GLINDING KUSTOM

FORD MUSTANG BOSS 302 TRANS AM

The 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 302 Trans Ams built by Bud Moore occupy a special place in the hearts of the Mustang-faithful – it was to be the year that the Boss 302s would win the SCCA Trans-Am championship, finally beating out the the Camaros, Barracudas, Firebirds, and Javelins.

Much of the success enjoyed by the Boss 302 Mustangs was due to the fire-breathing 460hp 302 cubic inch V8 – each engine was fitted with a Holley four-barrel carburettor and power was fed to the rear wheels via a four-speed transmission and live axle. The Boss 302 rode on independent front suspension, lower transverse arms with drag struts, coil springs, tube shock absorbers, an anti-roll bar and multi-leaf springs at the rear.

After taking the outright championship win in 1970 the Ford Motor Company decided to pull out of Trans Am racing – a move that was deeply frustrating to Bud Moore and the legions of fans the company had won over since the introduction of the Mustang in 1964.

Rather than roll down the shutters Bud Moore Engineering decided to run a shortened season for 1971 using two of the four Boss 302 Mustangs that had already been provided.

The lack of factory support and resulting lower budget combined with the loss of driving talent led to the AMC Javelins winning the 1971 season, a dark day for the Mustang clan after such jubilation just a year before.

The 1970 Mustang Boss 302 you see here is one of the cars that was delivered to Moore that he didn’t end up preparing for the 1971 season. It was kept in private collections as a bit of a historical curiosity until it was unearthed in 2008 and bought by the current owner, plans were immediately put into place to finish the car to the specifications originally intended for it.

Bud and Greg Moore were contacted and they agreed to oversee the project to finish their last Boss 302 to 1971 specification, the project took five years to reach accurate 1971-specification BME 4 form, the upgrades included the installation of Bud’s engineered heads for the engine.

Once the build was complete Moore approved car and issued a certificate of authenticity – making this the newest and cleanest Bud Moore Boss 302 in the world. If you’d like to read more about the history of this car you can click here to visit its listing courtesy of RM Auctions, where it’ll be auctioned on the 15th of January 2015.

Photo Credits: Patrick Ernzen ©2015 Courtesy of RM Auctions

via SILODROME

BMW 2002ti Rally: Whiplash mountain

Rain, nothing but rain. Why must the heavenly floodgates open on the January weekend of the Planai Classic?

Every year, this rally season-opener attracts participants with promises of wild rides on snowy mountain roads and icy mountain passes but, when the rain comes, the conditions degenerate into a hydroplaning ballet. My mount is the BMW 2002ti rally car and it has far more relevant rallying experience than I do. Built in 1969, the ‘little’ car was successfully launched into the Group 2 class of the World Rally Championship and, with its 4-cylinder in-line Alpina engine, was driven in the 1970/71 rally seasons by no less than Rauno Aaltonen and Sobieslaw Zasada – who won the 1971 Polish Rally with this car. The impressive output of 190HP and weight of just 1,040kg means lots of drifting fun; but without snow, there’s only half the pleasure.

As the rally starts, in Gröbming, the water falls only in a liquid state from the sky but, by the end of the first day’s competition, there’s a slippery mix of snow and ice to contend with. Steep curves see me babbling with unintelligible excitement into the microphone, drawing a distraught look from my team-mate Florian. Fortunately, his stare is quickly interrupted by the start of the night stage.

 

As I drift around the tight turns on the long route to the Dachstein, the snow-covered road lit only by the wide arc from our headlamps, I'm reminded of the ‘Night of Long Knives’, the famous night stage of the Monte Carlo Rally. The studded tyres make loud scratching noises as they cling to the road surface and we dart left-right, in second gear, through the bends. My head aches – and my back too, as the bucket seat is not entirely comfortable – but a high dose of adrenalin ensures rapid healing.

 

The experience is immensely good fun but I did become very aware of my limitations as a driver. The Planai Classic is no tourist’s cruise… although, fortunately, the 45 starting teams had enough rally experience on snow and ice that – despite the demands of the night-time special stages – there were no accidents. However, in preparation for next winter, I’ve already signed up for winter rally-driver training with Rally-Professor Rauno Aaltonen in Finland.

 

Related Links Whether classic cars, rally or sports versions, there are plenty of BMW 2002s in the Classic Driver Marketplace For more information on the Planai and Ennstal Classics, see www.planai-classic.at and www.ennstal-classic.at/de/

Text: J. Philip Rathgen
Photos: Gudrun Muschalla

The Little Nordics - Life in miniature

There are numerous time lapse videos of Iceland and Norway showing the beauty of their remote landscapes. But when you're in the mountains, looking down, you see so many things happening. Especially in places like Geiranger (Norway) where ferries are sailing back and forth through the fjords, kayak cruises arriving and departing and cars crawling up and down the steep roads. I wanted to portray this like you are watching an ants hill, which gives such a funny perspective on things.

The Little Nordics - Life in miniature from DAMPDESIGN on Vimeo.