$Millions in the making

[v6toy4x]

BOSS 429 assy line at kar kraft

 

[Vamodsquad]

BOSS 429 assy line at kar kraft

View attachment 1327626

What a cool job !

 

[rrrr]

That guy four cars back in the line is beating on the shock towers with a BFH.

 

[mjc]

That guy four cars back in the line is beating on the shock towers with a BFH.

Isn't that how you work on fords

 

[Happy Smitty]

Isn't that how you work on fords

After years of abuse this is why mustangs are known to take out the neighborhood wall, tree or crowd.

 

[rrrr]

Isn't that how you work on fords

You don't know the story of the Boss 429 and the Mustang shock towers? The engine wouldn't fit in the car and they had to be modified.

 

[boatpi]

Great pix RR, and yes, the shock towers had to be cut.

Another sales issue at the time as to why few wanted these cars, power. Ford greatly understated the actual HP, and few at the time knew how much HP could be gained with not much additional work. Add to that the O ring heads, etc., a much more complex engine than most gear heads would deal with. They did OK in selling crate engines, some drag racers purchased them. In the end, for the retail public, it was a looser when just considering the sales along not the racing aspect of it all. On the flip side, 440 6 Pack Dodge produced huge HP, and for the most part did not blow up, and were as fast, if not a tick faster in the 1/4 mile than a Hemi, and MUCH less in parts cost.

 

[Vamodsquad]

I like threads like this...You learn stuff !

 

[v6toy4x]

What a cool job !

You don't know the story of the Boss 429 and the Mustang shock towers? The engine wouldn't fit in the car and they had to be modified.

View attachment 1327669

I was looking for a tower pic after I read your post but couldn't find one fast enough! thx. Ford should have done this on the FE cars too, would have made tune ups a LOT easier.

 

[TonyFanelli]

Kasse still makin em...around $50k last time I checked

 

[v6toy4x]

Kasse still makin em...around $50k last time I checked View attachment 1327759 View attachment 1327760 View attachment 1327761

Piece of art right there, Its only money, spend it while you got it!

 

[rrrr]

Great pix RR, and yes, the shock towers had to be cut.

Didja notice the factory paint stripes on the tie rod, cross rod, and idler arm? Those marks placed all over car chassis and drivetrains have always intrigued me. They're an essential part of a correct restoration, the colors have to exactly match. I didn't know exactly why they were there until I watched Graveyard Cars.

I've always pictured some UAW guy getting paid scale and benefits for rolling around a cart with some paint cans and a few brushes for eight hours. That must have a tough job.

 

[boatpi]

On the Mopar, every restored, we did most of those paint marks also on some cars, there’s rubberstamp impressions that were actually done with a pad, and a rubber stamp placed on various parts
Usually it was a paint type substance that was probably put on a rubber stamp, and then stamped onto a part. In some real generality, they used stickers which was common on brake boosters.

There are some restoration guides you can buy for under $10 pamphlets that show photographs and indicate the pink color of all of these marks depend upon what you restore, but I’ve always believed heaven restored about eight cars myself that originality wins out in the end for continued strong value, no matter what the model.

The ability to restore original parts, not Chinese reproductions that can be questionable or the original nuts and bolts. When you restore a car that has 22,000+ parts has become more difficult this time goes on.

There are some fabulous modified cars out there. If you noticed that Barrett Jackson there is a couple of 1970 dodge chargers that were resto modded with the body left original just beautiful and they both rang about $100,000.

Yeah, I think the most impressive thing is when you can restore a car perfectly like it was original as it came off the showroom floor but of course with today’s modern paint is the most impressive when people that weren’t even born during those times in the 60s and 70s are viewing it.

 

[rrrr]

On the Mopar, every restored, we did most of those paint marks also on some cars, there’s rubberstamp impressions that were actually done with a pad, and a rubber stamp placed on various parts
Usually it was a paint type substance that was probably put on a rubber stamp, and then stamped onto a part. In some real generality, they used stickers which was common on brake boosters.

There are some restoration guides you can buy for under $10 pamphlets that show photographs and indicate the pink color of all of these marks depend upon what you restore, but I’ve always believed heaven restored about eight cars myself that originality wins out in the end for continued strong value, no matter what the model.

The ability to restore original parts, not Chinese reproductions that can be questionable or the original nuts and bolts. When you restore a car that has 22,000+ parts has become more difficult this time goes on.

There are some fabulous modified cars out there. If you noticed that Barrett Jackson there is a couple of 1970 dodge chargers that were resto modded with the body left original just beautiful and they both rang about $100,000.

Yeah, I think the most impressive thing is when you can restore a car perfectly like it was original as it came off the showroom floor but of course with today’s modern paint is the most impressive when people that weren’t even born during those times in the 60s and 70s are viewing it.

I've always thought finding the period correct and visually identical fasteners one of the most challenging aspects of a restoration. Is there an industry that specializes in providing those parts?

The paint on modern restos is something to see.

 

[Vamodsquad]

I've always thought finding the period correct and visually identical fasteners one of the most challenging aspects of a restoration. Is there an industry that specializes in providing those parts?

Made me think of Dave Sammons when you said that. I'm always impressed with the effort that crew takes, to restore those Boats as close as they possibly can, to being period correct, right down to the actual nuts and bolts !

 

[74 spectra20 v-drive]

My Brother had one of these form 1970 to 2007, he got it when he was a junior in high school. Local Corvette dealer purchased it new, didnt like they way it handled, put it on his lot to sell it got ripped off. Kids took it for a joy ride and dumped in sante fe springs. Family Friend found it told my Dad and my Brother had the cash as he was tryong to by a GTO and he landed the BOSS. It had a but of controversy as is did not have a KK code but had a Shelby tag on the door. Thru the years people called it a clone but he bought it from the original owner and they were not dumping crate Boss 9's in cars back then. He changed the cam in it and in 71' was running 12 second quarters in it. Flash to 2007 construction is tanking and he has to sell the Boss to keep his business going. Guy in PA. buys it, my brother delivers it, the guys owns 100+ Ford hot rods... it went to a good home... well that guys sells it and we see it on a Barret Jackson or Mecom auction sell for a tick under 400K, we know it was hos car as they were talking about it being a so cal car and owned by the second owned for over 35 years with less the 20k miles on it. During the resto the door tag issue was sorted out as they found the KK paper work and the Shelby paperwork under the carpets. The car had been sent to Shelby before the original owner bought it but there was not paper trail unless you pulled the carpets out. Wicked car and SOB was loud as hell with a good set of headers.

 

[boatpi]

As to the fasteners, what we’ve done in the past is we find a local plating shop that does, zinc, plating or black, CAD plating take all them put them in a bucket, or a container, and have all the original fasteners done
It’s a pain staking process, but it looks fabulous in the end

 

[boatpi]

As noted above for those that went around when these cars were new, the easiest and fastest way to get incredible horsepower out of a boss 429 or a hemi car is to install a good pair of headers. These were high compression cars at 10.5 to one. They just need a better exhaust and mufflers alone won’t do it.

The last car I did was my LAPD police car a 71 with lower compression that we put in Keith black standard pistons at 10 to one. It runs good on pump gas and wakes the whole car up.

 

[rrrr]

Made me think of Dave Sammons when you said that. I'm always impressed with the effort that crew takes, to restore those Boats as close as they possibly can, to being period correct, right down to the actual nuts and bolts !

I am fascinated by the skills of @Clank123. That being said, in no way am I comparing my meager skills to his. But the mention of fasteners brought back memories of my adventures in the v-drive world. I decided I wanted to own one, and in 2001 purchased a 1967 Howard powered by a 427 FE. I'm sharing a few photos just because it was a special time in the lives of Fonda and me.

When I took apart the Howard and restored it, I made careful notes of the fastener locations while disassembling it. They were all stainless, and I repolished everything before reuse. There were instances where some had to be replaced because of thread issues or I felt the length needed to be changed. I was OCD about having between 2½ and 3 threads showing after reassembly.



The mill marks on the replacement stainless bolt heads were ground off before I polished them, and in some places, like the intake manifold for show or the v-drive for strength properties, I used chrome plated steel bolts.

All of the aluminum engine and driveline parts were polished, some for the first time. I bought and installed a pedestal mount buffer in my garage for larger parts, and used two 2 compressors in tandem and die grinders for the small stuff. Polishing dozens of flat and lock washers was a bit tedious, and my wife threatened to shoot me because of the black dust that took over the house. I painted the engine to match the hull's HOK tangerine metalflake

The end result was fabulous, but of course using the boat dulled my efforts after a season. After all, it was a v-drive, built for enjoyment by the original owner, and I did the project to have fun using it instead of looking at it on the trailer. Firing up that 427 after I had done all of the rebuild except the machine work was damned exciting and gratifying.

I don't mean to show off. These memories began over 20 years ago. My boating days are over and I'm just another old MF'er. But diving into the world of v-drives was one of the most fun and rewarding activities I've ever done.

Taken by @angiebaby at Topock in 2004, the boat running on the Colorado for the first time since the 70s:

 

[Orange Juice]

That guy four cars back in the line is beating on the shock towers with a BFH.

That’s how things fit back then.

 

[TonyFanelli]

I am fascinated by the skills of @Clank123. That being said, in no way am I comparing my meager skills to his. But the mention of fasteners brought back memories of my adventures in the v-drive world. I decided I wanted to own one, and in 2001 purchased a 1967 Howard powered by a 427 FE. I'm sharing a few photos just because it was a special time in the lives of Fonda and me.

When I took apart the Howard and restored it, I made careful notes of the fastener locations while disassembling it. They were all stainless, and I repolished everything before reuse. There were instances where some had to be replaced because of thread issues or I felt the length needed to be changed. I was OCD about having between 2½ and 3 threads showing after reassembly.



The mill marks on the replacement stainless bolt heads were ground off before I polished them, and in some places, like the intake manifold for show or the v-drive for strength properties, I used chrome plated steel bolts.

All of the aluminum engine and driveline parts were polished, some for the first time. I bought and installed a pedestal mount buffer in my garage for larger parts, and used two 2 compressors in tandem and die grinders for the small stuff. Polishing dozens of flat and lock washers was a bit tedious, and my wife threatened to shoot me because of the black dust that took over the house. I painted the engine to match the hull's HOK tangerine metalflake

The end result was fabulous, but of course using the boat dulled my efforts after a season. After all, it was a v-drive, built for enjoyment by the original owner, and I did the project to have fun using it instead of looking at it on the trailer. Firing up that 427 after I had done all of the rebuild except the machine work was damned exciting and gratifying.

I don't mean to show off. These memories began over 20 years ago. My boating days are over and I'm just another old MF'er. But diving into the world of v-drives was one of the most fun and rewarding activities I've ever done.

View attachment 1328087

View attachment 1328104

View attachment 1328105

Taken by @angiebaby at Topock in 2004, the boat's first run on the Colorado since the 70s:

View attachment 1328106

Beautiful Job! What did you end up doing with the boat?

 

[rrrr]

Beautiful Job! What did you end up doing with the boat?

I sold it in 2013, but the story had a great ending. I had communicated with the adult children of the boat's original owner after they saw photos of it restored online. He had built it from a bare hull. I offered to sell it to them, but the timing wasn't good.

The buyer I sold it to kept it for a few years, then he did indeed sell it to the family member. She is now giving her grandkids rides on the river, like her dad did with her and her brother in the 60s and 70s.

 

[TonyFanelli]

I sold it in 2013, but the story had a great ending. I had communicated with the adult children of the boat's original owner after they saw photos of it restored online. He had built it from a bare hull. I offered to sell it to them, but the timing wasn't good.

The buyer I sold it to kept it for a few years, then he did indeed sell it to the family member. She is now giving her grandkids rides on the river, like her dad did with her and her brother in the 60s and 70s.

Awesome! If she ever wants to sell it...I'm the man..

 

[Vamodsquad]

I am fascinated by the skills of @Clank123. That being said, in no way am I comparing my meager skills to his. But the mention of fasteners brought back memories of my adventures in the v-drive world. I decided I wanted to own one, and in 2001 purchased a 1967 Howard powered by a 427 FE. I'm sharing a few photos just because it was a special time in the lives of Fonda and me.

When I took apart the Howard and restored it, I made careful notes of the fastener locations while disassembling it. They were all stainless, and I repolished everything before reuse. There were instances where some had to be replaced because of thread issues or I felt the length needed to be changed. I was OCD about having between 2½ and 3 threads showing after reassembly.



The mill marks on the replacement stainless bolt heads were ground off before I polished them, and in some places, like the intake manifold for show or the v-drive for strength properties, I used chrome plated steel bolts.

All of the aluminum engine and driveline parts were polished, some for the first time. I bought and installed a pedestal mount buffer in my garage for larger parts, and used two 2 compressors in tandem and die grinders for the small stuff. Polishing dozens of flat and lock washers was a bit tedious, and my wife threatened to shoot me because of the black dust that took over the house. I painted the engine to match the hull's HOK tangerine metalflake

The end result was fabulous, but of course using the boat dulled my efforts after a season. After all, it was a v-drive, built for enjoyment by the original owner, and I did the project to have fun using it instead of looking at it on the trailer. Firing up that 427 after I had done all of the rebuild except the machine work was damned exciting and gratifying.

I don't mean to show off. These memories began over 20 years ago. My boating days are over and I'm just another old MF'er. But diving into the world of v-drives was one of the most fun and rewarding activities I've ever done.

View attachment 1328087

View attachment 1328104

View attachment 1328105

Taken by @angiebaby at Topock in 2004, the boat's first run on the Colorado since the 70s:

View attachment 1328106

Nice work. Beautiful job you did !

 

[v6toy4x]

I have searched many flat bottom ads for sale in hopes of finding an FE 427

 

[rrrr]

I have searched many flat bottom ads for sale in hopes of finding an FE 427

Rebuilding the 427 was just killer cool.

It was pretty groovy to take apart the engine and find date codes. The block and heads were cast in November 1963, which meant it was among the very first low risers built. It just so happened there was a competent shop that specialized in FE engines about five blocks from my shop. They did the machine work.

I hadn't built an engine since 1983, and that was a stock rework of a 350 Chevy in my ex-wife's 1979 Camaro.



I did a lot of research on FEs to make sure everything was done correctly. After painting the block and heads, I carefully assembled it, then installed it in the boat.

When it was ready to start, I pumped the carb linkage twice, turned the key, and immediately the sweet sound of a flfty year old 427 CI 425 HP engine filled the air with a throaty throbbing.

 

[angiebaby]

I sold it in 2013, but the story had a great ending. I had communicated with the adult children of the boat's original owner after they saw photos of it restored online. He had built it from a bare hull. I offered to sell it to them, but the timing wasn't good.

The buyer I sold it to kept it for a few years, then he did indeed sell it to the family member. She is now giving her grandkids rides on the river, like her dad did with her and her brother in the 60s and 70s.

The kids of the original owner of Sportin' Wood got her back also. It made it not so painful to sell her.

 

[rrrr]

The kids of the original owner of Sportin' Wood got her back also. It made it not so painful to sell her.

That's nice. Your boat was really a beauty, I remember you guys struggled with selling it.

 

[angiebaby]

That's nice. Your boat was really a beauty, I remember you guys struggled with selling it.

Fuel was $5/gallon at the time.

 

[DarkHorseRacing]

Fuel was $5/gallon at the time.

Still is in CA (urban areas mostly).

 

[TonyFanelli]

The kids of the original owner of Sportin' Wood got her back also. It made it not so painful to sell her.

Niiicee! Congrats on your book by the way