The Mechanic speaks out:
Les Moyle (June 2011
report)
My Name is Les
Moyle and I worked for Dennis Leech in the early 1970s. I worked on the
Mustang when it was in its 429 guise. Had the pleasure of a ride in it at
Silverstone, it was up the runway after some late night repairs. Never felt
acceleration like it before or since, it was unbelievable.
I worked on the installation of the Boss 429 motor,
under Dennis's guidance. It was much wider than the 302 or the 351 so the
suspension turrets had to be cut back so the rocker covers would fit. I then
fabricated a set of stainless steel headers that were taken into 4 into 1
collectors on both sides. The 4" exhaust exiting out of each side under
the doors. Originally running on a four barrel Holley Carburettor and
standard 429 heads, it was modified with a set of Alloy Weslake 4 valve per
cylinder heads and a Formula 1 style slide throttles with fuel injection.
This was totally manufactured by Dennis with the help of an engineering
works that were in the unit next to Dennis's garage.
Your website brought back lots of memories for me. I am nearly 62 and Dennis
is 68. I was in my early twenties when I worked for Dennis.
Best regards
Les Moyle/June 2011
Previous Owner Eric Walker (UK)
Yes I remember another car I once owned - the
Dennis Leech Boss Mustang built as a 302 in 1970 in a light metallic
colour, raced by Jacky Ickx at Spa, run as a 351 in
1971 in white, black and red livery and a full blown Boss 429 in bright
metallic tourquoise blue in '72/73 this
car has been back in the USA since the mid 90's under restoration
- I'm surprised no-one is looking into the history of this one as
it was really spectacular when running the 429.
By the time I got it, it was white with blue
stripe and had last been driven by Roy Pierpoint in an ASCAR club race.
Roy Yates then bought it and swaped all
the suspension onto his later Fastback. I helped locate it for the guy
in the States who had to import
both cars and is still as far as I know rebuilding it.
I sold it as a rolling chassis to a guy
who planned to drop a Chevy in it
but luckily got no further!
Had to sell the ex- Leech Boss 429, Ex Alan
Mann Falcon Sprint, the remains of Martin Birranes '67 Notchback
427 racer -which was broken up for parts, the ex Piers Courage 66 Shelby
GT350 (by then a full race quad weber hillclimb car but dismantled when
I sold it) and a 68 GT500.
Eric Walker/April2004
Previous Owner Keith Hardy
I never took pictures,
the car was a mess. I only got as far as measuring the
suspension points to see if it was straight and it was a mile out. It
had a lot of battle damage and
needed a lot of work to put right. I remember picking
it up on a trailer in the Midlands and several miles later, the
trailer jack knifed and broke the
hitch, so it spent it's first night of my ownership
in a night-club car park under the watchful eye of a handful of large
security men.
I sold it after a year - no work carried
out. I got divorced and moved to the
US for a few years. It was
not a Boss 429 Mustang, it was a standard
302 Mustang that arrived here with a bunch of HD parts
in the trunk. The car was never supported or recognised by Ford as the
"real deal" and
although very quick in a straight line with Dennis at the wheel,
it was overall a complete disaster with probably never a finish to it's
name. It provided probably the most spectacular engine failures ever
seen in a racing series.
I'm curious to see it reappearing.
My interest was in Mustangs, I used to own
a couple of Shelby's and a Tiger in
the '80's, but I also raced Al Unser Snr's 1978 IROC Camaro in the UK for
a while seen here at
Goodwood on an AMOC Sprint together with my Trans-Am.
Keith Hardy (Feb. 2007)
(Picture of Camaro #18 built by Roger
Penske available)
Sidenote
Back in the early 1970s in the RAC saloon car
championship Leech was racing this Gp2 Mustang along side several pedigree
T/A and A/S race cars from the USA, such as an ex-Bud Moore T/A 69
Mustang, ex-Kar Kraft 70 Boss 302 mule (from the Boss 302 chassis
modification book) and an ex-Penske T/A 69 Camaro. Most of these race
cars have found there way back to the USA, but not all of them. Steve
Francis
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Dennis Leech Group 2
Mustang
Dennis Leech racing at
Silverstone 1971
Picture courtesy Trevor Legate
Dennis Leech chased by Martin
Birrane 1971
Picture courtesy Eric Walker
Leech was a privateer racer known for racing
wild American Ford V8 powered saloon cars and his plaid flannel shirts.
The Mustang arrived at Leech's Exeter shop in early 1970 as a Boss
302. While being built to Group 2 Saloon Car spec Leech sent off a race entry
for the March 1970 Gaurds Trophy at Brand Hatch, but the car was not ready
in time.
Two months later they hauled over to Spa-Francorchamps in the
Ardennes hills of Belgium for a support race to the 1000KM. This time
Leech put Jackie Ickx in the drivers seat and while leading
early on a head gasket let go putting the Boss Mustang out of the
race.
For 1971 Leech acquired sponsorship from
Castrol and there was an engine change from the 302 to a 351 on Webers. Leech
summed up the 1971 season as a "waste of time".
For 1972 the Mustang had yet another engine swap. This time it was a Boss
429 supplied by Holman & Moody which Leech then designed and built his
own fuel injection system for. In a addition to the dry sump 7 litre
engine the Mustang ran a triple disc clutch setup, a NASCAR spec 4spd
trans, Detroit locker, Watts link, Konis, spherical rod ends wherever
possible, power assisted Girling disc brakes, 22 gal fuel cell and formula
1 type 15"x 15.5" rear wheels and 15"x 12" fronts on
Goodyear tires.
When Eric Walker owned it.
The following pics are from 1992 when the car was
sitting at Roy Yates Derbyshire workshop
Pictures courtesy Steve Francis
The last and current owner is Craig Olson.
The car is still on sale
(2014) and we will forward any serious interested
inquiry.
Dyno sheet of the engine will follow soon.
As of May 2015 the car got sold handed over with all
the documentation to Bill Shepherd. He will return it to the Dennis Leech
livery, when it was raced in the UK.
Weare looking forward to see it in
its former glory in the 2016 season.
See this story (2012) from Steve Holmes on the
Leech car at www.theroaringseason.com
Below is not the former Leech car in its current dress, but another of Craig
Olsons cars, he currently races...as it appeared in 2008
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