Eleven 2nd Pony: 1980 Ford Pinto V8

Ford introduced their baby-pony Pinto for the 1971 model year, and while it might have shared a horse themed name with the Mustang, it was put together as cheaply as possible to keep the bean counters at Ford corporate flush with cash from their bonuses.  Unfortunately, this meant the subcompact didn’t have the best quality record and has become the subject of many jokes about exploding gas tanks…but not today.  Find this 1980 Ford Pinto V8 offered for $8,500 in Somerville, MA via CMAutoSales. Tip from Johnnyhoo.

Although this is a 1980 model year Pinto (the last year has to be the best…right?) it sports a decidedly 1960s/70s drag racer stance.  Back in the 1960s, tire traction wasn’t that good, so dragsters were lifted high front & rear to maximize weight transfer on launch, but by the 1970s tire technology was such that grip was good, so the front ends were lowered to avoid and minimize wheel stands and catastrophic endos.

It is nice to see that this car isn’t equipped with yet another blingy Chevy 350, and instead it has a Ford 390 V8 that is covered in chrome and souped up on the inside. With 450 horsepower to the pavement via a C6 automatic, this thing will be a menace at the strip.