My cousin loved the Pinto for some reason. And for some reason, my dad went out and found one...
2007 or so. The heyday. Today, it doesn't look like this...
The photos below will reflect the long history of Pinto that I've been a part of. It was my daily driver in High School. My dad found it at a farm in Zorn, Texas with a busted head gasket and melted #1 piston. He and I took the engine apart, replaced the motor mounts, put in a new piston, and put on a rebuilt (and very heavy) cast iron head. 1.6 liters of power inhaling through a single barrel carburetor....
It sat around like that, all original (though it may have been a 2.0 car from the factory since the previous owner did some wiring harness work that was suspicious) until High School. My dream was to put a 302 in it. Out in Austin, Texas at a car show a man named Dalton Wall (why i haven't forgotten that, i don't know) had an SCCA Racer in the form of a 74 Pinto. 2.3 liter engine making at least 200hp and built by a man who really knew his stuff. I put that engine in the car over a few weeks in Auto Tech. Drilled out old motor mount welds, put in the 2.3 motor mounts, wired and plumbed everything. And one day it came to life. With an open header, that thing was loud. 11:1 compression, Holley 500cfm 2bbl, D-port head that had work done to it, over sized valves...
If i knew then what I knew now...i probably would have never messed with it.
But i wanted more. Still wanted a V-8. My Dad found a guy who was building an MG. He'd put a Ford 2.8 liter 60 degree V-6 in to the small sports car and was selling the power plant. It probably made the same horsepower as the 2.3 or slightly more, and the good news is it bolted right in to the motor mounts we'd welded in for the 2.3. It was meticulously built and show quality.
If i knew then what I know now, I probably would have kept it.
I ran a remote oil filter location system on the 2.8. Oil filter was mounted under the right front fender because the original filter wouldn't fit between the block and the frame rail. On the inaugural "real" drive, the tire wore a hole through the pressure line and i lost all my oil. I forgot to tie the lines up. No damage was done, but I took it as a sign and sold that engine.
After putting in the 2.8, I upgraded the front drums to a 5 lug wilwood disc set up, took out the old 6 3/4" rear for a Ford 8" out of a maverick that bolted right up (and also had 5 lugs) Put on some Magnum 500s and painted it. (I painted it a few times)
That's when it was in its prime.
Since then, the engine has been sold, the rear end as well. The discs, and misc other parts peddled off for money. Today it sits in San Marcos as a shell.
And lately with my refined skills and ever growing knowledge (and slightly increased sense) I find myself wanted to devote some resources to it. At least make it roll again.
If you've got a ford 8" rear end, let me know...
