my 1971 351 Boss restoration

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canadian_red_maple_leaf

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 23, 2010
Messages
266
Reaction score
8
Location
Vienna, AUSTRIA
My Car
1966 Mustang K-Code Coupe
1968 VW Beetle
1969 Mustang Mach1
1971 Mustang 351 Boss
1972 Mustang Convertible
1983 Mercedes 280SL
hi folks,

this is going to be a lot of work because i have a restoration thread of my 351B in german so i have to translate evrything in english. i'll be posting A LOT of pictures so i hope you're ok with that.

to my boss. this car was made for export to switzerland in 1970. according to my research around 9 cars were exported to CH but i haven't had the chance to contact kevin marti to be 100% sure. i know for a fact that this is the only one in austria.

-) 3,91:1 rear axle

-) staggered shocks

-) 351 cleveland 4 bolt high output engine 11,7:1 = 330PS

-) 4 gang toaploader

-) fold down group

-) rear defrost

-) center console

-) power steering





p.s. this is how the car will look like when it's done:



here a picture of my vert:



here are a few impressions of the car when i bought it.

beautiful :)



deluxe interior





the soda blasted bolt on parts



a few pictures of the problem areas













the front part is all solid!



here we have a few images when i picked the car up from CH. since it was disassembled i had to stuff a lot of things into my VW bus.



















all the bolt on things were soda blasted and to tell you the truth I#ve never seen such perfect doors herein europe!

i started to disassemble the engine and was positvely surprised on which state it was in. the block was bored to 0.030 and everything was basically NEW. so all i had to do is reseal it and paint the engine :).



















that's it for now. more to come.

abudi



i check the main bearings on the engine and as you can see everything is perfect. the crankshaft is in spotless condition. i guess i was very lucky.

even the engine mounts are ford NOS.










on we go with the emminger invoice








on we go with the restoration. my neighbor eddie is the one helping me with the welding work.

since this boss never had a radio the antenna hole has to go



grinding the welding work down



tinning paste





heating it up



applying the tinn





let it cool off



i don't know what this is called in english SORRY.



closing a few little holes on the doors





this is a puller in case you can't access the dent from the other side.



you weld a spot onto the dent and then you pull it out.



the rest is done with a hammer and tinn




there were a few dents in the oil pan that had to be removed :)

















on we go with a few more welding pichtures.




















here are a few pictures before and after.

before





































after the media blasting work



















 
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hi guys,

here i have a few impressions while i was getting the engine ready..

i painted the engine with por15 engine enamel





the soda blasted valve covers



NOS oil pan seal :-D







new timing chain





almost done





the original 4300D autolite carb



original boss intake



original ram air plenum painted







more to come


i started closing up the engine and here are a few pictures.

timing chain is A-Ok so on goes the seal











looking good



on goes the intake











getting the torque right 3/8 = 28-32 ft/lb





i found the correct distributor for my boss engine. cost a fortune though.

NOS base plate











more to come

abudi


we moved on to the door etc. all bare metal parts were epoxy primed













after the primer was dry

























here a few close ups of the 4300D carb and of the "almost" finished engine:













more to come


hallo folks,

the original crankshaft wasn't in the engine but i was told that the 4MA cranks are the same.



one we go with the pre lubrication of the engine :)

oil pan bolted onto the engine block





out goes the distributor and in goes the bit that drives the oil pump





counter clock wise and away we went as long as the battery lasted



distributor back into the engine and we were ready for the fire up

abudi


here i have a few close ups of the distibutor









as you can see i am using the pertronix ignition solution. i've been doing that with all my mustangs and never had any trouble.


as you can see not much rust is in this boss.







this area was a little rusty bit nothing really serious.



the seats are in great condition which means they don't need to be recovered



the P/O gave me 4 door panels, so luckily i was able to refabricate 2 good ones out of the 4.





lots of parts that i still have to go thru



took the rear window out only to find "almost" no rust :)





the headliner will be replaced



abudi

 
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Looking good! Lots of work, that's for sure! Keep us posted!!

 
here's how i restored the 2 door panels.

the 73er deluxe panel



the old beat up ones



before cleaning



after a good wash



after cleaning the carpet area



new glue





original molding after using never dull :)



the original handel







the original cup moldings



put in the wood applications and carefully bend the catches back...try not to break them





i used vaseline to preserve the panels. vaseline make the plastic softer.





here are a few pictures of the rear seat. as you can see the rear seat was used from 69-73



here the seat tag from 1970



my boss was built in 24 november 1970

abudi


yes LOTs of work!!

while disassembling the car i was amazed how good this car was. i took a lot of pictures not only to know where what goes but also to show how assembly was done back then...rather fast and sloppy.

here are a few impressions

before



kick panel area driver side



behind the dash...



behind the steering wheel





vent area driver side....not even surface rust



here without the box



original as if it came off the assembly line yesterday



all original stamping



rust area











abudi

 
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i moved on by removing the toploader, fuel tank, headliner, chrome molding, brake lines, fuel line, shock absorbers and so on. none of the bolts ore screws broke or were damaged. i was so amazed how good this 71 mustang was! a few rust problems did show up but nothing really serious. the rear panel and the wheel moldings needed some attention, but that was about it.

rust problem: the wheel area



the original rear bumper





brakes A-OK



the toploader...only thing missing was the tag...found that thru the german forum :)













here's a picture of the torque box







the front suspension area





a few more pictures of the under carriage



the rear axle that was on the car wasn't the original 3,91:1 axle but i found the original in switzerland







these are the parts that need to be restored



New rear panel





a few more pictures of the interior















this is really alot of work!!

abudi



On the carb was the 4300 a euro only type thing? IIRC the Boss had a Holley here in the states.
hi i don't exactly know what you are asking, but to my knowledge ALL 351Bosses had the 4300D carb.

http://www.boss351registry.com/AutoliteCarb.htm

what do you mean with IIRC? sorry for the question :)


after i disassembled the entire car i was really happy because to bigger surprises showed up

rust issues:

both rear wheel houses and the rear panel...that it :)

here a few more impressions of the disassembled boss.

getting the right color for the under carriage



chocolate brown



out goes the front suspension





i've never seen this before on any of my mustangs. this spring was hooked onto the floor and was used to keep the parking brke cable straight. :)







this is the 3L25 (3,25:1) rear axle. the original 3L91 (3,91:1) is in stock now :)





untouched under carriage. never welded or molested :)

























federal law in switzerland states that the entire VIN number hat to be visible within the engine bay.



the swiss vin was located right next to the original ford VIN number under the right fender



the naked boss



abudi

 
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thanks guys but this is just the beginning. I've been working on the boss for around 1 year now and the stuff i posted was the work of 2 months....so there's more to come.

stay tuned

abudi


i work on my project using the chaos theory.

up next were smaller repairs because the weather was too cold to work in the garage.

the original collapsible tire repainted



the drive shaft repainted...the correct marking are to fellow



dash before



sanded down



repainted in matt black




since the weather was so cold i started on smaller things that i could take home.

here's a step by step thread on how to overhaul a power steering pump



























reassembled and back on the engine



abudi


a friend and i put the boss on a moveable rack

we used an engine crane to lift the rear of the car



using a 4x4 works fine :) as you can see



coo huh



the boss on mini wheels :-D





abudi


my original flywheel was missing so i called up perogie and randy had one on his shelf :)









up next is the recovering of the fold down elements

it took me around 4 hours with a few beer breaks :)

new carpets, the refurbished chrome molding and the painted fold down parts



glue and the electric screw driver















double sided tape works pretty good too









finished





abudi

 
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Wow. I am not worthy, but really like your attention to detail.

Don't forget to ask us for any parts as I'm thinkin' if most of the members are like me, we have a bunch stuffed in the garage just waiting for that.... whatever thing.

Great job.

 
hi guy, thanks for the great feedback. i'm always looking for 71-7 parts.

as a matter of fact, i have a 75 dipstick in my boss and i'd love to have a 71 number in it. i mean it works perfectly fine but i'm trying to staying as original as possible.

up next were smaller parts like the hinges and latches. they were media blasted and painted in iron cast...that's a little darker than the original.



the collapsible tire is nothing really new for you guys in the US, but here in austria NO ONE knows this. here i'm posting a few pictures of the tire inflation...had to know if it works or not.

without air



half full here you can see how the tire wanders up :)



fully inflated



didn't forget the warning decal



last but not least the inflator



abudi


it's always the little things that waist your time. well here's a perfect example:

before









after



the hinge springs for the ram air hood were "square" :)



painted wiper arms and speaker grill



abudi


this could be interesting for some. i wanted to keep the original gas tank and since it was busted anyway eddie and i tried saving it.

but before we started that i finished the dash

before



after paint



with gauges and clusters



now to the fuel tank: DON'T try this if you haven't done this before. the fumes in the tank can blow up in your face!!

we welded big nails onto the dent and then pulled it out.

















after...looks like new :)





lets carry on with the rear axle

after the axle was media blasted i painted it with POR15







out goes the old fishy smelling oil



i painted the diff in primer red



seal area nice and clean





sealer before the paper seal goes on



felpro seal



that diff is soo heavy!



new bearing seals



i knocked them in with a big nut



installed



the new oil. if you have a locked axle don't forget the additive!!!



reassembly of the rear brakes





all new springs



new SS brake lines and parking brake cable



last but not least the original tag



up next will be the welding work

abudi

 
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abudi, I just wanted to tell you that I really appreciate the detailed reassembly photos, as I am currently restoring my own 1971 Boss 351. I bought my car, already fully disassembled, packed into in barrels of parts. So, I really have little for reference. The more detail you post, the better!! (If you get a chance, could you fix some of your photo links in post #11 above that don't seem to be working.) Thanks again, and keep the photos coming!

-Andy

 
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here goes the welding: we started by replacing the entire tail light panel. it was rusted up near the rear light...the usual spot.

first you got to find the welding spots



cutting :)



took out the middle part





after 2 hrs the old panel was finally out



welding primer





you have to have bare metal to weld but the grey welding primer you can prime and weld at the same time



positioning the panel



checking 18.5 cm right



and left



let the welding begin





welded and ground down



looks nice



thanks eddie :)

abudi


i worked on the brakes while eddie was doing the welding

before



the rotors are new only a little surface rust :)



the media blasted and painted parts :)



uppers arms all rebuilt



rear sway bar and fuel tank straps



i honed the brake caliper and cleaned it



NOS pistons :)



pre lube the caliper and the rubber seal



gently push it in



dust boot in place and you're done. the dust boot is usually a pain in the ass



kinda looks like this when it's done. i forgot to take a picture so i used my 69 mach1 brake set to show you what t looks like when it's done. oops



lamp housing painted and ready to be installed





all warped and ready to be installed



abudi


here i have a few more pictures of some small parts

the lamp housing



the front brakes of the boss





my wrapped koni shocks



lamp retainer



abudi


some more pics of the smaller parts getting painted



















i masked off the original stamp :)







the boss damper in cast iron :)







up next is the heater box


the heater box

before





after cleaning sanding and paint





i put this cushion tape on to keep it from vibrating and making funny noises





i put a rubber piece on here













the refurbished product







abudi

 
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