You just have to laugh, even a little bit. Nose-high stance, big-and-little slot mags, bronze paint, Ford Pinto. This isn’t a car, it’s a seventh-grade sketch. It’s the Rat Fink Pinto drawing…all that’s missing is the shifter through the roof and some monster rowing the gears. By 1980 the Pinto’s legacy was set: it was a rolling firebomb, an OPEC crisis reaction that was outdated. Surely, the upcoming Ford Escort would be a much better car than the Pinto would be! We can still find a Pinto every now and then…Escorts, on the other hand, are like going fishing and finding a coelacanth at the end of your line: this was supposed to be extinct!
If there is one thing we like better than a clean Pinto, it’s a fast one, and what’s the best way to get a fast hatchback Ford? Stuff a V8 into it! But this isn’t your typical 302-swap Pinto…oh, no…that’s a 1970 390ci FE sitting between the shock towers, hooked up to a C6. You know that phrase, “the car is all motor”? Here you go. And yes, it’s running a 4″ dropped straight axle conversion with Brembo brakes. And that’s just the icing on the entire cake of a list of goodies that this little monster has. From the ad:
Streetable. Dyno at 450 bhp Rear wheel Horsepower, near 11 second car. Lots of note and records. 1970 390 Cubic Inch V8 Moroso 7 qt. Deep oil Pan Melling high volume oil pump Moroso oil filter relocation kit Holley 750 cfm 4 Barrel carb Edelbrock Aluminum intake Power Master 1 wire chrome alternator Hayden Dual Electric fans MSD Distributor MSD Ignition box MSD cap & rotor MSD Street fire Wires Accell Coil Ford racing chrome valve covers Aluminum radiator Lake wood Drive shaft safety loop Hardware custom Headers Flowmaster 10 series race Mufflers B&M shifter C6 Automatics transmission B&M shift kit Hayden Transmission cooler Aftermarket CD Radio and Pioneer Speakers Ford 9′ shortened rear end 35 Spline Moser Axles & Studs Richmond 4.11 rear gears Gabriel & Monroe air shocks Grant Steering wheel Jaz racing seats & covers Mr. Gasket street Scoop Halogen headlight conversion RCI 12 Gallon Fuel tank Rear & front located battery w /ext shut off Full Roll Cage 4′ dropped straight axle front end 37/45 Mr. Roadster front spindles & king pins 10-3/4 Brembo rotors on front w/GM bracing calipers & pads All inner fender well tubing 7 bracing hand made No heating system in car / No AC Runs at 160 degrees
And the final bit of good news? It has license plates. Outside of a car show or a trip to the strip, find me one occasion where driving this Pinto wouldn’t make you snicker just at the thought of how inappropriate a car it is. It’s perfect!
Craigslist Find: 1980 Ford Pinto
Good thing they painted it turd brown..
At this point, I’d love to find a clean grand parent fresh stocker, and put the new ford 2.3 turbo in it..
The promise is to lower the ride height, junk the dated wheels, get rid of the straight axle, ditch the hood scoop and fake bug catcher. Then with a respray and some better wheels and tyres it might just look OK. Those changes could help knock a few dollars of the price and transform the whole car into something you would want to be seen driving instead of a high-riding turd….
Close up shots of both door handles, taillights, and hood pins, but no photos of the engine or anything else important.
All for Old-School.
After a few minutes,this thing loses its appeal.
Dealer plates for this one !
Framework integrity.engine.interior……?
Yes!