One man’s obsession with Ford’s iconic muscle car engine

Words and Photos by Cam Benty

It’s good to be the boss. You get to call the shots and chart your own destiny. Aptly named by the marketing folks at Ford, to overcome those noisy advertising types over at GM who were hooked on names like “The Judge” and “Dr. Olds,” Boss-powered vehicles were powerful and cool. Debuting in 1969 as either a Trans Am-ready 302c.i. engine package or a massive NASCAR-focused 429c.i. Shot Gun big-block vehicle, these cars were built for one purpose — to win races.

Mike Venarde is the “Boss Man” with a stable of cool Boss-powered cars, including these sequentially built 1969 Boss 302 Mustangs.

Mike Venarde has had every Boss-powered production car ever made, from a perfect and pricey Boss 429 to his current brace of sequentially-built ’69 Boss 302 Mustangs that serve as center stage for this feature. In addition to the obvious Boss Mustangs well known to muscle car fans, he also has owned some of the more rare Boss cars, including a 1970 Cougar Eliminator with Boss 302 power and even the often overlooked 1971 Boss 351 Mustang, which Venarde notes “sported the most balanced Boss engine of all.”

So, how does one guy get so hooked on a single breed of vehicle? Frankly, that’s hardly a question when you do even a little research about the Boss engine/vehicle legacy. The Boss Ford family was made up of an innovative blend of performance parts that not only fit the muscle car enthusiast desires for the time. but won races with regularity. It’s no wonder Ford rekindled the name for a recent Boss racing program, from 2012-13, to remind folks of their performance success.

What wins on Sunday . . .

The Boss 302c.i. engine was attained by bolting the hot flowing, canted valve 351c.i. Cleveland-style cylinder heads onto a 289c.i. Windsor engine; the resulting 302c.i. sizing met the Trans Am Racing limit of five liters (305c.i.). Only 1,628 Boss 302 Mustangs, designed by Larry Shinoda and draped in now historic graphics, were originally sold. That production number later jumped to more than 7,000; probably in reaction to the Boss victories in Trans Am in 1970, when Boss 302-powered, Bud Moore-built Mustangs won six of the 11 races to dominate that season.

The Boss 429 Mustangs were initially built for NASCAR competition to fight off the challenge from the Chrysler hemi engines that dominated the Grand National racing classification. A modified cylinder head that featured a crescent-shaped combustion chamber resulted in a now-classic valve cover arrangement. Offered in very limited numbers for 1969 and 1970 (1,358 were made during two years). In reality, the cars were not terrific on road courses, due to the extreme nose-heavy weight bias. As a result, a number of them were drag raced with some success, however, it was the street cred with muscle car fans that eventually made them legendary.

In 1969, the Cougar Eliminator was born, a warmed up version of Mercury’s luxury “pony” car. Race-prepped versions of this model competed in NASCAR’s Grand American Series. With a host of performance upgrades inside and out, the choice of engine was limited to the base 351c.i. Windsor engine or the optional 390c.i. power plant. At the end of the year, the Boss 302 engine option showed up, and 169 lucky owners stepped up.

For 1970, the engines of choice changed to the optional 428c.i. engine, the new 351c.i. Cleveland, or the Boss 302. Venarde’s Competition Yellow Eliminator is one of just over 400 Boss 302-powered 1970 models created, making it one of the rarest on record. With all the style and sounds of the Boss engine, it was a favorite with Ford fans.

Boss farming

For Venarde, the building of fine Boss cars takes a lot of hard work — highest on the “hard” list being tracking down original Boss components. A walk through his garage(s) nets some lovingly restored components. In a side storage area, a recently painted 1970 Grabber Blue Boss 302 body awaits assembly. In the main garage, tucked up in the garage rafters, are fully prepped and ready-to-go headlight buckets and other parts that await their turn to go to work.

It is apparent Venarde has been collecting for many years. Along the way, he has learned a huge amount about how the cars were originally constructed, which aids heavily in their exacting restoration. Case in point are little things like the fact the 1969 Boss 302 Mustang features unique larger than stock (or 1970 Boss 302) spindles and uses ultra-hard-to-find two-piece rotors. Seeing that only 1,628 cars rolled from the assembly line, it can be extremely difficult to find these parts today — and when you do, they can be very expensive.

In Line Bosses

Just how you end up with two sequentially numbered Boss 302s is certainly an interesting question. Frankly, it’s hard to believe, with such low production numbers in 1969, that two of them could have been built back to back. But the proof comes in the form of the serial numbers, the Yellow Boss (serial #196216) just ahead of the Calypso Coral Boss (serial #196217) — just one digit difference and probably the only time this occurred.

Initially, Venarde restored and then upgraded the Calypso Coral ’69, using exacting details to get it right. Included in the restoration is the original rev limiter, which Ford installed on these high-revving Boss engines to keep them below 6,000 rpm. As any self-respecting hot rodder did back in the day, that rev limiter was tossed in the trash, to allow the Boss to spin freely. Because so many were removed, finding an original unit is that much more difficult.

To aid in drivability, the Calypso Boss has been upgraded with a Tremec five-speed transmission, which includes an overdrive gear to help with fuel mileage and engine durability. The car is also lowered for better handling and sports a set of gray-centered Torque Thrust wheels to give it a real Trans Am racer appearance.

In contrast, the Yellow Boss features all the right stuff, down to the original-look Firestone Wide Oval 60 tires and four-speed transmission. To come clean, this yellow Boss was originally blue; the owner previous to Venarde painted it to replicate the Trans Am cars raced by Parnelli and Follmer. Other than the color change, the car is exactly the way Ford intended.

Venarde has owned a full compliment of muscle cars during his life, including such gems as a super rare 1969 Boss 429 Mustang, assorted Mopars from 1970 Plymouth Superbird to current ’68 Charger, and even a movie star Hemi Challenger from Fast & Furious.

The Start

Venarde did not start his enthusiast career with Ford, but, amazingly, with 1957 Chevys. A $1,000 loan from his father got him his first of many ’57s. For years, Venarde would street race with that ’57, continually refining and pushing the car to higher and higher performance levels.

Living not far from the center of all southern California street racing, Venarde honed his racing skills with weekly visits to Van Nuys Boulevard in Van Nuys, California. Although he currently lives in Simi Valley (about 20 miles away), the “valley” was the place to be in the 1960s and ’70s — the Woodward Ave. of the west coast.

While racing his Chevy, interestingly enough, it was a ’65 Ford Falcon that caught his eye — a super-fast machine powered by an engine assembled by legendary drag race engine builder Ed Pink. The Falcon sported a host of real drag racing components, including 90-10 shocks to aid weight transfer and M Series Mickey Thompson tires. Regardless of the challenge, the Falcon was virtually unbeatable.

Through a series of late night negotiations, Venarde ultimately procured his first Ford, the street race king Falcon. During the coming years, he made it faster and learned a lot about Ford engines and performance. Venarde owned the car for many years, and today, it is perhaps his favorite car of all time.

After the Falcon, Venarde was to own a wide variety of Fords, including his foray into the big ticket Boss 429 (that sold for over $400,000) to the current pride of machinery that includes the pair of sequential ’69 Boss 302s, a pair of 1970 Boss 302s, a 1970 Mercury Cougar Eliminator with Boss power, and an assortment of Fox-body Mustangs. What you might not have guessed is the list of Mopars that were corralled — at least for a time.

While his 1968 Dodge Charger is currently undergoing restoration, the highlight of Venarde’s Chrysler corral was a 1970 TorRed 440c.i. Plymouth Superbird. Originally spotted in a Houston, Texas, field, Venarde restored it to like new condition. In addition, assorted Barracudas and B-Body Mopars were part of his private collection.

What is consistent with all of these vehicles is Venarde’s buy, sell, and trade style of business. Swapping cars and parts from Panteras to Boss 302s has resulted in a life enjoying a full complement of cars of all types. Today, Venarde can honestly say he has enjoyed every style of classic Boss-powered vehicle ever offered.

So, what was the best of the bunch? It’s right here: the ’69 Boss 302. Go and pick your favorite color. While the Boss 351 engine was much more potent, the body style change in 1971 was terrible, and sales reflected that fact. But, oh that ’69 body — the best ever!

It all about the parts

If you build cars, you accumulate parts, as any fan of eBay is well aware. But if you build a lot of cars during several decades, you end up with a lot of parts. For Mike Venarde, most of his parts collection stems from various Boss Mustang builds, his collection of cool, hard-to-find and just flat rare parts, truly impressive.

Hanging like icicles above his bench are hoses, wires, weather stripping, and other key pieces required for a perfect restoration. The organization of his “spare parts” can be confusing to some, but what fans of the “messy desk” syndrome will understand is when Venarde goes looking for that bolt, nut, or part, he is able to lay his hands on the item within seconds.

A buried treasure of Boss artifacts? You bet!