One of the most unique Funny Cars from a period when they were becoming more homogenized, the M/T Pinto Funny Car was powered by a blown Ford Boss 429 Shotgun motor, in a titanium Woody Gilmore chassis at a cost of $6000 at a time when Funny Car chassis ran half that amount. With Dale Pulde driving and featuring numerous iterations throughout its two-year run, the Pinto had a habit of catching on fire, requiring new Pinto bodies and countless paint changes making keeping track of it challenging. It even sported a Mustang body, though it never raced with it. In spite of its penchant for fire the direct-drive Pinto won the 1971 AHRA Winternationals, and was runner-up at both the IHRA and NHRA Winternationals meets. The shotgun engine gave way to a traditional blown Chrysler Hemi, running through the 1972 season ending at Niagra Falls, New York, that summer. Pulde has said it took four fire suits to get through the 1971-1972 seasons.
The post Turn Back Tuesday: Mickey Thompson’s Titanium Pinto Funny Car appeared first on Hot Rod Network.