Since our theme this month is misfits and mavericks, I figured I'd quickly post about a car that played an important role in my teenage years – a '72 Ford Pinto. Yep, a Ford Pinto , the car that's infamous for erupting into a ball of fire with a slight tap of the rear bumper.
While this hot rodded Pinto was about as shoddy as it gets, it's turbocharged engine swap also made it one of the funnest cars ever.
At some point someone took the rusty, weather Pinto chassis and added a turbocharged 2.3 liter motor from an '80s era turbo Thunderbird. I bought the car in 2002 for something like 1,100 bucks, and I remember road tripping down to LA with my dad and driving the car 250 miles home – choking on gas fumes the whole way.
The car may have been rough, but damn did it run well. It wasn't insanely fast, but with about 160hp, it had plenty of power to fool around with the "tuned" Hondas that filled the streets in those days. Even better was the look on people's faces when they heard the sounds of forced induction coming from a faded yellow Pinto…
Check out the luxurious appointments in the cockpit. Yes, that's a C4 automatic trans that actually worked quite well with the turbo motor.
The car is still in the family, owned by my younger brother. It's not running at the moment, but I'm hoping it will make a triumphant return to the streets soon.
I've always thought about how cool it'd be to really do this car up. Dropped suspension, a Trans Am style chin spoiler, old school mags, some cool '70s livery…sorry getting a little carried away here.
Anyways, just wanted to share this little quirky piece of my automotive history.
-Mike Garrett
OFFICIAL SPEEDHUNTERS SUPPLIERS
cool that you still have this machine!
DO IT! DO IT! DO IT! DO IT! DO IT! DO IT! DO IT! DO IT!
Customise it..
turbo joe!
this is gonna sound weird, but i've always wanted a pinto. I like living on the edge, plus i'd love to stuff a 351 into it...hehe. I'd also think it would be cool to try and copy the fiberglass front end seen on the pinto pangra
Spray bomb it Grey, make it look stock, and Hunting Season.
Thats a cool little car.
lol, i had a 71 for my first car. i still have it and am planning on swaping a supercoupe v6 into it and getting it sideways.. haha.
COOL BIT OF HISTORY
It is amazing how many people around here know Mike as the guy with yellow turbo pinto. Somehow it manages to make its way back to our house from time to time, only now it's on the car trailer.
Such "anomalous" american, Detroit tried to make japanese or european alike compacts... I think, today they look quite right.
No big blocks? Nowdays we know everything about turbocharing a 4-cyl lump.
Small? Not too small BTW, just normal today. It's much easier to learn a compact to handle and to stop, than a 2.5-tonn 5.5-meter fullsize coupe.
So, Mike do it!
PS: sorry for my bad English ))
PPS: hi from Russia! Thanks guys, I really enjoy reading Speedhunters. Especially I like "new" mix of drift Silvias and classic customs. Keep on!
Do it, clean it up. Repaint it, give a new interior and put a fuel cell in for good measure! That'd be one badass little car.
Mike, sweet Pinto! I think you'll dig my bro's old turbo fox with the same swap. http://www.cardomain.com/ride/703115
needz moar slam
why is this dirty ass piece of shit on speed hunters
My dad used to own Mustang II hatchback (a.k.a. Pintostang) when I was a kid. Even though people always rag on the Pinto, I'm actually a fan.
please please please don't do anything to the exterior, except maybe the rims. It looks so beasty, wearing it's scars like that.
Swap that t-bird motor with something like an I6 from a falcon, to keep with the misfit theme.
Would be cool, I think.
lol awesome post, wasn't expecting it
gotta love the unexpected though, like that 12-second Plymouth Voyager 
(in all seriousness, as mentioned at the beginning of the article, this month's theme is "misfits and mavericks", i.e. cars you wouldn't normally accept in any particular automotive circle)
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wolf, obviously you haven't been here long
I see more and more garbage on this site, and being mavericks and misfits month doesnt mean crap cars have to be posted.
wow that one doesn't have the safty bumpers
get it runnubg and put some seats in - good to go
yes fix the crappy engine but what not...but PLEASE keep the exterior the way it is now! it looks great just the way it is now
the rims could use changing tho!
wow, what's with the haters? you don't like it, don't read it.
I LOVE it. I'd find a take-out of the new 300hp Ford V6 to swap in.
"wow, what's with the haters? you don't like it, don't read it." I second that!
"wow, what's with the haters? you don't like it, don't read it." I second that!
love the cars that are "on the edge", thats why i drive a volvo 360. Supposed to be a "grandma/grandpa" ...... but it has RWD ............ and its flat-black....... so it suits me!
you should raise it instead and make it pop wheelies.
Moar like this please. I'm all about putting speed in strange unexpected places.
Michel NL sez:
"love the cars that are "on the edge", thats why i drive a volvo 360. Supposed to be a "grandma/grandpa" ...... but it has RWD ............ and its flat-black....... so it suits me!"
There is actually a large amount of people who prefer Volvos for this reason, and the fact you can swap huge V8s without mutch hastle. For example, I belive there a Team V8lvo that runs in 24 Hr Lemons
Great car and great post, more misfits and mavericks please
And yes customise it.
Don't ram the rear or BOOM!!! Haha something unique though... Cool post
I got an 80's pinto for first car
im glad they fixed the explode problem, I got rear ended in the first week
My first car in 2002 was a 1978 Pinto Cruising Wagon my dad and I restored with the sweet red/yellow/purple stripes. Reading this really makes me wish I hadn't sold it 2 years ago and do the engine swap.
I own a 1975 Mercury bobcat and have had Several pinto's 77 Runabout, 78 Cruzin wagon and the like.
Fix that baby up and use her.
Hmmm... I remember this beast, you need to bring it back.
Now for another trip into the world of the Blue Oval from Sunday's Fabulous Fords Forever show at Knott's Berry Farm. Ford has produced so many iconic models over the years, but sometimes you forget just how many there are until you see them all
Any progress on the Pinto? I own 3 SVO Mustangs and have preferred the 2.3T to the 5.0 for decades now. I'm also very interested in your Project Ecoboost! Thanks for sharing!
I love sleepers... that's my style.. please... more sleepers in speedhunters.