Boss 429???

[C. Montgomery]

I know, kinda new engine to talk about on here I guess, but I have a question. Actually a friend of mine does..He has one in a Model A and he's needing rocker arm adjusters...He bought the car off a guy it the valvetrain was kinda rigged. Any suggestions on where to start looking?
Cody

[cougardan]

Nevermind- you caught it.

How about Holman-Moody?
Dan

[FEDER]

Rocker Arm Specialties 1- 530-378-11075 they are in Anderson California.They make the way cool shit.--Feder

[C. Montgomery]

yeah, soon as i posted it... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[34Fordtk]

If he has a REAL Boss 429 he better sell it to a restorer and use the cash somewhere else!! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

[C. Montgomery]

It's the real deal...As far as we know..(?!)

[Fat Hack]

Boss 428???

There was a Boss 429...and if that's what your buddy has, it's a somewhat rare and very unique engine designed originally for NASCAR competition with BIG semi-hemi heads. Ford installed these Boss 429 engines in a few 1969 and 1970 Mustangs to leagalize the engine design for competition, and racers could buy them over-the-counter through Ford's performance parts program of the day.

Any valvetrain parts for a Boss 429 will be unique to that engine and likely not easily found at your corner parts store! Competition versions of this engine were used in drag racing for years, however...and most reputable cam companies may still stock parts for ya.

Now, the 428 was a completely DIFFERENT engine from the Boss 429...they're not even from the same Ford engine FAMILY, and share no common parts. The 428 is an "FE" series engine, while the Boss 429 is a rare member of the "Lima" series engines. The 428 is related to the 427, 390, 406, 352 and 360 Ford V8s, while the Boss 429 is a relative of the passenger car 429 and 460 wedge-headed engines.

To identify which family you're dealing with is pretty simple..."FE" engines feature five valve cover bolts per head and the valve cover is bolted over part of the intake manifold which forms part of the cylinder head. A very unique design that is far different from the 429/460 engines which use a more conventional looking intake manifold and cylinder head design.

[C. Montgomery]

Hack- I caught it as soon as I posted it...It's been a loong day..That's why it's edited..You are right on the money though..
Cody

[Fat Hack]

Ah, I figgered it was a typo...but I thought I'd toss out the basic info to help distinguish the two motors a little just for the sake of clarity!

Carry on! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[C. Montgomery]

feder what's the last 4 digits of thea number? That don't look like a normal number to me.... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gifIs that a California thing?? http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Satinblack]

Yea the good ole Boss 429. My dad went to a dealership when they were new. This dealership had one sitting in the show room, with the engine sitting next to it in a crate. Deal was you buy it then the engine was installed, no test driving. So my dad said "I'm not buying something I can't test drive"

[C. Montgomery]

It's freakin bad ass in that A with a 4 speed..That thing is waaay too much..It's even grabber blue!!!

[Fat Hack]

Satinblack...the Boss 429 Mustangs were special limited production cars assembled at an outside firm. The shock towers had to be modified to fit the engine into the car, and the contracted facility handled all of that, along with final assembly and delivery.

The dealer wouldn't have had too much to worry about from leadfoot test-pilots...in showroom form, the Boss 429 was choked down by a too-small carb and a poor set of exhaust manifolds...the production Boss 302 or 428-CJ cars would eat 'em alive in stock trim!

[Satinblack]

Well thats what was at this dealership. He didnt ask details about how it got there or anything

[Fat Hack]

The dealer was probably gun shy after some joker made a salesman load his drawers on a test drive in a 428-CJ car or a hairy Boss 302...hard to sell cars when you're shaking like a leaf and reeking of poop!!!

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[cougardan]

Big...
Have you seen this motor. Boss's have giant valve covers, like twice as wide as standard. If it doesn't, then it might just be a 429 Cobra Jet which is still a nice motor and would have adjustable rocker stands.
Dan

[C. Montgomery]

HE HE HE... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[C. Montgomery]

Cougdan-
No it's the boss 429 HUGE valve covers with the spark plugs in the center of the head (HEMI) Only one I've ever seen in peson..

[FEDER]

Sorry about the # 1-530-378-1075
Most of the Boss 429s that came in the Mustangs were choked down as Hack mentioned.But a few did come with the nascar Boss 9s. A friend that lives near Me had both. There were many differences between them.Pistons-cams-valvetrains-manifolds-carberators and exhaust.The street version made about 300 HP the other 650.Oh even the valvecovers were different.Aluminum and Magnesium. This guy sold both Mustangs to help pay for the restoration of His 66 427 cobra. Hack was right about the 428 being faster as long as it was the choker motor.Feder

[Mutt]

bigdog928 - Is this what it looks like?

[C. Montgomery]

Yessir, but are those aftermarket valve covers? His have rectangular indentions around the spark plug holes...

[cougardan]

What kind of valve covers are those?

[safariknut]

The Boss Mustangs were built by Kar Kraft(a subsidiary of Ford Motor Co)in Brighton MI in 69 and 70.They were constructed from 428 CJ Mustangs.The production line cars were shipped to Kar Kraft where some rather extensive modifications were made,the engines installed and then shipped to dealers.Fran Hernandez was the plant manager at the time(he was my wife's ex father-in-law).He had quite a career on the West coast in the 40's and 50's;he worked with Vic Edelbrock(Sr.)Alex Xydias,and Bobby Meeks to name a few.He was one of the first to use nitromethane in a car,his coupe was the first coupe featured on the cover of Hot Rod Magazine(april 1949);until then they had all been roadsters.He retired some years ago and lives in Saline MI with his wife and will celebrate his 81st birthday this Sunday.Sorry to get carried away.Do a search on the words,"Kar Kraft" and there is a wealth of info on these cars.
Ray

[C. Montgomery]

Cool info..Pretty rare engine then huh? http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif The guy that built is did a sorry job so my buddy's gotta start over. I'll see if I can't get a picture somehow..

[Mutt]

Actually, that is a 427 with very rare Indy Hemi heads. A friend of mine had it - I think he sold it for around $120k. Here is a website you may find helpful on the 429 -

http://www.wrljet.com/fordv8/boss429.html

Here's the valve cover (sorry for the crappy pic)

[tomslik]

here's yer boss 429,picture it without the dual carbs...




http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2457969609&category=34 203

[Flat Ernie]

Ahhh, tell yer buddy to bin it & give it to me. What he really wants is a 427 SOHC! Boss 9s are rare, but cammers are rarer still...so he can give me the Boss 9 & go hunt a cammer....

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[C. Montgomery]

yeah, he always wanted one of those motors...if it was in a pinto we prolly would've bought it!!!! Just need rocker arm adjusters though....

[Phil1934]

Jon Kaase in Winder, GA had them laying around when I visited his shop before he moved out of Atlanta. He puts together 700+CID IHRA motors.