The Story of KK2159 Mustang BOSS 429

I have never understood the value car collectors put on low mileage, limited production cars that were purpose built for competitions. Imagine what a Zero mile 1963 Galaxie 427 Thunder Bolt Light Weight would sell for. It has done nothing to deserve notoriety, won no drag races, achieved no fame or glory yet it sells for astronomical buckets of cash. I prefer cars with history. Whatever that history may be. It gives a car personality, interest and respect. 

KK2159 is a Grabber Blue 1970 Boss 429. It was built September 1969, delivered to Sepulveda California and sold October 21, 1969 for FORD’s sole purpose of homologating the Boss 429 engine into 500 vehicles so that FORD could put them into NASCAR competition to race against the Dodge Daytona 426 Hemi’s and Plymouth Super Birds that had been dominating the NASCAR circuits in the late 60’s. It worked. In 1969 the Boss 429 engine was put in a FORD Cyclone and won 17 NASCAR races with drivers Cale Yarbrough, Richard Petty, Donnie Allison, Leeroy Yarbrough and David Pearson topping the list. The Mustangs went Drag racing. 

All Mustang Boss 429 entries were privateers or dealerships in NHRA B Stock or Super Stock. If you had had any major deliveries from Holman Moody you were definitely in Super Stock. KK2159 was sold to a soldier. He ran it at the San Fernando drag strip a couple of times at the end of 1969. He then took it to the new track in Ontario where the NHRA was holding events. Big name Boss 429’s showed up there in Super Stock. The TASCA FORD dealership was campaigning a couple of 1969 Boss 429’s in copper colors, “The Lawman” was a blue and white 1970 Boss 429 that had made the trip to Southeast Asia for the troops that were participating in the War there. Probably why kk2159 was bought by one.

In September 1975 KK2159 was registered in Ogden Utah. By the beginning of the 1980’s KK2159’s had ended up in a Police impound yard. It had apparently been doing a bit of street racing and failed to yield to the Police car that was chasing it. The driver went to jail and so did KK2159. It languished in an Ogden Utah Police impound yard for 2 years. During that time the Boss 429 engine was taken out and went flat bottom boat racing on the Snake River in Idaho and then made its way to an off shore racing boat back in Southern California. 

KK2159 was sold at an Ogden Police auction February 15^th, 1983 for the tidy sum of $415 to William P. Klein and then sold to William P. Breedlove for $5. The Breedlove World Land Speed Racing Team was in the middle of preparing another “Spirit of America” jet car for Craig Breedlove to attempt to break the World Land Speed record which was just reset October 4^th 1983 at Black Rock, Nevada by Richard Noble averaging 633.468 mph. Bill Breedlove was the crew chief for Craig Breedlove. KK2159 was in “heady” hands and got treated to a full restoration and engine hop up. Bill called the Boss 429 engine he built his “Elephant” engine. The plan was to be the very fastest Boss 429 in the country drag racing or any other racing. But by 1988 they were out of funding again and KK2159 went up for sale to raise money. That is where I took over the dream for $8,000.

The Breedloves never ran KK2159 concentrating all their efforts and capital in “The Spirit of America” J79 Turbine powered car. Craig drove “Spirit of America” to a confirmed 675mph October 28^th 1996. Telemetry shows the car at over 800mph briefly before a 15 knot gust of wind sent the Jet car into a very long U turn causing the average to be only “Only” 675mph and also causing the J79 turbine engine to swallow a large portion of the Black Rock Desert. Breedlove’s back up J79 was also damaged but they went home and put it in. It only managed 676 mph the next year. Breedlove sold the car to Steve Fossett who died in a small plane crash while he was surveying a site to run “Spirit of America” renamed “Sonic Arrow”. The Jet car is now in a Museum in Colorado waiting for someone to take up that dream. 

The current plan for KK2159 is to run it in A Classic Production during the Southern California Timing Association’s “Speed Week” held every August, that weather permits, and get the world land speed record from the 1969 Dodge Daytona that currently has it at 237.862mph. I purchased a Holley 4150 1000cc carb for it just this spring. The rule is power combinations must be period, so it is a carburetor that will be metering the high tech race gas. It is coming together but slowly as funding permits. I have currently set 5 World Land Speed Records racing my motorcycles during Speed Week and World Finals. I am confident we can get this job done and make KK2159 proud. World Land Speed Records are only rented…and the Rent is High! 

View our Classic Mustang Parts