1970 Boss Torino GT - The Boss Torino

That wasn’t always the case. Mixing and matching engine choices used to be one of those seminal decisions when placing your order. In 1970, when Ford launched the massively reworked and aggressively styled Torino, there were five engine displacement options: a 250ci sixer, 302ci and 351ci Windsor, 351ci Cleveland, and the big bad 429ci 385 Series. The 429 even had three options of its own: the 429 Thunder Jet rated at 360hp, the 429 Cobra Jet rated at 370hp, and the ultimate 429 Super Cobra Jet rated at 375 hp. The 429 that didn’t make the cut was the legendary Boss. Or did it?

The long accepted assumption was that any gearhead looking for a street-going Boss 429 engine was buying a SportsRoof Mustang. We always thought that was the case as well. Not even seemingly ideal candidates, the ’69 Torino Talladega, for example, were so bestowed; all of those were fitted with 428 Cobra Jet engines. As it turns out, though, there may have been a loophole.

Tim Gilbert pondered those scenarios as well, as he stood, brochure in hand, looking at his newly acquired ’70 Torino GT. He’d always wanted a factory big-block, four-speed ’70 Torino, with all of the unique styling options that the GT package included. Fittingly in our opinion, and probably maddeningly to Torino purists, the car that finally presented itself as the right platform to build his dream after years of searching was a legit J-code 429 CJ car—one of only 412 GTs equipped with a 429 CJ, shaker hood, and a four-speed.

We say fittingly, because it arrived as a solid roller, sans drivetrain. Tim’s original plan was simply to restore the Torino to near-factory spec and enjoy it. However, that single, overlooked line from the brochure gnawed at him. It wasn’t a Cobra, but it was a 429 car. Perhaps it was time someone built the Boss Torino that should have been—simple, near stock, just with a badass semi-Hemi engine. “And then the madness began,” Tim says, with a laugh.

That idea and a stack of photos of cars and options he liked was pretty much all Tim had for Stanford, though: "I told him, 'If I knew what I wanted, I wouldn’t be here!'"

As for the genesis for the whole project—the Boss engine—when Tim first started the build it was before the recent resurgence of boutique power parts, and aftermarket heads weren’t yet available. Pricey vintage ones were few and far between and became a source of expense and delays due to constant cracking during machining. Thankfully, ShotGun Hemi Parts released their revamped new Boss heads, and from there the engine build snowballed as quickly as the rest of the car. Boss engine guru Rick Stanton at Performance Engine Building derailed what he called Tim’s “mild” plans for a 450-550hp 429, or even 494ci Boss. To make good use of heads that flow 475 cfm at .650, Stanton concocted a recipe for 598 inches and a streetable 870 hp. Yes, we said streetable; Stanton intended for it to be driven regularly.

His only complaint? The Torino drives smooth and tight like the Grand Touring muscle car it is, but 870 hp with a torque curve like a tabletop takes some getting used to; it tends to tear the tires loose at pretty much any speed and in any gear. “Well, it is Ferrari red,” Tim says. “Maybe I should take it to Ferrari of Washington, pull up right in front of the showroom next to a new 458 Italia, and ask if someone will show me how to drive it!” Sounds like fun to us, though we’ll bet the Ferrari cognoscenti will be far more intimidated by the bark from the twin tips than Tim ever was.

By The Numbers

1970 Boss Torino GT
Tim Gilbert, 49, • Sterling, VA

Drivetrain

Transmission: close-ratio Toploader four-speed with Lakewood scattershield, hydraulic McLeod dual-disc clutch, and billet steel flywheel
Rearend: J&S 9-inch with 31-spline Currie axles, Detroit Locker diff, and 3:50 gears

Wheels & Tires

Wheels: 19x8 and 20x10 Schott Venom
Tires: 255/35R19 and 285/30R20 Nitto Invo, redline added by Diamondback