Is the Boss 302S a blivet?

[dabossinnne]

It would be very hard to duplicate what Ford has done with the S for the price. The driveline, cooling, brakes, suspension and aero on parts alone will consume almost $40k in parts alone if you decide to upgrade your Boss. This doesn't include the full caged chassis that Ford has dipped and painted, and all the safety gear that is included. If you want to go racing, go buy and S (IMO). If you want to convert your Boss to a street legal S, you will end up spending more than the purchase price of a new S.

+1, Bill.

IMO, for what it is and what you get, a BOSS 302S is a heckuva bargain. It's a full-on factory "turnkey" race car. No matter how close you might get in attempting to replicate one yourself, you could never duplicate it 100% because you can't build a "factory" race car on your own. That in itself is what makes a 302S (or 302R) worth the cost. That's not to say you couldn't build a faster race car from a street BOSS 302 as a starting point; with enough money almost anything's possible.

In terms of cost, someone who can afford to drop that kind of money on a BOSS 302S to use as a track toy, or to actually go racing with, probably won't worry too much about the financial aspect of the purchase or what it's value might be over time (unless you're buying one to speculate on and eventually flip for a profit, which involves a different calculus).

Geez, I think I talked myself into one. After I win the Powerball lottery...

 

[REAL 1]

I didn't say replicate it. I was referring to upgrading the performance of a standard Boss for track use in DEs as opposed to full race duty.

With $5000 to $8000 in performance mods to a standard Boss I think you can put yourself right along side if not ahead of an S on track day. You still won't have an S but he won't have a car he can drive into town with either and you've got the wider resale market too.

 

[Berol]

With $5000 to $8000 in performance mods to a standard Boss I think you can put yourself right along side if not ahead of an S on track day. You still won't have an S but he won't have a car he can drive into town with either and you've got the wider resale market too.

Not trying to be argumentative, but you'd need $5k for just the suspension. The brakes would run you another $8k. And that doesn't include any weight savings, or safety equipment. I probably have $5k tied up in safety equipment alone...

 

[REAL 1]

I understand what you are saying. My point is that for $5,000 to $8,000 in mods I think you can get a standard Boss up to Boss S performance and speed for track events. While coilovers offer more adjustability a good set of adjustable Koni struts and H&R race springs will put you in the hunt.

Add Forgeline 18x11 wheels with 295 or 305 rubber, camberplates, tune, TB, CAI, Kooks headers, aluminum drive shaft, brake cooling, better pads, rear set delete, performance clutch and aluminum flywheel, Racaro race seats and Watson roll bar with side impact protection and harnesses.

While still not a full on race car like the S I think a Boss modified as above will certainly be right there with the S on track day. You have shed about 100 lbs in addition to losing a lot of rotational mass, picked up massive grip, hp and torque and improved braking and improved safety

That should do it for track days anyway.