The best muscle car produced by the Ford brand is the 2020 Shelby GT500. The GT500 is not only the most powerful muscle car produced by the Ford brand, but also one of Ford’s most legendary monikers attached to its best-selling muscle car. While the Shelby GT moniker remains an all-time great on the extraordinary Ford Mustang S550, another racing-inspired nameplate haunts the famed muscle car.
The original Ford Mustang Boss 429 and 302 saw Ford take on the skills of legendary designer Larry Shinoda after his efforts on the C2 Corvette. Ford used the 1969 Boss duo to topple Chrysler’s Hemi-powered magisterials and thwart General Motors’ Z28 Camaro in several race series. Ford, they were successful, with the Boss 429 and 302 going down in history as accredited race winners. What does the untested 1971 Ford Mustang Boss 351 bring? And what makes it one of the best muscle cars of its time?
10 The Boss 351 marked the end of an era
By 1971, Ford had withdrawn from motorsport activities due to tightening government regulations surrounding the looming oil crisis of 1973, a crisis that caused fuel costs to rise to a 400% As racing formats began to limit aerodynamic and engine sizes, the blue oval stuck to what they do best: road cars.
Although the 1969 Ford Mustang nameplate shifted 300,000 units in 1969, horse car sales had plummeted to an all-time low of 190,000 in 1970. 1971 saw the last redesign of the first-generation Mustang, and the Boss was the best of the 351. pile, with a racing-inspired engine and the added amenities of an aging muscle car formula. The 1971 Ford Mustang Boss 351 is the best muscle car produced by Ford as America’s golden age of V8 power came to an end.
9 The 1971 Mustang Boss 351 is a rare muscle car
Even though muscle car sales were declining, the 1971 Ford Mustang Boss 351 still offered Ford a fantastic opportunity for a limited edition car. Of the original trilogy of Mustang cars from the “Boss” brand, the 1969/70 Boss 302 produced 8,642 units. While the Boss-killing Corvette, the 429, saw 1,350 models created exclusively for the 1969 model year.
Coming in last, our hero, the 1971 Ford Mustang Boss 351, sits between the two as Ford 1,806 manufactured for the 1971 model year. Ford successfully sold 151,000 Ford Mustangs during the 1971 model year, and the 351 was the best muscle car you could buy with the famous blue oval badge.
8 The Ford Mustang Boss 351 was the underdog
Of the three motoring-inspired Boss Mustang cars, the 351 lacked the sporting credentials of its predecessors. Ford had successfully won the 1969 NASCAR championship with the legendary Mustang Boss 429, due to this 7.0-liter V8 developing 375 hp and 450 lb-ft of torque. Its smaller cousin, the 302, became the Trans Am champion of the 1970 model year, armed with its 290-hp small-block V8.
While the Boss duo had successfully knocked off their Z28- and Hemi-powered rivals, the 351 failed to achieve any such feat. Ford intended to replace the 302 for the Trans Am Championship with the Ford Mustang Boss 351. Unfortunately, due to Ford’s withdrawal from motor racing, the Ford Mustang Boss 351 arrived on the scene without a race to run.
7 Could you Daily A Boss 351?
Well, a little. Ford did its best to impress its aging customer base as many looked for woefully cheaper options; the once iconic best-selling muscle car needed to keep up with the luxury trend of muscle cars getting bigger. The 1971 Ford Mustang arrived 2 inches longer and nearly 3 inches wider than its predecessor. As a result, the vehicle weighed considerably more than previous iterations. Lee Iacocca, aka “The Father of the Ford Mustang,” labeled the ’71 muscle car “the fat pig.”
The 1971 Ford Mustang Boss 351 weighed in at 3,560 pounds, compared to the outgoing 1969 Boss 302 at about 3,122 pounds. Gone was the stripped-down automobile and in came the luxury luxury barge, much to the chagrin of its creator. Lee Iacocca later referenced the ’71-’73 Ford Mustang, stating, “The Ford Mustang market never left us, we left it.”
6 That elegant interior
Ford’s muscle car redesign efforts extended to the interior and included Ford Deluxe Decor trim or the Sport Mach 1 package. Additions such as the three-pod instrument cluster with a 120 mph speedometer and an 8,000 rpm tachometer became standard on the Boss 351 muscle car. Other luxuries such as a windshield defroster and power windows came as options for their now comfortable performance muscle car.
Ford even included several vinyl seat colors, including white, ginger, green, red, and blue, to pair with the standard black option on its iconic muscle car. The Boss 351 received an executive treatment packed with technological feats such as power steering, tinted windows and air conditioning. The best-selling muscle car had officially crushed its blue collar.
5 The 1971 Mustang Boss 351 is a great investment
Ford launched the 1971 Mustang with a base price of $2,911, about $22,000 today. For context, the Boss 351 cost owners $4,124 new; that’s around $31,000 today!
The overpriced nature of the 1971 Boss 351 led to low production numbers, resulting in a highly motivated market for today’s muscle car collectors. A 1971 Ford Mustang Boss 351 costs an average of $77,151, according to classic.com. Further research finds examples selling for around $45,000 as recently as 2014, a steep increase for one of Ford’s best muscle cars.
4 This Cleveland R-Code V8
Produced at Fords Brooke Park, Ohio manufacturing facility, the 5.8-liter Cleveland V8 found aboard the Mustang Boss 351 represents one of the most incredible small-block V8 engines in the world. The “R-Code” variant of the Boss 351 features an 11.1:1 compression ratio that develops 330 hp and 370 lb-ft of torque, allowing the muscle car to remain competitive among its V8 rivals from great block
Ford’s big-block killer remains one of its biggest hits, even by today’s standards. The 351C “R-Code” comes with an Autolite four-barrel carburetor, forged pistons, along with a premium cast iron crankshaft to withstand the pressures of drag racing. Despite having a cylinder head familiar to the Boss 302 engine, the 351 Cleveland differs with added water passages and much larger combustion chambers.
3 The Boss 351 is a very fast car
The Ford Mustang Boss 351 hits 0-60 mph in 5.7 seconds, almost a second faster than the outgoing Boss 302. In fact, the 351 has a quarter-mile time of 14.1 seconds, just below the 14 of its larger 429 cousin. second run, despite coming in with 45 fewer horses.
The Mustang Boss 351 took Ford’s 429 big block as well as the iconic 426 Hemi found aboard the legendary Plymouth GTX. Ford’s small-block/big-body formula took its best muscle car to 124 mph, meaning it also rivaled General Motors’ 455 V8 with the 125 mph 1971 Trans Am.
2 Ford’s committed style
Ford’s decision to implement a Mach 1-style design came with its problems with the 1971 Ford Mustang. The sloping roofline and bulging NACA air ducts led various publications to report a visibility limited aboard the Mustang Boss 357.
Ford installed hard-back bucket seats in the front and another pair of buckets in the rear. The low seating position and wide roof pillars only worsened visibility aboard the drag-inspired muscle car.
1 The Boss 351 arrives ready to race
It’s a shame the 351 Boss never entered a motor racing series. Ford had thought otherwise, fitting the iconic muscle car with a 9-inch Traction-Lok rear differential to pair with its competition suspension package: more motoring tricks like a great pair of powerful front disc brakes on the venerable muscle car.
Ford-equipped SportsRoof cars with race-inspired hood scoops on either side of the dual NACA ducts. Additionally, the ’71 Boss 351 featured a race-ready Hurst shifter, handling the Boss through its Top Loader four-speed manual transmission. The Ford Mustang Boss 351 is one of the best classic muscle cars you can buy today, coming with a fascinating history and a tendency to double the price.
Sources: Federal Reserve History, Classic.com
