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S197 Alaskan Boss 302 Build Thread Profile - S197 Mustangs

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6
25
Exp. Type
Autocross
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Anchorage, Alaska
So I've been lurking here for some time, and finally decided to get around to making an account and creating a thread for my car. Some background, I've been racing Honda's for about 12 years now, the last six of which have been in an Integra Type R that was modified quite heavily. It had a K20Z3 from an 09 Civic Si, Ohlins DFV coilovers, Spoon calipers and a whole host of other suspension and interior mods. I'm a big fan of the whole OEM+ idea that evolved from the VW crowd and intend to do the same with the Boss 302.

I've wanted to do a CAM build for a long time now, and really wanted to build a 65-66 Fastback with Maier Racings catalog on it but the sheer cost of restoration and "old car hell" as we call it was not something I wanted to endure. Last year I found this 2013 Boss 302 on Facebook Marketplace, only 23,000 miles on the odometer and the guy who owned it really had no idea what was done to the car. A friend of mine had installed Whitelines entire catalog on the car, including their watts link, for a previous owner who had since passed away. The car was already well on it's way to go racing and the Boss ticks a lot of boxes between old school and new for me and I felt it was worthy successor to the "best handling FWD car of all time" ITR.

Our racing season is pretty short here, generally Autocross starts in early May and ends in mid to late September. We do two big race events in a sleepy little village called Tanacross, Alaska, no relation to the autocross nomenclature here, it's literally a coincidence. We use cones to set up a road course on an old auxiliary air base built in WW2, and we've been racing here since the late 50's! Non-caged cars get to do time trials, no passing allowed and generally only 5-6 cars on course at any given time, and for the handful of caged cars they get to do all the fun W2W stuff.

I've got a whole host of upgrades and changes planned for the remaining winter, to include a lightly used Stage 1 Calimer MT82 that I'll be picking up next week, FP front LCA, FP GT500 mufflers, Girodisc front rotors, GT500 rear brakes, and replacing some interior and exterior pieces back to OEM that had carbon fiber pieces put in their place. I can't wait to showcase the build process here with you guys, and share the awesome motor sports community we have here in Alaska with you!
 

Bill Pemberton

0ld Ford Automotive Racing Terror
8,426
8,356
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
20+ Years
Blair, Nebraska
I am sure Dave_W will chime in as he has a twin to your SBY Beast and he runs a very Competitive CAMC in New England. DaveW will also be another fast pylon pilot running CAMC or CP with his Black S197 , and both can give you some winning tips as they are both swift Stang Slalomers! Great to have you on the site and I know everyone will be interested to see what racing is like in America's biggest State!
 
Beautiful Boss! Welcome to the site. Is that Pioneer in the background of your title pic?

Enjoy your new ride!!!!.....Is Alaska bigger than Texas????..........................................................

You bet your ass it is BOB! Bigger than TX and the next two biggest states combined! California and Montana I believe.

Been a few years since I left but still have a dose of AK pride. And we LOVE pointing out how AK is bigger than TX.
 

Bill Pemberton

0ld Ford Automotive Racing Terror
8,426
8,356
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
20+ Years
Blair, Nebraska
Oh, Bobby , silly question, but then since the abbreviation for Nebraska is NE. and you would not believe how many folks ask me where in New England I live, ha.
You could fit France, Germany, Italy and Great Britain in Alaska and still have more room!
 

Bill Pemberton

0ld Ford Automotive Racing Terror
8,426
8,356
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
20+ Years
Blair, Nebraska
I am doing fine my Connecticut Yankee friend, and I hope things are going well for you, though there is a nasty storm coming towards you and other folks on the East Coast -- stay safe and inside!
 
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Bill, I ordered a battery powered snow blower yesterday...it won't get here in tyme for tomorrow's blizzard.....but it's a new toy to play with for future events......the snow shovels will have to do for now................where the heck are they?????????????????
 
6
25
Exp. Type
Autocross
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Anchorage, Alaska
Beautiful Boss! Welcome to the site. Is that Pioneer in the background of your title pic?



You bet your ass it is BOB! Bigger than TX and the next two biggest states combined! California and Montana I believe.

Been a few years since I left but still have a dose of AK pride. And we LOVE pointing out how AK is bigger than TX.
Sure is, took that pic after one of the last autocross events. You can see our local drag strip in the background and to the left of the pic is our 1/3 mile paved oval. I must say we have the most photogenic race tracks in the world!
 
6
25
Exp. Type
Autocross
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Anchorage, Alaska
For reference, this is the old air base we use to do the larger racing events here in Alaska. Last year for the Memorial Day event we had a good 4-5" of snow through the pass! We drive a good ~350 miles from Anchorage to Tanacross on some very narrow, sketchy highways sharing the roads with truckers and tourists that almost certainly don't belong behind the wheel of an RV. If you zoom in you can actually see the rubber from the lay out we used that year laid into the asphalt.

Back in the old days when the event was larger and had 20+ W2W cars they ran the entire triangle, but now with smaller events we just use the main runway and adjoining taxi ways. The motorcycle club up here still does the whole triangle, and with how rough the pavement is those guys have balls of steel!


 
1
0
Exp. Level
3-5 Years
GA
Hey there, new guy here.

Figured I'd reach out given your experience going from a lengthy Honda background to a Boss 302. I've been lurking around this site for a while now trying to absorb as much info as possible because I'm in a very similar situation to yours - currently driving a '10 Civic Si that's been modified to a similar OEM+ formula (although not as hardcore as your R was) but the Boss has really caught my eye while also considering the S550 as my next car. I could use your opinions or insight on the ownership experience. As you guys can probably attest, there just seems to be something both raw and tactile about the Boss while also being modern in many ways - things that have also brought a lot of joy to me when driving the Si, and I generally prize that experience over raw speed.

Has the Boss been a pretty good experience for you overall, and was a weird or natural jump going from the R? I'm going back and forth on whether the live axle is a fun new element to master or a liability (even though I'm a fairly cautious driver) for someone new to the platform. Either way, I admire the car a lot and understand why they're so prized given the attention Ford put into the development of it.

Sorry for all the questions, it just seems rare to see many Boss owners coming from a low-torque FWD background like I would be!

- Scott
 
1
2
Exp. Type
Drag Strip
Exp. Level
Under 3 Years
Alaska
Hello. I just joined the track mustangs site and saw your post. I'm in Wasilla and come this April I should have a white '13 Boss. I wasn't aware of any autocross stuff happening is Alaska so am excited to come see it (and to drive the car up there:) Any info you can share would be greatly appreciated! I tried to start a private conversation but don't have the permissions to do so yet...

Thanks.
Ed
 

Bill Pemberton

0ld Ford Automotive Racing Terror
8,426
8,356
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
20+ Years
Blair, Nebraska
Welcome Peaceman and if you need to know anything about the hot tickets on tires to run through the cones , there are plenty of autocrossers on here. I live about 60 miles from the Nationals site and you can get a quick observation on what is really working when your kill cones on that site.
 
6
25
Exp. Type
Autocross
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Anchorage, Alaska
Hello. I just joined the track mustangs site and saw your post. I'm in Wasilla and come this April I should have a white '13 Boss. I wasn't aware of any autocross stuff happening is Alaska so am excited to come see it (and to drive the car up there:) Any info you can share would be greatly appreciated! I tried to start a private conversation but don't have the permissions to do so yet...

Thanks.
Ed
Welcome to the Arctic Region!

So as of this year, Porsche Club is no longer hosting Autocross events. The core group of people who ran the events are getting up there in age and are wanting to enjoy their retirement, unfortunately there aren't many Porsche owners to back fill them and keep them going.

However, the SCCA is still very much active with a fairly large group of regular racers. You can find their events on motorsports reg, in the SCCA Arctic region. The autocross community up here is super tight nit, extremely welcoming to new comers, and has to be some of the most competitive groups of people I've met. Our Expert and Open classes regularly have the top three finishing within tenths or hundredths of each other.

There is also the ASCC, or the Alaska Sports Car Club. They do ice racing out at Big Lake in the winter, and hold a bi-annual event on Memorial and Labor day weekends at an old WW2 air base called Tanacross. Alaskans have been racing at Tanacross since the 60s, and it's the only place in the state where you can do high speed, HPDE style racing as well as wheel to wheel racing if you have a proper caged race car. These guys also hold events at the Alaska Raceway Park that are like Autocross on steriods. They start in the oval, move to the parking lot, then end with a 1/8th mile drag to finish. It's super fun and a lot higher speed your typical parking lot autocross.

Unfortunately as of September '23 I've now moved to Southern Washington with plans to ship my Boss in the coming months. There are a few Boss owners in Alaska, one of them regularly autocrosses his '13 LS. If you need some recommendations on good driving roads I have a good list, but in Alaska any road trip turns into something special if you take the time to stop and look around.
 

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