When the Pinto made its debut at Ford dealerships in late 1970, the subcompact was available in just one body style, which was a small sedan with a trunk. It didn’t take long before a hatchback model joined the lineup, followed by a station wagon in early 1972. Plenty has already been written about the safety issues associated with some of these cars, but it appears as though the controversy has largely been forgotten, as nowadays nice examples seem to be exchanging hands for fairly high dollars. This 1973 Pinto Station Wagon has received a few cool custom touches, and with car prices currently so through the roof, this one seems like a lot of fun for $12,500. Barn Finds reader Rocco B. spotted this little wagon here on Craigslist in Long Beach, California, and we’d like to thank him for sending us the tip!
The wagon would have originally come with a 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine under the hood, but somebody decided that wasn’t good enough, and a 302 V8 now resides in the bay. The seller doesn’t elaborate on its origin, but the block fit here reminds me of a big fish in a small pond, and he also states that the rear-end has been upgraded, though no specific details are given. Nothing about the transmission is mentioned other than it’s an automatic, but the owner does say that his Pinto is a blast to drive, and that’s a statement I’m finding easy to believe!
There’s no information about what kind of condition the body was in before it was painted, but it definitely looks good now, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this one’s been in the California area for quite some time. The rear panel with the dual exhaust coming through is eye-catching, with the big-and-little wheels and tires also an indication that this wagon means business. However, if this one leaves the Golden State area, it would probably be wise to put the windshield wipers back on.
It appears that the interior is more stock than not, although the aftermarket wooden steering wheel is a neat addition, and the purple fabric is subtle yet attention-getting. It’s easy to overlook that this one’s also got some function in addition to form, as there’s a considerable amount of usable cargo room in the back as well, especially with the rear seat folded down. For $12.5k, I’m guessing somebody’s gonna snag this 1973 Ford Pinto Station Wagon fairly quickly. What are your thoughts here?
The last of the small bumper cars. Nice!
I would like to drive it. Once.
It looks great with a nice stance. Not wild about the purple seats and door panels. No rear bumper? And no plates on the car/
I’m with you about the purple seats! The V8 up front will make this the understeering champion of all time, LOL! I’d have gone with an Ecoboost four-cylinder instead. Lighter, with more power than the 5.0L/302 V8 from the Mustang, and easier to work on, with more room in the engine bay between the shock towers, the four-cylinder just calls to me!
That 302 was likely shoehorned into that engine bay before the Ecoboost 4 cyl. was even available.
Kind of interesting, in its own way.
Once a Pinto, always a Pinto.
The monochrome finish on this car highlights the fact that the Pinto was actually a pretty nice design for the time period. The worst thing about it was the reputation. I’ve always like the wagon version and this is the best looking one I’ve seen.
Cool little car. I’ll bet it has some serious get up and go. Back in my college days a friend had a beat up sedan. He called it a Dento.
Seem to recall that all the problems with the Pinto incinerating after a rear-end was brought down to some non-spec long bolts on the diff cover which would pierce the tank. It seemed to have NOT been a design flaw, just someone on the line substituting unapproved parts with disastrous results.
And it’s not a station wagon, it’s a sedan delivery… same thing as the wagon without the rear seat and rear side windows. So it’s just a Pinto Panel Truck. Yeah, that goes like stink!
That wasn’t a stock offering from Ford in 1972, so whoever dropped the V8 into it filled in the rear side windows with sheet metal before they painted the car! The Pinto Cruisin’ Wagon wouldn’t come along until later, when Ford did the same thing at the factory, except they put a “bubble” porthole window on each side, like in a custom van, LOL! The Cruisin’ Wagon also got some upgrades, such as upgraded instruments, with a tach, oil pressure, water temperature and a voltmeter gage added to the basic instruments. The three (3) gage panel filled in the hole for one of the two (2) air conditioning vents in the center of the dash.
https://www.oldcarsweekly.com/features/car-of-the-week-1977-ford-pinto-cruising-wagon
My thinking is they just painted the glass.
And also, seemingly the exploding Pinto was only the hatchback.
The wagon was spared that fate.
Maybe the wagon / sedan delivery was not included in the “exploding Pinto”, but no rear bumper would not make me comfortable. Is that for the sake of appearance?
looks nice
As something different I like it. The automatic probably works well with that 302. Doesn’t appear to retain its factory air. Just recover the seats and point it where you want to go.
If it only had the reverse flame job on it, I would give the seller his asking price.
Cool set of wheels, I really like it. I just relocated to Florida from Oceanside CA and would of gone and checked it out. Damn, damn!
I was hoping for so much more when I clicked on this
Cool little car! IMHO. Looks like a lot of thought went into it. It at least has 5-lug rims on it. I’m pretty sure the rear wheel flares weren’t factory. I’d own it if had the room.
I never understood the reasoning behind the Pinto and the exploding gas tank. What was different about it compared to many other small bumper cars of the era? The Mustang. Camaro, Vega and many others had the rear gas tank, and small rear bumper.
As far as handling due to increased load upfront. This is basically the same set up as a V8 Mustang II
I like it just the way it is. Nice little 70’s throwback.
One of the neatest engine swaps I’ve ever seen was with one of these Pinto wagons that that an old flathead.