to reckon with - Engine Professional

EP 10-2009 8-13_Layout 1 10/8/09 1:38 PM Page 8
FEATURE
A
“BOSS”
to reckon with
More proof that size matters
BY DAVE EMANUEL photos BY TREVOR ANDRUSKO
In the late 1960s, Detroit was at the
center of the automotive universe.
Horsepower was king, imports were a
novelty that resided far outside the mainstream and the connection between race
track and showroom was direct and
vibrant, and not just for professional race
teams. The race track adventures of the
guy next door influenced many buying
decisions. Unfettered by mindless bureaucrats, auto manufacturers were free to
develop new solutions to the ongoing
challenge of extracting maximum horsepower from engines that would put their
respective corporate logos in the spotlight.
Chrysler pegged its efforts on the
recently reborn Hemi, Chevrolet relied on
the 427 big block “Rat Motor”, and
Ford used its 427 “FE” series engines.
That scenario put Ford at a bit of a disadvantage because the “FE” was a dated
design having originated in 1958; the 426
Hemi debuted in 1964 and the big block
Chevy first hit the streets in 1965. Ford’s
answer to the age disparity was to introduce the all-new 385 engine series in
1968. Of particular interest to performance enthusiasts and racers was the 429
Boss version which featured large valve
aluminum cylinder heads with hemispherical-type combustion chambers. To
avoid any confusion with the Chrysler
Hemi, the Boss head chamber design was
referred to as being “crescent-shaped”.
Although the race version of the
engine was destined for the Torino body
that was used in NASCAR competition,
the production version (500 of which
8 OCT-DEC 2009 engine professional
were required to qualify the engine as a
legitimate production option) was introduced beneath the hoods of the “Boss
429” Mustangs. Unfortunately, the huge
ports resulted in unimpressive performance in the relatively low rpm range in
which the engines of street driven vehicles
operate.
By the early 1970s, Detroit’s focus
had shifted from horsepower to emissions
and large displacement engines like the
Boss 429 were no longer suitable for use
in production passenger cars. The “Boss
motor” suffered another blow as it was
banned in virtually all forms of production engine-based racing. But aside from
Stock, Super Stock and similar classes,
drag racers can pretty much “run what
they brung” and the huge ports found in
Boss 429 heads were ideally suited to the
“Mountain Motor” race engines that
were evolving at the time. As engine
builder Garry Grimes puts it, “The heads
were overkill for a little 429-inch motor,
which is why the original engine never
lived up to a lot of people’s expectations.
But when you use them on a 500- or
600-inch engine, everything is right with
the world.”
Race engines aren’t noted for promoting component longevity, and since the
Boss 429 had been a limited production
engine to begin with, replacement parts
were never plentiful. That situation, combined with the need for parts specifically
designed for Pro Stock and Pro Modified
racing, encouraged a number of companies to develop the aftermarket components required to maintain the flow of
engines from builders to customers.
That demand ramped up in the late
1970s, when the Boss motor handiwork
of engine builders like Jon Kaase began
to make an impact in drag racing and
tractor pulling circles. Kaase traces his
involvement with Boss race engines back
to the 1970s when he worked for legendary drag racer “Dyno” Don
Nicholson. Over the years, he has
expanded his engine building business to
incorporate product research, development and manufacturing.
Had the market for Boss-headed Ford
engines stayed strictly race oriented,
opportunities for diversified engines
builders would have been severely limited. Race engines of this type are typically
so highly specialized, the engine builder
himself/herself has to be equally specialized to be both successful and profitable.
But the unique visual assets of Boss
motors has inspired strong demand
amongst street rod and street machine
owners.
According to Garry Grimes, “The real
turning point came a few years ago when
Boss Mustangs began selling for over
$100,000. When that happened, everyone sitting on a Boss motor thought he
had a gold mine, and the price of cores
went to $40,000 to $50,000. That drove
the Boss motor out of the price range of
many customers, but it also opened the
door for engines built entirely of aftermarket parts. When a core is selling for
$50,000, suddenly $5,000 to $6,000 for
a brand new aluminum block doesn’t
seem so bad.” (continued on page 10)
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engine professional OCT-DEC 2009 9
EP 10-2009 8-13_Layout 1 10/8/09 1:39 PM Page 10
A “BOSS” TO RECKON WITH
BY DAVE EMANUEL
Over the years,
it has become
easier to build
Boss engines
because more
components
have become
available.
For street rod and street machine
owners, much of the appeal of the Boss
motor is its appearance. If size matters, a
Boss-headed Ford big block wins. But its
appeal also extends to its power-producing capabilities. With a stock deck height
of 10.300”, all it takes to install a longstroke crankshaft is to install a longstroke crankshaft. A bore of 4.600”,
combined with a stroke of 4.500”
(a common street engine combination)
results in a displacement of 598 cubic
inches — achieved with no more machine
work than is required to assemble engines
that by comparison seem displacement
challenged.
Obviously, this isn’t the only
bore/stroke combination available. Most
10 OCT-DEC 2009 engine professional
common Boss street engine combinations
fall in the 600-cubic inch range, achieved
with bore dimensions ranging from
4.500” to 4.625”, and stroke lengths of
4.375” to 4.60”. Considering that race
versions of the engine displace 700-800
cubic inches, there’s obviously a lot of
room for “expansion”. So if a customer
absolutely has to have the biggest engine
in the neighborhood, you can start with a
tall deck block (11.200” of 11.700”) and
proceed from there. If that’s not sufficient, you can opt for a block with a
12.000” deck height and bore spacing of
5.000”, rather than 4.900”. Crankshafts
with strokes up to 6.000” are available;
combine a 6” stroke with a 4.700” bore
and you come up with 832 cubic inches.
At some point, sanity has to intervene, if for no other reason than the
expense involved in purchasing the custom components required to build 700+
cubic inch engines. By comparison, 600inch engines can be assembled using offthe-shelf parts. Grimes’ experience with
Boss motors is representative of the profit
potential that’s available to anyone who
addresses this market. Although he has a
relatively long history with these engines,
and currently supplies the “Twister”
engines found in Shadrach Mustangs,
(2005 and later Mustangs powered by
Boss engines)
Grimes’ engine building business has
always been highly diversified. His shop
builds race engines for oval track, road
EP 10-2009 8-13_Layout 1 10/8/09 1:40 PM Page 12
A “BOSS” TO RECKON WITH
BY DAVE EMANUEL
racing and drag racing, as well as marine,
street machine, and Muscle Car restoration engines. In that context, he sees the
Boss motor business as an opportunity
for virtually any performance-oriented
engine builder.
Grimes notes, “Over the years, it has
become easier and easier to build Boss
motors because more components have
become available. As an example we use
C&C Motorsports aluminum blocks and
Jon Kaase heads. We’ve developed our
own crankshafts, connecting rods and
pistons, as well as front cover and accessory drive system. All these components
are available to any engine builder, and
there are a number of other suppliers
who can also provide the necessary
parts.”
If you’re like most engine builders,
you’ve developed your own machining
and assembly techniques. While these
techniques are probably just as applicable
to a Boss Ford, as any other engine, it
wouldn’t be a bad idea to check things
out with someone who has Boss motor
building experience. The engine itself isn’t
the concern—it’s the dimensions. You
may find that the clearances and finishes
necessary to keep a 600 +/- cubic inch
engine happy aren’t quite what you
expected.
Component selection is another
aspect of Boss motor building that is
greatly influenced by dimensional considerations. While use of titanium valves
and retainers is usually considered a luxury, rather than a necessity in a street
engine, that’s not the case with Boss
engines. Everything about the Boss valvetrain, including the 2.300” intake and
1.900” exhaust valves that are commonly
used, is large—which means heavy. Use
of titanium valvetrain components is
therefore essential to the achievement of
reliable operation.
Size considerations don’t end with the
short block and heads; intake and
exhaust systems must both be appropriately sized. Traditionalists typically top
off their engines with the same type of
Holley carburetors used “back in the
day”. However, electronic fuel injection is
equally popular. Irrespective of the type
of fuel system employed, the key to producing “Boss-quality” horsepower is to
assure adequate air flow capacity. For
visual appeal, nothing matches a pair of
Holley Dominators, but they can’t match
the efficiency of an electronic fuel injection system with dual throttle bodies.
Some throttle bodies have a decidedly
12 OCT-DEC 2009 engine professional
“carburetorish” appearance, especially
when an air cleaner is installed, so it’s
possible to have the best of both worlds.
Handling the exhaust flow of a 600inch engine is no small task; so many
Boss engines are equipped with full
length headers featuring 2” or 2-1/8” primary tubes. Down stream, diameter has
to be reasonable so the pipes can clear
both the chassis and the ground. Most
systems incorporate dual 3” pipes.
If ever proof were needed that
“there’s no substitute for cubic inches”,
the Ford Boss engine provides it.
Currently, relatively mild engines crank
out 1.3 horsepower per cubic inch; in the
case of a 600-inch engine that translates
to 780 horsepower. Bumping the multiplier up to 1.4 horsepower per cubic inch
delivers 840 horsepower. Keep in mind
— those numbers are obtained from
legitimate street engines. And if that’s not
enough to put a new perspective on the
type of street performance you can offer
your customers, consider the effect of an
engine that also cranks out 800 lbs/ft
of torque.■
With six technically oriented automotive books
and over 1,500 magazine articles to his credit,
Dave Emanuel is regarded as one of the nation’s
most respected automotive journalists. During the
past 20 years, his work has appeared in popular
publications such as Motor Trend, Road & Track,
Hot Rod, Corvette Fever and Popular Science to name
only a few of the more than twenty magazines.
Dave’s technical expertise and extensive hands-on
experience, combined with his personal relationships
with many of the nation’s top high performance
engine builders and Detroit engineers, allows him to
provide readers with unique insights into the high
performance and racing aspects of engines and
drivelines. Dave is also involved with private
enterprise and offers insight on yet another possible
power source. Go online for more information:
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