Bidding seems quite reasonable at the moment for what appears to be a highly original 1978 Ford Pinto wagon with under 30,000 original miles. The seller purchased the car from the original owner and photos show a vehicle with minimal signs of use and completely stock condition throughout. The seller contends you’d be hard pressed to find a more original example for the money, and I’m inclined to agree with him given bidding is resting at $4,550 here one eBay at the moment. The Pinto is located for inspection in Morrice, Michigan.
The three-door wagon design is one that I wish would come back to life, as it’s a sharp look at that doesn’t wade too deeply into being a full-fledged wagon, keeping some of the sporty vibes that only a coupe can offer. Of course, the VW Fox was offered in three-door form, and it was pretty far from anything fitting of the term, “sporting.” Regardless, this Pinto presents well from end to end, complete with period bumper stickers still affixed to the gigantic chrome safety bumpers. All four hubcaps are accounted for and glass looks clean and clear.
Of course, you need to be a fan of the color red to live with a car like this, as there’s an explosion of cherry and crimson every where you look. The carpets, dash, and kick panels all have variations of the color red inside, but that’s in keeping with the period when the Pinto was made. The seller notes the Pinto is equipped with the “rare” rear window defroster, and obviously, an automatic transmission. Given there’s just 27,817 miles on the clock, this has one-grandma-owner written all over it.
The engine is the standard 2.3L four-cylinder, and the vibrant engine paint still visible is a testament to a low-mileage specimen. The seller notes the only obvious flaws as being some rust at the bottom of the doors but “….very little” overall. The Pinto is an interesting choice for a fair-weather driver, as the stigma around their reliability has subsided somewhat and they’re appreciated more then they used to be. The seller has transferred ownership to his name, so the title document will square up with who you’re buying it from. A cheap classic that won’t cost much to own over the long run – would you park a Pinto wagon in your garage?
Thanks Jeff for a good write-up.
Nice, low-option, clean Pinto wagon. I agree with the “one grandma owner” comment: prominent AAA stickers, and she must have been a baseball fan.
I’m glad that Pintos are seemingly now more respected for what they were and what they accomplished for their day: a simple, basic economy car which did its job reasonably well. This would be a fun car to own as long as you enjoyed the “my ______ had one just like this, only it was ________” comments which would be prevalent.
I am all in with Bob. Another great line Jeff, ‘an explosion of cherry and crimson’!
When I see this, I think of the Blues Brothers (1980) movie, and the line from Jake Blues “I hate Illiois Nazis”.
I understand in today’s climate, “Nazi” may be offensive.
I also believe director John Landis used the Pinto with it’s reputation at the time, as well as it not known as being a masculine car, to mock the movement portrayed in the movie.
More information here;
https://www.imcdb.org/v019429.html
All the Illinois Nazi drive Fords, which is another tongue in cheek joke regarding Henry Ford and the Nazis……
Well done, Jeff. i would jump on this but I hate red. Nice car.
Kroger, your Delta Tau Chi name is Pinto.
I never thought I’d say these words but……”That’s a good looking Pinto, I wouldn’t mind owning it”.
I used to rent Pinto wagons in Anchorage in the 70s when I worked on the Pipeline and had waaaaay too much money.
They’re great fun on ice because the length gave them near 50/50 weight distribution. My record back then was 900 degrees spinningon ice, backwards! Automatics are big slow, either tweak the timing,-alter’ the smog fittings, or learn patience.
I’d have to lose the bumpers, too. No respect whatsoever for that era…
my first thought when i saw this was 2.3L ecoboost
Nobody is going to mention the huge dent on top of the left front fender?
Odd the rear bumper sticks out farther than the front one.
Ecoboost /tranny and a bumper diet would make this interesting
Looks like there is a dent on the left top side next to the hood. If it is, I had the same dent on my 78 Mercury Bobcat. It is a weak area. When you lean on it, it pushes the metal down to form a nice dent. I would have to pop it back out, and be careful not to do it again.
Looks like a dent in the eight rear 1/4 above the wheel opening also.
I feel that the ” thumper bumpers” on these destroyed the looks of the cars.
I would play wife the right price.
I’d buy it if it was closer to me. I love these Pinto Wagons…they’re not too big and handled good as well! Too bad it’s not a V-6! The 2.3 4 cyl. was anemic with auto trans. I would love to see a survivor Pinto Cruising Wagon genre….let the SHAG BEGIN. Anyone remembered these?
Sold. $4,550/00. Somebody got a nice little car.
I just drove over the bridge where they dropped the Pinto for the Blues Brothers movie. The scene was supposed to be in Chicago but was filmed in Milwaukee.
The bridge is now complete.
What a nice little car! I would make this my designated driver if I lived in the southwest. I would hate to be the one that causes it to rust out.
I offered to trade my 90 Mustang LX turbo swap for a 78 Pinto wagon with a rebuilt 2.3 and fresh paint, but the guy never responded to me. Of course I did ask for cash on his side. I kind of like the classic Pinto wagon with the storage space, more hauling capacity than my Foxbody hatchback. If I traded, I would have probably been the first to trade a Foxbody Mustang for a Pinto! But it is the wagon. I’ve already owned the Mercury Bobcat and Pinto, but never the Pinto wagon. In fact, it was a Pinto wagon with a turbo swap that I saw once that got me interested in the Pintos and turbo 2.3s in the first place.
I had a 1974 Pinto Squire Wagon with the 2.3L & auto when in college. The ONLY reason I bought it was because it was VERY clean with low miles. It ws an orange color with ‘wood’ paneling & those huge 100# shelves they called bumpers! — I took off the ‘lead’ bumpers & bolted on wood 2″x6″‘s for bumpers that I stained to match the ‘wood’ paneling! … I loved that the plates fit perfectly & flush on the 2×6’s, AND I was shocked how many people suddenly started telling me how good my $300 Pinto looked! It REALLY did look MUCH better, it was almost a foot shorter, lighter and the meaty 14″ tires filled those large wheel wells much better!
I took off the nearly new skinny 13″ bias ply tires & bolted on 14″ rims with cheap but fat radials & put on some nice & clean looking NEW hubcaps from a Maverick (another $20) & because the weight I removed was from the very front & rear of the car, the polar moment of the wagon was GREATLY reduced, which meand IT HANDLED SOOOOO MUCH BETTER! The wagon had almost a 50:50 weight balance, R&P steering, front discs & with new Montoe shocks & fat radials it handled better than anything I had driven before! OK, the 2.3/auto was still slow, it would have been great with a 4-speed! Still, when it got going I never had to slow down much. I scared the hell out of passengers most of the time showing off the handling. Once in NJ with 4 passengers, one in the back, I passed a friend on a motorcycle on the outside ON A WIDE RAMP off of Rt. 73 onto Rt. 38!!! Like I said, it handled!