Rare, highly optioned and 1 of 7 made
All Boss 351s made in 1971 are quite unique Mustangs since they were
limited production, truly high-performance editions of the 1971
Mustang. It is common knowledge that Boss 351s are a rare breed with
only 1,806 production units made.
My Boss 351 is quite a bit more unique than most Boss 351s.
According to Kevin Marti of Marti Autoworks, it is actually 1 of 7
Mustang Sportsroofs made in 1971 with the following options (note:
this statistic includes regular Sportsroof and Mach 1 Mustangs):
1) Power windows
2) Tilt steering wheel
3) Rim blow deluxe steering wheel
4) AM/FM stereo
5) Console
6) Fold-Down Rear Seat
7) Mach 1 Interior
8) Interior Convenience Group
9) Deluxe Seat Belts and Warning Light
10) Tinted Glass
11) Rear-Window Electric Defroster
12) Power Steering
13) Rear Spoiler
14) Magnum 500 wheels
15) “No Charge” Special Paint (Believed to be Gold Glamour in lieu
of Gold Metallic, which was the other “Special Paint” Color)
This may be the ONLY Boss 351 so equipped and it is probably the
highest optioned Boss 351 ever manufactured by Ford. An interesting
fact is that the highest optioned Boss 351 listed on the Boss 351
Registry website has only 14 options. My car is both a luxury and
high performance machine. I plan to register it with the Boss 351
Registry and hope that they can confirm it is the highest optioned
Boss 351 known to exist. It appears to have every option conceivable
with the exception of intermittent windshield wipers.
Here are the statistics on my Boss 351 as reported by Marti Autoworks:
· 1 of 7 Mustang Sportsroofs made in 1971 with the options
listed above and “special paint” code
· 1 of 79 Mustang Sportsroofs made in 1971 with the “special
paint” code
· 1 of 220 Mustang Sportsroofs made in 1971 with power windows
· 1 of 542 Mustang Sportsroofs made in 1971 from DSO 33
· 1 of 1,806 Boss 351 Mustang Sportsroofs made in 1971
From Kevin Marti’s research, this Boss 351 was special ordered as
a “marketing vehicle,” which explains why the car was equipped with
almost every option and “special paint.” My Lois Eminger factory
invoice (which is two pages long) shows it was literally "driven
away" at 3:08 pm on 21 Dec 1970 from the Dearborn Assembly Plant
after being filled with 7 gallons of gas (which cost only $2.33!!!).
The car was produced for the Detroit Ordering District (DSO) 33 under
special order number 6306. It was “sold to” the Ford Marketing
Corporation Detroit District Sales Office for $3,592.09. The factory
sticker price was $5,198.00 (what a discount the District Sales
Office received!). This DSO and special order number 336306 is
listed on: the driver’s door tag; the Lois Eminger factory invoice;
Marti Autoworks Certification; as well as on the Build Sheet that was
found between the seat-foam cushion and springs in the front
passenger seat.
Upon the “drive away” from the Dearborn Plant, my Boss 351 was driven
to North Brothers Ford in Westland, MI according to the “ship to”
address on my invoice. Perhaps it served there as an executive car
for James E. North who owned the dealership at the time. Today, as
it was then, North Brothers is one of the largest Ford dealerships in
the Detroit Area. I have emailed North Brothers Ford in hopes that
an “old timer” there may remember the car.
I have been trying to close the loop in two areas related to this
car:
· determining this car’s history from the time it left the
Dearborn Plant until it reached the hands of the first private owner,
and;
· verifying that Gold Glamour is the original color.
None of my paperwork/factory documentation mentions anything more
than “special paint” and the driver’s door tag is blank under the
paint code, which indicates a “special paint” code, so it has been
practically impossible to verify which color the car should be. It
is a 50/50 chance of being Gold Glamour or Gold Metallic.
I am hoping someone may be able to interpret my original buildsheet
to determine the paint color but have not found an expert who can
help me with that. I've talked to the last two owners and the
gentleman that restored the car in the ‘80s determined the original
color by removing a paint chip from the unrestored original door by
lifting up the door tag and removing the paint sample. So the car
was painted the original color but the name of the paint color is
still unknown.
I have emailed PPG and supplied them with my VIN and PTO # 33 6306
from my original invoice. This is the way the 1971 PPG color code
chart indicates that the paint color would have been determined in
1971. It is a long shot attempt to verify what I suspect is the
color…..Gold Glamour since the paint is definitely not metallic.
One last note on my quest to determine the paint color….I have
purchased several Ford Dealer Brochures from 1971 and not one, not
even the 1971 Mustang Sales Brochure mentions paint choices or shows
paint colors available for the Mustang.
I have just located who I believe is the original owner in
Manchester, NH based on a name provided by the second owner who
restored the car. My Boss 351 seems to have been transferred from
being owned by the Detroit District Sales Office tied to North
Brothers Ford and was seemingly sold to Genest Ford in Manchester,
NH. Genest Ford is no longer in business. I am hoping that this is
indeed the first private owner and that he may be able to solve my
dilemma.
If you should be able to help me solve my mystery regarding
the “special paint,” please email me at oldgoat68@yahoo.com. If you
have a 1971 Mustang in either of the two “special paint” colors
(either Gold Glamour or Gold Metallic) please email me a picture or
two. Additionally, if you know how to interpret the information on a
Ford Buildsheet, feel free to contact me and I will share a copy of
my buildsheet with you.