Happy Friday Web Riders, Big_Blocker (a day late) here with this week’s installment of Muscle Car of the Week and this week we have another small block screamer for all those Trans Am fans out there. That’s right, Ford had an answer for the high winding small blocks from Chevrolet and Chrysler and it came in the form of one badass looking Stang. Hit the jump to read more.

If I were to tell you that Chevrolet had a hand in the development of the Boss 302 many people would not believe me, but if you look at the people responsible for its development, the Chevrolet name floats around them. Back in the mid-1960’s a man named Semon “Bunkie” Knudsen worked for GM and was partially responsible for brining Pontiac back into the performance market with the GTO. After he was done with Pontiac, Knudsen moved on to another GM subdivision, Chevrolet, to help them develop the Camaro Z/28 for Trans Am racing with the artistic styling of Larry Shinoda. In 1968 however, “Bunkie” Knudsen was pulled over to the Ford offices and became the President of the Ford Motor Company.

Seeing as the boys over at Chevrolet were beating up Mustangs on the road courses, “Bunkie”, Shinoda and the Ford engineers sought to create a Trans Am qualifier that would even the score between Ford and Chevrolet. What came through the design pipe was an aggressive looking Mustang with a blacked-out front air dam, hood, and side stripes. Also optional were rear window louvers that helped aerodynamics but did not hinder visibility. The name “Boss” came from Shinoda who frequently referred to Knudsen as such and was a big hit with 302 buyers.

This menacing package wouldn’t have been anything special if it hadn’t been for the powerplant and Ford designed a solid one at that. By taking the larger diameter and better flowing heads from the 351 V8 and bolting them onto a Ford small block, the Trans Am-ready 302 was born. In order to make extra power the boys in the engine department took a 780 cfm (cubic feet [of air] per minute) 4-barrel Holley carburetor and bolted it to the intake manifold. All those mods made for an underrated 290 horsepower rating and a rev limit of 6000 rpm, perfect for navigating a road course. Standard gearing came from a 4-speed manual transmission that sent power to either 3.50, 3.91 or 4.30 gears in the rear.

Total Boss 302 production for 1969 was small, only 1,600 were produced, but for 1970 over 7,000 left the factory for some serious street use. It turned out that “Bunkie” did good on his intentions as Ford took the Trans Am crown from Chevrolet for the 1970 season. Hope you enjoyed a Trans Am racer that not only looks legit but backs it up with serious street performance. Big_Blocker out.