QFord was wise to employ a rev limiter to keep the engine speed capped at 6,150 rpm
to avoid needless carnage. The Boss 351 was capable of exceeding that quite easily, so
many of these units were quickly disabled or discarded when these vehicles were new.QFinned valve covers
distinguish the Boss
351 engine from other
Cleveland engines. The
aluminum intake
manifold is topped off by
an extremely rare, Boss-
only, 715-cfm Autolite
4300D carburetor.40 MUSTANGMONTHLY.COM
THE BOSS...AGAIN{1971 MUSTANG BOSS 351}
street machine. Steve put
an ad in Road & Track
magazine and got inquiries
from as far as Germany on
his car. He eventually sold it
to Ricky King of Pine Bluff,
Arkansas, for $4,300 in May
of 1975.
In 1980, Ricky sold it
to Gary Newford of Littlelot but knew of a dealer up
in Columbus with a Bright
Red one. Steve had special-
ordered his Boss 302 to his
specifications, but he was
too late in the model year to
do the same on a Boss 351.
“I had to take what I could
get,” he says.
The Boss 351 came
optioned with power
steering, sport deck rear
seat, rear deck spoiler,
console, the Decor Group,
AM radio, and tinted glass,
and Steve reported that the
new 351-powered Mustang
“would run rings around a
Boss 302.”
Once again, Steve
would only enjoy his new
Mustang for a short time,
as he joined the service
and would be enlisted
until late 1972. When he
returned, he began to make
some modifications on
his Boss. He added Cragar
wheels, side pipes, and even
Shelby sidescoops. He also
upgraded the radio and
mounted 10-inch woofers
in the rear side panels and
two Radio Shack 5-inch
tweeters in the rear corner
trim behind the back seat.
All this made his Boss
unique from all the others
on the street at the time. It
also put Steve’s fingerprints
on the Boss.
By 1975 he was married,
and it was time to get some-
thing more family oriented
and sell his 15,000-mileRock, Arkansas, with the
Boss 351 out of its engine
bay for an unknown reason.
Gary got the Boss running
again, but basically he
only used it for drag racing
and put very little mileage
on it. He put 4.88 gears
in the 9-inch rearend
and replaced the intake
manifold and carburetor.
He also removed the Shelby
side vents and replaced the
taillight panel and right
front fender with N.O.S.
pieces as he prepared to
restore the exterior of the
car. He ended up selling the
car ( before painting it) to
Jerry’s Classic Mustangs
in March 2002 for $15,000.
Gary told Steve he regrets
selling the Boss because it
was in such nice condition,
but at the time he needed
the money.
Jerry Maddox of Fyffe,
Alabama, specializes in
restoring Mustangs and
repainted the Boss in the
original Bright Red ( but
did no engine work), and
the original interior was
still nice. The odometer
was reading just 32,000,
so it really didn’t need
very much. But Jerry’s
intentions all along were to
flip it for a profit, so he took
it up to the Kruse Auction
in Auburn, Indiana, in
September of 2002 to find
a buyer.
Steve and his future
brother-in-law also went
to the Kruse Auction that
year. And they weren’t
looking for anything in
particular—just went to
check out some cars. But
while walking the aisles,
a Red Boss 351 caught
Steve’s attention. Then
he noticed the invoice in
the driver-side window
showing Jack Helm Ford in
Ohio as the selling dealer.
Steve knew only a handfulQThe Boss 351 was Ford’s most advanced medium-block engine. At the heart of this heavily massaged 351 Cleveland
was a crankshaft cast of high nodular iron, specially tested for hardness and held in place by four-bolt mains.