on the provided photos, I believe this is a genuine 11k mile car.
Bill, what year did the OEM’s add the tampering indication on mechanical odometers? I am familiar with those, but they didn’t add those until the 70’s or so? And thank you for sharing your knowledge!
19sixty5,
I didn’t list an exact year because I didn’t have time to check my references, and a quick search kept coming up with the updated laws dated 1981. So I am pretty sure the first odometer rollback laws came in on the major DOT law for 1 Jan 1968. Perhaps someone has more time to check into this.
Love the dealer replacement engine and the price.
Its like saying low mileage salvage car while keeping a str8 face.
Good luck on sale
I love my 71 B1. Not sure this one will sell for the asking price. Buyer should check a number of things to verify that it is a Boss 351. Good looking car tho.
Interesting that the letters on the side of the scoops are just “RAM AIR” instead of “351 RAM AIR” as they came from the factory.
Boss 351`s only had “RAM AIR” on the hood…no 351.
LOL! Jerry, do your research before you profess your “knowledge”.
When all the hoopla subsides over the 93 Cobra R cars, ha ha, these are the next big money ponies. I could have bought a perfect black one in 1987 for $6,000. I passed. Stupid. Today, the carb is worth more. A one year only engine with all the best internals. What a sound at idle if you have never heard a real one without stupid aftermarket exhaust.
I wonder if the boss 351 was manual only ?
Neat looking car and powertrain sure seems built to go. 3.91 gear ⚙
The BOSS 302’s, BOSS 429’s and BOSS 351’s came only in 4-speeds.
Thx Jerry. All the Boss models clearly mean business. This 351 model is awesome. Love the no spoiler look here also. What a great car.
I know a few engines were replace under Warranty back in the day. If the paperwork matches up. No worries.
Floormats are stingy in the width department – must be “modern” ones.
For once I can almost believe the mileage claim. Nothing looks worn and the appearance of everything is consistent, not like someone replaced this and that. Very nice Mustang, even if the mileage did turn out to be fake.
FWIW mine had a black velvet material on the Hurst T handle. Sold mine for $3400 in ’78. Glad I’m not one of those guy’s that kick themselves in the ass for every stupid thing they did.
The reason the price is rather high is the location of the car. This area is very ritzy with wealth where the average price of a house probably is around 1.8 million. Selling car this much to pay for property taxes?
I remember these cars in the day when you did not see one very often compared with the fastbacks and Mach 1’s which were all over. Nice looking Mustang and hope the seller does get their asking price or close to.
Big fan of these rare cars with 1806 produced. Very rare carb with giant secondaries on top of that engine. Stick shift transmission only. Man I want mine back-
Beautiful car! I was selling a 1965 K-Code, 4 speed coupe for a friend of mine a few years ago but lost one seller because it had been repainted and did not qualify as a survivor. The replacement of the engine qualifies as “period correct” but disqualifies it as a survivor. I would love to add it to my stable but the price is too much. But, as was stated, it’s being sold in an area where it is reasonable to go for a Barret-Jackson and not Mecum price.
The Mach 1 style tail pipes and the “RAM AIR” on the hood scoops indicate changes from the way it came from the factory. Those tailpipes were even an option of a Boss 351 if I remember correctly and the correct marking on the hood scoops was “351 RAM AIR”.
The Mach 1 had the Ram Air 351 on the hood. The Boss 351 only said Ram Air since it has 351 callouts all over the car. The front bumpers were chrome on Boss 351 cars, unlike on the Mach 1 whi h were body color. The Boss 351 exhaust did not have the cut outs in the rear valance and therefore did not have chrome tips on them. They were turned down at the valance so you could barely see them from the rear. These cars are proof positive that you dont need fancy chrome tips to sound awesome! Lol The hood was also painted different on the Boss 351 (kinda like a 69 Mach 1) as opposed to the Mach 1 where the alternating paint followed the contour of the NACA scoops. This car is a pure time capsule!! Very sweet!
Gorgeous ! but a small question: why isn’t the front bumper white ? I thought they got body color front bumper with chrome rear bumper, even in 1971, on the Boss models (though not “regular” models)
Chrome bumpers were correct for the Boss 351. The contrast flat colors on the hood was also different from the Mach 1’s design to set it apart.
The Birrell’s ’71 BOSS 351 went for about $192K at Mecum’s about 4 years ago. That car was documented to have under 1K miles. I grew up in the little town where the Birrell dealership was located, that car was a time capsule, the Birrell boys used to take the Shelby’s out for a cruise, but this car was a ghost, was never seen, only a few people in town knew it existed.
https://www.mecum.com/lots/FL0118-312544/1971-ford-mustang-boss-351-fastback/
Yes very nice, certified miles? A bit pricey?
A muscle car with a replaced engine under warranty is worth just as much as one with the original motor. But just like everything that happens with value it is the paperwork that proves the story.Just like the 67 and 68 Yenko Camaro’s has to have the paperwork
Fastest productionMustang was the Boss 351 – look it up. Up to 03 Terminators.
Solid lifter 351C was a singing machine. Back in college a girl drove one. Pretty impressive – even back then.
Two guys got into a bidding war at Barrett-Jackson over one of two Boss 351s. They are the next Boss to move into solid six figure territory along with 351C-4V Panteras.
Sadly many Panteras are all ready there.
71’s r boats & can’t see out of flat back window @ all, pretty & well maintained car but I wouldn’t give a dollar 4 it, I’m keeping my 69 351 Mach 1, 34 roadster & 35 pickup
Wonder if any much-better-rear-visibility ’71 stang coupes or even convertibles escaped the factory with the boss 351, if one “knew someone” or was a Ford exec.
Or if the boss 351 was even installed by mistake or on purpose “when no one was looking” – i guess the latter could get conspiring workers reprimanded or even fired.
Would have been a good motor for the pantera & torino too! But i guess, like the sd-455, the boss 351 motors were in short supply.
As I recall all Mach 1’s & Boss cars were Fastbacks/Sport roofs. Only Shelby made convertibles. Kinda like 67-69 Camaro Z28’s, no convertibles
Walt, there was ONE ’68 z28 convertible built for an exec – worth a fortune!
http://www.gmpowerhouses.com/2019/03/1968-copo-camaro-z28-convertible-rarest.html
& ONE red ’72 t/a built for an exec with a column shift automatic yet! …
http://www.pontiacv8.com/articles/2018/2/28/1972-pontiac-trans-am-raging-redbird
There is at least one other 72 T/A with a column shift, in white in Texas, but still, among the rarest of the rare. Out of the 697 1969 Trans Am Firebirds 8 were convertibles, 4 manual and 4 automatics. What is amazing is that all 8 survive to this day!
If one did not order a console with their T/A or Z28 the automatic shifter would be on the column, rarely happened but consoles were not standard equipment.
This is the coolest Mustang ever made, in my honest opinion. The ’71 429SCJ is equally cool. Dare to be different. I would much rather have one of these than look like every other Mustang owner.
Had one, candy apple red, almost untouchable in quarter mile. Greatest Mustang Ford put out.
I owned a Raven Black 71 Boss 351 in 1979. Unfortunately it was stolen. I was 17 at the time. Oh how I miss my old Boss.