Sometimes we double-team a car and two of us here at Barn Finds will cover the same subject in close proximity. It’s not supposed to happen as repeats should get weeded out but it doesn’t always work that way. Today, however, I’m going to intentionally cover a 1971 Ford Mustang Boss 351 that my colleague Jeff Lavery covered two and a half years ago. It was sold to a new owner and now it’s looking for a new home again. Let’s see what, if anything has changed. Located in Oakland, California, this let’s do it again Boss is available, here on eBay for a current bid of $34,801 with 38 bids tendered.
The most notable difference between yesterday’s Boss and today’s is the overall physical appearance, today’s car looks like it has been highly detailed, not that it looked bad before. The old listing is no longer available so the post and its four images have to tell the entire story. This we know, this car has 94K miles and is one of twenty out of a total of 1,806 Boss Mustangs that were finished in Wimbledon White. It looks like the tires have been replaced with original style bias plies and the wheel center caps have been installed. The seller adds, “This Mustang is a true survivor through and through. The White paint is original along with the decals which look great. I would go as far to say the paint has never been buffed. The body is solid with no rust or damage. There are little chips here and there as expected with 51-year-old paint…Underneath the car is solid with no rust or holes”. All-in-all it just looks brighter and cleaner.
And that spruce-up treatment extends to the engine compartment where the 330 gross HP, 351 CI V8 shines a bit brighter. The seller states, “Mechanically this Boss 351 runs and drives great. It always fires up and idles smoothly with no weird noises. The wide-ratio 4-speed transmission shifts smoothly into all gears and reverse. The 351 runs strong with the inherent ability to get a driver in trouble“. Check out this brief video and you can go for a quick ride.
The interior hasn’t changed much in almost three years. The dash pad is still cracked, the steering wheel is still missing a chunk and the center air vent is still knocked out but the rest of the environment presents pretty well. The black vinyl upholstery/door panels shows some signs of wear as one would expect on a car that has almost hit the mileage century mark as well as experienced a half-century of age. There’s only one image of the inside from the old post that can be used for comparison but I would rate it as unchanged.
BIG mustangs (’71-’73) sometimes get short shrift compared to their ’65-’70 predecessors but this is a very special car. The limited production ’71 boss shared stable space with those that were powered by the mighty 429 CJ “385” series V8 engine but according to Ford Authority Kevin Marti, even those are more common than the Boss (but not by much with 1,865 copies produced). I don’t know what the selling price was back in 2019 but we’ll have to watch this no-reserve auction and see what it takes to send this Mustang on to its next owner – the bids have already increased in the short time since I started this post! If you would like to review this car a bit more, you know, just in case you might be interested, here’s a walk-around video for your enjoyment. Not always a BIG Mustang fan but I like this one, how about you?
Well, My impression went from “Ah-Maze-ing” to “uhh, yeah cool, BUT…” after a closer look. Jim- I don’t believe the center vent is missing. I’m pretty certain that only factory A/C cars had the center vent. Those without A/C (such as my ‘71 Coupe)and all Boss 351’s received a “storage Cubby” in that area. It is odd that the Seller doesn’t appear to have corrected the dash and/or steering wheel since it’s last appearance. The biggest area of concern I see is the “factory” stripe at both fenders. Although CLOSE to the factory stripe, the radii on the corners and the thickness of the center portion of the stripe are absolutely not of a factory stripe. Given the claim of factory paint, that’s serious “cause for pause” as to what else isn’t as it seems at first glance. I also feel like something isn’t exactly right with either the hood paint treatment, or the locations of the factory hood locks… can’t quite put my finger on it, but… Still a great write-up and feature, though.
I was the one who bought this car and has gone through a complete restoration over the last 4 months. New paint and body work. Worn interior replaced.etc.
Okay, who was talking about poor-quality photos? Certainly not this one.
4spd Ford with the stout and often under appreciated 351. 🏁👍
Now at 65K. Out of my range. Nice car.
Yes, and 3 days left to go, this is nice!!
Maybe the best all around 1st gen Mustang made, I wish I bought one before folks realized they existed
Fantastic Mustang always liked these pony cars wish I had this one but way to much dinero for this old boy.
This luxury steering wheel should have been reserved only for the “Grande, & other lux vers Ford models.
A fat thicker steering wheel should have been offered for this very special car like ones offered by Pontiac & Mopar.
I wonder if an autolite cross boss intake & its 4 inline carbs! can also be mated to a boss 351.
The owner of this car is a top notch gentleman from my hometown. He is highly regarded as honest and generous. The man has the best cars, all the best cars.
And In 1978 I could have bought a nice Silver one for $3300. In my hometown in Suburban Chicago there were 6 of these running around town I know because they were all different colors