Got challenged by a Pinto!
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2001
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From: Living in the Hartland
Got challenged by a Pinto!
Took my Formula out for a cruise after work and a guy with a hopped up Pinto got next to me and reved his engine. I am pretty sure you can stuff a 350 in those things , sounded like a small block, so I wasn't sure what his intentions where but I am smart enough not to mess with the unknown. So I cranked up the Blackfoot, let out a :lol: and thought to myself "Dude, your in a Pinto!", don't think he like me laughing at him. :)
[Modified by Fevre, 10:35 PM 4/23/2003]
[Modified by Fevre, 10:35 PM 4/23/2003]
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 3,128
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From: Deltona (son of Deland and DAYTONA) FL
Re: Got challenged by a Pinto! (Budman78)
I had a student that still has a custom Pinto with a far-from-stock 351 in it. He has some wild custom paint job on it. He's no young punk either, looks old enough to know what he's doing. It sounds nasty, I wouldn't mess with it until I get a AR motor. :eek:
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 6,493
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From: Bloomington MN
Cruise-In II Veteran
Re: Got challenged by a Pinto! (isosceles)
There are a lot of quick Pinto drag cars out there. They are drag cars because they are easy to swap engines into and they are cheap. It might beat you in a drag race. You might beat it though if you were in a 350 Vega, would you rather have the Vega? :lol:
AC
AC
Race Director
Joined: Jan 2001
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From: Matthews NC
Re: Got challenged by a Pinto! (A C)
There are a lot of quick Pinto drag cars out there. They are drag cars because they are easy to swap engines into and they are cheap. It might beat you in a drag race. You might beat it though if you were in a 350 Vega, would you rather have the Vega? :lol:
AC
AC
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 3,255
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From: Manalapan FL
Re: Got challenged by a Pinto! (Budman78)
:lolg: :lolg: :lolg: :lolg: :lolg: :lolg: Pinto...
Doesn't matter if he has a twin-turbo hemi 32 valve turbine running on jet-fuel (with a 671)...it's still a Pinto!
D. Ocean
Miami, FLA
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2000
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From: Who says "Nothing is impossible" ? I've been doing nothing for years.
Re: Got challenged by a Pinto! (RMVette)
A friend of mine out West had a Pinto with a 350ci in it. Real POS but I wouldn't race it he could smoke the tires in 4 gears. :eek:
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 3,407
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From: Carmichael CA
Re: Got challenged by a Pinto! (Fevre)
OK, don't laugh...I have a Pinto...OK now you can laugh :rofl:
The fact is that Pinto's CAN be fitted with a 302, but it requires some welding for motor mounts. Pinto wagons came with an optional 302 with a towing package with the welding done at the factory. It would require a lot of work to make a Pinto frame handle a 351 without busting welds or just turning the car into a three wheeler. In my opinion anyone hopping up a Pinto would still be driving a Pinto, so I don't see any reason to try and improve a Pinto with a bigger engine.
The fact is that Pinto's CAN be fitted with a 302, but it requires some welding for motor mounts. Pinto wagons came with an optional 302 with a towing package with the welding done at the factory. It would require a lot of work to make a Pinto frame handle a 351 without busting welds or just turning the car into a three wheeler. In my opinion anyone hopping up a Pinto would still be driving a Pinto, so I don't see any reason to try and improve a Pinto with a bigger engine.
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Instructor
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 248
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From: Kansas City MO
Re: Got challenged by a Pinto! (Rockn-Roll)
I remember about a decade ago spotting a tubbed pinto wagon with a safety orange paint job with green flames, a massive hood scoop, what looked like dual 4" exhaust, full cage, a wheelie bar, an arester shoot, and a liscence plate.
By the way it sat the tubs went to the roof of the car. The windows were painted over so I couldn't be sure. You could barely make out the bottom of the rims in the wheel wells. Just enough room to get an arm in there to unbolt them.
I have no idea what it was doing on the street. Other than of course being dead under a highway overpass.
:lolg:
By the way it sat the tubs went to the roof of the car. The windows were painted over so I couldn't be sure. You could barely make out the bottom of the rims in the wheel wells. Just enough room to get an arm in there to unbolt them.
I have no idea what it was doing on the street. Other than of course being dead under a highway overpass.
:lolg:
Pro
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 511
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From: St. Louis MO
Re: Got challenged by a Pinto! (Black Snowman)
I ran a hopped up pinto once in my cutlass (nothing special 350 chevy 350 trans). Anyway this guy thought he had something with the light little car and I had 4 people in my car. I kicked his butt, then he did a ricer flyby almost. I don't think the term ricer was even concieved back then. The look on his face was priceless as he passed me.
Drifting
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 1,699
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From: Westampton NJ
Re: Got challenged by a Pinto! (A C)
I saw a Cooper Mini with a blown 468 BBC once. It broke the tires loose idling in reverse as he was trying to back it into a parking space at a "supermarket car show."
2100 lbs with driver, 9 second 1/4 mi.
2100 lbs with driver, 9 second 1/4 mi.
Safety Car
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 4,844
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From: Pearland TX
St. Jude Contributor
Re: Got challenged by a Pinto! (rainman69)
I've been to the drag strip 100+ times and can't remember one single hopped up V-8 Pinto. Not only are short wheel based cars squirrely on the top end, but even the guys out of the styx of Mississippi never even came up with concoctions like that. I did run upon one at Gulfport that was a trip. One of those back woods boys trailered in a Datsun 280Z with slicks and a hood scoop. Maybe a 350? Nope! He pulled off the front end and there was a hopped up Mazda rotary engine that was dwarfed under that scoop. The track let him do a single with that high revving whiner with a 5 speed. Ran 10.90's. It was a blast listening to him peg that rotary engine and shift it.
And the crowd roared! :cheers:
And the crowd roared! :cheers:
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 2,659
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From: Katy (Houston) TX
CI 7-8 Veteran
Re: Got challenged by a Pinto! (bgrice)
Last time I was at the 1/8th mile track on I-10 just west of Houston I saw 2 or 3 pintos with massive rear tires, wheelie bar, the whole works. I guess it must have been bean day. :lolg:
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 11,322
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From: Living in the Hartland
Re: Got challenged by a Pinto! (74VETTE)
What engine does he have in it? The power to weight ratio would kick to stuffing out of my Formula. I just had to laugh cuz he had a serious look on his face and the car wasn't nearly as nicely done as your fathers.
Racer
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 473
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From: Raleigh NC
Re: Got challenged by a Pinto! (Fevre)
I knew a guy in high school with a 351 Pinto. It had an L88 hood on it!
Anyway, the lack of traction on that thing was gross. Had a standard rear end (non posi,non limited slip) and it would spin 1 tire for as long as he wanted.
At a party one night he did a 3 block long burnout and could have gone much further.
Unbeleivable.
Anyway, the lack of traction on that thing was gross. Had a standard rear end (non posi,non limited slip) and it would spin 1 tire for as long as he wanted.
At a party one night he did a 3 block long burnout and could have gone much further.
Unbeleivable.