(bluesy guitar music)
- The Ford Mustang, it's probably
the most recognizable sports car in the entire world.
After its debut in 1964, it was an instant classic.
Nobody had seen anything quite like it.
All of a sudden, Ford was destroying the competition
on the racetrack and the street.
With one car, they changed the entire automotive landscape.
Ford has produced over 10 million Mustangs,
and countless 'Stangs have been modified around the world.
So in a scene so saturated,
how do you build a Mustang that stands out?
Well, we're about to find out.
It's time to go Bumper 2 Bumper on this 1969
Mustang Boss 429.
- Yeehaw! (upbeat rock music)
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Classic Recreations in Yukon, Oklahoma
didn't choose any old Mustang to base their build on.
To build the ultimate custom Mustang,
you gotta start with the ultimate stock Mustang.
Ford released the Boss 429 in 1969,
aimed squarely at the heads of every big block bruiser
Detroit was cranking out at the time.
Ford developed the 429 engine for NASCAR racing.
(engine roars) (bluesy rock music)
But the rules said that at least 500 cars
had to be built and sold to the public with the new engine
under the hood, and so the Boss 429 was born.
With only 859 units built in 1969,
these things are the holy grail for Ford nerds,
but remember, simply restoring a Boss 429
wasn't enough for the team at Classic Recreations.
They had to make it better.
To make a great car, you don't just
turn everything up to 11.
You only adjust what needs to be adjusted, okay?
It's like Photoshop.
When you edit a photo, you don't act like your grandpa
and throw every slider to the maximum,
'cause it's gonna look like trash.
(upbeat polka music)
(discordant music)
No, you do not do that.
You do the opposite.
You make tiny little tweaks here and there,
just a few points here, just a few points here.
You accentuate the details until it's just right.
(bluesy rock music)
And this Mustang is just right.
(upbeat rock music)
Classic Recreations' owner Jason Ingalls says this car
is his vision for how he would have built the Boss
if he was in charge of Ford at the time,
and thanks to a license CR has with Ford and Shelby,
this Boss is what's called a continuation car,
not a restoration or a resto-mod.
This Mustang that looks straight out of 1969
is actually considered
a brand new Ford Boss vehicle.
(upbeat rock music)
(engine zooming)
Detroit in the 1960s loved chrome.
They couldn't get enough of the stuff, but you won't find
any chrome on this car-- - No!
- Because all the trim was blacked out
and the bumpers were painted, too.
Here in the back, you keen-eyed viewers might have noticed
that Classic Recreations made the taillights flush
with the stern of the car?
Big-time Mustang nerds notice that the seat pillar badges
have been shaved, too.
These changes might seem small
but altogether really make this Boss look sleek and modern.
And real recognizes real.
A sleek modern boss can recognize another sleek modern boss.
(upbeat rock music)
Aesthetics weren't the only thing
Classic Recreations tweaked.
Under the hood, this Boss 429
is packing a 429,
but this is a very special 429.
Back in the '60s, Chrysler's Hemi 426
was tearing up America's NASCAR oval.
Chrysler's new big block was so dominant
that NASCAR banned it from competition in 1965.
When they allowed it back in for '66,
Ford sat the season out as a protest.
The reality was that Ford was working on a hemi engine
of their own so they could fight back.
The Boss 429 was the result.
(upbeat rock music)
It was a revelation, cast aluminum heads,
forged steel crank, and forged pistons.
Engineers in Ford's NASCAR division were able to get
as much as 620 buff horses
out of this beast.
When Ford dropped the 429 into the Mustang,
it had to be detuned to be more reliable for the street
and to help their customers not wrap themselves
around telephone poles.
(engine roaring) (tires screeching)
(car thuds)
Ford advertised the Boss 429 as having 375 hrsprs,
but Ford nerds say it makes it closer to 500.
(engine roaring)
But Classic Recreations,
they say their Boss makes even more.
How is that possible?
Well, they started with a 429 crate motor,
took it to their engine guy, and had him bore it out
a little bit from 429 cubic inches
to 546 inches.
For you metric boys and girls, that's almost nine liters.
That's a lot of Faygo, whoo, whoo, family.
Then they called Jon Kaase Racing Engines
and got a set of CNC machined cylinder heads.
CNC stands for crazy nice components.
Classic Recreations topped the dang thing off
with an electric fuel injection system
from Fuel Air Spark Technologies,
allowing for way easier tuning
and a tad bit more fuel efficiency,
although if you're purchasing a car like this,
I don't think that fuel efficiency
is your number one priority.
Okay, James, that all sounds great,
sounds like a bunch of nice parts,
but what does it all mean?
Well, to put it in simple terms, 815 hrspr,
and one hell of a noise, check this out.
(engine roaring)
(upbeat rock music)
To keep the car from completely ripping itself apart
with all that power, baby, they upgraded the chassis
with subframe connectors underneath the car.
They're pretty gnarly looking, big ol' tubey-tubes
connecting the front to the back of the car.
These reduce the amount of twist on the frame
when the engine torque is acting on it.
The car is also equipped with torque boxes,
which also help stop the body from flexing.
You wanna know one body that'll never stop flexing?
This one, brother! (grunts) (horse neighs)
Now the original Boss had a four-on-the-floor
four-speed transmission.
A transmission that primitive
was not an option for this build.
The beef-a-licious V8 in this car
was built into a six speed TREMEC transmission,
but that's not all that's special about the drivetrain.
The OG Boss also had a single plate clutch
like pretty much every other muscle car at the time,
but just like me when I go to a buffet, a single plate
ain't gonna cut it. - Oh, God!
- When you're pushing as many ponies as this Boss,
a stock clutch becomes a liability.
So in this case, a twin clutch disc setup from Centerforce
with two clutch discs, hence the name.
The engine load is spread out over twice the surface area
and the clutch feels as light as stock,
and like a really nice stock, like a fish broth (slurps).
Classic Recreations builds these cars
for the customer who wants that old-school flavor
without having to sacrifice all the modern-day comfort.
Take the suspension, for example.
It's no secret that muscle cars handled like crap,
especially by today's standards.
CR knew that customers would want the responsive handling
and stability that we're used to today, so in the front,
the stock suspension has been replaced
with a lighter and stronger tubular setup
armed with adjustable coilovers
so you can dial it in to your liking.
All the coolest builds have coilovers.
Them's just facts, okay?
(upbeat country music)
Out back, the stock leaf spring setup was replaced
with a more capable four-link configuration.
The four-link suspension keeps the rear end centered
and makes the car more stable at high speeds, which is good
considering how much power this buff pony has, okay?
You gonna find yourself going pretty fast sometimes,
especially when you get a big ol' heavy foot.
(bluesy guitar music)
On the inside, the 429 keeps with that old-school theme.
The seats have a modern shape and bolstering
to keep you in place, but they have rivets down the spine
to remind you that hey, this car be old, son! (laughs)
Just because it's old, that doesn't mean
it can't feel like a newer car.
And newer car it does feel like.
Thing's got cup holders, for gosh sake,
and there's an armrest.
That stuff didn't even exist in 1969.
People would have to hold their cup,
and then when their arms got tired from it,
they had nowhere to rest 'em.
It was madness, it was terrible!
That's why we went to the moon,
'cause less gravity up there.
You can hold your cup for longer.
The dash has a signature Mustang shape
and even features extra air vents to keep occupants cool
for the upgraded air conditioning system,
and you know that Big Bro likes AC.
If you've ever seen any of my videos,
you'll notice that I'm usually much sweatier than this.
And to keep you in your seat, the five-point seat belts
are mounted to a roll cage just like the NASCAR racers
of the 1960s would've had.
Actually, I am not 100% sure
that roll bars were mandatory back then,
but I will definitely take one now, thank you very much.
Let's see what an almost nine liter V8 sounds like.
(engine rumbling)
Oh! (laughs)
That's a lumpy idle, bro!
(laughs) This is sick!
What?
(upbeat rock music)
The original Boss was a supercar for the street,
a 500-horsepower beast that had the heart of a race car,
poised to beat anything it sat next to at a stoplight.
So how do you build a Mustang that stands out
against the millions that are already out there?
You do it by making the best even better.
You do it like this.
Thanks for watching Donut Media.
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Watch this episode of my son Nolan's show
and then watch this episode of my other show, "Up to Speed,"
where I talk about Carroll Shelby.
I love you. - Yeehaw!