The Long Lost 1971 Boss 302 Mustang Prototype, Bob Perkins Boss Expert Saving History

For years, experts argued Ford never built a 1971 Boss 302. But Ford did build one, which Bob Perkins is restoring. If you saw this old Mustang on the street, you would have no idea this is the fabled Bigfoot of Mustang lore. Unless you knew what Andrew Hack discovered about 100053. In 2004, I was just looking on eBay to purchase a 71 model Fastback Mustang. This car would work. Nice driver, four speed, California car, 351 two barrel, upgraded to a four barrel. Andy bought the Mustang online, and before it arrived from California, he remembers selling his wife. This car looks just like that prototype car back in 1971, the Boss 302 that they never built. When Andy got the car home, he noticed two door data tags. The top door tag had an H for a 351 two barrel. A second tag underneath had a G for a 302 Boss engine. So, could this be the long lost Boss 302 of 1971? Andy was class of 71. The 71 model Boss ended up being a Boss 351. Ford withdrew from Trans Am Racing, dropped their illustrious 302 Boss engine. That had achieved so much racing glory in their 1969 and their 1970 Boss 302. But legend had it that Ford did build a 1971 Boss 302 Mustang before that program was canceled. So, could there be a car out there somewhere? Hack ordered documents from Kevin Marty, who licenses the Ford database. And in August 2006, Marty verified this 71 Mustang was, at one point, serialized as a Boss 302. We're inside Bob Perkins' private restoration shop in Wisconsin in the middle of winter, where we find the car disassembled and the body media blasted with baking soda. If it would have been sand, that would have been gone instantly. Bob photographs the witness marks that are outlines of messages handwritten with paint sticks by assembly line workers. These get saved. Then covered again with paint, as with the VIN on the core support. And then next to it, it says FDS. And then over here is a G, which the G is the engine identification code for a Boss 302. Up here on top of the core support, it's hard to see now, but on the bare metal, it said BOSS right here on the top. And 302 on the side there. That's on the firewall. It's got an X there. You think that's for experimental? I don't know. Probably not. Some of it you can figure out. I know that's the VIN number. But FDS might be final Dearborn stamping. I don't know. You could come up with... I've got a list of all the little codes, like DAP is Dearborn assembly plant, and all that type of stuff. But I don't, off the top of my head, know what FDS means and don't really care. It's just there. You gotta wonder, how did this one prototype not get destroyed? It was a Las Vegas show car. Seven cars received serial numbers, but only one made it through production. 1-0-0-0-5-3. They built one other one that was a prototype. This blue 71 Boss 302, according to a Ford engineer that Bob got paperwork from. He drove the 71 blue car on the Dearborn test track when they had a new car showing preview for all the journalists. He said he knows for sure that car was crushed. Okay, so there's just one 1971 Boss 302 Mustang. This car, which Andy Hack held 13 years and sold to Bob Perkins in 2017. If anybody says, why did you sell it to Bob? The first thought was, well, Bob was the guy who was going to pay you the most. You know, that kind of thing. But really, there's a lot more to it than that. So Bob, are you just living right? Must be. There are people saying you should not restore this. Leave it original, as Andy found it. What do you say to these people? They don't understand. There's that picture I needed right there. They don't understand that, you know, on a car like that, you got to pick a time frame. Okay, how you want the car to be represented. Phone calls. Scott, hang on. All the time, the car has been in my possession. It's been an interesting story, but nobody knows me. Everybody knows Bob Perkins, and they know that he's the authority. And so now that the car's in his possession, he is really authenticating this car. Here is the identification number. With his expertise. And I think that's important for the historical significance of the car for Ford. And who knows how many Mustang enthusiasts out there. Millions. Mustang history, they seem to love. Restoring a one-of-one prototype is not a job for amateurs. First major obstacle, that 351.2 barrel. There's a couple pictures of the motor in the car, so that we know it wasn't just a sticker program. In other words, Ford did install the Boss 302 in the 71 Mustang. Now here's a photocopy of the picture with the Boss 302 motor in the 71 Mustang. When Andy showed me the picture of the Boss 302 motor in the car, factory photo, that's when I said, okay, I've seen enough. How much is it? Started life as a 71 Boss 302, and then it was a Boss 351, the first known Boss 351. They had to create a different invoice every time they changed the motor. It says 351.4 barrel, because at this point they'd already changed it to a 1F05R, meaning Mach 1 Boss 351. You can see on this old factory photo of the Boss 351 show car, which is the same Boss 302 Bob is restoring, that Ford doctored Boss 302 to a Boss 351, leaving the Boss and the three that are stickers, then removed the O2 and hand painted 51 in their place. Even after Bob added Boss 302 to the decklid, Paul, come over here. catching a glimmer of the old Ford Boss lettering was a constant source of amusement for Andy and his friend Paul. And Bob had to have a look too. It actually originally said Boss 302, and then they took the O2 off and put 51. Move over this way, Paul, a little bit. Okay. On the 51, it's different than the three. The numbers look like they went to a different hardware store. And then when they were done with the car for the prototype showings they did with the Boss 351 in it, for some reason, they decided they could still sell that car. The final invoice dated February 25th, 1971. And they took the Boss 351 out and put a 351 two barrel in it. They've re-vinned the car 1F02H, which makes it no longer a Mach 1, just a sports roof, no longer a Boss. And sold it out of the Ford dealership there in California. It's an H code, which is a 351 Cleveland two barrel. That's what happens with prototypes. Three engines, three VINs. But funny thing is Ford sold this one to the public. Amazing. So how are you going to restore it? Well, that's the way it was born. It was born a 71 Boss 302. And I just believe that's the way it should be put back. Sounds like a plan, but where are you going to get a 71 Boss 302 engine? Not a 70. That won't do. You've got to have a 71 Boss 302 engine. You didn't have the original Boss 302 engine. So how do you solve that? Well, I got lucky. I remember the guy that we met in Ohio when we had the White Boss. I was up on the lift and the guy came over, said he worked at the Cleveland engine plant. I looked it up. Columbus, Ohio. 2015 MCA Grand Nationals. That started out on this Sunday launch. Okay. In July of 1969. Bill Riley. On the original 351 Cleveland launch. A fellow worker of Bill's had a 71 Boss 302 engine, still brand new. Now, where had this motor been sitting all these years? The guy's basement. That's where I got the motor from. I guess he was really happy to help. Well, happy to make some money too, because I paid a lot of money for that motor. I should have known. If there was a 71 Boss 302 engine on the planet, that engine would find Bob. This wasn't just a crated Boss 302 service motor. This was a brand new assembly line motor with the carburetor to oil pan to clutch and bell housing. Set up for first day of production. And most of the smog attached to the motor. So here it is. And this is it. This is a complete brand new 71 Boss 302 assembly line motor that is dated three weeks before the car was built. Oh boy. And look at that experimental engine sticker on the valve cover. Well, it's an engine and foundry engine identification tag. I'm not sure what all the numbers mean. I know what the 302HO is a Boss motor. C-E-A-B. These letters appear on spec sheets from the Cleveland engine plant. It's probably about 20 pages thick. And I pulled this out because it shows the engine identification tag. A 299J for a non-drag pack. And a 300J for Boss 302 engine with the factory oil cooler. And here I underline this. It says 8-cylinder 302 Mustang HO. 4V carb. Standard transmission. Thermactor. Improved performance with oil cooler. And this car has the axle code Y which is 411 Detroit Locker. So that was neat information. So then everything else other than the motor was in the car. The tranny, the rear end. All that stuff was still intact. And okay, here's the rear end. Which is a story in itself. It's all detailed. And that's a 411 Detroit Locker. Why? Ford left a Detroit Locker behind the 351 two barrel? Crazy stuff, man. Had the 987 tag on it. And then inside here, all this stuff has been detailed. The axles have been remachined. And all the parts inside there are all Ford original parts. Spring kits and wheel cylinders. Even the pads are genuine. Ford that were made by Bendix. They got the printing on the edge. And then they're even stamped on the face from local. So this is Concur's. But you said you're going to drive it, right? No, I'm not going to drive it. I might drive it on and off the trailer. But it's not going to be driven driven. There's the master cylinder and brake booster assembly. Is there anything different on that from any other 71? No, not with this brakes. But that's a brand new assembly. That's pretty neat. Rotors, brand new with the cosmoline on them. Do you believe in this? Brand new date code correct calipers with all the original Ford hardware. New old stock date code correct brake hoses. Those are pretty tough to find. On the wall above, we see the front suspension components restored and ready to install once the unibody is painted. I'll show you that transmission. OK. Luckily, the original four-speed transmission was still in the car. And here it is. Well, this is a small block. It's not the same as the 429 Cobra Jet or anything. It's just a standard Boss 302 type transmission. When we took it apart, where it had the GAV on the top. Which, just like other markings you document with photos. That's the top of the transmission. We got pictures of all these codes were put back on just like it was originally. You can see the OK. This is the original bell housing. All I did was wipe it off. I didn't blast it or do anything to it. It was really nice. The transmission crossmember. You can see the bare metal on that thing's perfect. Gear reducer for the 411 axle ratio is still on it. Her shifter's all been restored. That's a new old stock handle and knob. One of the coolest thing on here is seal back here. That's an original original with the Fumoco script on it. The later style, like in 73, they started they had like a rubber boot on them. That was my last new one of those. Good car to put it on. Right here's the VIN number. See they're stamped in the corner there. It was nice and greasy and oily. So everything really cleaned up nice on the transmission. This is super rare. That's a new old stock 71 lower shifter boot. I won't put that on until I'm ready to put it in the car. And there's no reproduction of this. They reproduced the 70, but on the 71, instead of being square up here, it's rounded. So that's probably one of the hardest pieces to find for a 71 Mustang. Four-speed lower shifter boot. There's a new upper boot there. So this is ready to go. There's the air cleaner, which is the same as a 70 Boss 302. You know, that's a new one. It's got all the original stickers and decals on it. The original Autolite air filter element. This don't belong on there, but that's a service sticker for the new element. And it's the late style with the valve in there. You know, according to the photo we got, that's the air cleaner that was on it. And here's the clutch that came on the motor, brand new. They had all the paint marks on it when they balanced it. Some of the parts that I've acquired for the car. The tires, the wheels, get the lights on. Some of the new old stock detail items. The car came with the Kelsey Hayes Meg Stars. Here's one that's already mounted. This is the wheel and tire the 71 Boss 302 was born with. When you restore a car, you make it the best you can. And this is a restoration. Did you see Hubert Platt's Ford Drag Team car on the left? Now back here, there's some pretty good stuff I put up for the car. Here's three tires that I haven't mounted yet. But those are new old stock, decoded 1970 polyglass. The ones already mounted over there and they have nice printing in the tread. Perfect letters and they're brand new. On this table, there's new old stock Rim Blow steering wheel. The Space Saver spare tire. The jack. The inflator bottle. Four new old stock shocks. The back two have a Ford engineering part number. 1970-71 rears have experimental tags on them. I've had those for a long time. I thought those would be neat to put on the car. And something a car like this really needs, a manufacturer's license plate. 14 happens to be one of Ford's numbers, followed by the M for manufacturer. And then that's a factory 71 plate. And there's an 18, 14, like 12 to 18 with Ford numbers. The car will even get a new old stock battery, still in its original box. Dated 1970. We're talking batteries almost as old as the cars. Well, I bought them from Ford dealers. Autolite and Motorcraft distributors. Pair of battery cables. Which once the originals were gone, you couldn't buy them from a Ford dealer. People would, you know, have to jump the car and they'd gouge them up. And if they got them where they looked nasty and they went and bought a new one from the Ford garage, you could never buy an original OEM cable. You got a universal service cable. The only way you got a battery cable like that, most of these came from the Dearborn assembly plant. Somebody took them home in their lunch bucket. Original group 24 battery tray. That's really hard to find brand new. And an original assembly line oil filter. Dated 1970. Okay, so another lunch box part. Look at all the assembly line here. Right, the dealership ones had the fancy logo on them. Popular replacements, but different from when the car was brand new. Bob will repaint the body. Topside. But using bacon soda, he preserved that underside which, being in California most of its life, the metal is ultra clean and rust free. It was, the metal is just so clean. That's just basically taking the paint off. That's no metal prepping, no nothing. That's just the way it was. That's how clean it was after we blasted it. You can see where Dearborn assembly spray painted topside. And some of that overspray blew through those fender bolt openings. The factory never got up underneath and painted upside down to try and protect that metal from rusting. And this is how Bob will restore the car. That's why examination is so important. Once it's gone, it's gone. There was a little bit of yellow up in here. Which the baking soda removed and Bob has not repainted yet. And then this was just blacked out. There'll be some yellow overspray up in here. So there's the challenge and these painters love it. Reproduce that factory look. This is artwork. And then on the back side up in here, there was very little overspray black paint. And you can see the spot welds showing through. So with the media blasting with just a baking soda, it didn't hurt any of the metal and left the spot welds on there. So when I put the final black over that, I'm going to leave a little bit of the bare metal showing like it was originally. That's just enough primer on there to keep stuff from rusting right now. This part of the car from the firewall forward is ready for final paint. And then when we get over here into the rockers here, the car had rocker moldings on it at one time in production. And then because it went through the transformation of being a sports roof to the mock, to the Boss 351. Ford had not settled on the look of their new Boss for 71 when this car was built. This little bracket mounted to the front core support. And then to the front valance, possibly for anti-vibration. Ford did not use this in regular production. Anyway, they originally had had the provisions for the clips for the moldings. I don't know if it ever had the moldings, but the clips were pre-drilled into the rocker. So there's like six areas here where those holes were leaded up. And being that this was the Las Vegas show car, they even leaded the seams in the door opening areas. You can see the lead through here. That's been leaded solid. See, there's a seam there between the rocker and the quarter panel. And this is actually the door post. That's all been leaded solid. The same thing up into the door jamb here. But you can't see that now because I've got it. Well, I can pull the tape back. So you can see that seam's gone. That's leaded in. And you can see some porous spots in the lead. When I stripped the paint off it, that's the way it was. So it wasn't finished off the prettiest. But they didn't want to see those seams on there. Now on the floor pan here, that's all the original paint under there. You can see all the original drippies were when it was baked at the factory where the drippies pop. It's impossible to duplicate that. You can make it look similar, but that's all original. All I did with this was I cleaned it really well. And I took a little steel wool and lacquer thinner and just kind of cleaned everything. And then I matched the slop gray primer. And I went over that. And I was just playing around the other day. And I just wanted to see what the contrast looked like with the yellow. And it's going to be a pretty nice contrast. And you can see here, this is all the factory sound deadener. And you can see the pattern that that thing sprayed. It was about a foot wide. And that's almost impossible to duplicate. Now up here, I've got to blend a little bit in here where the transmission was. It was a little oily. And when I cleaned it, I lost a little bit of the edge on there. But it's going to be really nice. Rust-free floorboards. Well, I just cleaned all that. And I just kind of cleaned it up and gave it a little dusting with yellow paint. It's done. In the final analysis, Ford developed and manufactured millions of dollars worth of parts for a production run of one car. As soon as that car was built, they had to have parts available, like stripe kits, and intakes, and carburetors, and exhaust manifolds, and all that type of thing. And they got in the system. People bought them. An H-pipe. I had seven of these to choose from. That was the prettiest one. All five of these muffler assemblies are for a 71 Boss 302. New old stock left and right pair of the exhaust tips, chrome tips. So I have the entire exhaust system, including new old stock clamps. Here's the box that the brand new 71 intake manifold came in. It's sitting on my display motor over there in the showroom. Now that the word's out that I got this car, anybody that's ever had a 71 Boss 302 service part has called me and tried to sell. I could have 20 carburetors right now if I wanted to. So that's where we're at with it right now. Coolest thing, I think, on the motor that I probably would have not been able to figure out was this accelerator cable bracket for a Holley carburetor for the 302 with the 71 style accelerator cable. That's the money tag there. That's a real G-code, sports fans. Yeah. They had about 30 auto lights. When we were there, it was in like 80. And Motorcraft was what they were selling, but they had some old stock auto lights. So we bought all those. And there's the VIN number. Isn't that cool? When it bubbled up and dripped, it popped the bubbles when it was big. That's bare metal. That was just beautiful. This February 1971 Ford telegram that shows the VIN changes from a G-code Boss 302 to an R-code Boss 351 and finally the H-code 351 2-barrel. First quarter 71 Q70.