What is the quickest quarter mile time for a vintage Plymouth Fury
Executive summary
The quickest quarter‑mile time appearing in the supplied reporting is 11.81 seconds, recorded by a raced 1962 Plymouth Fury Max Wedge according to its current owners and Hot Rod’s reporting [1]; this figure reflects a competition‑ridden, heavily campaigned car rather than a showroom‑stock Fury. For factory or contemporary‑magazine measured stock examples the best published elapsed times cluster in the mid‑teens—roughly 13.6–16.0 seconds—depending on year, engine, and test conditions [2] [3] [4] [5].
1. The headline number: 11.81 seconds — source and context
The standout low‑11 figure comes from Hot Rod’s feature about a 1962 Plymouth Fury equipped with the Max Wedge 413 which, per its current owners and the car’s racing history, “posted quarter‑mile times of 11.81 at 120 mph” during late‑’60s/early‑’70s racing at Firebird Raceway [1]; Hot Rod frames that as a raced, purpose‑built example rather than a stock showroom test car, implying significant race preparation and a competition environment.
2. What magazines and catalogs measured for road/test cars
Contemporary and retrospective magazine tests of roadgoing Furys produce much slower but repeatable figures: Motor Trend and other testers reported standing quarter‑mile runs in the mid‑to‑high teens for factory configurations, while an often‑quoted 1979 Hot Rod write‑up lists a 1964 Sport Fury that ran 13.63@105 mph in magazine testing of a heavily prepared example [2], and Curbside Classic cites a Hemmings 1976 test that recorded 14.21 sec for a 1957 Fury variant [6]. Automobile‑catalog and HowStuffWorks compile factory/estimation numbers of ~15.7–16.0 sec for late‑1950s Golden Commando and high‑output Furies [4] [5].
3. Stock vs. modified: why the spread is so wide
The reporting repeatedly shows that axle ratios, tires, ignition/carburation or fuel‑injection, and whether the car was raced or shop‑built change the quarter time dramatically: a factory high‑output Golden Commando Fury is estimated at ~15.7–16.0 sec [4] [5], while Max Wedge and other factory high‑performance packages—when combined with race prep, stronger gearing, and dedicated tires—produce times as low as the low‑12s or even the 11.8s reported for competition cars [3] [1]. Publications also note that later period magazine runs sometimes benefited from upgraded tires and setups not original to the car’s showroom spec [6] [3].
4. Which Fury variants were fastest in period testing
Period and vintage tests single out the Max Wedge and 426/426‑S installations, and late‑’50s Golden Commando fuel‑injected 315‑hp examples, as the quickest factory‑available permutations: Sport Fury models with big‑block 426 variants ran into the mid‑teens in magazine tests [3] [7], while the 1958 Golden Commando and Dual Fury variants are documented or estimated in the ~15.7–16‑second range [4] [8].
5. How to read the sources and their implicit agendas
Performance compilations (Automobile‑catalog, FastestLaps, ZeroTo60 aggregators) often mix factory ratings, magazine tests and owner claims without always clarifying race modifications [4] [9] [10], while magazine features may highlight extreme examples—either because they’re newsworthy or because highly modified cars make more compelling copy [2] [1]. Where possible, the reporting distinguishes magazine measured runs from owner‑claimed racing histories; readers should treat owner recalls of 11.81 as credible for that car’s race life but not as proof that stock Furys commonly ran such times [1] [6].
6. Bottom line answer
Across the supplied reporting, the quickest documented quarter‑mile associated with a vintage Plymouth Fury is 11.81 seconds at 120 mph for a raced 1962 Max Wedge Fury as reported by Hot Rod and the car’s owners [1]; for unmodified or factory‑spec road/test cars the fastest corroborated magazine and catalogue figures lie in the mid‑teens—roughly 13.6–16.0 seconds—depending on year, engine, gearing and test conditions [2] [3] [4] [5].