Your thoughts on a 2.3T Pinto...

65ShelbyClone

Founding Member
Sep 9, 2000
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Antelope Valley, SoCal
Its not like I have the money or space for even one project, let alone three, but my mind never stops working.

Even before I got the SVO I had this plan to put a Turbocoupe driveline into a Pinto hatchback. I know, everone hates Pintos, but its the only way to be smog exempt in this state. It wouldnt be a stock engine by any means and I figure no one expects a fast Pinto. Heck, I havent seen a fast one.....EVER.

The other option I was thinking of was an '82-83 GT with a 2.3T swap and just dealing with smog......I'm doubting this route, though.

Anyway, do any of you think I'm nuts, or is it a novel idea?
 
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Excellent idea, I say a 9 sec Pinto at FFW Orlando last weekend. Not a 2.3 turbo, but still and awesome car, monster slicks, bracket setup. Ran straight as an arrow. Have seen a 2000cc one at Gainesville also.
 
Are you kidding? I would kill for a Pinto with a good body and turbo 2.3L.

I love Pinto's and have owned 4. Double A-arm front suspension, rack and pinion steering, wide and short body leads to great handling IMHO.

My dad had a 75 runabout with a fully built n/a 2.3L with solid cam, long tube headers, 500cfm Holley 2bbl, 4 speed, 8" Mustang II rear, and P205/50-15's on front and P265/50-15's on back mounted on 15x7 Centerline clone wheels. It was estimated to pull about 225hp at the crank but was a cranky and tempermental car to keep in tune but holy cow was it fast!

A good turbo motor could pull that much and more easily and still mantain full driveability.
 
I really didn't expect this kind of support. I suppose I've been hanging around in the Classic and 5.0 forums too much. Over there anything even distantly related to an economy car(I-6 mustangs, Mustang IIs, Pintos, SVOs, etc) is either junk or needs a V8.

How much did the '71-73 Pintos weigh? I seem to recall it wasnt much.

I figure a 300hp 2.3T would move one along pretty well. It wouldnt be a drag car, either. I figure real roads have turns, so I might as well be able to take them above the return-lane speed limit. I would most likely get all the EFI tuning gear to remap the ECU and/or a J3 port piggyback board. Then I could mass air and just tweak the tables.
 
I thought about building a cheap and different 2.3T car for a while and finally just decided to get an XR4Ti. I love it. 225+ hp (with a 3" exhaust, ECU/VAM swap, K&N filter, and an intercooler), and it's got IRS and 52/48 weight distribution too. It's a lot of car for $1700.
 
An XR4Ti would be an option, but I yanked a turbo out of one and after that, I doubt I could put up with wrenching on one on a regular basis. I know of a guy around here that sort of collects them. I doubt its so much of a "collection" as it having a couple parts cars to keep the nice one going :nono:. Not only that, they're still smog cars. I envy anyone that lives in a non smog state(or area of one).

I checked over at turboford.org and didnt find a whole lot of Pinto related stuff, but what I did see made it seem like swapping into a Pinto would be fairly easy.
 
65ShelbyClone said:
An XR4Ti would be an option, but I yanked a turbo out of one and after that, I doubt I could put up with wrenching on one on a regular basis. I know of a guy around here that sort of collects them. I doubt its so much of a "collection" as it having a couple parts cars to keep the nice one going :nono:. Not only that, they're still smog cars. I envy anyone that lives in a non smog state(or area of one).

I checked over at turboford.org and didnt find a whole lot of Pinto related stuff, but what I did see made it seem like swapping into a Pinto woul dbe fairly easy.
Seattle has a smog inspection which includes a tailpipe sniffer and under car inspection only. My XR has a full 3" exhaust including a 3" cat, so it passed no problem. It was actually way way way under for all the sniffer stuff too... I guess it helps that it's only got 59K original miles.
 
Dang, when I smogged the SVO they look under the car, do anal probe, look under the hood, check the timing, and even tested my gas cap(!). I actually sold my previous '89 GT to get the pre-smog '68.

The SVO passed the HC part of the test by 1....yes, ONE. The valve seals are badly in need of replacing, so that contributed alot.

The pre-'74 cars of any type are totally exempt, so I'm going for a Pinto. My '68 would'nt have a snowball's chance in a smog test.....and thats why I have it. :D
 
Suits me fine. I bet a 200hp 2.3T would move one pretty well at ~2400(fuel & driver). I bet a 300rwhp 2.3T would do it even better. :nice:

Since there wouldnt be any emissions on it, I'd probably go for a tubular header, HX35/HY35/whatever Holset, fabbed intake, FMIC, and minimal exhaust. Oh yeah, and a moates.net J3 EPROM adapter.