The Mustang Forum for Track & Racing Enthusiasts

Taking your Mustang to an open track/HPDE event for the first time? Do you race competitively? This forum is for you! Log in to remove most ads.

  • Welcome to the Ford Mustang forum built for owners of the Mustang GT350, BOSS 302, GT500, and all other S550, S197, SN95, Fox Body and older Mustangs set up for open track days, road racing, and/or autocross. Join our forum, interact with others, share your build, and help us strengthen this community!

What did you do to your Boss 302 or S197 today?

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

302 Hi Pro

Boss 302 - Racing Legend to Modern Muscle Car
2,009
441
Southeast
TMSBoss: Was this all for preventative maintenance, or did something break or wear out? If it was for PM, what is the mileage on your U Code engine?
 

TMSBOSS

Spending my pension on car parts and track fees.
7,529
5,245
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
10-20 Years
Illinois
PM along with one screw up. The springs, pump, balancer and gear were all PM. I misaligned the plunger from the actuator on the drivers side intake cam and bent the plunder on the cam phaser. I replaced both only to find out the actuator i received was the undated version which will Not plug in to the wiring harness on my 2012. So I replaced all four actuators and the wiring harness. I have not had issues with either although many did. Thought it was best to upgrade since I already broke a few parts.
Can't fire the mechanic, he is also the driver. 🤭
The cam timing chain set up is straight forward. Follow the book and double check everything. What could go wrong?? See above. LOL.

14K miles
 
Last edited:

302 Hi Pro

Boss 302 - Racing Legend to Modern Muscle Car
2,009
441
Southeast
the actuator i received was the undated version which will Not plug in to the wiring harness on my 2012. So I replaced all four actuators and the wiring harness.

I do remember the cam phaser wiring harness production changes FoMoCo made late in 2011 for the end of run 2012 Boss 302’s. Early production units had a small connector & the improved version had a larger wiring harness plug for the cam phaser.

As a historical 2012 Boss 302 production note, my unit, (#2800) built the 3rd week of October 2011 did have the revised larger cam phaser plugs.

Have to credit Ford Racings continued involvement in the 2012 Boss 302 production run to to incorporate these improvements.
 

TMSBOSS

Spending my pension on car parts and track fees.
7,529
5,245
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
10-20 Years
Illinois
I do remember the cam phaser wiring harness production changes FoMoCo made late in 2011 for the end of run 2012 Boss 302’s. Early production units had a small connector & the improved version had a larger wiring harness plug for the cam phaser.
Mine is early, 458, I took delivery in May of 2011. I have/had the early style harness and connectors. The swap was not bad too do. I should have taken a few more pictures of where the connectors went. Could have saved some time searching.
 
Last edited:

carver

breaker of wrenches
445
598
ontario
Looks like a day 1 showroom shine, nice job.

Question: Is that a set of Boss 302 antlers I see hanging on the wall?


Haha , yup part of the weight loss program. :)
Thanks , It does buff up pretty nice but I'm the 3rd owner and it has 65,000 miles on it, so it's far from perfect. It came with some small hail dents on the roof and a few paint chips here and there. I bought it to drive it and track it so the details are what they are and I can live with that.
 

xr7

TMO Addict?
706
821
Exp. Type
Autocross
Exp. Level
10-20 Years
Minnesota
Got 7 autocross runs in today, fairly consistent 70.5-72.0 seconds, only two cones cut down in there prime. Need more grip and wider tires. Falken 295-40/18's on apex 18x11. Those pesky S550's are fast and them little foxes are no slouch's either. Burned some rubber, threw the Boss around a bit and we had wonderful weather.
 

xr7

TMO Addict?
706
821
Exp. Type
Autocross
Exp. Level
10-20 Years
Minnesota
Ran autocross Sat. 105 degree heat index, brutal for use northerners. Boss was sliding around a bit and brakes got a little spongy. We were pretty much running hot laps for awhile as the field was slim. Headed home, pull tires, bleed brakes and rotate tires. Back at is Sunday, about 20 degrees cooler and a nice stiff breeze. Killed a few cones, especially the one that decide to get stuck between the right front wheel and the control arm. Was thinking I should bring it home and mount it on the wall in the garage. Running within 4-5 seconds of the really fast guys. Will find out tomorrow how I did compared to all the others.
 

Bill Pemberton

0ld Ford Automotive Racing Terror
8,424
8,349
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
20+ Years
Blair, Nebraska
You can definitely get some wider beasts on there and one of the key tires for the 18x11 is the BFG Rival S 1.5s . A 315/30/18 fits just fine and those should take off a couple of seconds. There is another quick tire with the A052 Yokes , but friends using them are seeing very fast wear . I am 60 miles from the Solo Nationals site in Lincoln, Ne. and there are often serious contenders from out of State who come to test prior to the Nationals , so we get real time data on current rubber. The BFGs have been the key rubber for CAM C.

Glad to see some folks out having fun with all the Covid concerns. Thanks for posting.
 

xr7

TMO Addict?
706
821
Exp. Type
Autocross
Exp. Level
10-20 Years
Minnesota
We have a good local group of people here for autocross, we are keeping our distance and wearing our masks, doing what needs to be done so we can have some fun. I see a set of Bridgestones or Rivals in my future, maybe another set of wheels? Also maybe some areo help though I am not sure if there is much benefit at autocross speeds. You know how this goes, I have been looking at bigger brakes, tossing around what brake ducting to install, have a set of 4" and a OEM set of 3" in the garage but now I see Vorshlag has released a deflector set for getting air to the front brakes. As a mechanic and a fabricator I get a lot of enjoyment out of modifying my toys.
 

racer47

Still winning after 30+ years
392
497
Exp. Type
W2W Racing
Exp. Level
20+ Years
SE WI
We have a good local group of people here for autocross, we are keeping our distance and wearing our masks....

Where in MN are you running? Is there a club or website that I could look up? I have friends there and would like to play car games in addition to normal visiting. Thanks.
 

xr7

TMO Addict?
706
821
Exp. Type
Autocross
Exp. Level
10-20 Years
Minnesota
Where in MN are you running? Is there a club or website that I could look up? I have friends there and would like to play car games in addition to normal visiting. Thanks.
I live in Burnsville, south of Minneapolis, Minnesota Autosports club is one organization for autocrossing. The Corvette Club does two events a year. Austin Healey club usually does two events a year (none this year) also. Main places for events is Dakota County Technical College, east of Rosemount, MN. If you use Google Maps and flip on satellite view you will see their track on the southeast corner of the site. The pavement isn't the best but it can be challenging because of elevation changes and you don't want to run off course, run off area is grass and some areas because of elevation changes is kind of like running into a ditch. Lots of variations used when setting up the course, they switch up directions, use different slaloms, bus stops and chicanes. Always a wide variety of vehicles and talent.
I see you are from Wisconsin, I have some favorite drivers from there, I used to go to the local race tracks and enjoyed when Dick Trickle, Refner and others came over and kicked butt. Looks like no racing at Elko this year.
 

TMO Supporting Vendors

Top