54 CAR CRAFT AUGUST 2019By Eric English / Photos: Eric English
and Courtesy of the Roush archives
I
n many respects, the domestic automotive scene in the
early- to mid-1970s was a growingly dismal situation.
The end of the muscle-car era arrived, compression ratios
plummeted, 5-mph bumpers debuted, the oil embargo hit,
and subcompact economy cars began to sell in volume. While
doom and gloom dominated dealer showrooms, all was not
lost in the world of high performance. Production-based
race cars were running faster than ever, and those new sub-
compacts that were so underwhelming in factory form, were
solidly embraced in Pro Stock. Pintos, Vegas, Gremlins, and
Colts were quickly becoming the standard-bearer in the top
door-slammer class, and few found more success in the early1970s than the Ford team of Wayne Gapp and Jack Roush.
While not sponsored by Ford itself (Ford ended motors-
ports support at the end of 1970), Gapp and Roush had a
long history with the Blue Oval. Both Gapp and Roush were
engine engineers for Ford, and Gapp was a longtime drag
racer. To say the least, Ford connections ran deep for the duo
who first paired up in 1971 with a Pro Stock Boss 429 Maver-
ick, which was soon followed by a Pro Stock Pinto in 1972.
The car you see here is believed to be the second Pinto
campaigned by G&R, this one’s chassis being built by Tom
Smith of Wolverine Chassis. It was one of two G&R Pintos
the team campaigned for 1973, with the other beingFord’s Maligned Subcompact Surely
Got its Due in Pro Stock