pinto-powered 100e - Classic Ford

Homebuilt hero
in association with
pinto-powered 100e
020 8518 9127 www.burtonpower.com
There’s no denying it’s a
good-looking car, and
tbat colour really helps
makes it what it is.
Pinto power was always the plan
and it sits right at home in the engine
bay. There’re moderate power for
now with potential for more.
Oil breather set up comes
from the Jap market as
Aaron needed one fast.
RS2000 cast manifold was one the shopping list from
day one, as Aaron likes the look of them.
Boot area is home
to just the bare
essentials, though
there’s still space
for the shopping!
“The car was absolutely mint and totally
standard. It was a good runner too, and just
what I wanted as I always intended to start with
the best shell I could find. That way I knew I
could sell on things like the running gear later
on as it was all in good condition.”
Pinto promise
As this was his first classic Ford project though,
Aaron wasn’t about to go rushing in and throw
any old thing together - this was a project that
had to be just right. And although a lot of the
key choices had to be changed a few times to get
them exactly right, there was one major choice
that was never going to change right from the
very start.
“The plan was always to fit a 2-litre Pinto
engine. It was stored in my head - I don’t know
why I decided it really but that’s the way it had
to go. And it had to go on 7J wheels, so one of
the first things I did was buy a Pinto, Type-9
gearbox and 105E axle all in one day. I had to
go halfway round the country to do it though!”
Refreshingly, Aaron wasn’t after all out speed,
quarter-mile times or massive power figures, in
fact he was just happy having a classic Ford to
potter around in — something that is easy to
neglect when it comes to classic Ford ownership.
“I didn’t want a strip car, or track car, I just
wanted an around-town car to have a play with.
I just built it for me. I wanted an RS manifold
on there and I liked the sound of carbs, so fitted
a pair of twin 45s.
“This way it’s future proof so when I do want
some more power I’ll build something a bit
hotter - but nothing too drastic.”
With the engine built up that just left the
small matter of fitting it inside the 100E’s tight
engine bay, and although Aaron doesn’t work
on cars for a living, for the first time he took to
working on his own car with the help of a friend.
“I’m a welder by trade with an interest in cars
and mechanics but once we stripped the car we
decided to cut the bulkhead to make the engine
fit. It was new ground for me but I just looked
at it carefully and made it work.”
Rack it up
After some careful cutting and welding the
Pinto and matching gearbox could fit, and using
a new steering rack and crossmember kit the
whole lot could be mounted up, once it had
The cool laser-cut parts
found round the engine bay
are courtesy of a mate.
The man himself — Aaron French. It’s been a testing
build for him but the results are absolutely stunning.
70 Summer 2012
Summer 2012 71