Equal opportunity time! A few days ago we covered this 1972 Chevrolet Vega so today Ford, Chevrolet’s cross-town rival will get their Vega competitor, known as the Pinto, reviewed. This example is from 1974, so it’s not a model-year to model-year comparison but it’s close enough for a Jim comparison. This Pinto is located in San Marcos, California and is available, here on eBay for a BIN price of $9,950 and there is a make an offer option too.
The Pinto (1971-1980) traveled a rather similar route as taken by the Vega. Those similarities were the body styles, engine size, and “other issues” though the Pinto seemed to fair better overall. One of the first obvious features of this Pinto is its Federally mandated five MPH front bumper, an item that was hardly well integrated. All in all, this Pinto presents well, the finish, body, and very obvious chrome bumpers are all quite strong still. Styling is always subjective but I’d lean more towards the Vega than the Pinto. This body design is more bulbous in nature and the bland white hue and the aforementioned rammers aren’t doing it any favors.
As with the Vega, this Pinto is powered by a 2.3-liter in-line, four-cylinder “Lima” engine, new for ’74, that’s good for 80 net HP. The Pinto did however make use of smaller engines in earlier years while the Vega started, and stuck with, its 2.3-liter iron head/aluminum block mash-up – a materials construction and direction that Ford did not pursue. The seller’s only statement about operations is, “The vehicle runs great and is mainly used for weekend drives“. Owing to what this car is, and its three-speed automatic transmission, it seems like an unusual choice for a weekend drive. The mileage is recorded as 22K miles but the visual appearance of the engine and its compartment suggests that the reading is 100K light.
Unlike our Vega, the interior of this Pinto has not done as well – again a likely indicator of +100K mile usage. It’s really not terrible but the seats will need to be reupholstered and the dash pad is showing a crack or two. The carpet is fair and the door panels show well. Nice to see is the original Philco, push-button radio.
The Pinto went through its various early recalls and got a black eye over the exploding fuel tank issue that required an even larger, voluntary recall but beyond that, it lead a similar life as the Vega. I’d give a nod to the Vega for styling, but demerits for the Powerglide transmission, lousy engine, and rust proclivity. As for the Pinto, the biggest drawback was its earliest under-powered 1.6-liter motor and the fuel tank matter – which wasn’t as widespread as people believe. Ford’s 2.3 was a better bet than the Chevy’s and in spite of its more dowdy appearance, the Pinto would appear to have been the better of the two compact cars. Regardless, both sold well (3.1 M Pintos and 2.0 M Vegas – the Pinto was in production for three more years than the Vega) and both served a defined marketing purpose for Ford and GM. Anyway, that’s how I’m calling it, what’s your take?
Thanks Jim for the write-up, themed as Pinto vs. Vega, fifty years later. I’d say that history has been a little kinder to the Pinto, specifically if one gets past the (overblown, trite) gas tank issue.
When one shows up here, there will be plenty of detractors, citing items such as rust, generally poor materials and assembly, lack of power, etc. (i.e. malaise era issues, common to many cars of the day). But usually there will be people who chime in with their Pinto stories which include credit towards their simple and easy-to-fix mechanicals, their general toughness, and even that they had a splash of sportiness.
Even though most are long gone, I’d say there are more Pintos still around as compared to Vegas.
This example isn’t bad. Some new upholstery and other sprucing up would go a long ways. Like many others, I’d prefer a pre-1974 with a four-speed.
Hi Bob,,,ahem,,,I believe you are missing the the most impartant port of the Vega/Pintos era,,,the Gremlin.For someone that wasn’t ready for these new fangled 4 cylinder jobs, the Gremlin was the best deal. As said many times, put me in the “I like Pintos” camp. Naturally, $10g’s for a freakin’ Pinto, especially a tired one like this, blows me away, but here we are. As absurd as a $10g Vega or Gremlin, cars initially intended for the “cheaper folks”, sorry, just not $10g’s worth of vehicle,,,in it’s best day.
Btw, I HATED the Pinto/Capri 4 speeds. There was too big a gap between 1st and 2nd, the C3 automatic was a proven unit.
Bob Glidden tribute candidate .. .
The Pinto is probably a better car than a Vega in every respect, but if I was stuck with one, it’d still be a Vega.
Had several pinto’s over the years, usually gave 100 bucks or less,most I ever gave was 300 for 78 wagon with air, drove 70 miles a day to and from work for years.
I LOVE the placard on the dash “Get in, Hold on…..” Hold on for what?
I like the Vegas, Pinto and Gremlins. Not sure why but I’m drawn to the Gremlin more.
Great write up!
The Vega was a better driver…. when it was running but the Pinto’s always ran. The Vega looked better on day 1 but was well rusted by day 365. The Pinto rusted, but at a glacial pace compared to the Vega. The Vega’s “Advanced” aluminum 2.3L was attractive on paper but about as durable as paper. The Ford 2.0 and 2.3L plants weren’t much on specs but you cannot kill them. The 2.3 lived on for years in the Rangers, Fairmonts, Mustangs etc. A Vega GT hatchback or Kammback wagon looked great but was a horrible ownership experience. The Pinto was no looker but did it’s job well and cost owners Next to nothing to keep on the road. I’ll take the Pinto everyday over the Vega but would much prefer a Datsun 510 over anything else in the class.
Good comments and I agree with all except the Datsun part. They rusted worse than either the pinto or Vega. I had a 79 Datsun 210 sedan that rusted so bad that it could no longer be raised on a hoist to change oil. Literally bowed like a banana. Mechanically reliable but poor metal quality. Pinto’s actually seemed to have better metal and seemed more substantial than the Datsun, Toyota, and Hondas of that mid 70s era.
I never could understand the comparison between the Pinto/Vega vs. the Gremlin. The Pinto and Vega were considered sub compacts, the Gremlin is a Hornet compact with the butt end lopped off, and not offered with a 4 cylinder, but what do I know. Myself, I lean towards the Pinto, having owned several of them. In my personal experience, for whatever reason, the 74/75 model years, the automatic transmissions were self explosive in these. Nice car, but about $5k overpriced.
The Gremlin offered a 2.0L four cylinder engine sourced from VW-Audi beginning in the 1977 model year.
I had a 71 2 door…non hatch, w/ the 1.6L Brit mill and a 4 on the floor standard in it and didn’t realize what I had till decades went by and the utter simplicity of working on it finally dawned upon me when compared to a smog era manufactured car.
Not there weren’t problems with them, as with all these mechanical beasts of burden, no matter who produces them, they’re money pits to a certain extent that say feed me, all day, everyday. How much is spent is is sometimes an intricate balancing act performed by the proposed owner and the particular manufacturers product they bought.
I never did, and still don’t understand the never questioned mindless affinity for luxuriously appointed mid, and behemoths to go from point a to b and back that’d drain ones wallet, but impressed the he’ll outta the neighbors.
Economy, simplicity what ever happened to that….
Contemporary reviews said the Gremlin was a Hornet with a chopped off rear end which adversely control due to the uneven weight distribution. The Hornet was well proportioned; the Gremlin not at all. The 6 cylinder engines and 304 V-8 made it go fast which is why balanced handling was a safety issue. I did drive an Ambassador driver education car a few times and it steered like it was an old car (loose over assisted power steering with no feedback). The Vega handled like a dream but it’s engine, cooling system, rust and other issues turned it into a nightmare. The Pinto was the best balance of the three and sold the most cars. The 2.3 engine and 3 speed automatic were adequate in a light car and it’s size made it easy to park and maneuver in traffic. Ford did totally screw up the fuel tank placement in earlier models but all subcompacts then were toast if hit hard enough. The reason for having the 4 cylinder engine in the Vega and Pinto was better fuel economy and affordability. So if it was 1974, I would buy the Ford. In 2022, I have to look at the wear and tear on the upholstery as an example of what issues might be lurking inside the cute 48 year old used car. $9,950 is roughly 4 times what it cost news with lots of options and gives me cold feet.