Low-and-Slow: 1970 Boss 302 Drags 1971 Challenger R/T; It's a Walk in the Park, Not a Race
Picture the following scenario: it’s 1971, you’re in Michigan, and you decide to spend some quality, high-octane time at a local dragstrip. What’s the race you’d like to see most? If you answer, ‘Mustang Boss 302 vs Dodge Challender R/T,’ you’re right on the money – we have one for you, and it doesn’t include a time machine because said cars cross V8s in 2024, too.
All right, to be extremely specific, I should note that the drag race between the two Gloden Age icons puts together a ‘final year’ of each: the 1970 Boss 302 goes head-to-head against a 1971 Challenger R/T. The small-block muscle Mustang was built between 1969 and 1970, while the Challenger Road/Track saw a two-year production run as well but started one year later (due to the model’s debut in 1970 and its premature retirement in 1971).
Not at all coincidentally, Ford and Chrysler pulled the plug on pure performance after 1971. FoMoCo’s last stand was the Ford Mustang Boss 351, the final iteration of a legendary nameplate from the muscle car’s prime years. On the other hand, Mother Mopar smothered the 426 Hemi that year and also canceled the Road/Track package from its sales brochures.
From then on, both companies focused on other market segments, so calling 1971 the swan song of fun motoring wouldn’t be an exaggeration. Proof of this are the two cars from those glorious times: a 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 302 and a 1971 Dodge Challenger R/T—two icons of Detroit’s finest years. The Ford needs just as little introduction as the Mopar, but courtesy obliges us to make the necessary presentations.
Ford’s focus on performance began in the early 60s, with heavy involvement in racing considered a good argument in favor of boosting sales. Hence, the 1964-launched Ford Mustang was given a Carroll Shelby treatment for a few years, but Ford had its own go-fast ideas, too. In 1969, a small-block 302 cubic-inch (4.9-liter) V8 was tweaked to counter the Camaro Z/28 on the Trans Am circuits, and the model was replicated for 1970, too.
It proved a popular performance option - 8,641 Little Bosses were sold in the two-year production run: 7,013 in 1970, vastly out-classing the 1,628 examples sold in 1969. There weren’t many ways to personalize a Boss Mustang (be it a 302 or its bigger, meaner 429-cubic inch / seven-liter brother). The engine was a 290-hp, 290-lb-ft (294 PS, 393 Nm) V8, and that was it.
The Hurst T-Handled transmission was a four-speed manual with no alternative; the rear end came in 3.50 (standard issue, with or without a Traction-Lok differential), 3.91 (Traction-Lok mandated), or 4.30 ratios (Detroit Automotive No-Spin diff required).
The engine’s internal were high-strength parts, from the four-bolt mains and the forged steel crankshaft to solid lifters, a 780-cubic-feet-per-minute Holley four-barrel carburetor, and a high-capacity clutch. Ford confidently claimed the engine would rev up to 7,000 RPM before the driver had to shift into an upper gear. Competition suspension, front disc brakes, sturdier shock towers, and the mean-looking front chin and rear deck wing completed the package.
However, the car in our story is slightly different in that it wears a 4.86 rear axle, as the host from the YouTube Channel Cars and Zebras reveals. That’s a serious contender for the 3.91 diff in the 1971 Dodge Challenger R/T lined up alongside on the drag strip.
The Mopar Road/Track package was the ultimate in smiles per gallon Detroit could offer, with a trio of legendary V8s and a bunch of heavy-duty, high-performance, special-purpose parts stuffed in them. The R/T option debuted in 1967 on the Dodge Coronet, and it became a blast in 1968 when the fuselage-bodied second-generation Charger made landfall.
All in all, the R/T offered a 440-cubic-inch V8 as standard equipment, with the 426 Hemi as its alternative. 7.2 liters, for starters, was no joke, and the smaller 7.0-liter hemispherical-head elephant motor was even meaner. In 1970, the newly-released Dodge Challenger pony car joined the fray. It introduced a somewhat tamer engine choice: the 383 V8 was regular hardware in the Challenger R/T, with the 440 Magnum and 426 Hemi as extra-cost options.
In 1971, the R/T had its last say in the high-performance game – from the following year onward, Chrysler Corporation forgot all about fun and games for a solid two decades (no, the ’76-’79 Dodge Aspen R/T doesn’t count). Unlike the final-year Boss 302, the final-year Challenger R/T from the first generation didn’t impress the buyers to a similar extent, despite the addition of the 340-cubic-inch V8 (5.6-liter) to the lineup.
Only 4,892 examples of the Road/Track Mopar were sold in 1971 (out of an overall production of 27,377 units of all displacements and body styles), the majority of which were armed with the standard 383-cubic-inch (6.3-liter) eight-cylinder plant. 2,450 Challenger R/Ts had the entry-level big-block engine, detuned and rated at 300 hp and 410 lb-ft (304 PS, 556 Nm).
The Challenger offered a three-speed automatic transmission in the R/T package (the trusty Torqueflite) – and it was the public’s favorite by a wide margin (1,985 were ordered with one, as opposed to the 465 examples with three pedals and a four-speed box).
The big engine might decisively weigh down the car (pun intended) in the quarter-mile showdown we hinted at the opening of this story. The Boss 302 carries 3,476 lb (1,577 kg) along, while the Challenger has to move some extra 300 lb (3,750 lb in total / 1,701 kg).
With its taller gears and lower body mass, the manual-transmission Ford appears to be the bookies' favorite over the heftier Mopar, and this time, the paper math is in line with the concrete reality. The Mustang wins the first round (with an Elapsed Time of 15.28 seconds at 86.11 miles per hour / 138.58 kph).
The Dodge scored 15.43 at 91.82 mph / 147.77 kph – but its red-light haste disqualifies it automatically. In round two, the story meets the same ending: the Ford shows the challenging Challenger who’s Boss, with 15.11 seconds and 94.67 mph (152.35 kph) over 15.41 seconds, at 91.69 mph (147.56 kph).
These times might seem laughable in today’s ten-second day and age of performance cars (I’m not going the road of heavy-punching cars like the high-class Lambos or rowdy last-gen electrics), but remember, this race abides by the rules of Pure Stock Muscle Car Drag Race competitions. It’s not that easy to get traction on skinny, bias-ply rubbers like these that the two cars are shod with.
All right, to be extremely specific, I should note that the drag race between the two Gloden Age icons puts together a ‘final year’ of each: the 1970 Boss 302 goes head-to-head against a 1971 Challenger R/T. The small-block muscle Mustang was built between 1969 and 1970, while the Challenger Road/Track saw a two-year production run as well but started one year later (due to the model’s debut in 1970 and its premature retirement in 1971).
Not at all coincidentally, Ford and Chrysler pulled the plug on pure performance after 1971. FoMoCo’s last stand was the Ford Mustang Boss 351, the final iteration of a legendary nameplate from the muscle car’s prime years. On the other hand, Mother Mopar smothered the 426 Hemi that year and also canceled the Road/Track package from its sales brochures.
From then on, both companies focused on other market segments, so calling 1971 the swan song of fun motoring wouldn’t be an exaggeration. Proof of this are the two cars from those glorious times: a 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 302 and a 1971 Dodge Challenger R/T—two icons of Detroit’s finest years. The Ford needs just as little introduction as the Mopar, but courtesy obliges us to make the necessary presentations.
Ford’s focus on performance began in the early 60s, with heavy involvement in racing considered a good argument in favor of boosting sales. Hence, the 1964-launched Ford Mustang was given a Carroll Shelby treatment for a few years, but Ford had its own go-fast ideas, too. In 1969, a small-block 302 cubic-inch (4.9-liter) V8 was tweaked to counter the Camaro Z/28 on the Trans Am circuits, and the model was replicated for 1970, too.
It proved a popular performance option - 8,641 Little Bosses were sold in the two-year production run: 7,013 in 1970, vastly out-classing the 1,628 examples sold in 1969. There weren’t many ways to personalize a Boss Mustang (be it a 302 or its bigger, meaner 429-cubic inch / seven-liter brother). The engine was a 290-hp, 290-lb-ft (294 PS, 393 Nm) V8, and that was it.
The Hurst T-Handled transmission was a four-speed manual with no alternative; the rear end came in 3.50 (standard issue, with or without a Traction-Lok differential), 3.91 (Traction-Lok mandated), or 4.30 ratios (Detroit Automotive No-Spin diff required).
The engine’s internal were high-strength parts, from the four-bolt mains and the forged steel crankshaft to solid lifters, a 780-cubic-feet-per-minute Holley four-barrel carburetor, and a high-capacity clutch. Ford confidently claimed the engine would rev up to 7,000 RPM before the driver had to shift into an upper gear. Competition suspension, front disc brakes, sturdier shock towers, and the mean-looking front chin and rear deck wing completed the package.
However, the car in our story is slightly different in that it wears a 4.86 rear axle, as the host from the YouTube Channel Cars and Zebras reveals. That’s a serious contender for the 3.91 diff in the 1971 Dodge Challenger R/T lined up alongside on the drag strip.
The Mopar Road/Track package was the ultimate in smiles per gallon Detroit could offer, with a trio of legendary V8s and a bunch of heavy-duty, high-performance, special-purpose parts stuffed in them. The R/T option debuted in 1967 on the Dodge Coronet, and it became a blast in 1968 when the fuselage-bodied second-generation Charger made landfall.
All in all, the R/T offered a 440-cubic-inch V8 as standard equipment, with the 426 Hemi as its alternative. 7.2 liters, for starters, was no joke, and the smaller 7.0-liter hemispherical-head elephant motor was even meaner. In 1970, the newly-released Dodge Challenger pony car joined the fray. It introduced a somewhat tamer engine choice: the 383 V8 was regular hardware in the Challenger R/T, with the 440 Magnum and 426 Hemi as extra-cost options.
In 1971, the R/T had its last say in the high-performance game – from the following year onward, Chrysler Corporation forgot all about fun and games for a solid two decades (no, the ’76-’79 Dodge Aspen R/T doesn’t count). Unlike the final-year Boss 302, the final-year Challenger R/T from the first generation didn’t impress the buyers to a similar extent, despite the addition of the 340-cubic-inch V8 (5.6-liter) to the lineup.
Only 4,892 examples of the Road/Track Mopar were sold in 1971 (out of an overall production of 27,377 units of all displacements and body styles), the majority of which were armed with the standard 383-cubic-inch (6.3-liter) eight-cylinder plant. 2,450 Challenger R/Ts had the entry-level big-block engine, detuned and rated at 300 hp and 410 lb-ft (304 PS, 556 Nm).
The Challenger offered a three-speed automatic transmission in the R/T package (the trusty Torqueflite) – and it was the public’s favorite by a wide margin (1,985 were ordered with one, as opposed to the 465 examples with three pedals and a four-speed box).
The big engine might decisively weigh down the car (pun intended) in the quarter-mile showdown we hinted at the opening of this story. The Boss 302 carries 3,476 lb (1,577 kg) along, while the Challenger has to move some extra 300 lb (3,750 lb in total / 1,701 kg).
With its taller gears and lower body mass, the manual-transmission Ford appears to be the bookies' favorite over the heftier Mopar, and this time, the paper math is in line with the concrete reality. The Mustang wins the first round (with an Elapsed Time of 15.28 seconds at 86.11 miles per hour / 138.58 kph).
The Dodge scored 15.43 at 91.82 mph / 147.77 kph – but its red-light haste disqualifies it automatically. In round two, the story meets the same ending: the Ford shows the challenging Challenger who’s Boss, with 15.11 seconds and 94.67 mph (152.35 kph) over 15.41 seconds, at 91.69 mph (147.56 kph).
These times might seem laughable in today’s ten-second day and age of performance cars (I’m not going the road of heavy-punching cars like the high-class Lambos or rowdy last-gen electrics), but remember, this race abides by the rules of Pure Stock Muscle Car Drag Race competitions. It’s not that easy to get traction on skinny, bias-ply rubbers like these that the two cars are shod with.