The Ford Pinto was the one of the original recipients of Ford's infamous OHC inline-4 cylinder "EAO" engine, but it was a carburetor fed and grossly underrated engine. Later variants added more displacement, turbocharger, fuel injection and upped the fun factor considerably, so it only makes sense that someone would put a later and higher powered 2.3 into a Pinto. Find this 1979 Ford Pinto 2.3 Turbo
currently bidding for $3,000 on ebay in Joplin, MO with 4 days to go. Tip from Andy L.
Tipper Andy confides in us:
Here is a little project car that I have long imagined, but had never seen come to fruition until now. Half of my weak, reptilian brain says I should bid on this thing...
The 2.3 turbo power is very logical conclusion for the Pinto, but it isn't often seen in the wild, and many Pinto hot rods use simple carburetor fed V8 power. Sure, a basic carb'd 302 V8 will make twice the power of the turbo 2.3, but what is the fun in that?
The engine you are looking at is a 2.3 liter turbo from a 1988 Ford Thunderbird Turbo Coupe. In non-intercooled (and lets face it, that intake air pipe with a few fins on it is hardly a proper intercooler) the 2.3 OHC I-4 makes 150 horsepower and 200 ft-lbs of torque.
Taking a peak on the inside we see a curved Hurst shifter attached to the T5 manual transmission from the Thunderbird Turbo coupe.
See a better way to drive a turbocharged Pinto? tips@dailyturismo.com
And not a single jab at the "Starsky and Hutch" stripe/paint work? You guys are off your game today.
ReplyDeleteAre you trying to say Starsky and Hutch didn't drive a Pinto? In truth all of these cars are starting to meld into a big hideous El Camino'd UPS truck in my head. Sometimes I'll send a link to CFlo and he'll say something like "hey, didn't I just send you that link yesterday?"
DeleteI should have called it the Sturdsky and Hatch edition. Next time!
Vince
For a second I thought this was a Mercury Bobcat. Not that it really matters. These Pinto's were actually pretty good cars, until they realized they exploded when hit in the a$$.
ReplyDeleteIts only the front 3/4 of the Starsky and Hutch Gran Torino.
ReplyDeleteWe had a Pinto. We crashed it twice. We survived.
ReplyDeleteIt was an older model than this. I don't like the front of these, otherwise I might be tempted... No, not really...
Wow I own this car now bought it and picked it up form Joplin in April 2014 car hasn't changed much on the inside or outside but under the hood is a much angrier little 2.3
ReplyDelete