NO BS GUYS , Please !
My Mustang friend asked me this , and I really didn’t have an honest answers .
What are the TOP 3 fastest Cougars ( 1/4 mile ET times ) IN STOCK Form . From a given mag. test drive .
My guess : 427, 428 CJ then the 429 SCJ .
Again NO BULL , I’ll need to find that past yr. mags. test drive to show him. ANY HELP , Please !!!
All my old mags are put away but Super Stock with Dyno Don driving a 68 1/2 CJ Cougar with a C6 ran (this is from memory) ran a 13.42 [after removing belts and playing with the timming, he also warmed the Polyglass GT’s tires to the max.
All the testes I remember for the 69 CJ cars the Cougars and Mach 1’s tested all were 3:91 geared cars with C6 Trans and all ran from 13.90 to 14.0
Car Life tested a 427 GTE Cougar C6 3:25 open rear and had all sorts of traction issues (no Polyglass GT’s on that car) I dont remember the exact times but I dont think they broke into the 14 bracket.
I cant remember a 429 SCJ Cougar test in 71 Supercars mag tested a CJ Cougar that ran 14.50 But there times for other cars were all over the place and usually the fastest of other mags.
The 429 SCJ probally made the most power, I know my 70 429 SCJ 4:30 C6 Torino Cobra with a tired motor ran a 14.0 after being driven 50 miles to the track in 90 weather and that was a dead punch run. When towed to the track a few weeks later it ran 13.70
I didn’t think they made any SCJ Cougars in '71 
I’m still checking , but my money is still on a 427 with 3:91 gears . a very close 2nd. the 68 CJ ( same gearing ).
Mid 13’s
The added weight of the 70" model seems to have offset the added power of the 429 SCJ.
Anyone know the facts ? ( Old mag. tests etc. )
No 429 in '70 Cougars, and no 429 SCJ in Cougars. In 1970 the big engine was the 428 SCJ. In '71 you could get the 429CJ with or without ram air (J code or C code respectively) but no Drag Pak or Super Drag Pak cars were built.
The big problem with comparing Cougar to Mustang is that the fastest Mustang parts never came in the Cougar, in stock form.
No Boss 351 engines in Cougars mean Cougar loses the argument against Mustang. The GT-E was a hydraulic valve wheezer. The 428 CJ was good, but not enough and that aging FE architecture. The Cleveland was it. The Boss proves.
Hard to accept.
I will agree with the 427 standard model GT-E probably having the best 1/4 mile acceleration, and that the 3.91 TL being the best selection for factory gears.
To my knowledge the 1971 Boss 351 Mustang, was the fastest production vintage Mustang.
ARE YOU SURE ! Some say they read Car Craft’s test drive of the 68 mustang with a stock 428 CJ / ram air / Drag Pack ( 410 gears ) ran 12.90’s
A much heaver 71 Boss 351 under 13’s ??? May be with slicks ?? But that would shoot the “STOCK” category.
January '71 Motor Trend had the '71 BOSS 351 turn a 13.80 @ 104.
Now you are just being silly Andy. 
The quickest I ever read on a Boss 351 was 13.5 and cannot quote or tell you which mag. I have seen stock 428 CJs do better and into the high 12s. I would just about bet money my 68 R code would break 13 if I drove it that hard on a good day. You just have to be ready and careful for that shift to 2nd, as my son will attest to that. I have the longest straight on my road in my front pasture but aggresive pitch to the shoulder. The last time I gassed it passenger side hooked up and headed for the creek, quick. Got my attention in a big way. I do not have special tires in fact they suck as they do not smoke enough. They do hook up pretty good though as my shorts tell the tale that day. My Cougar is very fast. It is not total stock as it does have full tube headers. But if it will not pull a 351 whatever I would be amazed! Unless built big time. I would race for money. So there you go a chalenge. Bring your Clevland to Elk Creek drag strip and we will have a Cougar showdown. Mustangs also invited. Bring it.
One thing though, I will put good tires on the ass end. That is the only change I will make.
hahaha
The start of the thread was about mag tests on these cars when new. The 428 cars turned 13.90 (mustang) and 13.91 (Cougar). The Boss 351 is the champ of the mag tests when in showroom stock trim at 13.80, aside from a ringer Boss9 that did 13.60
My car is apart getting torque boxes and floors at the moment, but I’ll bear your challenge in mind. Don’t blow it up before I can get up there and take your money.
http://www.musclecarclub.com/musclecars/general/musclecars-50fast.shtml
Please advise , " A Boss 351, as the fastest Mustang " . Way too heavy an engine , and in the heaviest mustang body !!! I just can’t see it.
Again , one could order a 427 or 428 CJ in 68. High 12’s for the 428CJ ( with the drag pack 4:10 ) . Even the 429 SCJ in the heaviest Mustangs " Should " have been faster then the Boss 351. Do you have a mag. article with the Boss 351 running under 12.90 ???
I have to admit as far as total stock the quickest time I have ever read in a mag was Boss 351. Heavy? What are you talking about Bob? A Cleveland has the weight advantage over all BBs. Just being the lighter car is not always the best either. Distrubution has a lot to say as traction means fast, smoke is slow.As far as heavy in the front and no weight in the ass. I am no expert or even close but I had to take Shaman up on his brag as both the 428 CJ and the Boss9 with just a litle tweaking will run. And outrun a Cleveland. My 70 429 4bbl and my later 460 4bbl with no polution and tweaked were scary fast. The 427 is a legend as to what it will do. I will take any of the B Boys any day for a smile on my face. The quickest article I ever read was a 13.5 in a Boss 351 but to go back a little a 427 Cobra would go zero to 100 to zero in 13 flat.I would say the 427 Cobra was the fastest Ford ever built off the showroom floor. A 57 Tbird with a 312 Paxton and rayon tires was impressive in the high 13s. Mag articles though I have to give it to Shaman at least the quickest I have read was a Boss 351. Is the Cleveland the fastest Ford, Hell no. The 427, 428, 429 will all outrun a Cleveland.
IMHO 
To answer a question about what the Drag Pak and Super Drag Pak cars were:
The Drag Pak (Mercury used Pak Ford Used Pack) option started in 1969 with the 428CJ.
Optional Drag Pak includes Traction-Lok differential with 3.91 axle ratio or “No-Spin” locker with 4.30 axle ratio, plus these 428-cu. in. 4V engine modifications: engine oil cooler, cap screw connecting rods, modified crankshaft, flywheel and damper. Available with 428-cu. in. 4V non Ram-Air or Ram-Air V-8’s.
In 1970 the Drag Pak indicated the 3.91 rear axle ratio.
The 4.30 Ratio was called the Super Drag Pak. Availability included the Boss 302 Cougar. There were no Drag Pack or Super Drag Pack, Boss 302 Mustangs.
Cleveland is too heavy of an engine?
12.90 isn’t a realist number for comparison, car was a specially prepared ‘ringer’.
Hardly any magazine tests ‘from the day’, using a real, ‘as delivered’ car for testing, ever ran faster than 13.90.
By 1971 the tires sizes had increased, and no doubt improvements to the tread and rubber design had improved traction from 1967/68.
By comparison a 2015 Mustang with ecoboost 4 banger, is running a 13.90 quarter mile.
This site shows the Boss 351 as the fastest for vintage at 13.60.
http://www.zeroto60times.com/vehicle-make/ford-0-60-mph-times/fast-slow-quarter-mile/
Isnt it cool that besides the 427 our Cougars have someting else on those old Mustangs? No drag pack or super drag pack Boss302 Mustangs, who would have figured? Thanks for the tip, Bill.