Recently, I wrote up a very nice Mercury Bobcat and stated that I preferred Bobcats to Pintos. However, this Pinto wagon is super cool and despite having been loved a bit, it is clean and in pretty decent condition. Part of what makes the Pinto wagon so cool is that it is still small, and still two doors. It manages to be versatile without sacrificing the attributes that make a Pinto a Pinto. This car is someone’s daily, and can be found here on Craigslist in California for $2,000. Many thanks to reader Pat L. for sending this in!
Under the hood sits a four cylinder Ford engine and the seller does not state which engine it is, though I suspect it to be a 2.3. The seller claims that this car runs and drives well, and is a daily vehicle. Though this engine bay certainly isn’t show ready (then again, this is a Pinto!), it would clean up well and has obviously been cared for. It looks like little maintenance would be required initially, as most of the rubber looks newer. This could be a turn-key purchase! For someone looking to get in on the old car hobby, this has the makings of a good, affordable starting point. Daily-ability will go a long way for someone who wants to have an older vehicle as their only car, and yes it can be done!
The interior is possibly the roughest part of this Pinto wagon. The ill-fitting seat covers and ugly steering wheel cover certainly aren’t going to help sell this car! It would be nice to know what the seats and steering wheel look like underneath, and even if they are rough, it has always been my opinion that a car looks better with worn out original seats than seat covers that clearly don’t match. Aside from the seats and steering wheel, the interior seems to be nice enough and if someone were to purchase this as a vintage daily it might be best to clean it and leave it alone.
This Pinto is in great shape for what it is, and doesn’t appear to have lived a rough life. Wheel covers and a good buff would go a long way for the exterior of this car and help it to stand out! Though not exactly a desirable car, this is a good reminder of what other cars were on the road along with the legends of muscle. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: with a low asking price and being as nice as it is, this Pinto is the perfect vehicle for someone younger to get in on the classic car hobby. Though he or she may be given a hard time by older enthusiasts, a young owner would sleep well at night knowing there was a classic car in the driveway that belonged to them.
A restomodded Pinto wagon with a new ecoboost I4 + 6spd would make a very kewl daily commuter.
Possibly the worst color ever!
I think that is a smog pump in the picture, not AC. If my memory is correct, these had vents on the dash, AC or not.
I can’t look at a Pinto wagon without the visuals of Henry Gibson and his adjutant sailing down Lakeshore Drive near Lake Michigan in the movie The Blues Brothers.
The adjutant looks at Gibson’s character as the Pinto descends through 1200 feet MSL and professes, ” I have always loved you…”
All you need is a Dodge Monaco cop car, cop shocks, cop transmission, built before catalytic converters, a full tank of gas and a quarter pack of cigarettes….
Don’t forget the 440 cubic inch engine. The blues mobile, now that would be one heck of a barn find!
A nice example of a complete POS. Anybody that says they would put gas in it and daily drive it would not do it for long. Good car for an eccentric teenager or to keep in the backyard for weekend utility work.
Why do you say that?
To each his own. If someone decides that this is a classic worth owning, what do you care? No need to shoot down someone elses choice because you don’t care for it!
Since when does giving my opinion on this brown beauty turn into “shoot down” someone. I have to counteract someone else’s opinion before I ” shoot down” them. Isn’t that what comments are all about. I’m sure someone will call this a collective piece but I cannot think of a person that would.
And for the record I definitely do not “care”
I just emailed this to Scotty, who knows I’m looking for one of these ( only, has to be automatic) Does anybody think I’m nuts for flying out to Cal. ( to visit my kids) and drive one of these back to the Midwest? The weakest link, I’d have to think, is the timing belt, and I could carry an extra with(that way I’m guaranteed no trouble) and looks pretty easy to change. That is a smog pump, and with belt gone, it’s most assuredly stuck, but that all comes off when I get back anyway. I’ll be the only one in N. Wis. to drive a Pinto wagon, for sure.
Carrying an extra timing belt with you won’t help. It’s an interference engine, don’t ask me how I know.
No it’s not an interference engine
No, it isn’t an interference engine; I’ve fixed MANY of these with a broken timing belt. Ford 2.3L and Chrysler 2.2L engines: little to no power, but durable as hell and allowing for neglected maintenance so long as there’s oil and coolant in them.
I like that “guaranteed no trouble” part. How do I do that?
I had one of the late 80’s with the 2.3. Timing belt broke. I was able to replace it in the driveway using the Clymers manual. Ran for several more years after that.
I think you should do it! That could be a great adventure. I’ve always wanted to do something like that, and if its a car you really want then go for it!
Howard, you could not be more right about the timing belt. I had a ’72 back in the 80s. I recall changing one of several that broke in a bank parking lot. Got pretty good at it!
Hi fish, sorry to disagree, but I always thought the 2.0 and 2.3 were non-interference engines. http://yourcarangel.com/2014/07/interference-engines-complete-list/
A stock engine would be non-interference, both 2000 and 2300. Easy belt to replace, just use a breaker bar and a starter button to break the crank pulley bolt loose…… don’t forget to pull the coil wire!
It sounds like a long uncomfortable adventure, but go for it and let us know. Bring a seat cushion. It would be a revisit to what older, less refined cars were like but it would probably get you there. I had a Ranger with the 2.3 and could not get a straight answer on interference, so I finally gave up and sold it. there is so much information both ways on this question on the internet, but if Fish56 trashed his I would believe him. Better to change it before you depart. The long drive may have you wondering why would you possibly want to drive a pinto on purpose?
Hi Jay, yeah, that isn’t cast in stone yet, those things always sound like more fun than they actually are.
I have recently driven a Datsun 510 and a Karmann Ghia similar to the ones I had yrs ago. Its not the same, they are simple, crude, noisy, sloppy handling boxes. I was disappointed.
A shooting broken…..
Suprised that you need an automatic Howard. All I have ever read about is you looking for an overdrive in an MG!!!
Hi Rock On, very observant. Being a truck driver for 35+ years( ret.) I’ve shifted gears more times than,,,well, a lot. I’m SICK of shifting, so in my retirement, the very last thing I want to do is shift gears( except for my motorcycle) The reason I’m such an advocate of O/D, is it just makes the world a nicer place. That 3400 rpms all day gets mighty old. 2850 is so much nicer.
That OD allowed me to shoot past the new 240z cars in my 1960 Healy 3000, it is truly a rush.
I have discovered that the easiest way to get your engine detailed for a car show or cruise night is to leave the hood down.
If I recall that is the AC on the right side I pulled the head on th he Pinto we had and had it rebuilt we drove it for quite a while after that I think the only engine available was the 2.3 for that year My wife bought it because her dad wanted her to buy a Plymouth that had a big tail wing on it but she thought it was the ugliest thing she had ever seen
Plymouth with a big wing…she thought it was ugly…didn’t buy it…are we talking about a Superbird here?
What? No more Blues Bros. fans out there? Volo museum had a Bluesmobile for sale. The Punt-O (semi drivers would punt them onto the median when they would get in their way in Texas) would be a perfect fit.
Howard A. All 2.3/2.5s that I have seen and changed belts on were non-interference engines. (even the one with the hi-po cam) Your drive will/should be uneventful. The non-comfort of the seat will drive you crazy by the time you get to Wisconsin. If you buy it. Stop off in Northern Nevada on you way to I80. And I will toss it up on the lift and check it over and change the belt for you. (it should only take an hour or less)
Hi Wayne, thanks. Those seats can’t be any worse than my ex-gf’s Kia Sorento. My only problem would be tools. Can you get a toolbox on a plane these days?
From flipping Pintos, back in the late 70s’ I had found out that when you change the timing belt, (about a 30 minute chore) pull the valve cover and go back to the cap on the 3rd cylinder back. This was a problem area due to lack of oiling to the cam bearing, resulting in flattening the cam lobes, and bending or dropping a valve. I would chamfer it to enlarge the oil hole for better lubrication, and put them back together. I had hauled away many a Pinto with this cam problem, and after repairing, would sell them for $300-400 dollars to someone needing cheap transportation. Otherwise a fairly cheap to buy and economical car for the time. Wouldn’t mind getting another wagon, or the Bobcat model of Mercury. Good utility hauler if you don’t get over zealous.
Hi 64, my old man flipped Pinto’s in the early 80’s, mostly wrecks. That’s how I got to know them. He’d always do 2 or 3 a year. They were dime a dozen back then. Matter of fact, nobody wanted them, and the auction house would save them for my old man.
There are no “caps” retaining the cam in the head on the 2.0/2.3/2.5 engines. The head is a one piece casting. You must remove the cam followers and the cam will slide right out through the front of the head.
This is what I drove in High School, Above ground swimming pool tin cut for new floor boards and Tin foil stuffed in the rusted out fenders and bondo’d over. Same color too. Except mine was an automatic. Rusted out, but still ran great when she was traded for a new 83 Ford Ranger.
Thanks to everyone for the catch on the smog pump!
Looks good for the price. Best buy for the money.