IMO the 428CJ, 429CJ and Boss 351 were all about the same on the tires that were available at that time. Either of the big blocks would probably be about equal if you put sticky tires on them.

Boss Nines did not perform as well as the other big blocks as built by the factory. You had to make cam changes to unlock their potential.

 

To echo 68RCodeConv, the Boss 429 engines were dogs on the street. The Boss 429 was designed as an out and out racing engine for Nascar and professional drag racing. To put it on the street and make it streetable and live, it was seriously detuned and choked with exhaust manifolds. Put a good cam in it, headers, and a few other minor tweaks and look out! But in stock form, a wedge 429 will run away from a Boss 429.

 

I wouldn't call the Boss 429's "dogs" (they were NOT any slower), I'd simply say "unrealized potential", as they still ran high 13's at 105-107 mph bone-stock on polyglasses (many tests to reference), which was right with any of the CJ cars, and actually a bit stronger on the trap-speed...

Their bad reputation was due to being under-carbureted and under-cammed by Ford for street use, and because expectations were huge, they were expected to be on par with L-88's and ZL-1's... And they weren't unless you un-corked the weak-points. This failure to meet expectations caused people to toss out the "dog" word, which has morphed into this popular belief that the things actually were dogs... They were still plenty fast compared to most Detroit street cars..

Some disappointed Boss 429 owners pulled out their original motors and upgraded to SOHC 427's, but I've NEVER heard of anyone having changed to a 429 CJ... That's because it woudn't have been an upgrade whatsoever.

 

I wouldn't call the Boss 429's "dogs" (they were NOT any slower), I'd simply say "unrealized potential", as they still ran high 13's at 105-107 mph bone-stock on polyglasses (many tests to reference), which was right with any of the CJ cars, and actually a bit stronger on the trap-speed...

Compared to a 302 or a 351, they weren't dogs. But compared to comparable engines of the time, 426 Hemi, ZL-1, 427SOHC, and others, they sure were dogs. But you're right, bigger cam, bigger carb, headers, and some other tweaks and they came alive.

 

According to magazine road tests of the period, the fastest pure-stock production Mustang was the 71 BOSS 351. Not because it had the most power (although the engine was impressive as heck) but because it had the best balance of power vs front/rear weight distribution. The engine was great, and the car was able to deliver the power to the road. The 429SCJ (and others) had more power, but much of it was lost frying the tires.

 

Well, to be perfectly honest, I guess the Boss 9's were somewhat doggish when compared to the Zl1, 427 SOHC etc. Unlocking their potential with better cam, breathing , etc was a different animal entirely.
Of course, an afterword on this might be that while it might have been a dog on the street, there are some Very Highly desirable breeds of rare dogs out there ... :hail::burnout:

 

strong Acceleration

:shocked:Thanks for the replies and insight.. I expected the tires to break loose so eased it out /part throttle and was impressed like an 18 year old again at the fast sweep of the speedometer from 60 thru 90 + once all hooked up. The seat of the pants feel was stronger than expected and made me a new fan of the 429 ram air. Dean

 

Like many posters above, I was always under the impression that the boss 9 was an underperformer.

I guess compared with it's potential, maybe it was, however it is the fastest Ford(not including the 427 Cobra) on the Muscle car review list of the 50 fastest musclecars.
Musclecarclub.com - 50 Fastest Muscle Cars

Note the 429 SCJ is only two spots lower with an almost identical time, only a touch slower, in a Torino, anyone know the relative curb weights?

 

It's interesting that I don't see a 68 1/2 428cj on that list.

The 68 1/2cj broke all sorts of records at the 68 Winternationals in Pomona.

 

Yeah, that made Hot Rod Magazines fastest Top 10 MuscleCars list, yet not even the top 50 on the link? The '68 has to be the fastest period. Great street motor, lightest body...it's definitely on MY top 10 list.

 

Here is the latest 429 Mustang in F.A.S.T. (Factory appearing stock tires)
332-428 Ford FE Engine Forum: Gongrats to Lane Carey new F.A.S.T records with a Ford

 

That top 50 list is crap. The latest GT Mustang would be 4th on the modern musclecar list, and is nowhere to be found.

2011 Ford Mustang GT Acceleration Performance - Motor Trend

 

at 54, I'm old enough to remember first hand the Boss 429 engine. In fact, I had an older buddy that had a Boss 429 Mustang. They were not dogs by any stretch of the imagination. There were so relatively few produced that it's fairly easy to figure that most folks that continue to beat that.....dog....never drove one or even rode in one.

Though the street version wasn't as quick and fast as the Cobra Jet 428, it was no dog. And in the NASCAR version, though so many folks regale the 426 Hemi, in 1969 the Ford (and Mercury), running the 429, won more races than the Hemi powered Dodges and Plymouths. At least, I'm pretty sure I remember that being the case. Heck, even Richard Petty drove a Ford in 1969. I think the 429 Fords won more races in 1970 as well, though I'm not certain of that.

 

It just looks, well, *fast*....

The vehicle that engine is in sold for $99K last year at auction, a Cyclone Spoiler built from an original racing chassis. Cale and Lee Roy Yarborough, along with David Pearson, were the primary campaigners of the 'Boss' in NASCAR in '69. I remember watching them (taped and rebroadcast) on television on ABC's 'Wide World of Sports'.

When I was young and, er, driving on the street, there was only one Boss 429 Mustang in our area and it wasn't OEM, so had been 'uncorked'. Very little could touch it, save for a few Hemi cars and a friend's 400cid v8 Vega which was essentially a race car on the street. My race car could beat it, but it wasn't a fair match, considering the Boss was licensed and fully street legal. Anyway, fun times. The CJ cars were quick, no doubt, but the Boss, like the Hemi, had a mystique all its own.

 

I saw a show on TV where they flogged 10 of the top musclecars of the 60s and 70s all in stock condition right down to the tires...Surprisingly the so called doggy Boss 9 beat them all.....As for comparing the fords its difficult because they all came in different body styles..I think the 428CJ has the edge over the 429CJ but it might be because of the slightly lower wieght of the car it was in...My brother had a 69 428 Mach 1 back in the day and it was a very formidable machine..He had a few simple bolt ons like headers and some 4:11s along with the toploader 4 speed..It was quicker than a buddy's 429 Torino Cobra with similar equipment..He also beat several chrysler hemi equipped cars on the street.

 

You have to take ANY comparison (then or now) with a grain of salt because a lot of the cars were "tuned" (I use that word very loosely) before being submitted to a test. Not unusual to stroke them and change the cam.

Back in the mid 60s one of the big car magazines compared a Pontiac GTO to a Ferrari GTO. The Pontiac ran a sub 4.0 0-60 (I'm not making it up). Needless to say the Pontiac was FAR from stock but kind of looked that way.

 

pic of ram air 429

Another fast ride yesterday. kicked it down and it broke loose at 60 mph upshifted about 85 and pulling hard. WOW . dealer listed it 4 sale so I will miss it. Dean:shocked::}0

 

Interesting, that is not even a SCJ. With AC it probably had 3.00:1 gears. Try a 429SCJ with a 4 speed and at least 3.50 gears. Should walk on that yellow car

 

VALUE tip

Yes , the 429 scj with solid lifters , etc is really cool and more rare. This 429 cobra jet ram air with Marti report has a 3;25 gear. Nice at 65 mph = about 2800 rpm. This one is a value at 39995 on my friends website. I am not listing it for sale here but I know it is a great car (J code) and I know the bottom line on it for a forum member. Pm me if you need more info. I will take it to Daytona turkey rod run for dealer but I think it will be sold before then. These are my recent pics.

 

This one is a value at 39995 on my friends website. I am not listing it for sale here but I know it is a great car (J code) and I know the bottom line on it for a forum member. Pm me if you need more info.

Could of fooled me. Sure sounds like a for sale ad. Nice car. Not sure I'd call it a good value at $39,995.

 

Pictures added , 429 cobra jet ram air. COOL

 

429 = 13.4 1/4 mile as per car craft in 1972

Maxum 96 ,Thanks for the nice car compliment, IT Is awesome! I did not post the link for the seller's website and the Mustang is not mine to sell. I did see your link that you posted to your hub garage with numerous cars for sale in your response to me. Good luck on YOUR sales. I posted my info because I like the mach 429 and I Know that a forum member will enjoy it. I hope it stays in Florida. ,:cheers:

 

I did see your link that you posted to your hub garage with numerous cars for sale in your response to me.

None of them are ads I posted nor do I know any of the posters. None of the items for sale are mine. The ads are post by Hub Garage to generate revenue much like VMF does. Hub Garage does not have a rule specifically forbidding the selling of vehicles or parts like VMF does (with the exception of the for sale section of the VMF forum). Hub Garage is not a message forum like VMF. It's a website to post information, pictures, videos and other information about your vehicle, vehicle related business or list your parts or cars for sale.

I found it humorous that you said you weren't trying to sell the car, but you post many pictures of the car, provide a description of the car, list it's asking price and ask people to PM if they are interested in the car. Last I checked, that sounds like an attempt to advertise the vehicle.

 

Thanks

Thanks for the explanation. I apologize for assuming the hub garage was your site with cars for sale. I appreciated your previous posts with info about the 429, 428, etc. I am retracting my request for members here to private msg me about the car. A Mustang fan that wants this rare car will find it . I prepped it and photographed it and I can vouch for it's fine state of tune and restoration was my intent:burnout:.

 

new lift = verified original engine

Hi, I checked the numbers on left rear of block . matches VIN last 6 digits. Rt side block above starter says DOVE. What is DOVE Block difference from DIVE block ? THANKS Dean

 

One year.
D0VE means 1970. D is 1970's decade and 0 is the year of the decade.
D1VE is therefore 1971.

 

Thanks Paul, I assume the Block was cast in 1970 for 1971 car??, Dean

 

Sorry, but I don't know what the 429's had for block codes in 1971.

They could very well have had D0VE blocks but I am not sure.

 

9.84 ET 1/4 mile

:thumbsup:The january 2011 edition of muscle machines magazine has lane carey's 71 mustang on the cover and a feature article about his record time of 9.84 et and 139.8 mph 1/4 mile time. 429 engine now 588 cubic inches with 825 Horespower.