As of this weekend, I am the proud owner of a 1974 Pinto Runabout. I have future plans for this car that include a turbo 2.3, possibly a 5-speed (haven't decided yet), a custom paint job, some new rims, complete overhaul of the interior and maybe some custom fabricated accent pieces. I would like a nice Hot Rod/Show Car. Things are not yet set in stone, although much is in the planning stages. I expect the project to take a couple of years based mostly on money. I have a couple of friends with many auto related talents working with me. They are very good at what they do, and yet have offered their services free-of-charge, just to be involved in something a bit different from what they usually do. I promised Pintony that I would definately post pics of our progress as we go. So far I only have pics from the night the car arrived here, I need to do some daylight pics, and pics of the interior and engine compartment. I hope to have those in the next couple of days. Until then, here's something to tide you over.
Okay, here's a few more pics and an update.
In one of the pics you'll see the front tire flat. This has been replaced with one that holds air so we can move the car around.
The stock motor will be coming out hopefully before Monday. When it's out, I will notify Pintony and he can come get it.
We decided to keep the Auto-trans instead of switching to the manual. It's a C-4 and from what I'm told, a very versatile trans.
After the motor and trans are out, we will be tackling the surface rust with sand paper and primer to keep it from getting worse over the time it takes before the car goes to have it's proper paint job.
During that time, the trans will go to my auto-technician friend who will be looking it over and rebuilding it if necessary.
While the rest of this is happening, we are looking for a donor car for the motor.
I have made a couple of local contacts who are familiar with the motor we plan to use, one of which had actually done this same swap previously (although he swapped out again later for a 5.0 out of a Mustang.. nice car, but he needs to take it out and clean the dust off... it's been sitting for a number of years). One of the contacts provided me with an EEC-IV computer for the motor and a Superchips performance module, the other gave me a lot of advice and an oil filter... well, he had it lying around.
And slowly we are getting this project off the ground. Hopefully we will find the motor soon. All initial engine and trans work will be done separate from the car, while various other jobs (body, interior, suspension, etc.) will be done similtaneously over the winter.
We plan to have the car running, strong, and roadworthy by next summer. And hope to get it to the body shop for paint the following winter. Hopefully my wallet will work with us on this schedule.
So, here's the pics...
Finding the motor is turning out to be harder than find the car. Found one motor, but the price was a bit high for the motor without the turbo. I have no doubt that if I can't find something else that it will still be sitting there.
The stock motor is out and waiting for Pintony to come get. I've found a new radio bezel, and will still need a passenger side front marker light. I've also replaced the hatch lift struts, and have started cleaning up the rust.
As there is little physical change, there is no point in posting new pics at this time.
Cool color..............
its something great to start with. i cant wait to watch it unfold
We have acquired a complete '88 T-bird Turbo Coupe to act as donor for the motor and wiring.
This car will be used for any component we need in making the swap to the Pinto, and the remainder will be parted out with parts being sold locally and on EBay. If you or someone you know may be interested in any particular part, let me know.
I love when a plan starts to come together. Anyway, that's all the news I have at this time.
;D
With the new year starting, I have been stripping the T-bird of parts I don't need. This will make getting the parts I do need easier to remove. I have requests from a few people for specific parts (body shell, wiper motor, maybe the seats) but anything else that I don't need will likely end up on E-Bay. I have about a half dozen things already pulled and hope to get more done later today. Hopefully I'll have excess parts listed in the next couple of weeks.
Sorry I haven't posted anything lately, but I've been a bit busy. Anyway here's the run down...
I have purchased an 8" rear out of a V8 Mustang II from Quickrick. We aren't quite ready to install it, but we are getting closer.
When I tried to change the steering wheel to an aftermarket wheel, I discovered that a previous owner broke off a bolt in the wheel preventing the use of a steering wheel puller. After a bit of fighting, drilling, using and EZ-out, and foul language, we got the bolt piece out and discovered why it had broken. It was a stardard bolt that had been stripped into the metric hole. After a bit more work, it finally came off, and has been replaced. I'll provide a pic later.
I purchased some brake parts from www.rockauto.com at 3AM Tues/Wed night. They arrived at my door Thursday afternoon. Now, that's what I call service.
The Thunderchicken that we are getting the motor from will be ready for the engine to come out VERY soon, and then the REAL fun starts. The 'Bird was purchased on eBay in running, but not streetable order. Over the course of the last 5 months, my wife and I have been slowly stripping it and selling off parts on eBay. The car has paid for itself at this point, and has started making money. So, free running motor, free wheels (with new tires on the back set), free body panels for my cousin's stock car, AND it's making money. Not bad at all. I will also have before and after pics of this as soon as I get the camera downloaded.
I found the limited slip differential I want to use, but it's a bit pricey, so I will be holding off on that probably until next spring. The important part at this point is to make the car go and stop. And to make it do those things as safely as possible without giving up velocity.
Well, that's all I have at the moment... I'll get those pics posted soon.
Heres's the new steering wheel....
Thunderbird before pics:
This is what the Thunderbird looked like the day after I brought it home.
Thunderbird After Pics:
And this is what it looked like yesterday afternoon.
If you don't mind me asking what brand is the steering wheel and what is the diameter? Was adapter kit needed?
It's a GRANT Steering Wheel, Challenger model. They sell for about $50. This one was a Xmas gift. Yes, it does require an adapter kit. And a hack saw. The steering column has a flared piece that sticks up on the main shaft. From the looks of it, this serves no purpose. That little bit has to be hacked off to provide clearance for the horn button.
By all means, if you EVER have questions, I'm glad to answer. I have gotten lots of advice and information from this and other forums since I started this project. I like to give back to these communities by helping out if I can.
Oops... forgot the diameter. I believe it's 13 inches maybe 13.5 I'm not sure. it is definately a smaller diameter than the stock wheel, and it also sticks out from the column about half an inch LESS than the stock wheel.
This comes in really handy for short people like myself, allowing to move the seat closer and get better throttle footing.
Thanks, and good luck with the new pinto, they are a lot of fun.
Here's what has been happening with my project as of late...
The motor has been pulled from the Thunderbird, and I anticipate my Auto Tech friend to be picking it up next weekend to open it up and rebuild it. He already has the harness from the T-bird as well as the wiring diagrams for both cars.
I placed an order on Friday with a local speed shop for a gauge, sparkplug wires, spark plugs, and a new fuse block. And I'm looking to get an MSD coil from e-bay.
I've transfered the rims from the T-Bird to the Pinto. The rims seem fine, but the tires have to be changed. The stock tires are 225/60/r16 they are a little too wide for clearance in the back and a little too round for clearance in the front. We have decided to look into 205/50/r16 in hopes of allowing clearance on both front and back.
I'm half way through the brake job on the Mustang II axle, the side I started with went reasonably well (I haven't done a brake job in over a decade), but the other side is fighting me. It just doesn't want to give up the drum. I decided to tackle it tomorrow after work and sprayed it down with penetrating oil. When the brake job is done, I'll need some good weekend weather to swap the rear ends.
Now, if only I weren't running out of money... oh well, I guess I'll have to work some overtime.
Okay... I am aware it's been a long time since I posted any news on my Fireball project. That's because of a large number of things getting in the way of me getting anything done. But anyway, here's an update.
The '88 T/C motor has been torn down and sent to the Speed Shop. The block and head were cleaned and magnafluxed and had no cracks. The head was returned and my friend Dino is almost done doing a port and polish job. The block is being honed. And I'm one weekend overtime day away from having the money to pay for the Speed Shop work (that isn't done yet).
My friend MartMan is working on making a new guage cluster to mount all of our new guages to. We are currently short on the Tachometer, which I ran out of saved money before I could purchase.
I finished the brake job on the rear axle, but haven't been in a position to actually swap the axles yet.
I also stumbled onto a front-mount intercooler at a really good price.
We ended up making back $100 over the price we paid for the T/C and still kept the motor and rims, plus gave away the body to my cousin. So that worked out really well.
Hopefully we will be able to get the motor installed into the Pinto within the next couple of months. We've pretty much lost a year on the timeframe originally planned, but that's only to be expected.
So far, the project is running at a little over $2000 total cash outlay (that number includes the Speed Shop estimated price and the price of the car).
That's all I have for now, I hope to have more news for you soon, and if I do I might have more pics as well.
I use to have a HUffy Stingray which was that color.... ;D
Well.... after six months we FINALLY got the motor back from Borowski Race Enterprises in Rockdale, IL. This included a valve job, a little cylinder cleanup, and crank polish (actually, a bit more but not important stuff).
The head is built up and ready to go on, the piston&rod combos are well balanced, we now need to buy some bearings and gaskets and start rebuilding.
I am taking the oil pan and valve cover to be powder coated tomorrow.
I have added a 007-style cigarette lighter modification for a push button switch. I am thinking of adding any extra switches I need in the ashtray as well (seeing as how I don't smoke and ask my riders not to). This will keep them hidden.
I am using the 16" rims from the T-bird. I was planning on using 205/50/16 tires. Does anyone else use these? if so, will they provide the clearance I need in the wheel wells and for steering without modification? If not, what would you recommend? I would like to use the same rims front and back and the same size tires front and back. Any help with this part would be much appreciated. I would really rather not spend $400 on tires for them to not fit.
Well, that's all I have for now.
Here my Pinto sits on it's borrowed wheels and new tires.
The wheels came off of a 1988 T-Bird Turbo Coupe (engine donor car). The tires are size 205/45/16 in the front and 205/50/16 in the back. We won't know until the motor is in, but the front looks like they will just barely clear (I'm thinking that stiffening up the suspension should help). The back has a little less then a half inch from the sidewall rubbing the bottom lip of the body/frame.
(http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d84/Keltoiblade/Projects/NewTires2.jpg)
In other news, the machine shop gave us the wrong piston rings and had to order the right ones which are on back order. So, once again we are held up on the engine rebuild. Once the rings come in, we'll get the motor back together.
I've purchased a double gage pod from Map. It is a beautifully crafted piece. I just have to find the time to do a little sanding, drilling (for mount screws), and mounting.
I've pretty much decided to dump my back seat all together and then mounting the battery box and creating some additional storage space as well as speaker mounting points.
I also have to find a box for these parts I have for Pintony so I can get them back to him.
That's all the news. Have a nice day.
Okay it's been a while since I updated this thread so here goes...
We finally got everything we needed to put the engine back together and did just that.
(http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d84/Keltoiblade/Projects/00012-1.jpg)
The valve cover and the oil pan have been powder-coated, not painted.
Over the last year we built a new garage as a home for our Pinto and a place to work on it. It makes things so much easier than trying to work outside in the weather.
(http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d84/Keltoiblade/Projects/00007.jpg)
Last week we pulled the transmission and have set to doing a rebuild with a B&M rebuild kit.
(http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d84/Keltoiblade/Projects/00001-1.jpg)
We now have the back end raised up.
(http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d84/Keltoiblade/Projects/00014-2.jpg)
We took out the stock exhaust.
(http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d84/Keltoiblade/Projects/00009-1.jpg)
And next we plan to drop the gas tank.
(http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d84/Keltoiblade/Projects/00011.jpg)
Assuming the tank is still good, we plan to offer it up for sale as well as the recall package (we are switching to a fuel cell).
In other news, we have discovered that the T-bird rims themselves rub against the upper control arm. We are considering using spacers or picking up some tubular control arms. Has anyone else encountered this before, and if so how did you deal with it?
Quote from: Mornblade on April 20, 2008, 07:53:14 PM
....In other news, we have discovered that the T-bird rims themselves rub against the upper control arm. We are considering using spacers or picking up some tubular control arms. Has anyone else encountered this before, and if so how did you deal with it?
YES!!I have heard/read of so many folks installing them so I thought it was a "direct bolt". I needed to grind down the ball joint flange and part of the outer rivet to get them to clear my 10-holes, but it will still rub a little when the suspention is compressed.
A similar issue with my Granada rotors with the lower arm: never seen
ANYONE else mention the problem....
Bill