State Patrol: Front Seat Gas Tank Fueled 'Unsafe' Car (Minnesota Trooper Impounds POS Ford Pinto)

KAAL TV ^ | July 6, 2012 | Mike Maybay

[DogByte6RER]

State Patrol: Front Seat Gas Tank Fueled 'Unsafe' Car

It runs on alternative fuel source and the driver can see the road in ways most cars don't offer. But you won't be seeing this classic Ford Pinto back on a Minnesota road any time soon.

A Minnesota State Trooper stopped the car Sunday on U.S. Highway 52 in Koochiching County.

A State Patrol spokesperson posted photographs of what the Trooper found on the agency's Facebook page.

"Much of the vehicle was rusted out," said the spokesperson. Photos show a clear view through what remains of the floor to the road below.

But that wasn't all.

A tire was wedged behind the driver's seat, a placement the spokesperson said was holding the seat in place.

The Trooper spotted a gas can on the front seat. A hose ran from the gas can, out the passenger window, around the front and under the hood, "rigged up to the engine," according to the spokesperson.

"The car was impounded and the driver was cited for a number of violations," said the spokesperson.

Those violations included unsafe equipment and not having a Minnesota license.

[DogByte6RER]

It's a combination fuel tank/ash tray!

[DogByte6RER]

More photos and coverage ...

“How Was Anyone Driving This Ridiculously Unsafe Car On The Highway?”

http://jalopnik.com/5924130/how-was-anyone-driving-this-ridiculously-unsafe-car-on-the-highway/gallery/1

“Unsafe Equipment Stop”

https://www.facebook.com/MnStatePatrol#!/media/set/?set=a.10150917098448144.411045.159745283143&type=1

[DogByte6RER]

ping

[Celtic Cross]

b

[Former Proud Canadian]

Well, if the brakes failed, at least you could stop the car “Fred Flintstone” style.

[Slings and Arrows]

classic Ford Pinto

[Paladin2]

Well, the rear suspension seems to need some rehabilitation:

[dainbramaged]

Hey now, it's a vented outboard motor tank and it's shock mounted, too. I've seen worse.
Try a Model A Ford - the gas tank is between the driver and the engine.

[nascarnation]

Love the rust arresting spray paint around the rear wheel / quarter panel area.

[Slings and Arrows]

From the Jalopnik link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-I3DpB4mP1Q&feature=player_embedded

...damn.

[cripplecreek]

Still doesn’t beat my 73 Montego with a friend under the hood spaying gas down the carburetor to get me to his house where the gas tank was.

[MrNeutron1962]

It is truly sad to see the last of the wild Ford Pintos captured and placed in captivity. In my childhood, they roamed America's roads with impunity, now the last of their kind sits in an impound lot, awaiting the car baler.

[Popman]

I am simply amazed a Pinto is still on the road...or was...

Anybody wonder why the Japanese have kicked Detroit's ass in producing cars...since the 70's

Here's your sign...

[Paleo Conservative]

Wow! Someone actually figured out a way to make a Pinto more dangerous than Ford made it.

[Smokin' Joe]

So, how many people got killed?

[nascarnation]

Yeah I’m sure the roads in Minnesota are just full of mid 70s Toyotas and Hondas....

[RetroSexual]

Where I'm from, we only drive those beaters in da winter.

Rusty Chevrolet by da Yoopers.

[GeorgeWashingtonsGhost]

I once saw an old Ford van with boxes stacked so high on top of it the height of the van was MORE than doubled. I think the van was on it’s way back to Mexico.

[Jack Hydrazine]

Was this guy driving it?

[TruthBeforeAll]

Poor guy...

I wonder if the the radio still works