The ‘Pintera GT’ Is a V8-Swapped Ford Pinto In an Obscure ’70s Body Kit
Tilt your head and squint, and it could almost pass for a Plymouth Superbird shooting brake.
No matter how good they look in brochure photos, kit cars rarely offer the exotic appeal or driving experiences their ads promise. Plus, at the end of the day, you're still driving a Pontiac instead of a Ferrari. A handful of kits do, in fact, improve the vehicles on which they're based, like the Autonique Stiletto, which turned the lowly Ford Pinto into a car worthy of appearing at a Concours d'Elegance.
Manufactured in seemingly small numbers during the 1970s, the Stiletto bears a modest resemblance to superspeedway specials and Italian exotics of the period. More specifically, the Stiletto looks distantly related to both the Plymouth Superbird and De Tomaso Pantera, and faintly echoes the latter's hood contours at different proportions. Perhaps that's what inspired the owner of one of these rare, re-bodied Pintos to call their example—one enhanced by a V8 swap—the Pintera GT.
This "Pintera" is a rare example of a Stiletto-bodied Pinto wagon, one that was the subject of a 5.0-liter "302 Windsor" Ford V8 swap before going into storage for 30 years. Recently restored to running condition by its Craigslist seller, this Stiletto wagon is alleged it to be the only one of its kind, though whether they mean the sole Stiletto wagon or only V8-swapped example isn't clear.
What is certain is that its asking price is unusually reasonable for these I-know-what-I-got types, at just $5,500. That's about what a decade-old compact will cost you in many parts of the United States. Granted, you can get a running, driving Pinto (or better car) for less money, but as prices for unusual and handsome V8 shooting brakes with side pipes go, $5k isn't exactly an unfair price. After all, it's not every day you get the chance to buy a car that's a flame vinyl away from being a life-sized Hot Wheels.
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h/t: Barn Finds