Seeing Fords swapped with LSX mills at LS Fest isn’t a surprise at all. There’s a whole legion of Fox body Mustangs that appear, nevermind the “other” Fox bodies, trucks, and that one 1967 Mercury Cougar that I still can’t get over. But then there is this little monster that I first caught sight of earlier this year. It’s a 1980 Mercury Bobcat Villager…or, effectively, a dolled up Pinto with wood paneling and a serious attitude re-working. The Bobcat is clean and the Di-Noc wood paneling looks very passable, if not perfect, but that’s not why we are featuring it here at all. It’s because this is a ten-second monster of what used to be considered a throwaway car. Pintos and Bobcats used to be considered garbage, the thing to stay away from…they’ll blow up, everybody knew that! Why would you bother with one?

Why, indeed. Since many met their end at the crusher, seeing one is now something of an event, and seeing one with plates on and a turbocharged V8 under the hood isn’t just surprising, it is downright inspiring. Wasn’t hot rodding always about taking the unloved throwaway car and turning it into something to be proud of?