Pinto Car Club of America

By some sort of weird fate I came across this site today..

So here I sit at age 37 thinking of the 1979 Pinto that was given to me as my first car in 1987. The story goes. ..My father owned a service station in Burlington,VT for many years. He had a mechanic who purchased a 1979 Pinto in the copper color with a black interior. This mechanic installed traction bars and Keystone mags on the rear and used to cruise around in it. One of this guys favorite pastimes was to slowly cruise down Church St. (now brick lined pedestrian only) and hop the front end over and over getting X amount of clearance with the front tires.....fun huh?

Speed forward (or back) to approximately 1984. My older brother graduates high school. My father buys the pinto from his mechanic and gives it to my brother as his first car. My brother then has the engine rebuilt with a better cam, blackjack header, and weind??(sp) intake with a Holley 4 barrel carb. Yes we are talking torque. he also has it repainted copper with multiple glaze coats and installs 4 cragar SS mags with Eagle ST tires, new black carpet plus a mini steering wheel (not the chain one). Next thing you know he is off to the US Air Force in 1987.....and car sits.

Enter me at age 17 eager for a ride.....

I got it next and tinted the windows, and added a new stereo but pretty much left it alone. Buried the needle on the 85 MPH speedo numerous times, had it broken into for stereo, sideswiped an old lady, had it repainted, had a battery fall off tray and onto header melting plastic and spilling acid down firewall. That was the demise of it....acid rotted away front frame at firewall connection....didn't realize it. Sold in 1991.

I will have to find an old photo of it, scan it and put on the site when I find a host.

Nice to see this website & forum...unfortunately too late (of course internet wasn't around when I had it...nor an affordable computer)..

Thanks for the great story and welcome to the site.

Welcome to the site. Pinto's run in my family too.

Hello Vremont,
:welcome: Have you thought about finding a NEW Pinto and build it the way u want???

I don't think so at this time in my life. I have different interests now....maybe in the future though. In VT is is tough to find any old vehicle in good condition with the salt on roads and all.

Last time I saw a customized pinto was in 1993. I had gone to Ohio for my grandfathers funeral and my uncle and I had to get away. He drag raced his 91 mustang somewhere around Medina (well we drove somewhere) and we hauled his car there. At the track i remember seeing a few Pintos/Bobcats all done up and racing well.

While in high school I remember a local guy who had a 302 in a 72 or 73 bobcat. Needless to say a highschool kid with that kind of power to weight ratio didn't mix..... he died in an accident one evening when he ran into a tree.