Perhaps it’s only a coincidence that the city of Dunedin, on the South Island of New Zealand, is home to both Baldwin street, the steepest street in the world and Bob King’s impressive corral of V8 muscle.

“My father was a Fitter and Turner with a passion for cars,” Bob said. “Growing up he’d have a different car every 18 months on average, so I think the car thing came from him.”

At 13, Bob’s father took him to his first Formula race where the support categories were sports sedans containing Camaros, Mustangs, and other assorted V8-powered cars.

“I was hooked, particularly on Mustangs which back then in New Zealand were a rare sight” he recalls.

Seventeen-year-old Alexandra, Central Otago, New Zealand, native Bob King with his first car and today with his 1970 Grabber Green Boss 302.

However, Bob’s tall dreams and short bank account would mean owning his dream car would have to wait a while longer.

“In my last year of school, my parents had given me a 1970 Austin Mini,” he says.

During that year Bob and his dad would put in a bigger engine stepping up from 850cc to 1100cc and a two-barrel, down-draft carb, which protruded menacingly through the hood.

“It seems laughable now, but to me it was a huge increase in power” Bob says with a grin. “Although I loved Mustangs, they were almost the price of a house here in New Zealand in 1979.”

With a few years of work and life experience under his belt, Bob’s Mini would give way to a ’57 Bel Air and eventually a ’70 XW GT Falcon.

“The GT Falcon is kind of like a four-door Mach 1 with factory stock 351w, Toploader four-speed, 3.25 gears and 9-inch rearend.” Bob said.

Today, modern driving duties are assigned to a sharp Australian-built ’95 XR8 Falcon with a fuel-injected 302 and five-speed.

Bob’s sharp Aussie-built XR8 Falcon provides plenty of daily driving thrills.

Fulfilling A Dream

The pride of Bob and Lorraine’s fleet is their Grabber Green 1970 Boss 302. The pair sourced the W-code, rust-free Boss in Phoenix, Arizona, through the Boss 302 Registry.

“I rang the owner straight away, and after a sleepless night, we had a deal” he recalls.

Within days, Bob and Lorraine had the car on a trailer to Los Angeles for its six-week trip to New Zealand.

Bob and Lorraine’s Boss isn’t afraid of a little rain seeing many miles of the New Zealand coast.

To certify the car for use on New Zealand roads Bob had to strip out the interior so authorities could check the structural integrity of the car which led to a couple of interesting finds.

“I found a page out of The Detroit News dated Tuesday, November 11, 1969 under the carpet in the passenger footwell and a perfect copy of the original build sheet under the driver seat,” he explained.

The Boss had been sold new by Galpin Ford in California, spending its entire rust-free life between the Golden State and Arizona.

Although he really enjoys the comforts of his XR8 it “doesn’t have the aura of the Boss.” The car gets driven in the rain and has done many miles up and down New Zealand on both islands with the Southern Mustang Owners Club, which happens to be the southern-most Mustang club on the planet.

“If you’re going to buy a classic car make sure you absolutely love it,” Bob concluded. “Because, if you don’t, you might as well buy a Camry.”

Just don’t try to drive it up Baldwin street…

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