Ford’s new Boss, Bunkie Knudsen, fast-tracked the long-awaited ‘69 BOSS 302 ROAD & TRACK MUSTANG, Dearborn’s Z/28 Camaro challenger.
Mustangs had been on two-year restyling cycles, and there were major changes in 1969. Overall length was increased by almost four inches and width by approximately one-quarter inch. Curb weight was up by 140 pounds. Leading the charge was a portfolio of Mustangs, ranging from the Boss 302, above, photo by Stuart Schorr, to the R-Code 428 Cobra Jet Ram Air and Boss 429 models. Finally, the Z/28 Camaro would have a serious competitor on the street and in Trans-Am Road racing.
A serious performance car, the ‘69 BOSS 302 ROAD & TRACK MUSTANG was not available with automatic transmission or air conditioning. Its imposing front spoiler was dealer-installed to avoid damage during shipping. The fiberglass rear wing and backlight louvers were optional. Because of its standard F-60 tires, special fender/wheel well contours were required. Ford engineers, working at Kar-Kraft, designed the Boss 302’s HD suspension. Boss 302 Mustangs, priced at approximately $3,500, went on sale in April of 1969, and Ford dealers sold 1,628.
The Boss 302 Mustang showcased the new 302-inch small-block with four-bolt mains, forged steel crank and rods, .524-inch solid-lifter cam, new “Cleveland” canted-valve, big-port heads, and a manually-choked 780-cfm Holley on a high-rise alloy manifold. A factory-installed rev-limiter was set at 6,150 rpm. Like the CJ engine, Ford under-rated the Boss 302 at 290 horsepower at 5,800 rpm to avoid insurance company surcharges for 300-horsepower-and-up cars. There was also a drag strip classification advantage. Stock Boss 302 Mustangs with 3.91 Traction-Lok gears were often quicker and faster than larger-engine Mustangs. Back in the day, well-tuned Boss 302s accelerated to 60 mph in the low sevens with quarter-mile times of high-nineties in the low-mid fourteens.
Ford’s 1969 seven-car Trans-Am “fleet” was race-prepped by Lee Dykstra’s group at Kar-Kraft, then divided up among its factory teams. Three went to Shelby Racing in Torrance, CA, three to Bud Moore Engineering in Spartanburg, SC, and the remaining car to consummate racer, Smokey Yunick, in Daytona Beach, FL. Bunkie had a long-standing relationship with Smokey, dating back to his Chevrolet days. It was finished and painted with Smokey Yunick’s gold-trimmed black Best Damn Garage in Town livery at Kar-Kraft. For some unexplained reason, it ended up not being raced.
Engines for the seven M-Code Trans-Am Mustangs were developed as part of the Boss 302 “Cleveland” engine program. Ford Engine & Foundry personnel, working in leased space at Kar-Kraft, developed the new small-block that showcased canted-valve, big-port heads. The Boss 302 program development group included Ford’s legendary racing engine engineer, Moses “Mose” Nowland.
“We assembled the race-ready Boss 302 engines for the factory teams at Triple-E (Engine & Foundry Division’s Engine-Electrical-Engineering facility) in Dearborn, adjacent to the Henry Ford Museum. That’s where we built prototype engines for future production and race engines for motorsports teams,” added Nowland, who retired as Senior Motorsport Engineer in 2012. He passed away in 2021.
The blueprinted and balanced Boss 302 Trans-Am engine utilized a cross-drilled, forged steel Indy engine crankshaft, .615-inch lift solid cam, GT40-style forged steel rods, headers, and aluminum intake manifold with individual runners and a pair of Holley Dominator four-barrels. Dyno-tested output was 475-plus horsepower at 9,000 rpm. All race engines were assembled with O-ringed cylinder blocks for dry-deck, gasket-less sealing. The process utilized gas-filled stainless-steel O-rings around the cylinders and Viton rubber rings around water and oil passage openings.
Moore’s Mustangs proved to be faster and more reliable than Shelby’s. It was rumored at the time that Shelby either modified or replaced the Ford-supplied engines. Parnelli Jones won at Michigan International Speedway and Donneybrook, and George Follmer took the win at Bridgehampton. Sam Posey won at Lime Rock, posting the only win for Shelby racing. When SCCA championship points were tallied, Ford unfortunately finished second to Chevrolet…again!
In 1969, I changed the Hi-Performance CARS magazine annual award from Top Performance Car of the Year to Top Performance Manufacturer of the Year, for the first and only time, to honor Ford Division and the ‘69 BOSS 302 ROAD & TRACK MUSTANG. When I presented it to General Manager John Naughton, I said, “The Division deserved the award for its attitudes toward and achievements in the high-performance field. In addition, for its great new engines, drag racing options, specialty cars, and its continued support of racing.”
For details on the ‘69 BOSS 302 ROAD & TRACK MUSTANG, and complete 1969-1969 ½ Mustang lineup including sales brochures, road tests, and Fact Sheets, please visit Over-Drive magazine @
https://over-drive-magazine.com/2023/11/10/1969-ford-mustang-fact-sheet/
