It is almost impossible not to mention fire when you talk about Ford Pintos. They go together like peas and carrots it seems. The fire issue was addressed after Ford was dragged kicking and screaming into court, but this very serious situation overshadowed what a good, basic car the Pinto became. This 1979 Ford Pinto hatchback for sale on Craigslist in Syracuse, New York is a good example. This no-frills late production Pinto in a color best described as similar to the shade of plastic used in baby dolls and prosthetics is capable of getting from point A to point B without drama. With just 63,000 miles on the odometer, is this plain but pristine Pinto worth $10,500 though? Thanks to PRA4SNW for the flaming good tip!
In 2024, we expect a lot from even the lowliest economy car. If a vehicle doesn’t have an infotainment system, a way to hook your phone into that system, power everything, air conditioning, and a standard equipment list that would have done a Cadillac proud two decades ago, then nobody wants it. The notion of basic transportation today is in no way synonymous with that concept in the seventies. Back then, you got a motor, doors, a transmission, four crappy tires, and some headlights. People wanted to get from A to B as cheaply as possible, and low-end cars reflected that desire.
Ford’s Pinto gave the people what they wanted when it came to basic transportation. It had a reliable engine, a basic transmission and rear end, and a body that held it all together and kept you out of the rain. Ford even gave you a few body styles to choose from, and you could order them in a color that matched your kitchen appliances and your bell bottoms. If you wanted options like air conditioning or one of those fancy AM/FM radios, then you had to shell out some extra cash. Most folks who wanted a nicer car simply bought a bigger car. They seemed to come with more standard features.
The 1979 Pinto you see here is a perfect time capsule of what a thrifty customer would have driven off a Ford dealer’s lot in 1979. A look inside reveals vinyl seats, a manual transmission, some form of radio, and plastic everywhere. The windows were cranked up by hand and you locked the car by actually pushing down a protruding knob at the back end of the door. Who remembers locking their keys in the car, borrowing a coat hanger, bending it into a circle at the end, and trying to pull that knob up to unlock the door? Possessing that skill sure dates a person, doesn’t it?
Under the hood was Ford’s 2.3-liter 140 cubic inch inline-four-cylinder engine that produced a scorching 88 horsepower in this application. It pushed that river of power through a four-speed manual transmission and a standard rear end. Owners could expect to get around 24-25 MPG with this 2,400 lb. car, which wasn’t too bad for the time. Even if it did break down, owners can find parts for this engine nearly anywhere, as it was in production in some form or another up to 2001.
The seller tells us that they have a picture of the original owner with this car on the dealer’s lot in 1979. We are also told that it attracts more attention than new Corvettes at car shows. That may be true, as Ford produced 3,173,491 of these subcompacts. They touched a lot of lives in both good and bad ways, and the fires will always be mentioned in the same breath as the good points. While the seller’s price may be in question, the Pinto’s mark on history is secure, if tainted.
Did you ever own a Pinto? What was the experience like? Please share your recollections in the comments.
So to answer your question Jeff, yes I had a Pinto (as did many Barn Finders). It served me well for nine years, through college and afterwards.
Pintos are regulars here on Barn Finds: 25 were written up last year. While those who like muscle cars or trucks or other vehicle categories find them not worth their attention, there are plenty of us who had experiences with them– good and bad– that are fun to recollect.
This looks like a nice survivor. Could be fun to run around in, or even to take to shows.
No need to further rehash the trite gas tank issue, it doesn’t even apply to this model year.
Even here in aus, we heard about the “fire” problem with pintos. I don’t believe they deserved the bad rap.
Shame Ford never sold them here, RWD econbox, would have been nirvana for first time car buyers. Not to mention 2/3 doors, would have been the coolest kid on the block.
This is a trunk not a hatchback I used to love that dome light you could point it right at the cigarette you were rolling while driving these were the best for doing doughnuts in vacant parking lots covered with snow love that e brake handle
I bought a 1980 Pinto Wagon for commuting in 1992 with just under 200K. I pulled the engine and replaced with better everything including a mild cam and had Bud’s Machine Shop in Lakewood Washington to the head work, including the flow bench (Bud told me what to buy and bring to him). The engine had 140HP with the stock California Carburetor (5200 series, albeit slightly large jets).
Consistently got 30 plus mpg and decent acceleration. When I gave it to a friend, it roughly 350K. The engine ended up in a 1989 Ford Ranger and eventually a 1992 Mustang 4 Cylinder. The last time it parked was 2004. The last two vehicles saw 100 mile round trip commutes for 10 years. The engine was still running when parked; albeit, rings were shot.
Here’s an honest looking car for the would be collector. To most people it’s just a Pinto. Low life lousy waste of resources. Others found these to be solid transport. This is an interesting car. Beneath the flesh tone paint is the deluxe interior, slotted steering wheel, stick shift and all the chrome trim from the exterior appearance group. I’d say she’s a pretty good find. I also say the haters gonna hate.
I believe that the correct name for the paint color is hearing aid beige.
Or putty.
Now that’s just Silly….
Telephone taupe.
1964
I had a 76 with that same sport steering wheel – absolutely the coolest part of the car and second only to the 2nd gen Trans Am 3 spoke wheel. A great steering wheel makes all the difference!
Yep. Beige Pinto. Real babe magnet.
When I was in high school I worked at my local grocery store. On Saturday mornings we would deliver the groceries to the older folks that had called in their order. The owners of the grocery store had the twin to the Pinto, the Mercury Bobcat. It was gutless with the automatic, but it went everywhere, including through snow or down a mushy gravel road.
Just because something is old doesn’t mean that it automatically Should command top dollar, this being a case in point.
I would pay five grand for it. Ten, no way. I prefer the Millennial anti-theft device (stick shift) version. I once carpooled with a guy who had an orange four speed, great car that always got the job done. I considered buying a used Bobcat that a friend had, don’t recall why I didn’t pull the trigger.
I thought that the late model hatch backs had an all-glass hatch, but this one doesn’t. Maybe that was only for the final 1980 model year, I don’t know. This one looks like it has a trunk, not a hatch, but I could be wrong. Can anyone else help me find out for sure? Thank you in advance for your help.
This is the 2-door trunk model. The glass hatch was an option on 1977-80 Runabout 3-door hatchbacks.
Thank you for the prompt reply, I learned something today.
I had a 76 with a full glass hatch. My first car. Ran great until the timing belt broke.
I had a lot of pintos and bobcats . This one just has a trunk. No hatchback. The hatchback always had full glass.
Had one with trunk, concur.
I was thinking the exact same thing.
This is a sedan. I had a 1980 Hatchback, not the full glass like the older models but did have metal around the sides. If I find the picture I’ll post it. Couldnt miss mine, factory “road cone” orange with sunroof and 8track
First. Thank you SO much for starting off your entire write up, mentioning that when some small ’70’s cars, get pile drived in the rear, yes, they may catch fire. Good for you. Second. I’ve owned 7 of these car’s, driving them for years, through various conditions and a couple accidents, and I’m still here. Third. Wasn’t this same car written up on here a couple of months ago?
That’s what I was thinking.
If there was a worse color that a car was painted in, I’ve never seen it. I never understood why Ford put this color out
They must have gotten a bulk discount from their paint supplier, to use up the huge overstock of such a hideous color, LOL!
I once saw a Grand Prix in this color with a blue vinyl interior. Talk about hideous.
One of my favorite comedies has a great little scene with a Pinto, “Top Secret”. Very nice car, perfect for errands!
I owned a 1972 Pinto while I was in college. It was 1982 when I bought it with 120,000 miles . It had a 3″ steel pipe bumper on back and Sears blue house paint rolled on the body. With studded snow tires it went as well as anything on the road. A true party mobile.
Two Pintos- a 74 Squire wagon complete with the wallpaper(company car) and a 76 wagon. Great for a very small family and for hauling stuff, as long as the stuff wasn’t too long! I kinda miss them….replaced with a 1930 Model A Ford.
I had two Pintos. 1974 dark green Pinto Squire wagon with every accessory available. 2.3L, AC and automatic. I had a 1979 dark brown Pinto Pony 2.3L with 4 speed manual transmission. Both great cars. They were easy to maintain and fun to drive.
Nice example.I had a 79 S/W same color.Was a nice car.Miss her.
I had three,one in high school that I laid on its side,some people having a picnic helped me roll it over and I drove it home. The station wagon was a total piece of s!!t. I had a 79 stallion red with horse graphics all around. It had the one piece rear glass and from day one leaked like a sieve. Nice car but couldn’t stand the sloshing sound.
You know people could order the Pinto Cruising Wagon and Rally till 1982.5. Interesting engine combinations. Best ones I’ve seen were the 2.8 EFI from Germany) that was in the 82 Mustang half year only but made it into the 82.5s. One of them had a 5 Speed. Useless trivia but cool if you could find one.
Why is it always the stripper cars in the ugliest colors always
seem to survive in the best condition?
Because they’re bought by the cheapest cheapskates at an absolutely rock-bottom price! They buy the ugliest car off of the lot, to save maximum money, then baby it so they’ll never have to buy another car ever again, LOL!
Your comment makes a lot of sense. A friend of mine who grew up in Corpus Cristy Texas bought new, a heavily discounted Pinto as his first car right out of high school. Why heavily discounted? It was yellow with a black vinyl interior and no A/C. Had been on the lot for months before the sales manager said it had to go. The car served him well.
Cuz their owners are too embarrassed to drive them anyplace.
Or, they were purchased by people who had seen hard times. The Great Depression and WWII taught folks to treat their things like the last one they’d ever own. Colors follow fashion and in the 70s Skin was In.
That’s what my Dad said when he replaced beautiful triple red Grand Prix with a international safety orange Pinto after the Pontiac got totaled. He paid cash for it and we drove it for years. Was easy to work on and I enjoyed driving it. End up giving it to a friend that needed a car.
I remember going with my dad to look at a used orange Pinto with custom wheels and wide tires on the back. I was around 13 at the time. That one was older with round headlights. I thought it was pretty cool. Dad didn’t buy it though.
I like Pintos, I have mentioned in previous comments about the 71 wagon I once owned that served me well, for a number of applications. But this one, no I don’t care for the color either, or the bumpers but most importantly, the front-end egg crate mess of a design on these later models.
I bought a dark green 71 Pinto new and still own it. Modified it for autocross with the 2 liter 4 speed. Was fun and competitive.
I had a ‘71 Pinto. Bought it used in a moment of weakness in 1973. I was in college during the oil crisis. My car had the 2300 and 3speed automatic.Mechanically, the car was decent. The interior was cheap. This dude wants $10.5K cash. This Pinto 2dr is nice, but his asking price is off the hook. No way.
I don’t think he/she’ll get that price, either. The collector market for Pintos just isn’t there.
I bought a new 71 hatchback. It came with small window and chrome trim strips. Best car I ever had.
I’m seriously impressed by the condition of this car. The underside shots especially. Never knew someone back when who had one but a buddy had a Maverick. The ask is too high though and the color bleh.
I had a 73 station wagon I rebuilt the engine and she ran great I also had 60 series tires with polished aluminum slotted wheels fixed the a/c and it would freeze you out of the car but you could tell when that big York compressor kicked on. I simply loved that car, was totalled
I had a 76 that I installed a stock 302 V8 in it with the stock 4 banger auto rear end…what a riot…0 to 90 mph. With a quickness…lol
There are some cars you look back on fondly. This isn’t one of them. @10k it’s a good thing he’s not in a rush to sell. Apparently, he knows what he’s got there.🤣
My 1972 Pinto was bulletproof. I bought it used with about 40k miles on the clock and added another 100k. Loved that little car with its Cologne, German 2.0 engine with an OEM Weber dual throat carb listening to tunes on my AM/FM Cassette player.
Had a bumper sticker that said “Strike Here To Ignite”…
Only 63K miles… and still junk!
No, those Pinto’s held up pretty good. Heres the junk: Buick engines with the bad oiling system, Ford Tarus and Merc Sables with the bad automatics, Ford 351-400 M engines with another bad oiling system, Early GM metric 200 transmissions. Even the late model Chrysler Hemi’s have valve train failure. There were really no inherent problems with this Pinto. (Honorable mention, Cadillac North Stars with blown head gaskets)
and dont forget the mid 1970s 231 Buicks head gaskets blowing and 1980-1984 Ford escort heads cracking at 50k
The engines and transmissions outlasted the Pinto.
Nostalgia is a funny thing…
While the Pinto will be saddled forever with the gas tank stigma, remember that most cars produced back then had the gas tank mounted just in front of the rear bumper. I have two now and think about that every time I put fuel in them.
I have two vintage Triumphs where the gas tank resides within the passenger cabin… I try not to think about it much…
Around 1984 my wife’s aunt’s husband passed away. He had a Pinto and Aunt Kitty gave the car to my wife’s cousins husband. Dave and Kitty were both very religious and at least a half dozen St. Christopher statues, several Crucifixes and other assorted religious objects graced the dashboard and rear view mirror. Unfortunately they couldn’t save this Pinto from catching on fire while Tom was driving home from work on the interstate. Fortunately he made it to the shoulder and immediately abandoned ship. By the time someone with a fire extinguisher arrived the Pinto was fully engulfed in flames. We joked about that for years. Thanks Jeff for the memories.
Not even at half the asking price.
I owned two Pinto wagons, a ‘72, and a ‘74. (Actually owned the ‘72 twice) They were great cars for the money.
This particular example is pretty- UGLY.
Vacuum cleaner nose, and a terrible color. Looks to be in good condition though.
The first Hatchbacks had a steel hatch with a larger window-later ones were all glass.
I passed sick and tired years ago when it comes to hearing about “Exploding Pintos.” I was driving a Pinto which was totaled after the rear was crushed between two trucks. 4 passengers/ no injuries. Drove it home. Not a flicker of a flame anywhere. Did some Pintos catch fire? Sure. So did my VW Beetle.
Over 3 million were made. How many caught fire? (under what circumstances?)
Do the math. I’ll take my chances in a Pinto over a Tesla any day of the week, and twice on Sunday.
Jeff, I had to laugh at your opening comments about the Pinto’s times. Funny stuff!
My brother stuck a flammable sticker on the back of Aunt Rosalie’s green 72
It’s stunning what 43 years can do. I got my driver’s license using my Mom’s dark blue 1980 pinto ‘pony’.. had a little horse sticker on the fenders. She bought it brand new from Tampa Ford for $2249.00.
Let that sink in. I THINK Imight even have pictures of the window sticker….
It had the 2.3L 4 speed and black interior [no A/C]. Chintzy wheelcovers, blackwall tires… and would do a respectable one wheel peel if it was tached up properly.
It’s extremely embarrassing to say,,, but this little car makes me wistful. Except for the price. The price is,,,,, Wishful.
If you put a turbo on it and a mustangII rear-end in it they are fast and fun. Did it with my 77 in 79. That car would beat my best friends camero harshly, made him so mad. Lol
I love this car. I think 10,500 a little steep but if it was priced around $5,500 to $6,000 I’d pick it up.
Oh I loved all of todays stories and gave you all a like vote.I hired one in 1980 when i was in Los Angeles and travelled to Palm Springs and Disneyland and surrounds. I loved this little car it travelled beautifully and was cheap to run.I always read Barn Finds each day an d always enjoy the comments and of course the cars,todays was espercially reminiscent of the period.Greatings to you all from Melbourne, Australia .
My father had a ’72 Pinto same color, 4spd. Eventually need a timing belt. While putting timing belt on , I “accidently” advanced the cam timing 4 degrees advanced. Also reworked the 2 bbl carb so both butterflies would open at the same time. That thing ran like a scalded dog after that. Dad was impressed.
Not crazy about the later ’70s excessively wide chrome wheelwell trim – best not to order at all – they trap water & cause rust, tho this will never see rain again – i would think.
Better buckle up – these are “slip slidin away” factory seat covers – would prefer the very kool lookin early high back thin buckets.
One item to note. Despite all of the pictures in the original Craigslist ad, there’s not one of the dashboard, instrument panel or odometer that shows the mileage. I’d be curious if the buyer opted for the sports gage package that added a tachometer and gages for oil pressure, voltage and engine temperature to the basic instruments, which were little more than a speedometer with odometer, gas gage, indicators for the turn signals and high beam, and a bunch of idiot lights.
I bought a banged up 79 Pinto hatchback from my brother. His wife had someone hit the left front fender, skewed the front pretty bad. I paid a body shop $150 to pull it back square. Drove it for years, pretty trouble free except for a broken rear leaf spring. Car was orange, auto trans, glass rear hatch, Navaho themed interior.