a story from the road well traveled
When you are young one of the most coveted items one yearns for is a drivers
license and his or her own set of wheels. I was no different & at the ripe old
age of 16 I snared the license & my 1st car, a '55 Chevy 210 wagon. Still in high
school at the time; it was a dream come true but after some budget breaking
accident damage to the Chevy it was time to sweet talk Mom/Dad into some help
with my 1st NEW car!
It was late in 1970 if I remember correctly & my mom & I ended up at Downey Ford out here in California where I was running my eyes over a Pinto in Dark Green Metallic. A week later after signing my life away I drove off the lot in that same Pinto. My 1st brand new car. I was stoked!!! My girlfriend & I managed to rack up over 40,000 miles in less than one year! What a great car it was.
Being an avid reader & car nut as well as being young & dumb I immediately thought of the many ways available to make the car start-go-stop better than it already did. Ak Miller's Garage was near my home & my dad mentioned stopping by to talk so I did and the rest was history! I was hooked by the little horse & its potential and was soon sporting as much go-fast stuff under the hood as I could. Cam, headers, milled head, etc., and Weekly trips to Irwindale & Orange County drag strips, parking lot slaloms you name it.
I managed to snag a job at Ak Miller's too & was soon immersed in wrenching & racing in many ways. We played with just about any idea that could be come up with and with the likes of Ak & Jack Lufkin & George Spears & so many others I was in heaven when I finally was able to bolt on a turbo to my Pinto at a time when they were much talked about but seldom seen on street cars. We hooked up with Huntington Ford sales manager Jack Stratton to help introduce the Pinto based Pangra. Took many cars to the drags & I (do not try this at home!) made many runs down empty highways at full throttle wondering all the while how good can this car get?
It has been several decades since I have had the pleasure of owning & operating one of these wonderful cars but not a year has gone by that I haven't fondly reminisced of the good times. I truly believe that the Ford Pinto was one of the best ideas that Ford ever had.
Ford Motor Company, you did yourself proud with the Pinto.
Don't let anyone let you think otherwise.
From: Steve Thomsen
Date: March 4, 2011
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It was late in 1970 if I remember correctly & my mom & I ended up at Downey Ford out here in California where I was running my eyes over a Pinto in Dark Green Metallic. A week later after signing my life away I drove off the lot in that same Pinto. My 1st brand new car. I was stoked!!! My girlfriend & I managed to rack up over 40,000 miles in less than one year! What a great car it was.
Being an avid reader & car nut as well as being young & dumb I immediately thought of the many ways available to make the car start-go-stop better than it already did. Ak Miller's Garage was near my home & my dad mentioned stopping by to talk so I did and the rest was history! I was hooked by the little horse & its potential and was soon sporting as much go-fast stuff under the hood as I could. Cam, headers, milled head, etc., and Weekly trips to Irwindale & Orange County drag strips, parking lot slaloms you name it.
I managed to snag a job at Ak Miller's too & was soon immersed in wrenching & racing in many ways. We played with just about any idea that could be come up with and with the likes of Ak & Jack Lufkin & George Spears & so many others I was in heaven when I finally was able to bolt on a turbo to my Pinto at a time when they were much talked about but seldom seen on street cars. We hooked up with Huntington Ford sales manager Jack Stratton to help introduce the Pinto based Pangra. Took many cars to the drags & I (do not try this at home!) made many runs down empty highways at full throttle wondering all the while how good can this car get?
It has been several decades since I have had the pleasure of owning & operating one of these wonderful cars but not a year has gone by that I haven't fondly reminisced of the good times. I truly believe that the Ford Pinto was one of the best ideas that Ford ever had.
Ford Motor Company, you did yourself proud with the Pinto.
Don't let anyone let you think otherwise.
From: Steve Thomsen
Date: March 4, 2011
