1974 Ford Pinto “Chinto” — The People’s Champion Wheel Stander
The 1974 Ford Pinto “Chinto” is one of the most recognizable outlaw wheel-standing race cars in the Power Wheel Standing Championship, built in a home garage and driven for fans—not trophies.
Some race cars chase timeslips.
Some chase trophies.
Chinto chases gravity — and usually doesn’t let it win.
Built in a two-car garage and driven like it owes its owner money, Pearce’s 1974 Ford Pinto has become one of the most recognizable machines in the Power Wheel Standing Championship world. Loud, violent, scarred, and unapologetically honest, Chinto isn’t built for judges or polish.
It’s built for fans.
It’s built to rise.
And it’s built to come back down hard.
INTRODUCTION — A PINTO THAT REFUSED TO BE A JOKE
Most people laugh when they hear “1974 Ford Pinto.”
Pearce didn’t.
What started as a basic bracket-racing Pinto with stock suspension slowly evolved into something nobody expected — a world-class wheel-standing machine that crowds come to see launch, not park.
Chinto didn’t become a legend overnight.
It earned it through crashes, rebuilds, championships, and a relationship between driver and car that only forms when you refuse to quit.
“Me and this car have been through it all together.”
That sentence carries weight here.
THE VISION — FUN BEFORE PERFECTION
Chinto was never built to be pretty.
Never built to be careful.
Never built to chase trophies.
It was built to entertain.
Every season, fans are invited to sign the hood. When the year ends, that hood is retired — no repaint, no cleanup. Just a thank-you.
That tradition alone tells you what kind of car this is.
This lines up directly with the SpeedNeeds mindset:
Build it. Drive it. Share it. Respect the people watching.
FROM BRACKET PINTO TO WORLD-CLASS WHEEL STANDER
Pearce bought Chinto in 2015 as an average Pinto.
Stock suspension.
Simple setup.
Nothing special.
Most projects die right there.
Chinto didn’t.
Year after year, the cycle stayed brutally simple:
- Drive it
- Break it
- Rebuild it
- Come back harder
No endless teardown.
No five-year stall.
Just progress earned one hard season at a time.
ENGINE — 427 SMALL-BLOCK, BIG INTENTIONS
At the heart of Chinto is a 427ci small-block Chevy, fed by a Holley 1050 CFM 4150 carb and lit by MSD electronics.
No exotic tricks.
No fluff.
Just proven parts pushed past their comfort zone — repeatedly.
This engine exists to lift the front wheels and keep them there.
TRANSMISSION & REAREND — BUILT TO TAKE ABUSE
Power goes through an FTI Stage 5.5 Powerglide, one of the few components Pearce outsourced — because when it comes to transmissions, failure isn’t an option.
Out back:
- Spooled 12-bolt
- 5.14 gears
This drivetrain isn’t built for mercy.
It’s built for survival.
SUSPENSION — HOME-GROWN AND FEARLESS
Chinto’s suspension is a home-grown custom mix, blended with Calvert and AFCO components and still running leaf springs.
The goal isn’t comfort.
The goal is lift, control, and landing alive.
Pearce understands every weld on this car because he made them.
That matters.
BODY & PAINT — IMPERFECTION AS A FEATURE
The body stays honest:
- Stock steel Ford panels
- Camaro front grille
- Camaro bumpers front and rear
- Camaro rear spoiler
The paint?
Rattle can.
Sometimes the wall helps repaint it during a wheel stand.
That’s racing — not metaphor.
INTERIOR — BUSINESS CLASS, ONE SEAT ONLY
Inside, Chinto is stripped to purpose:
- One seat
- AutoMeter gauges
- No radio
- No insulation
Pearce calls it:
“Naked race car business class.”
Accurate and intentional.
THE CRASH THAT CEMENTED THE LEGEND
In 2020, Chinto carried a 550-foot wheel stand.
Then it went wrong.
Wall contact.
Another 400+ feet sliding.
Pop over.
Outside wall.
The crash landed Chinto on Competition Plus Top Ten Wheelies, Blow-Overs & Crashes.
Most cars would’ve been retired.
Pearce rebuilt it in his garage.
The following year?
They won.
That’s not luck.
That’s refusal.
RESULTS — BACKED BY HARDWARE
- World Power Wheel Standing Championship
- 2× First Place finishes
- 3× Second Place finishes
- 2× Third Place finishes
- 4–5 Highest Wheelie awards
Now chasing Championship #3.
THE PEOPLE’S CHAMPION
Most of the team’s merch is given away free.
Fans are treated like family.
The hood-signing tradition keeps everyone involved.
Chinto doesn’t exist without the people watching.
That’s why it matters.
FINAL THOUGHTS — UNPREDICTABLE BY DESIGN
Chinto is:
- Loud
- Scarred
- Self-built
- Fan-driven
- Championship-proven
Never boring.
Never polished.
Never done.
A true working-class race car — exactly the kind of story SpeedNeeds exists to document.
