hi im new here i have a 79 pinto wagon i have a 302 in it now but want to put a big block in it but would like to find out how bad i have to butcher it first and if it will still be sound enough chassie wise to drive on the street if not ill leave well enough alone and help would be great thanks
welcome to the swamp.....er site! Personally, i would just leave it as is. The 302 is capable of producing lots of hp. All you need are heads, cam and intake. Throw some boost at it if you really want some power (turbo, blower...even nitrous) My friend Tom just 460ed his '71 i haven't seen it yet but he told me it wasn't fun (to install i mean) We'll soon see if it can keep up with my 351w (stroked to 408)Pinto!
lots of work or $$$$ but its worth it
You know, If you can stand the extra 200 lbs on the nose Plus the extra traction issues you will have I guess its ok. I can tell you one thing though. With either my 289 or 2.5 turbo I can blow this tires right off the car pretty much any time I want. So, you might want to ask the question. Do I want to set up a 4 link and tub the back half to squeeze in the monster tires you will need to keep the car on the ground????
...and when you get the big tires and good traction, what are you going to do to keep it from going turtle and ending up on its top?!? ??? ;D ;D
Putting a 460 in a pinto is not something i would even think about trying. Everyone seems to think that you need to take a small light car and stuff the biggest motor you can possibly fit in it, and that that is how you go fast easy. That is not true at all. You will really but hurting yourself and i think will be very dissappointed with the result. First off you have the torque of a V8, and a big block one at that in a car that will already squeel the tires easily with just the 4 cylinder (been there done that, on dry pavement, on a 2.3 with a burnt valve and manual trans..smoked it all the way thru 1st gear) so you will have problems there. Second you have about 800 pounds sitting up front, which the car has to push (further reducing your traction) and KILLING your handling. Anything more than a 302 in a pinto is more show than go in my opinion and even then the 302s gonna give you some hookup problems due to the torque. a 2.3 turbo or 302 is the best route to go, with an aluminum intake its pretty close to the weight of the 2.3, and with aluminum heads im sure it is as light as the 2.3 (which is already pretty heavy, but the car is designed for that weight so it is OK). This is my two cents, im sure plenty will disagree but id be willing to bet most people dont think about the problems a big motor in a small car presents. They just think big car + small motor = big fun and thats about it. Have seen it time and time again where a 2.3 Turbo pinto beats V8 powered car, and gets better gas milage too. Heres some things to think about. good luck!