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We doubt that you’ll ever see a Pinto as unique as this 1977 custom that belongs to Jon Laun of Louisville, Kentucky. Jon’s car features the guts of a true hot rod: a turbo-charged .40 over 231 cubic-inch Buick six-cylinder engine, turbo-350 automatic transmission, a Hughes [2] 3000 stall converter, Edelbrock [3] intake, Edelbrock camshaft, a Weber side-draft two-barrel carburetor, MSD [4] ignition, and Chrysler 8-¼ inch rearend — just to name a few.
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“The frame is custom built,” explained Jon, “back halved with mini-tubs. It’s setup like a Mopar super stocker.” It also features leaf springs, an adjustable pinion snubber that’s controllable from the cab, Moser [8] axles, and a Supertrapp [9] exhaust system. The front suspension is Mustang II manual rack and pinion steering and it has a Racer Walsh front anti-sway bar. The list of upgrades goes on and on, and they work together to make the coolest Pinto we’ve ever seen.
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This car even takes things a step further with the custom exterior look. “The side marker lights are recessed and from a Ford dually pickup, and the front turn signals are from a 63-67 Vette,” Explained Jon. The front bumper is off of a ’71 Pinto, the rear bumper is off of a ’69 Camaro, and the front grill is totally custom. “The front and rear spoilers are handmade.”
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The interior is also very well done and features a full roll cage, custom leather interior, VDO gauges, and a Pioneer stereo system. The battery has also been relocated to the trunk, which is also completely upholstered.
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This is what it looked like when Jon bought it.
The exterior black paint was done in 2004 and when Jon bought the Pinto, it was just solid black. “It looked great, but lacked visual punch,” Jon said. “A friend of mine, Danny Taylor, painted the graphics on it to wake up the car.” It is tea over the roof, flowing blue over the sides, and fades to purple on the front fenders. “Danny used a smoke effect in the graphics as well. It made a big difference!”
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Jon reached out and told us about his Pinto when he saw other people submitting their cars or trucks. If you want yours to be one of our Street Features [17], just be smart and do what Jon did, send us an email [18]. Don’t be shy, if you love your wheels, I am sure we will too!