Quote from: rmk57 on 2025-04-25 19:28That Grabber blue Boss 429 was always parked near the bottom of Richards or Homer St. I believe the owner was the bar manager of one of those seedy bars down in that area, Cobalt maybe? I had left him a few "do you want to sell" messages on his windshield but never heard back. Moving ahead to 1978 my Boss was in at John Halls Car Craft in North Van who was owned by Dave Dunbar for o-ring replacement and low and behold the blue one was in there at the same time for the same issue. Dave was such a remarkable guy with stories from the old Trans-Am days when they raced the Boss 302. Last I heard, and this 30+ years ago Ray Burkenbose? bought the car and restored it. He is a  Mopar guy but had an attachment for the Hemi Ford.

Randy, yes that 70 Boss 429 was always parked in Downtown Vancouver, but I was under the impression that the owner was a construction worker who lived in one of those seedy apartments. There were 2 70 Grabber Blue Boss 429 Mustangs in the Lower Mainland in the late 70s, and both came out from Ontario. Dave Craig had the Grabber Blue with a white interior Boss 429, and Dave bought the car in Ottawa Ontario around 1973, and brought it to BC in the mid 70s. The other Grabber Blue Boss 429 had a black interior, and when Ray Berkonbos bought the car, the story Ray told me, was that the owner had parked the car, because the engine was knocking, and he ignored numerous offers to buy it. But it was being stolen , from the underground parking lot it was stored at, and the rear tires were skidding and hoping, because it still had the reverse/ ignition  lock still intact, so the cops pulled the tow truck over, and the owner got the car back, but now he was paranoid that his car could get stolen again, and I guess Ray had left a phone number, so the owner called him, and Ray bought the Mustang. When he got the Boss 429 home, he called me up to check it out, and there was a big stack of repair receipts, including a couple from John Halls Car Craft, for leaking O Rings in the heads. When Ray took the engine apart, it had a couple of broken pistons, but being like most Boss 429s, the car had low miles, so Ray bought 2 NOS pistons from Denny Aldridge in Oregon, and the rest of the engine was put back together, as is. Ray did the bodywork and paint, drove it a bit , but for whatever reason,the engine still had a steady oil leak, even after replacing the O Rings a couple of times, so Ray ended up selling the car to Glen May, where it sits in his personal Ford collection in his farm in Richmond BC. The other Grabber Blue 70 Boss 429 changed hands at least a couple of times after Dave Craig sold it (Dave worked as a mechanic at a Gulf Gas station on Marine Drive , near the Blue Boy Hotel), and John Messina restored it, and he still owned it when I moved away almost 5 years ago.Kinda odd, considering Ford only made 499 70 Boss 429 Mustangs, and I was aware of 5 or 6 of them were in the Greater Vancouver area (including yours), back in the late 70s. A guy named Tony Van, owned Arctic Meats on Commercial Drive in Vancouver, and his Boss 429 was originally Pastel Blue, but was painted yellow with some graphics, and had a tunnel ram sticking out of the hood, and a Lenco "Quick Change" 9" rearend, and the car was worked on by a Ford Super Stock drag racer when I had a 390 being built for my 66 Fairlane GTA drag car in the mid 70s. Another shop, California Speed Center on Edmonds Street in Burnaby, worked on another yellow 70 Boss 429, with a tunnel ran, which is the same car that was owned by Mark Jantzen from Maple Ridge.

Quote from: 59meteor on 2025-04-25 22:38Randy, yes that 70 Boss 429 was always parked in Downtown Vancouver, but I was under the impression that the owner was a construction worker who lived in one of those seedy apartments. There were 2 70 Grabber Blue Boss 429 Mustangs in the Lower Mainland in the late 70s, and both came out from Ontario. Dave Craig had the Grabber Blue with a white interior Boss 429, and Dave bought the car in Ottawa Ontario around 1973, and brought it to BC in the mid 70s. The other Grabber Blue Boss 429 had a black interior, and when Ray Berkonbos bought the car, the story Ray told me, was that the owner had parked the car, because the engine was knocking, and he ignored numerous offers to buy it. But it was being stolen , from the underground parking lot it was stored at, and the rear tires were skidding and hoping, because it still had the reverse/ ignition  lock still intact, so the cops pulled the tow truck over, and the owner got the car back, but now he was paranoid that his car could get stolen again, and I guess Ray had left a phone number, so the owner called him, and Ray bought the Mustang. When he got the Boss 429 home, he called me up to check it out, and there was a big stack of repair receipts, including a couple from John Halls Car Craft, for leaking O Rings in the heads. When Ray took the engine apart, it had a couple of broken pistons, but being like most Boss 429s, the car had low miles, so Ray bought 2 NOS pistons from Denny Aldridge in Oregon, and the rest of the engine was put back together, as is. Ray did the bodywork and paint, drove it a bit , but for whatever reason,the engine still had a steady oil leak, even after replacing the O Rings a couple of times, so Ray ended up selling the car to Glen May, where it sits in his personal Ford collection in his farm in Richmond BC. The other Grabber Blue 70 Boss 429 changed hands at least a couple of times after Dave Craig sold it (Dave worked as a mechanic at a Gulf Gas station on Marine Drive , near the Blue Boy Hotel), and John Messina restored it, and he still owned it when I moved away almost 5 years ago.Kinda odd, considering Ford only made 499 70 Boss 429 Mustangs, and I was aware of 5 or 6 of them were in the Greater Vancouver area (including yours), back in the late 70s. A guy named Tony Van, owned Arctic Meats on Commercial Drive in Vancouver, and his Boss 429 was originally Pastel Blue, but was painted yellow with some graphics, and had a tunnel ram sticking out of the hood, and a Lenco "Quick Change" 9" rearend, and the car was worked on by a Ford Super Stock drag racer when I had a 390 being built for my 66 Fairlane GTA drag car in the mid 70s. Another shop, California Speed Center on Edmonds Street in Burnaby, worked on another yellow 70 Boss 429, with a tunnel ran, which is the same car that was owned by Mark Jantzen from Maple Ridge.

  Rory, not sure if you remember Gladstone motors on Kingsway, high performance car dealer back in the day . There was a multi- coloured and I think it had a tunnel ram on it. Must be the one you're talking about. That car now is restored and is also Grabber blue that resides in a car museum here in Summerland. Is that Glen May from the Cranberry Connection pro mod Ranger? 

https://changingvancouver.wordpress.com/2025/03/18/509-richards-street/

Here is the article where I found the picture.
There were six Boss 429's in BC, and it was based on how many Cobra Jets were sold the year before.  Campbell River, Prince George and four in the lower mainland. 
Mark Janzen's was the one from M.S.A. Motors, Arild Thu restored it and was sold at Barrett Jackson a few years ago.    Messina still owned his last fall when I was talking with him.
Terry
 

 Back in the 80's I looked at a Calypso Coral Boss 429 with a buddy of mine. I believe a fireman owned it. Had quite a bit of the engine parts in the trunk, dents on the roof, but overall a pretty nice car to restore. Also at a car show around the same time frame I spoke with another owner of a Calypso Coral Boss 429. Guy had long blond hair. Half decent car, much like mine, just a driver. Here are the both of them at a Mustang show from around 10 years ago. Both beautifully restored.

The Boss 429 nearest you was the M.S.A. Motors car and had black interior.  Mark Janzen was a Delta firefighter who owned it before Arild.  He also had a 67 Fastback that made the cover of Hot Rod magazine as well he owned one of Bob Glidden's Pinto pro stock cars (but ran a SBC). The other car had white interior.
I met a long hair guy at a couple car shows and I think he was from Mission and worked in the music industry, could of been him.
Terry

nice !!! This one is 'just' a 351, and a local car. Have been seeing it for years at cruises, again this last weekend, but never been able to talk to the owner. love it !

Quote from: FiveSevenLiter on 2025-04-28 11:36The Boss 429 nearest you was the M.S.A. Motors car and had black interior.  Mark Janzen was a Delta firefighter who owned it before Arild.  He also had a 67 Fastback that made the cover of Hot Rod magazine as well he owned one of Bob Glidden's Pinto pro stock cars (but ran a SBC). The other car had white interior.
I met a long hair guy at a couple car shows and I think he was from Mission and worked in the music industry, could of been him.
Terry

There was a guy that I knew a little bit, that had a few Boss 302s, and possibly, a 70 Boss 429 from the Fraser Valley area, that was involved in the local BC music business, his name was Tom Betts. Maybe it was his Boss? There was also another guy from Mission or Maple Ridge that had a Grabber Green 70 Boss 429, I think his last name was Wosolic, or something like that. Prior to the Mustang, he owned a really nice redish 33/34 Ford coupe with a SB Ford engine. I seem to recall that he had to sell the Boss during a divorce.

It's 4/29/2025....

Happy 429 Day!

Beautifully done! Thanks again, Joe, for all the stuff you post for us.

Quote from: CobraJoe on 2025-04-29 07:20It's 4/29/2025....

Happy 429 Day!

  The big brute deserves a bump...

Thanks Rich, very much appreciated!

I LOVE THESE THINGS....

my friend has a 67 in og paint. metallic greenish or golden-ish. Goodyear Wide Oval tires. super nice driver !

Cool;, it must be worth some serious money over there as they are becoming unrealistic around here. You can expect to pay $25-30K for junk, and if it's an XR7, even more, if its an Big Block, forget about it.