1969 Boss 429 on BAT

[eric lipper]

I showed my Boss 9 this past weekend at a show here in Katy, Texas and several people came up and asked if my car was the one on BAT.  As it turns out the car on BAT is the same one that was for sale at Earth Motors in Carrolton, Texas.  It had been $279K asking price and then, for some reason, the seller raised the price to $329K on Ebay.  The car has been for sale for a long time and was bought by the current dealer at the GAA auction in November for $190K or so.  Interesting one to watch. 

[silverton_ford]

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1969-ford-mustang-boss-429-4/

[shelbydoug]

I would expect a nice B9 to bring at least 250. Some would say up to 350. 180ish means there is something significantly "wrong" with the car to me but I'm not in the market so it's difficult to determine without seeing the car and what else is available at that time?

[557]

"Replacement" motor........

[eric lipper]

I was going to look at the car and it was for sale at Earth Motors in Carrolton, Texas.  Earth Motors bought the car at the GAA Auction in November 2020 for about $190,000.  The seller at Earth Motors was a high pressure car dealer, used to have a TV show, and once I connected with him he texted me daily about the car.  He seemed, however, to know some of the important details about Boss 429's but was not an expert and spent a lot of time bad mouthing Legendary Motor Cars.  He did tell me that the engine was not original to the car and I seemed to recall that the carburetor was wrong as well.

Through someone on the SAAC Forum who I don't remember they sent me a link to a bunch of auction details.  With that I found out the car had been for sale for a long time in Bee Spring, KY and had been on Ebay.  Somehow the Ebay stuff when I looked for it was deleted from Ebay and I don't know how they did that.  According to Sports Car Market Letter Report (I subscribe) the car was reviewed by one of Keith Martin's guys in one of the 3 Mecum Auctions where it was run.  According to the reviewer it had good panel fit and had been bid to $230K and was a no-sale.  I seem to recall a comment that the reviewer said something like it was a mistake not to sell at that price.

At one point in its "restoration" life the car had the wrong air filter, a Hurst Shifter, a set of Shelby gauges on the console, the wrong steering wheel, speakers in the doors, and the paint on the cowl and the engine compartment was all wrong.  The pictures of these issues were available on the internet when I was going to look at the car.  Those pictures were handy because you could see what the car looked like before the previous dealer in Bee Spring, KY acquired the car and corrected them.  Nevertheless, I was still interested because the car was here in Texas and was red but I was advised to connect with a Boss 429 expert and I was glad that I did.

I spoke with a recognized expert, who we all know, and he said the car had a lot of "issues" but I really don't remember what they were but he rattled them off to me.  He thought if I was not looking for a totally correct car it was ok but the cost to fix the things he noticed could be in serious money.  I do think that the engine compartment detail was all done with the engine in place from some close up pictures that I asked the dealer to make. I passed on that car and bought a twin from Legendary Motors in Canada and was glad that I did.  The car I bought was reviewed, remotely, by the same expert and his opinion of the car I bought was much more favorable. 

My purchase was a bit easier because the car I bought had been judged at SAAC, MCA and AACA and won Gold or First in the outings.  That, at least, gave me some confidence that it was not a pig.  My car had been owned by a guy named Tom Hernquist who had other Boss Cars and had a good eye for right and wrong. The same expert that was consulting with me had previously seen the car so that gave me a little more confidence.  In terms of money I am not shy to say what I paid since I was either an idiot or a smart buyer.  I paid $207,500 for mine (there were no auction fees) and I closed in December of 2020.  So, if I had to guess, this car on BAT should be worth less and my opinion was the $190,000 that the current Seller paid was probably the right money.

I would post this stuff on BAT but they kicked me off when a seller did not like my opinion.  After kicking me off they invited me back after a week and I told them that the cancel culture stuff did not work for me.  That is my .02 for anyone looking at this car.

[2112]

If I had to guess, the seller is expecting a bigger payday than what you paid. He reports he has made most of the necessary corrections.

[shelbymann1970]

I was going to look at the car and it was for sale at Earth Motors in Carrolton, Texas.  Earth Motors bought the car at the GAA Auction in November 2020 for about $190,000.  The seller at Earth Motors was a high pressure car dealer, used to have a TV show, and once I connected with him he texted me daily about the car.  He seemed, however, to know some of the important details about Boss 429's but was not an expert and spent a lot of time bad mouthing Legendary Motor Cars.  He did tell me that the engine was not original to the car and I seemed to recall that the carburetor was wrong as well.

Through someone on the SAAC Forum who I don't remember they sent me a link to a bunch of auction details.  With that I found out the car had been for sale for a long time in Bee Spring, KY and had been on Ebay.  Somehow the Ebay stuff when I looked for it was deleted from Ebay and I don't know how they did that.  According to Sports Car Market Letter Report (I subscribe) the car was reviewed by one of Keith Martin's guys in one of the 3 Mecum Auctions where it was run.  According to the reviewer it had good panel fit and had been bid to $230K and was a no-sale.  I seem to recall a comment that the reviewer said something like it was a mistake not to sell at that price.

At one point in its "restoration" life the car had the wrong air filter, a Hurst Shifter, a set of Shelby gauges on the console, the wrong steering wheel, speakers in the doors, and the paint on the cowl and the engine compartment was all wrong.  The pictures of these issues were available on the internet when I was going to look at the car.  Those pictures were handy because you could see what the car looked like before the previous dealer in Bee Spring, KY acquired the car and corrected them.  Nevertheless, I was still interested because the car was here in Texas and was red but I was advised to connect with a Boss 429 expert and I was glad that I did.

I spoke with a recognized expert, who we all know, and he said the car had a lot of "issues" but I really don't remember what they were but he rattled them off to me.  He thought if I was not looking for a totally correct car it was ok but the cost to fix the things he noticed could be in serious money.  I do think that the engine compartment detail was all done with the engine in place from some close up pictures that I asked the dealer to make. I passed on that car and bought a twin from Legendary Motors in Canada and was glad that I did.  The car I bought was reviewed, remotely, by the same expert and his opinion of the car I bought was much more favorable. 

My purchase was a bit easier because the car I bought had been judged at SAAC, MCA and AACA and won Gold or First in the outings.  That, at least, gave me some confidence that it was not a pig.  My car had been owned by a guy named Tom Hernquist who had other Boss Cars and had a good eye for right and wrong. The same expert that was consulting with me had previously seen the car so that gave me a little more confidence.  In terms of money I am not shy to say what I paid since I was either an idiot or a smart buyer.  I paid $207,500 for mine (there were no auction fees) and I closed in December of 2020.  So, if I had to guess, this car on BAT should be worth less and my opinion was the $190,000 that the current Seller paid was probably the right money.

I would post this stuff on BAT but they kicked me off when a seller did not like my opinion.  After kicking me off they invited me back after a week and I told them that the cancel culture stuff did not work for me.  That is my .02 for anyone looking at this car.

Eric, THANK YOU so much for your candor on this subject. Anyone serious in buying a car like that should consul an expert like the one you did. MY question I did not want to ask on BaT was the firewall color. Was the car built too late to have a red upper cowl? Gary

[eric lipper]

I was going to look at the car and it was for sale at Earth Motors in Carrolton, Texas.  Earth Motors bought the car at the GAA Auction in November 2020 for about $190,000.  The seller at Earth Motors was a high pressure car dealer, used to have a TV show, and once I connected with him he texted me daily about the car.  He seemed, however, to know some of the important details about Boss 429's but was not an expert and spent a lot of time bad mouthing Legendary Motor Cars.  He did tell me that the engine was not original to the car and I seemed to recall that the carburetor was wrong as well.

Through someone on the SAAC Forum who I don't remember they sent me a link to a bunch of auction details.  With that I found out the car had been for sale for a long time in Bee Spring, KY and had been on Ebay.  Somehow the Ebay stuff when I looked for it was deleted from Ebay and I don't know how they did that.  According to Sports Car Market Letter Report (I subscribe) the car was reviewed by one of Keith Martin's guys in one of the 3 Mecum Auctions where it was run.  According to the reviewer it had good panel fit and had been bid to $230K and was a no-sale.  I seem to recall a comment that the reviewer said something like it was a mistake not to sell at that price.

At one point in its "restoration" life the car had the wrong air filter, a Hurst Shifter, a set of Shelby gauges on the console, the wrong steering wheel, speakers in the doors, and the paint on the cowl and the engine compartment was all wrong.  The pictures of these issues were available on the internet when I was going to look at the car.  Those pictures were handy because you could see what the car looked like before the previous dealer in Bee Spring, KY acquired the car and corrected them.  Nevertheless, I was still interested because the car was here in Texas and was red but I was advised to connect with a Boss 429 expert and I was glad that I did.

I spoke with a recognized expert, who we all know, and he said the car had a lot of "issues" but I really don't remember what they were but he rattled them off to me.  He thought if I was not looking for a totally correct car it was ok but the cost to fix the things he noticed could be in serious money.  I do think that the engine compartment detail was all done with the engine in place from some close up pictures that I asked the dealer to make. I passed on that car and bought a twin from Legendary Motors in Canada and was glad that I did.  The car I bought was reviewed, remotely, by the same expert and his opinion of the car I bought was much more favorable. 

My purchase was a bit easier because the car I bought had been judged at SAAC, MCA and AACA and won Gold or First in the outings.  That, at least, gave me some confidence that it was not a pig.  My car had been owned by a guy named Tom Hernquist who had other Boss Cars and had a good eye for right and wrong. The same expert that was consulting with me had previously seen the car so that gave me a little more confidence.  In terms of money I am not shy to say what I paid since I was either an idiot or a smart buyer.  I paid $207,500 for mine (there were no auction fees) and I closed in December of 2020.  So, if I had to guess, this car on BAT should be worth less and my opinion was the $190,000 that the current Seller paid was probably the right money.

I would post this stuff on BAT but they kicked me off when a seller did not like my opinion.  After kicking me off they invited me back after a week and I told them that the cancel culture stuff did not work for me.  That is my .02 for anyone looking at this car.

Eric, THANK YOU so much for your candor on this subject. Anyone serious in buying a car like that should consul an expert like the one you did. MY question I did not want to ask on BaT was the firewall color. Was the car built too late to have a red upper cowl? Gary

I think so but I would defer to Ed Meyer as I really believe he knows his stuff on these cars.

[Special Ed]

Yes that mid may built car would be blackout cowl area as that started in the spring of 69 when the 69 boss 302s (that had blackout hood and cowl panel) painted is when the blackout cowl to windshield started showing up to hide body color when looking down thru the gap between rear hood and cowl panel area when hood closed is what i think .  I never seen an export brace painted batch paint like that  boss has!

[shelbymann1970]

SOLD 202K+ 5K BP.

[eric lipper]

I was surprised that it stopped there but given that I paid $207,500 for mine I guess they hit it the number on the head.  I do think that my car is superior to the BAT car but that is purely a guess because I have not seen the BAT car in person.  I look forward to meeting whomever bought the car.

[shelbymann1970]

I was surprised that it stopped there but given that I paid $207,500 for mine I guess they hit it the number on the head.  I do think that my car is superior to the BAT car but that is purely a guess because I have not seen the BAT car in person.  I look forward to meeting whomever bought the car.

Eric, you need to update your car list on your profile now. 

[eric lipper]

I was surprised that it stopped there but given that I paid $207,500 for mine I guess they hit it the number on the head.  I do think that my car is superior to the BAT car but that is purely a guess because I have not seen the BAT car in person.  I look forward to meeting whomever bought the car.

Eric, you need to update your car list on your profile now. 

You are correct.  As we say in the air "wilco".

[BGlover67]

Eric, it seems like you made the right decision.   

[shelbymann1970]

It seems like BaT bidders have a lot of disposable income  as a 69 Mustang vert that was a nice solid 302 driver just sold for 47K. It is a great venue for #2-4 cars.