It seems that while almost any First Generation Mustang will grab the attention of potential buyers, the desirability increases when you’re talking about a spotless Boss 302. This 1970 model presents superbly and is an original classic that needs a new home. It is hard to find fault with this gem, and it would appeal to any enthusiast seeking a turnkey vehicle to park in their garage. Located in Palm Springs, California, you will find the Boss listed for sale here on Craigslist. The owner has set a sale price of $89,000, and while that represents a significant investment, it appears that the buyer won’t need to spend a dime once they’ve handed the owner their money. I have to say a big thank you to Barn Finder Jeff H for spotting this beautiful Mustang for us.
Ford offered buyers some pretty spectacular colors in 1970, and Grabber Yellow is one of the best. It always looks good but comes into its own in more subdued light as we see in this photo. That’s when this shade really pops. The paint on this Mustang shines beautifully, with no evidence of significant flaws or defects. It covers panels that are as straight as an arrow, while the gaps are tight and consistent. The reflective Boss stripes are free from crazing or lifting, and the front spoiler and Sport Slats appear perfect. The owner indicates that the car has spent its life in sunny California and has no history of rust problems or repairs. The exterior trim and chrome are as immaculate as the rest of the exterior, and the same appears true of the glass. Rounding out the package is a set of Magnum 500 wheels that lift this stunning classic to a higher level.
Potential buyers in 1970 had access to a vast array of engine choices for their new Mustang, but one of the best was the Boss 302. The company offered more powerful options, but this motor occupied a comfortable middle ground. It provided enough power to satisfy most owners, but as a relatively light V8, it allowed the Mustang to be a more balanced driver’s car than examples with larger-capacity motors. This Mustang features its original Boss 302, along with a four-speed close-ratio transmission and a 3.91 Traction-Lok rear end. The power output of 290hp may seem modest compared to other examples within the Mustang range, but it still allowed the car to romp through the ¼ mile in 15.6 seconds. There’s no doubt that the Boss 429 was significantly faster in a straight line, but because it tipped the scales a cool 300lbs less than its sibling, the 302 came into its own when tackling twisting tarmac. With most of the additional weight hanging over the front axle, the 429 always feels heavier, less precise, and less agile. This Mustang is in excellent mechanical health, and the engine bay presentation is difficult to fault. The owner mentions no mechanical issues, so it seems that it is a turnkey proposition for its next owner.
The immaculate presentation continues when we open the doors and assess the interior of this Boss. Upholstered in Black vinyl, its overall condition is close to showroom fresh. It is common for classics that have spent their lives in climates like the one in California to suffer under harsh UV rays, but that hasn’t been the fate of this Mustang. The upholstered surfaces are spotless, while the dash and pad appear perfect. The console is equally impressive, and the faux-woodgrain on the dash and console shows no evidence of fading or lifting. I can’t spot any aftermarket additions, and this interior should draw plenty of favorable comments wherever this Mustang goes.
For most people, choosing to spend nearly $90,000 on a classic car is a momentous decision. That is the one facing potential buyers of this 1970 Mustang Boss 302. However, its overall condition and originality mean that the new owner should not need to spend another dime once it is parked in their garage. I acknowledge that the asking price is heading towards the top end of what someone might expect to pay for a Boss, but it appears that in this case, its originality might justify that price. The Mustang has only been on the market a short time, and I suspect it won’t take long for that new home to appear. What do you think?
$89K?? On Craigslist??
What kind of rpm is this running in 4th gear at 75mph with the 3.91 rear gear you reckon ?
3804 with factory tires
Yikes ok thanks for the info 20.
If your driving in the city mostly the 3.91 perfect for a real snappy ride.
3.91’s work pretty well as a performance/street compromise. Feels great out of the hole and pulls like mad. It is around 120 where you will float the valves and break something if you aren’t careful. Nice car, dreamt of having one for years. Now with a dirt road for a driveway it isn’t possible.
I have an E36 M3 with a non-overdrive ZF 5-speed and 3.23 gears. It revs really high keeping up with the speeds on modern expressways. It can do it, but it’s loud. I don’t think a 3.91 would even be doable today unless you didn’t drive the car on the highway, or put in a 5-speed. People cruise at 90 miles an hour all day long now. Probably wasn’t the case back in ’70. This would be revving at 4,500 RPM if you did that!
I had a ’62 Fairlane with a built 289, dual quads, manual / auto shift C-4 trans, 3500 stall converter, running a 5.14 ratio, 4 pinion limited rear end. Camshaft was a C7FE-6250-A, FOMOCO LeMans grind. The engine would pull strong to 8500 RPM which was as high as I wanted to push it with no problems. With 14″ street slicks, I was running 4000 RPM at 64 MPH.
Wow I have owned to many mustangs and it takes something pretty beautiful to get my attention but this certainly got it!
Beautiful car!!!
Yes it is a beauty. The 3.91 gear is a bit steep (never heard of a 3.91, could it be the 3.89) for hi-way driving. Just build a 3.25 or 3.50 and install it. You never want to lug a Boss or Z28 302.
Very nice indeed….
My understanding is that a 3.50:1 was standard with 3.91:1 optional on the Boss 302. As I said above, even a 3.23 with a non-overdrive is a pretty heavy rev these days on the highway – if you’re keeping up with traffic and not hanging out in the right lane with the 1990s era Priuses and old Mercedes W123 diesels running vegetable oil, which would be kind of embarrassing in this!
3.91 was a “standard” performance gear ratio in late ’60’s-early 70’s Fords. My ’70 Grabber Green Boss ‘9 had that ratio – 3.91 – from the factory. In Mach 1’s (and any other Mustang or Torino with the “Drag-Pak”) the gearing was either 3.91 or a super-deep 4.30. I drove a new ’70 Mach 1 Twister Special (a special edition for the Kansas City ordering district) with the 428 Super Cobra Jet, a 4-speed and 4.30 Drag-Pak, off Friendly Ford’s lot (Springfield, MO) back in the day. They didn’t trust me to drive it by myself so a salesman rode with me! It was absolutely blindingly fast, and I couldn’t imagine driving it anywhere but stoplight to stoplight with those gears. An amazing car!
How many miles on it? Maintenance record?
Yes very nice, should take it to a big name auction.
For some reason these the 69-70 Boss 302’s have not kept up with ’69 Z28s in value. This one is asking Z28 money. I have a friend who had an excellent, factory correctone and last year he struggled to get $70K. Unless this has some rare additional provinance or other uniquenesd I think the seller is being quite optimistic.
This B302 is not in the league of recent Mecum Kissimmee transactions but the recent price paid for concourse level B302’s in the low six figures, $150 – 250k. So, prices are escalating along with everything else. This is a driver quality car so pricing will be what the market bares as they say. It would be prudent for the seller to provide key details about this car which there are few. But appears to be a nice car overall.
By the way 3.50 gears on these are great all around for street and highway. Should have no issues with cruising at freeway speeds. As stated by one of the previous posts 120 mph was about the top for a 3.91 geared car if the rev limiter was connected. Not sure about the valve float issues that they are referring to unless the valve springs were shot. The B302 make power well past the rev limiter cutoff of 6150 rpm. They make power up to 6300 rpm and noticeably fall off after 6500 in stock form.
At age 21 (1974) I drove the twin of this beauty through two winters in Buffalo AND managed to defeat the rev limiter. Now THAT is a whole bunch of stupid packed into one human!
In about ’84 I met a man who wanted to trade his clean yellow ’70 Boss for my 3 year old Datsun 200sx. We couldn’t agree on value, and for $500 I let the Mustang drive away. dumb dumb dumb dumb.
Mooney, boy that was dumb….I got you beat, traded my 428 ’69 Fairlane Cobra in 1972 on a turd brown Pinto, but I got 1700.00 on the trade value…..right.
Did you have to write a check to get the Pinto? And did the salesman tell you you made a smart move because of all the money you were going to save?
This was a new Pinto, remember the gas crunch, and yes, I wrote a check for about 1000.00. It is not funny, but you can remember details when you get robbed…..
Oh my goodness. $1,700 is about $11,400 now. And $1,000 is about $6,700 now. So basically, you paid $18,100 for a turd brown Pinto, or $6,700 plus a car maybe worth 50-60k today.
Probably seemed like a prudent idea at the time. You weren’t the only one to be sure. No one wanted muscle cars by ’72. They were on the outs, and they fell off a cliff a year or so later. At least you didn’t blow up, I hope anyway!
Is there no sunny spots to take a few pictures in Palm Springs? Oh well, at least he has my report.
I owned one that was Calypso Coral, had the dog dish with trim rings, and a 3.50 axle. Loved that car. Remembered the VIN forever. Saw my old car at an auction in PA. I actually drove there, and there on the “corral” was my old car perfectly restored, looking better than new, or when l had her. I opened the door, got in, pulled the choke, and started her right up…… Ahhhh the memories flooded thru me, and I considered sliding sideways past the 2 old guys on lawn chairs that passed for security, and hitting the interstate 1/4 mile away, and seeing what the RPM would be as I hit 120 goin’ north. Did not stick around for the auction, so I don’t know what it went for. I still can put myself there….
Love the fastback look, cuz w/ out it, the side profile, IMHO, SUX…Just saw a red one on fantomworks on the motortrend channel…It was nice…I like a darker yellow, almost a VERY light orange…I think red is better..Prefer the ’69 lights, 3/4 front view, the scoop on the fastback area and maybe a toss up on the rear lights…Going toward the ’69 rear lights…A fairly close call, so I don’t wanna be too wishy washy..
Ooops…No fairly close call..Prefer the ’69, but this is still a beautiful ’70 ‘stang
This one is identical to the one in my hometown in upstate NY back in the day. The original owner never returned from Nam, and his younger brother or nephew ended up with it.
Beautiful car, sad story.
@370zpp- “Upstate” is anyplace north of Tarrytown. Where was “upstate” for the Mustang? Thanks!
Sorry about that Ike. I should have said “Way” upstate.
Specifically, 7 miles west of the Vermont border and about a one hour drive (always drunk, late at night) from the Canadian border.
Melton I doubt that not one of us has a story to tell of how we made a mistake such as yours, myself included.
I was looking for a new fast car and it was between a Corvette Z06 and a Ford GT. Well I went for the Vette, nice car pretty darn fast and today its worth 40k the GT is worth about 350k! OOOOPPPPSSSS!
I have a ’67 Shelby GT350 with 3:89 gears. From the time I bought it in 1975 until I restored it I thought it had 4:10 gears the way it screamed at 4500 rpm at 60 mph in 4th gear. In 1984 while playing with a new vette, it topped out and wouldn’t go past, 119 mph! Now on cruises and road trips I try to avoid freeways/expressways/turnpikes and stick to local routes. When I have to take them I do the posted speed limit. However, if I had the means Iwould buy this one eventhough it is about $10,000 overpriced. They have one at a nearby Gateway that they are asking a BJ price of $155,000.
Still a pretty good deal for a Boss. My buddie’s Calypso Coral Orange ‘70 Boss 302 is going to Glendale Mecum auction. It is this nice plus rare color and restored with a 60k reserve. It should get six figures.
JBD your friend is setting a realistic rserve price and with the ego$ at the auction you are probably right about it being bought at, or close to six figures.