Car of the Week: 1972 Ford Pinto

[mongooz]

Oh yeah. Slid right in there

Me and a buddy crammed a 429 into a '68 Merc Cyclone. Now, that was a close fit.

close yea.....but the factory put 428 CJ's in the Cyclone GT's.
my first car was a 1968 Montego MX.....same body without the fastback.

 

[Steverino]

close yea.....but the factory put 428 CJ's in the Cyclone GT's.
my first car was a 1968 Montego MX.....same body without the fastback.

Sweet! If I remember correctly, there was less than 1" between the valve covers and shock towers when we dropped it in. More like 1/2", but it's been a long time.

 

[2112]

Chevy stuffed V8's into some of the late 70's Monza's so they could homologate them for IMSA endurance racing. IIRC they were in the old FIA Group 5 class ( the class that produced the turbo BMW 320i and the Porsche 935-thumping turbo 4-banger Zakspeed Mustang/Capri). Greg Pickett drove a Monza to a couple of GTO (over 2.5 liters) class championships racing against the first iteration of the Porsche 930/934's.

My friend had one of those Monza's. Tranny tunnel was HUGE and when the car warmed up you could burn your arm on the e-brake lever. If you stomped that beast while turning a corner (especially if you got some water on the rear tires) it would flip a bitch before you had a chance to react. It was a dangerous, but at the same time, bitchin' car.