I own a '69 Boss 429, and it's a gorilla of low torque. You can leave a traffic light in 2nd gear in that car without even touching the gas pedal. There's alot of misunderstanding regarding the Boss 429's being "dogs" in stock trim. The word "relative" you used is the KEY word. When the Boss 429 was introduced, it was a highly exotic mill for the time. There were alot of VERY HIGH expectations for it, Ford fans were looking for a Mopar-hemi-killer, a ZL-1 type performer. Well, when the cars hit the showrooms Ford had for whatever reasons detuned it considerably (the power potential of a Boss 429 is huge, it's still the mill-of-choice for Ford-powered Super Comp dragsters). But even in its detuned stock state, it would nose out a stock 428CJ in the 1/4 mile. It's not a matter that the Boss 429 wasn't fast, it just wasn't nearly as fast as it COULD have been with a bigger carb, more aggressive cam, and better flowing manifolds. A Boss that has those mods is one mother of a screamer. But stock, it was a mid-to-high 13 second quarter miler on polyglass tires (which isn't a "dog" whatsoever), and I can tell you from 1st-hand seat time that the low-end torque is ungodly. I'm running a 780 Holley (still conservative, but it's good for the street), and I had headers on it. Scary fast, light years faster than any 428 I've ever driven. I put the manifolds back on her two months ago, and it's not as wicked on the top end of the tach, but the torque down low is even more monumental, and the car's alot more driveable (i.e. it no longer rattles my fillings, sets-off every car alarm in a 1-mile radius, and I can drive over speed bumps without crunching the headers now!).