Bad Influence Auto

Now in Stock: GUNIWHEEL 45

Moving a vehicle without its wheels doesn’t have to be a nightmare.

The GUNIWHEEL 45 is a universal repositioning wheel designed to help workshops, restoration projects, body shops and recovery teams safely move vehicles with missing or damaged wheels. It fits most 4- and 5-lug passenger vehicles and light SUVs, with a slotted mounting pattern for adjustability.

With its solid steel construction and airless polyurethane tyre, the GUNIWHEEL 45 is built for the workshop environment — helping you free up valuable space, move vehicles around the shop and keep projects mobile while the original wheels are off.

NOW AVAILABLE FROM RESTOMOD

Only R1,995.00 incl. VAT

Important: The GUNIWHEEL 45 is for shop/lot use only, not road use, with a maximum speed of 5 mph / 8 km/h.

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Morning all

Ford developed the Boss 429 primarily to homologate its new 429-cubic-inch racing engine for NASCAR, and the Mustang became the unlikely production vehicle used to satisfy the requirement. The Boss 429 Mustang was produced in 1969 and 1970, with 1,358 cars built over the two model years. The production engine was rated at 375 horsepower and 450 lb-ft of torque, while the racing version evolved separately as Ford continued developing the engine for competition. The Boss 429 program was expensive and complicated, and fitting the enormous engine into the Mustang required extensive modifications by Kar Kraft. After 1970, the Boss 429 Mustang disappeared, but the underlying engine architecture did not disappear completely. Decades later, Jon Kaase Racing Engines developed the Boss Nine, taking the basic Boss 429 concept and re-engineering it with modern materials, machining, cylinder heads, and valvetrain technology.

The modern Boss Nine can be built in a wide range of displacements, including combinations approaching 600 cubic inches. Kaase’s own specifications list Boss Nine engines from roughly 500 to 600 cubic inches for street and racing applications, with naturally aspirated output extending well beyond what the original Boss 429 could produce. One example uses a modern high-nodular cast-iron block with a 4.600-inch bore and 4.500-inch stroke to reach approximately 600 cubic inches. A billet Bryant crankshaft, Oliver connecting rods, and Diamond forged pistons provide the foundation for the high-output combination. Rather than relying on a vintage 1969 block, the modern casting provides a much more consistent foundation for precise machining and contemporary performance components.

The cylinder heads are where Kaase made one of the biggest changes to the original concept. The Boss Nine heads retain the distinctive architecture and visual character of the Boss 429, but the ports, combustion chambers, valve locations, rocker arrangement, and valvetrain support were redesigned using modern engineering. The result is a cylinder head that retains the spirit of the original Boss while addressing many of the practical limitations associated with the original design. Kaase’s Boss Nine program uses modern rocker arms, pushrods, valve springs, and hydraulic or solid roller camshafts depending on the application. The company has documented street-oriented combinations producing around 900 horsepower while retaining relatively mild manners, demonstrating how far the basic 429 concept can be developed with modern components.

The machining process is equally important. Modern CNC equipment allows the block, cylinder heads, and valvetrain components to be manufactured to tolerances that simply were not available when the original Boss 429 was developed. Bore and stroke combinations can be tailored to the customer's application, while modern crankshafts, rods, pistons, bearings, and valvetrain components provide the strength required for substantially higher output. Kaase's Boss Nine program was created specifically to make the Boss 429 concept practical for modern street cars, hot rods, muscle cars, and race applications rather than merely reproducing a 1969 engine. The company currently offers complete Boss Nine engines in configurations ranging from street-oriented combinations to engines producing four-digit horsepower.

That is what makes the Boss Nine different from simply rebuilding an original Boss 429. Ford created the Boss 429 to solve a specific NASCAR homologation problem, and the original engine was an extraordinary piece of engineering for its era. Kaase took that foundation and asked a different question: what could the Boss 429 become if it were designed with modern materials, machining, computer-controlled manufacturing, and decades of additional engine-building experience? The answer is a family of large-displacement Ford V8s capable of producing around 900 horsepower naturally aspirated in street-oriented configurations and considerably more in dedicated applications. The Boss 429 may have disappeared from Ford's production lineup after 1970, but the idea behind it never really died.

ENGINE CREDIT : JOHN KAASE RACING ENGINES