Okay guys, well I cannot hold on any longer. I am going to purchase a pinto (as soon as I have the money that is! which hopefully should be soon!)
I have a few more questions that I hope some of you will be willing to answer!
1) first off. I cannot decide on which year pinto to pick up. I know that the ones before 74 need modding done to the firewall to fit the tranny, but I hear with a C4 tranny that you just need to bend the bottom lip a little to fit it --iS this only on 74 and up pintos or does this tranny provide effortless installation for all years of pinto?
2) I cannot decide whether I should pick up a 302 or a 351 windsor. Would the 351 make for even worse handling due to the weight? will it guzzle much more gas than the 302? I feel that the windsor would probably be easier to find but in worse condition whereas I can find a 302 in a 5.0 mustang in decent condition probably.
3) I do not know fudge all about trannys. I hear you guys mentioning the C4 alot. Is that a manual? how many gears is it? and can it be converted to have a manual valve body? If not are there manual ford tranny's that are the same size as C4's?
4) Rear ends.. Either a Ford *8 inch or 9 inch. I think I will go with 9 because some guy said if you have some power and fat sticky tires it will be easy to tear apart a 8 inch.
5) exhaust. I will probably just fab my own exhaust, but where do most of you pinto guys run your exhaust? out the back or out the sides in front of the rear tires? This is just an aesthetical question as I haven't been able to find many nice pinto pictures where the exhaust can be seen
6) Interior wise, this pinto would ideally have a black one, but I know that will harddd to find. What are some interior colours common to the pinto? are they radical 70's colurs? if so are seat covers and interior replacement parts available for pintos as there are for other more popular old cars? I am thinking of painting the car either bright yellow or a nice plum/purple!
also I know most pinto are very small inside. Do they come wth rear seats? Would you guys suggest keeping the rear seats in for added rear weight for better handling? or will it not make a difference if I remove them? If I do remove them I will probably buy some nice summit racing buckets to put in the front and throw a some speakers or a nitrous bottle back there in the future!
Thanks guys, I know this is a long read with alot of questions that have probably been asnwered before. I have read through the forums. But I would really appreciate if you guys could offer up some serious advice on this stuff before I buy this car. I know that putting a v8 into a pinto is alottt of work! but if its doable and you guys can offer up some concreate advice and solid guidelines then I am GOIN FOR IT!!
thanks a bunch!
Andrew
Check out this article.....I believe it will answer a lot of your questions. Have fun!
http://www.geocities.com/g_wellwood/automotive/v8pinto.html
I did a pinto V8 swap years ago and it was pretty simple as for as motor swaps go. Just recently did a 2.3 turbo swap into my 76 and find that a lot more satisfying. It handles better eaiser to drive and just as fast.
But it all depends what you like. When I did the V8 swap I used a 302 with a C4 the only clearance problem was the fire wall that you mentioned but I just moved it up with a ball peen hammer (it doesn't need much clearance). I used a 9" rear out of a 57 ford which is about the same length axle to axle. At that time hooker made a kit for the swap that included the headers. Not sure if that is still available. radiator was the biggest problem and I think I found one out of a salvage yard from a 67 mustang. I didn't have a big budget at the time but most of it can be put together with realively inexpensive parts. You can also go the extreme and do a pro-street type car but you get into alot of money with tubs, frame suspension etc. So it just depends how much money you have to spend.
But $ for $ I think the 2.3 turbo is the way to go. I love mine. Hope this helps somewhat.
Pintoinyoface.
The easiest swap is a v6 pinto...it already has the front suspention and 8 inch rear end...a v6 wagon is best. i used the 302/c4 combination. The tranny mount needs only to be flipped around bacwards and that is the optimum position for the 302/c4. I used rigid motor and tranny mounts I made myself...all my work is documented here in projects for your reveiw but it is in seperate threads cause i did not know any beter at the time. Cookieboy has a v6 wagon that is just iching for a conversion. id be happy to answer any questions...my car can be seen and driven at the upcomming Tulsa central regional meet.
High_Horse
Any Brown Pinto is good for a V8 convertion....they are more stealth.
I have to say the extra weight of back of a wagon makes the car feel more stable than the sedans or hatchs.
I too have done a half dozen V8 swaps and a couple turbo swaps.
FrankBoss
Quote from: High_Horse on June 05, 2008, 09:44:53 AM
Cookieboy has a v6 wagon that is just iching for a conversion.
Thanks High Horse, I offered but he's looking for a car in better condition, interior/exterior, than my 78 Cruising Wagon. He just wants to do the conversion and not deal with interior, body and paint... can't say as I blame him ;)
Hey Guys!
This is me again except I am using a different account because I wanted to change my email address. Any other suggestions for what I was asking?
Thanks!
Andrew
I have a 75 with black interior and cherry red ext. 12,500 original miles logan
You guys got any suggestions on keeping the back seats? or how about the C4 tranny? and would a 9 inch rear be overkill for a mild 302 that will hopefully make 300-350 hp? I am thinking the 9 inch rear would help add some weight to the rear as well and same with the rear seats. but if I take out the rear seats will it really be that much of a difference?
Any other help would be greatly appreciated!
The seats themselves weigh very little - maybe 20lbs but the metal plate the seats mount to, the part that goes up and down when you put the seat down weighs more than the seats themselves I would guess or close to the same. I would guess a 40lbs savings by removing the rear seats. Since the seats are in the middle of the car and the weight would distribute to all 4 tires I suspect the full weight of the seats would make little or no difference when considering the weight/traction issue to the rear tires but consider... it may be handy to have rear seats considering the "driver" status you have planned.
If you do remove the seats you would either have an empty space where the seats were or you would build a box to cover it up and look nice.. if you build a cover for the empty spot where the seats were you then negate some if not all of the weigh savings. However in a V8 swap many do relocate the battery to the back (right over the power wheel has been suggested before for weight/traction) but you could move the battery to the rear seat location..build a box to cover and then you'll have a perfect place to mount some speakers... just some thoughs I had...
The 9" would add weight (have seen that mentioned here before) not sure if the 9" would be required for a mild 300-350hp or not... and I would think the C4 would be fine but....
I will let others with more experience answer the 9" & C4 question...
I used the 302/c4 combination. My car had a single track 8 inch rear end which was stock with the v6....my engine with 2 barral carb and stock exhaust manifolds puts out between 150 and 170 horse. I have been beating it trying to get it to fail and it did not.
Of course I have not been neutral dropping at all. Now I have posi...8 inch. I am not spinning my wheels off the line which means it jumps off the line. Considering the weight of the car I don't see the need for a 9 inch.
High_Horse
60s Mustangs had 8 inchers in them, even with the 271 horse HiPo 289
Hey Guys!
It has been a while since I have posted!
I have finally convinced my dad and he said my idea is cool!
I am going to tub the car out(to fit the meats) and do all the neccessary mods for it
If I put a 302 or 351 will I need to add sub frame connectors for better stability? ANd I STILL CAN'T decide whether or not to go 302 or 351 although I think the 351 would be harder to find(i went to a local yard yesterday and the only 302 they had was in a 93 F150 and it wasn't running, would this be worth picking up?
I know the C4 is an auto but would it be possible to change the valve body to manual?
And one more quicky! are the header swap kits still being made? and where can I find interior parts for a pinto? I plan on doing all black and will probably just buy black seat covers, or maybe black racing buckets.
I cannot wait to get this thing on the road! It is all I think about! :devil:
Quote from: pintobassdude on June 26, 2008, 06:48:45 PM
where can I find interior parts for a pinto? I plan on doing all black and will probably just buy black seat covers, or maybe black racing buckets.
u and every one els here i have 4 car that have had black interior and still dont have the rear side panel for a hatch but i do have 3 sets for a sedan.
anyone else?