Another week, another awesome Boss 429 parts find. This time we’re looking at another intake manifold but this is one special piece. The seller surmises that it was developed for use on the 494ci variant of the Boss 429 that was employed in Can-Am racing but it was never actually run on a car or even on a dyno engine. That’s right. At the Holman-Moody shop this thing was apparently assembled, set on the bench, had the float levels set, was checked for leaks, and then was drained of its fuel and put away. It is in fantastic shape and it is the only one we have ever seen or heard about in our lives.
The carbs are big throated 62.5mm Webers and they would have been working hard to keep the high winding, all-aluminum monster that powered those cars (and some street cars built by the Tasca family with that engine) happy. We have no idea if what the seller is saying is right or not but the guy has an incredible line on this rare stuff because he is selling other items that wold drive Ford lovers to distraction as well.
Ford’s “Total Performance” era was like nothing before or since. It was the type of single focused, driven effort that no longer exists in the walls of car companies today, or at least it seems like it does not. If it was needed, someone paid for it and was there to support it. On every racing front in the world, Ford was in attack mode. From the rally stages of Europe to the strips of Southern California, to the high banks, and the plunging turns of road courses, they were there.
This intake is proof of that attitude and approach. We’d sure like to see it atop one of those aluminum lumps doing what it was designed to do. What a beautiful piece!
Scroll down to see the photos of this awesome intake and hit the eBay link –
a true thing of beauty there – kind of a pity to see it on ebay, probably to never be seen again.
What car was this meant for?
It makes a difference from all the Chevy motors, but I can’t remember any successful Ford-powered cars. Maybe that’s why its so rare because the car it was fitted to was so poor. This would look great adapted to fit on a Coyote motor which had been swapped into a 1965-1969 Mustang by the way…
LOL never any news over there about Thunderbolts?
I had a 494 aluminum block with a 3.85″ stroke Moldex crank that I dropped in a black BOSS 429 that I owned. I fabbed a manifold for 4-58mm Weber carbs, and the car was amazing until 5500 rpm, where it ran out of air. The fix was a pancake plenum that was only 1.75″ deep. The car would pull to 7800 rpm with it.
I occasionally wish I’d kept the car, but in the late eighties, I’d been doing so many heads for NASCAR and ProStock competitors, that I retired, and sold most of my collectible cars because I was just worn out….and rebuilding a car in my spare time just wasn’t something I wanted to do. I couple months later and they found that I had cancer (again), so I suspect I wasn’t to clear-headed……at least that’s my excuse these days.
George Poteet has this intake , with fuel injection , on the motor in the dega built by Rad Rides by Troy for him
Nice setup but fake as hell. They are not Weber carbs. They are Shawn Geers Terminator carbs. Google it. Look at the float bowls and CNC billet top lids. They are the same. Weber never made carbs with CNC billet tops.