Project: Night Mission

Today is the day.  The day I quit teasing my loyal blog readers, family, friends, co-workers and fellow Mustang enthusiasts and finally reveal what this whole project is all about.  But before I do, a little background explanation is in order.

As many of you know, my Boss 302 and I have been a pair for almost 30 years and in all that time, I have had a vision of what this car would be and I can honestly say, that vision has wavered extremely little after all these years.  I lovingly refer to this as the longest term relationship of my entire life (much to the chagrin of my S.O. Cindy who I’ve known longer than I’ve owned this car!).

The car would be white…….SCREAMING white just like every racecar I have ever driven in my career.  A pure white says something to me at my core.  Can’t explain it…..it just “does”.

This car would be done “my way” and in a way that I had never seen done before.  In no way had I any intention of building ANOTHER boring “concours” Boss 302 restoration.

The car had to be unique among its peers.  I wanted to build an “all-Boss” Boss 302 that was modernized in such a way as to make the car perform like it never had in its prime.  If that pissed off the purists and MCOA judges……even better!

I wanted to build a car that had its own unique identity but was never too far from its lineage.  It had to be identifiable as a Boss Mustang from 100 feet away as well as up close inspection.  I wanted to avoid something that was a caricature of the original car like so many of the “skinned and stuffed” cars that are in vogue today.  No mini tubs, back-half tube chassis, no hacked Mustang II front suspension crap, and no fuel injection.  Is it a “real” Boss 302?  Yep, in my mind it is and then some.  The VIN has the “G” in it and the door tag has the “W” code as well.  That’s all I need to know.

The car had to be loaded with details.  LOTS of details.  I wanted those details to be such that one walk around the car at a show would only scratch the surface and any hardcore car geek would find his/herself coming back to the car time after time after time to absorb yet another detail.  In all this, I wanted to build something that genuine car-guys could find something to “take-away” and fuel ideas to use when building their own cars.

Visual “pop” was mandatory but the styling had to stay true to the classic styling of the original.  The only thing “radical” was the extent of its subtlety and the laundry list of small changes that blend into a personal interpretation of what this car is.

The car would evolve into an expression of “me.”  A three-dimensional representation of the images in my mind’s eye and the manifestation of what I can accomplish with my brain, my hands, and my heart mixed with a little blood and sweat (and crap-loads of cash!).

The car has to “go” as good as it looks.  It will be heard as well as seen.  It must make NOISE!  Glorious, unbridled noise, just like any politically incorrect, knuckle-draggin’, unapologetically red-blooded AMERICAN muscle car is supposed to.  It will handle and stop without compromise and it will do so with purpose……..built in.

A few years ago, I started this blog at the suggestion of a few good friends as a way to document and share the work I would be doing to keep my mind active and to maintain some sanity after long, frustrating days in my (mostly) professional life.  I had no idea how much I would enjoy everything about this project as well as sharing the work and countless hours I spend on so many nights doing what I love to do.

Earlier this year, I came to know a phenomenal designer who inspired me in ways I had never dreamed and set me to thinking about my work in ways I had never considered (THANKS Murray, you are THE MAN!).  Pretty soon, I had commissioned his undeniable talent to put together a rendering of everything I had ever dreamed this car would be.  And in so doing, it inspired me to pursue the execution of this car in ways I had never imagined before.  For the first time, I could see the project in finished form and I now know EXACTLY how this car will be executed.

The bottom line?  If I stick to the plan I have outlined and build this car as intended, perhaps more than few people will come to appreciate it.  Perhaps it will become known to thousands.  Perhaps it will become the catalyst to yet another glorious adventure.  In the meantime, I invite everyone to have a look at the rendering and try to pick out the myriad of little changes that have been made.  They are everywhere! 

So here it is:  The Night Mission Boss 302.  Why Night Mission?  It’s really simple.  This is a car that was conceptualized and is being executed outside of my “day job”.  It’s what I lose sleep over.  It’s what I dream of every day.  It is my “mistress” when everyone else around me sleeps.  It is my therapy and I think it “fits”.  I hope you enjoy!

Sven