Pinto Car Club of America

I have a 79 Pinto with the 2.3 and 4 speed manual trans. I want to switch it to an automatic. I am getting too old to shift all the time! lol  I took it to a cruise last night, and it is a pain in really slow stop and go cruise traffic.


It is not really a daily driver, but part of that is because I have grown to dislike the clutch. I think if I put an auto in it, I would be more prone to drive it more often.


What all do I need to change to the auto? I know the normal such as the flywheel, and shifter, ect. And I'll need a trans cooler and lines, I don't think my rad has a cooler in it so would prob just add a separate cooler.  I have a couple of Pinto wagons around the same year at storage, I think one had a good trans. Will my current driveshaft work? I didn't know if the yoke and trans length were the same. I assume the wagon one is prob longer than my 2 door? Speedo hook up the same? Trans crossmember? Or is there anything else to watch for that I haven't thought of? Thanks!

Sounds like you already know what you need. The drive shaft is different than a stick shift. You may be able to use an automatic drive shaft from a wagon, but it may need shorting some. And if you change yokes to an automatic yoke, the stock drive shaft may work. I've done this swap, but from an automatic to a stick shift. Cross member, spedo cable, etc all fit just fine, but the spedo gear in the tranie may need changing due to its number of teeth being different.

Make sure to remove pilot bearing!!!!!

Quote from: blink77 on August 13, 2017, 12:15:45 PM
Make sure to remove pilot bearing!!!!!

RIGHT ON!