Potential HotRod

one man's pinto is another man's coffin of flame.

k

i thought it was just for the hatchback models....
PLus all you have to do is fab a diff plate, it's like maybe 20 bucks.

Yeah, it was just the hatchback and runabout that had the exploding gas tanks. The wagons had the tank further forward.

Drop a small black ford into this car and keep it all stock looking with a quiet muffler and go terrorize the street cars and rice burners.

iirc the rubber tube that connected the tank to the fill neck was a major culprit. the compression of the tank in a rearender resulted in the gyser of fuel. how much futher foward could the fuel tank moved? 6"? all pintos used the same chassis correct?

k

I think they did use the same chassis but if you look at them, the wagon is about 22" longer and the tank is in the same location so it's that much further forward of a rear impact collision. Besides, they are cool with the rear windows all tinted with limo tint.

diff cover man....or for heaven sakes put a 914 tank in there and put some steel around it.

i watched a show on engineering disasters. They said the pinto was originally to be the safest ford ever made w/ a inner tank safety liner, and the first ever airbag. At the last minute they decided to cheap out to keep costs down, and since the rear suspension was too close to the tank, it would puncture it at impact and rupture instantly. Had they installed the original designs, it would have been a legend. Well, maybe.

I always liked the Vega panel express wagon with out the rear windows and a small block

QUOTE (spare time toys @ Jun 26 2005, 01:39 PM)

I always liked the Vega panel express wagon with out the rear windows and a small block

Had a 75 Vega with a small block chevy in it plus a few other mods bought it for $1k (back in 1984) it was divorce sale, the woman got it the house and the speed boat from her ex in exchange for what he owed from the divorce. Just happen to driving past and noticed this hot woman having problems getting the car started. I stopped and ask if I can help and she said yes, buy this damn car. Longer story short, bought it, replaced the dead battery and drove it for two years before I sold it to the neighbor kid for $2500.

QUOTE (skline @ Jun 26 2005, 09:39 AM)

This would make a cool hot rod

Are you serious?
The paint fumes are affecting your judgment.

Get back to work on the Chanlon Scott.

QUOTE (spare time toys @ Jun 26 2005, 04:39 PM)

I always liked the Vega panel express wagon with out the rear windows and a small block

I had one of those... minus the small block. It was a check the gas, fill up the oil kind of car. I would buy a 5 gallon can of non-detergent sae30 tractor oil and keep it in the car.

I know, I know ...You might be a redneck if....

Well... If you could make a tube frame copy of it, Make a fiberglass body to go onto it.. Paint it stock (like a funny car), and put in some small block (heck, you could even put drag slicks on the inside of the car with a narrow rear, then put fake wheels on the outside... hehehe.. make some piece to hide the wide tires.. Electronic exhaust cutouts, one with a very quiet system, one dumps.. 500 horse engine... 1300 lbs..

The bubble windows etc.... this was called the "Cruising Package" by Ford.

my parents brought me home from the hospital in an orange pinto, just like that. then they traded it in for a VOLARE. what an upgrade

Carpet was stapled in the rear floor. the staples were too long and went through the floor pan into the tank! They would ripe out on impact causing a spark and the resulting explosion!

oh...well slap me silly. serious rick? well i stand corrected.....i was told it was the diff cover bashing the tank..........

QUOTE (Long Prong @ Jun 26 2005, 09:14 PM)

oh...well slap me silly. serious rick? well i stand corrected.....i was told it was the diff cover bashing the tank..........

Serious! They did some crash scene reconstruction stuff. As I recall this was the findings. I could be wrong but that's what I remember.

in M.E. class the teacher went over the case study. Could be both or something. Ford team designers sat and came up with a $5 fix for the diff bolts...and doing a safety recall would cost them like $x....and for each accident, they decided on a generic settlement costing something like $x/9.....and it ended up all in alll costing ford like $5x for all of the accidents and fatalities due to the poor designing of the car. That's what I know...but what you say makes sense too. So........




Thanks again for the pics....i have spots for them picked out on my wall.

Uuuhhhmmmm
I owned 3 of them, all for street ratracing. My friend still has his wagen, 2.0l turbo, dynoed at 250 hp. Motor twisted the unibody, he had to make a frame.
Then we have the Pinto V8 crowd. back in the day, these were a light, inexpensive, starter car. I never blew up.
Cool thred
Later
Joe