600CI BIG-BLOCK FORD

> ASTILL DESIGNS, SOUTH COAST, NSW

- IAIN KELLY

WHILE many know of the Chrysler Hemi’s ferocious reputation in American muscle car lore, Ford had its own ‘semi-hemi’ race-ready big-block. The Boss 429 was fitted to Ford’s angriest Mustang as a way of homologating the 7.0-litre brute for use in NASCAR, even though Ford campaigned the mid-sized Torino in that series.

The aero-slicked Boss 429 Torino Talladega won far more races and championships than Mopar’s more famous Charger Daytona and Plymouth Superbird ‘wing cars’ before they were all banned by ‘Big Bill’ France in the early 70s. Today you can still buy a Hemi-stomping bigblock Boss Nine, but you’ll need to call up Kaase Race Engines, not Ford.

“I believe my customer actually bought this engine off the Kaase Engines stand at SEMA,” says Howard Astill, who has been tasked with fitting this monster donk by its owner, Peter. “It is one of Kaase’s Boss 527s, and Peter brought it to me with the car and the transmission.”