In the late 1960s, Ford added the Boss 302 to the Mustang lineup. Its goal was to give the company a competitor in the Sports Car Club of America’s Trans Am racing circuit. But they went one step further and produced a 429 version of the car in low numbers, making it perhaps the baddest street Mustang yet. The seller has one of these machines, but its restoration has stalled, and a lot of assembly work remains. Located in Las Vegas, Nevada, you’re going to have to score big at the casino as the price is $170,000 (no bids so far here on eBay, and there’s still a reserve to be met).
Mustang production in 1969 was just shy of 300,000 units. But with the new styling, it remained the best-selling “pony car” in the field. Based on the SportsRoof body style (aka fastback), just 869 Boss 429s were assembled (and that included two Boss Mercury Cougars). Under the hood lived a bodacious 7.0-liter V8, a street version of a NASCAR race engine. We’re told these motors were hand-built and produced over 500 horsepower, though they were conservatively rated at 375. The seller makes no mention of this engine in his/her description andprovidesd no photos of it either.
As the story goes, the seller has owned this Boss 429 for at least a year and has done considerable work on it. That includes the body and interior, but it’s far from finished, and I’m not sure you could even sayhalfwayy. Unforeseen circumstances have led the seller to stop here and sell the machine, yet he/she offers to finish the job (for an additional charge, no doubt). The Boss is said to have 55,000 miles and a 4-speed manual transmission (somewhere).
We’re going to assume that everything you will need to complete the project is there, especially the all-important 429 V8. Considering the asking price, you would think more details and photos would have been provided to justify the eBay listing fee. If you like unfinished work and have a big bank account, could this Ford be the one for you?
Obviously these are highly desired, highly collectible cars…. peak Mustang, I’d say. Thus they command nosebleed-high-prices when restored to high standards. Given its under-construction status, I don’t really have a sense of where this one stands on the spectrum in relation to the asking price. But we have folks here (gbvettte62?) who do. I hope others will chime in.
Such a high asking price for a car in pieces, it’s just a car. It’s not like you can actually drive it anywhere without worry, scratches, dents, theft, after investing this much and more, most likely it’ll get trailered around to shows, such a sad fate for something that was built to be driven. I’m glad I was able to own cars this, even daily drive them, before people started this absurd craziness, claiming such a high value.
So no engine and rare car equals 170??
A offer for an engine.. doesn’t say the engine within 90 days of build or performance dates/ code.
No thanks..
High dollars are for original matching plus lineage..
Why not finish if all there and get really high dollars..
Does it even come with the engine. No pictures or even a mention of the 429 engine. Maybe i am missing something a very vague add on a $170 thousand asking price. I do understand these are like the holy grail of mustangs and rarely change hands and have seen one for sale for over $300 thousand.
It’s a Boss -429, and it ran when parked.
I think in this case 429 may be 4spd, 2 doors, and a 9″ rear end!
“Cheap at 1/4 the price”
What is in Vegas stays in Vegas.
That is the perfect reply to this outrageous ad.
And it will stay in Vegas at that price
If they doesn’t have it all they have a nice looking (roller) fastback body with a hole in the hood. No VIN/data plate but there is a differential tag. It’s almost like the significant other told the owner to sell it but they’re not trying very hard.
Boy, I must be completely out of touch! 170K for this with no engine??? I can’t even begin to explain what a hard pass this thing would be.
Any of you Ford guys out there: feel free to plumb me up on this. I would absolutely love to hear why you think I’m completely off base.
That 429 hemi is worth it’s weight in gold! The car is just another Stang. Why no pics of the engine? This one is scarry and with out seeing it in person, and researching all the data, all I can expect from the seller is an honest knowledge of it’s history, if it has any. Being a professional engine builder, and having a soft spot for old Ford big blocks, this one is tempting if it was only in my neighborhood.
This is just silliness. Maybe seller is just trying to entertain himself listing it. Regardless of what this Boss Mustang could be, it’s a long way from being there. I’d rather spend much less for a finished or driver 66 Mustang Fastback, that is ready to drive and enjoy.
What was original color? I saw when in a garage in Vegas when I was stationed there ( USAF). Never got the nerve to stop and ask about It was on the west side of town near I-15.
$170k for a roller? Sounds off to me.
170k and provided the rest of the drive train is there which is an unknown and ready to go could spend north of 100k to get this in running condition. no mention of a Marti report to at least prove what it is. i saw no mention of the KK code of which # it is. this would need an in person check over for sure too many unknowns here.
Ok, nice, a Boss 429. But where’s the
Boss 429?
If the seller had posted a picture of the Boss 429 door tag, I might even believe it is a true Boss. What I see is a base 1969 Sportsroof with a huge hole cut in the hood and a shock tower mod. Anyone that has gone this far on a Boss 429 has surely purchased the full Marti report.
I have to agree the seller isn’t trying very hard to sell it. I know of at least two people that would like to have this car but without some documented proof they wouldn’t give it a second look. And at that price without the number matching engine and trans it’s a bit steep. It does look to be a very nice car when finished, specially in Wimbledon White. It would look good next to my Wimbledon White 69 Coupe.
“a bit steep”??? How about full certified looney tunes.
Wife probably told him that he had to sell it so after a few weeks on the market, he can tell her, “I tried “.
Scam. He says the project cannot be completed, but if you want, he can finish it for you. Terrible ad for a total fake car.
A friend’s brother has a 69 Mach 1-428 SCJ, pretty much in similar shape as this one (although he DOES have the original, matching engine, trans and rear diff). Engine was rebuilt 20 years ago .. still on the stand. Health issues have totally sidelined this and a couple other projects .. I will very likely be helping the family sell them as they sit, in the not too distant future. One of the first things I’m going to do when I get enlisted is get a Marti report. I’ll take 400-500 photos to include every part that comes with the car and in most cases, different angles of most of them.
In terms of valuing a project car, one has to start at the finished product and work backwards, in terms of how much work has to be done and what the finished product will be worth.. If you’re only building to driver quality to simply enjoy, you’re looking at a number 3, maybe #2 rated car, spending $100,000 to have it restored to that point may not be “worth it”. If you’re going concours, your number will be higher and maybe spending the money to have it restored will be worth it.
Of course, if you love doing this stuff and have the tools, time and abilities, you can put this back together for a lot less and then you can really have fun, both building it and driving it .. But to this car in particular, there is no VIN shown, there is no engine shown (and as mentioned what’s a Boss 429 w/o the 429?), no Marti report and No who knows what else.
But, for argument’s sake let’s just say all the parts are there and it IS a real, deal Boss 429. They are valued at about $400,000 for one in concours quality, $275,000 – 300K for a great driver. If I were listing this car, I’d have the aforementioned photos, Marti report, write up with history, documentation, etc. and I’d probably list it at around $100,000 and would have my client expecting a sale of around $80K give or take.
I’m currently selling a 1 of 23, Lotus Elite Super 95 (almost have a deal done as we speak). It is all apart and a project, similar condition to this car .. documented one owner car, engine professionally rebuilt by a Lotus specialist, many of the original parts refurbished. Finished, it’s an 80-100K car. We’re asking $35,000 .. and we’ll take less.
The Mach 1 428 SCJ will probably be in the $25K asking range when we finally get that in front of JQ Public.
With all that said, this car, as listed, is in no way a $170,000 car. It appears as though the body is in very good shape, but we see nothing else, no photos of the seats, engine, transmission, glass, trim and all the other bits and pieces, harness, door handles, latch mechanism, etc. etc. A very large question mark.
It may very well be a “yeah honey, I really did try to sell it” deal .. especially as he says he’ll finish it for the buyer if agreed to. If he’d finish it and get paid to do so, as someone else said, why not finish it and get paid for the finished product? .. could even make more that way.
The reason my friend’s brother isn’t finishing his Mach 1 or the 77 Ford F250 Highboy is totally due to health .. he physically can not do the work any longer .. real shame too, as he’s only a few years older than me.
Sorry for the long ramble but I think I answered couple of the posed questions.
Talk soon,
Good follow-up. Keep me in mind for that 69 428 CJ. I have restored several Mustangs but have yet to find a good Sportsroof to restore for a reasonable price. I do great work, at my speed, but looking for a Sportsroof I can keep in my garage with my 69 coupe and 69 convertible. I’m 77 and still love working on these cars.
Mopars 5150 just bought a complete 1 – owner same color for a lot less than this one – garage kept at that !