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I purchased this 1971 (date code 12/70) Ford Pinto in 1972 from the 1st owner.
(I saw the car brand new when it was bought by my mother's aircraft pilot license
instructor.) VIN: 1T10X155371 Body: 62B Col: E Trim: 1A DSO: 11
In 1975 while working at a Ford Dealership, I purchased a brand new Boss 302 Short
Block, bare heads, etc. and proceeded to build a brand new Boss 302 motor. I deburred,
blueprinted, and balanced the short block; Ported, Polished, and CC'd the new Boss heads
and installed Manley Stainless Steel one-piece (.202 Intake) Valves, etc.
(They were the same valves as used in big-block Chevy 396 motors!)
Some photos of the motor build are below.
While building the future drive train, I would race the 4 cylinder Pinto at
Lebanon Valley Raceway
(usually on Funny Car Show nights) and had a virtually undefeated low
E.T. of 16.71 in the pure stock class. (I only opened the exhaust and widened the 2000
CC's Cam Follower gap by .004" to reduce the exhaust/intake valve overlap - which
dropped 4/10ths of a second E.T. from the earlier 17.1's! I couldn't afford any
upgrades to the 2.0 L motor as I was putting my upgrade money into the Boss setup.)
Oh yeah, after snapping off a few original Pinto shifters, I replaced it with a Hurst
Pinto Shifter - which is also available. :-)
In 1976, I replaced the Pinto's 80 some thousand mile 2.0 L motor and drive train with
the Boss 302 (5.0L) motor, Lakewood 'Bullet proof' Bellhousing, Ford
"Toploader" Wide Ratio (2.78:1) 1st gear 4 spd, Hurst Super Shifter,
3.00:1 ratio 9" 28 spline Equaloc Third Member from a 1957 ?Fairlane with 5
bolt axles. I installed Maverick brakes, Traction Bars, and 14" Ansen Sprint rear
wheels. Front Brakes and Steering were replaced with Mustang II components,
and 13" Ansen Sprint 4 bolt front wheels.
The battery was relocated to the trunk, making it a pleasure to change spark plugs as
there is no battery, nor shock towers in the way!
The car sat outside for a few years in the early '80s, but has been in my dry garage
since then... certainly some rusty areas, but floors, etc are very solid.
I drove Tiny Boss 39,214 miles after the conversion including from New York to
Illinois and Florida numerous times, and even to Nova Scotia in 1977.
To help get through Pennsylvania's Interstate 80 during the middle of the nights when
most gas stations were dark and closed, the original 11 gallon fuel tank was replaced
with a 22 gallon Mustang tank with Shelby filler cap.
(It certainly did not get 32 MPG like my 1988
5.0 L Thunderbird Sport, but Tiny Boss only had a 3.00:1 ratio rear with no
OverDrive transmission which meant 60 MPH was sucking fuel at 3,000 RPM -
whereas the T'Bird was doing 1,500 RPM!)
In the '80s, the custom headers I fabricated rotted beyond repair,
forcing Tiny Boss to be retired.
Motor, Transmission, and Shifter were NOT included when I sold the Pinto,
and may be available for separate sale!
Here are some scanned old photos from Tiny Boss's preparation and
8 month transition in 1976:
 Early photo with a few drag racing Win Stickers |
 Accrued Trophies racing T/Stock & K/Stock |
 Brand new short block disassembled, deburred, |
 blueprinted, and balanced |
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 Brand new heads ported, polished, cc'd |
 Manley One-piece Stainless Steel Valves |
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 The Class Winning 2,000 cc served well. |
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 Setting up a 9.0" Equaloc 'pumpkin'. |
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 Enlarged Firewall/tunnel for Lakewood Bellhousing |
 Enlarged Tunnel for Hurst Super Shifter |
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 Before - Drum brakes |
 After - Disc brakes |
 Lakewood Steel Bellhousing & Schaefer 11" Clutch |
 Custom Clutch Linkage |
 Welding headers piece by piece took 3 months |
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 The finished products. |
 I wish I had them porcelianized! |
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 Tiny Boss came to life on Friday, Aug. 13, 1976 |
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 Removed Tire Well to make room for 22 gal Gas Tank |
 Moved Trunk Lock to make room for Shelby Fill Cap |
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Here are some recent photos of Tiny Boss as sold in 2012:
(Click any thumbnail image for a full size image in a separate window.)
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You may email
Kropf with any questions and/or serious offers.
This page was last updated on Mar. 18, 2024 at 11:18:55 EDT.