Ok guys,I just got my 76 Pinto(trunk style) project home,now it's time to decide what to do,I figure the planning stage is what I need help with.So,I come to the place where Pinto's are built in the mind the right way.I have Lot's of idea's but want to hear your guys ideas too.
1.Should I back-half the car or do a full frame?
2.It will be a V-8,but which one?
3.What color to paint it?
That's just some questions to get started with and we'll roll from there,I will take your guys ideas very serious when building this car(it's gonna take forever on this one).
I have to ask, what are your intentions with this car, race, street, little of both? Motor....hmm how much do you want to spend? A stroked 351w (393-408-427) with a carb and a streetable compression and a good aluminum head (AFR 205 or 225 or perhaps a Victor jr.) and a roller cam in the .600 lift area could easily deliver 500 to 600 hp with 500fpt. Another good idea.... a 302 or stroker derivative, with a holley or B&M 174 roots style supercharger (they are on ebay all the time for good prices) It would save money on expensive internals (just use a scat or eagle I beam forged rod and sealed power forged piston) giving you about a 8.7:1 compression with a 64cc head, very streetable and boost friendly! Just some of my thoughts.
well,I was hoping on running it on the street and the track,For the engine I was looking at a DSS 408 or maybe going to a big block.
a big block is alot of work, not too bad if your doing a full tube chassis, but you do have the issue of keeping it cool.....and its a big motor in a small car, not a lot of room for a large radiator and multiple electric fans. I personally would stick to a small block. The Dart or Motorsport block (351 based) is capable of a bore and stroke of 454 cubic inches......from a small block! If i was spending big dollars (oh wait...i am ;D) i would go with a 408 or 418, if i was trying to do something on the cheaper side i'd go the 302 with Holley 174 roots blower and a 650 carb. Its also my opinion that a ladderbar set up is better suited for street use, over a four link, but the four link is better suited for the track
Jeff,I got to agree with the ladder bar setup,I talked with one of the guys at Chris Alston Chassisworks and he had a different answer that kind of shocked me
1. A full chassis ladder bar Pinto would be a very bad idea if the driver is
over 4- ft tall.
A 4-link is more streetable, reliable, & fits that car a whole lot better.
So the way I take it a ladder bar setup takes up a lot more room.I was looking at a Eliminator I chassis a-arm with ladder bars but now I'm not sure.
Hm, for a street car, i would do the backhalf thing with a ladder bar (shorter bar length, not long) Having driven two Vega's one with ladderbar and the other with 4 link (both backhalf cars) i prefered the ride of the ladderbar car, but thats just me i guess. For the front of the car, you can get aftermarket upper and lower control arms (some that eliminate the strut bar alltogether) and use coilovers that are direct replacements for factory stuff if you decide not to go full tube chassis. I guess the options are endless, just depends on your intent and wallet depth! :o ;D
I think that's what I'll do,back-half it.Now I got to find a good back half!!!!!
Jeff,if you don't mind could you go to www.cachassisworks.com and look under clips weld in,back half,clip ladder bar I was looking at part #7128 and see what you think of it.Thanx=Greg
that looks good! Nice and shiney, can they be bought with the wishbone locator for the ladderbar set up? I like them better than the panhard bars.
They do carry wishbone locaters for both ladder bars and 4-link