UPDATE – This lingering 1977 Mercury Bobcat Wagon is still for sale, and this is strike three. They say that if it doesn’t sell at $4,000 by the end of the month, they’ll keep it and redo it themselves. It can be found here on craigslist in Billerica, Massachusetts. Here is the original listing from this last chance offer. Will it sell this time? Thanks to Jack M. for the tip!
FROM 4/4/2026 – The seller is listing this 1977 Mercury Bobcat wagon for a friend who bought it in Maine in 2012, drove it 11,500 miles, and has had it stored at the seller’s house since 2016. He says it was a Maine barn find when his friend bought it, and it now has just 35,698 miles on it. They have it posted here on craigslist in Billerica, Massachusetts, and they’re asking $5,000. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Rocco B. for the tip!
Some of the photos are out of focus, so my apologies for that. Not that I took the photos. The “fancy” Mercury version of the Ford Pinto wagon was offered starting in 1974 in Canada and from 1975 through 1980 in the U.S., which is when the Pinto, in general, including the Bobcat, pulled out of the market. We saw this car last fall here on Barn Finds when the seller was asking $6,500.
The bumpers are always a distraction, at least design-wise, maybe not parking lot demo derby-wise. The peace sign bumper sticker is a nice Maine touch. The seller says this car was a Maine barn find, but then they say that they think it was left outside in Maine, and that may have fried the interior. I’m not sure which one it was, maybe half in a barn and half outside, who knows? In any case, it looks pretty good to me for a $5,000 Bobcat wagon. There is some light rust in the cracks, but they say there is no major rust.
The first thing most of us noticed, other than the covered seats and steering wheel, is that this one doesn’t have a four-speed manual. That’s always a bummer for those of us who like to shift for ourselves. The front seats, dash, and steering wheel must be beyond help, and that’s unfortunate. It won’t be inexpensive to fix those areas. The back seat looks like new, so that’s good.
The 2.3-liter OHC inline-four is said to have been rebuilt, and it has 89 horsepower and 120 lb-ft of torque. Power is sent through a three-speed automatic to the rear wheels. Are any of you takers at $5,000?
Funny how Mercury would take a car from Ford and class it up with some minor cosmetic touches, grills mostly. But I like this Bobcat. If I could afford a third car and it had a four speed this would be it. Bumpers? Meh. They’re fine, all the better for pushing shopping carts out of the way at the local Walmart.
If you’re local, and can put your eyes on this Bobcat? $5000 is a good deal, considering the nutty prices that people are asking for anything that is 40 years old, or more.
A nice, gussied up Pinto. You’re right Scotty, too bad there’s no 4spd. My first roommate in college had a pinto with an automatic, one of the slowest cars I ever drove. Though I was always thankful he let me use his car.
Love that it’s a wagon, and price seems reasonable, but not w/out a stick shift.
I had a 1972 pinto for 4 years and put 100 k miles on it. I just saw a video on youtube of a crash test with a ford galaxie. Yikes! I’m glad I survived that car ! The galaxie crushed the front end all the way to the back seat! And if you got hit in the rear you would be incinerated!
I bet the gas tank is in the same position on this wagon as was on your Pinto. Yikes!
It isn’t. The wagon was never vulnerable to that. And was not part of that recall
Leaned to drive on a 74 Pinto wagon. I did like that car.
Just think what would have happened if you drove it off a cliff? Double Yikes!
Tim
You realize the hysteria regarding incinerating Pintos has been debunked years ago. A rag magazine called Mother Jones got caught fabricating dirt on the Pinto, all in the name of over sensationalism. The allegedly obtained a small number of Pintos & staged rear end collisions with increasing speed rates and were unable to come up with the desired video of an exploding Pinto, until they concocted some type of deal where the fuel tank was ruptured and a spark introduced, which you can guess, a fire. The Ford Pinto was one of the most maligned vehicles ever produced in these United States, while not perfect, they were overall inexpensive, reliable & pretty darn good vehicles. While a number of fatalities did occur over the life span of the Pinto’s production, the numbers were in line with every other subcompact built during this time. I challenge you to research this and let me know your discoveries
The design flaw was real… however over the years its impact (excuse the pun) was exaggerated…
Fords bigger mistake was allowing the cost/benefit analysis for correcting the flaw to be leaked to the public… In it, as most car geeks know, Ford’s bean counters determined that paying off the lawsuits was going to be cheaper in the long run than actually fixing the problem. This, more than the actual fatalities, tainted the car’s and the companies reputation for years.
Interestingly, the Mother Jones article you mentioned (Pinto Madness) was also trashed and tainted their reputation for journalistic integrity for some time… They claimed the deaths were in the hundreds… but in actuality the NHTSA determined the number was in the tens.
Thank you.
Blues Brothers movie was on TCM recently, and one of the best scenes was the orange color Nazi Pinto wagon, not exactly a cliff but off the WAY HIGH downtown Chicago incomplete overpass, taking forever to descend. “I always loved you.” confession on the way down. Many over the top scenes.
I like these, just wish they were not so heavy (for the size, 94 inch WB)). Lima motor (X-flow design), weber progressive carb, all big pluses.
Would only go w/the wagon (well, ok, may B the hatch) just if they werent so heavy. I could see if a ladder frame under it, no such luck~
1st change… 5 speed or 4 auto (ie w/OD) depending. Later? may B smooth the bumpers in a lill…
Ahh, 5 pieces of chrome on a Pinto and it’s a Bobcat. I had a friend with a ’76 Pinto that was pretty awful mechanically but maybe Ford had their act together later. That 4 cylinder engine actually saw use in industrial applications.
I absolutely love pinto’s and bobcats. My problem is when the seller stretches the truth by 100,000 miles and knows it. Just be upfront with it. The seats are wore put, the paint on the inside drivers door tells a story of 135,000 miles. How many 2300 engines have you ever heard of being rebuilt before 35,000 miles?
Over my 50 plus years of driving I’ve owned a couple of dozen and never had problems with them and if your in the know you can pep them up relatively easy. The auto sucks but changes the gears and that to with make it better.
This is a decent looking bobcat but I’m always leary of people that stretch the truth. I would pay someone to look at it before I bought it.
neat but not at 5k. i would want to see the underside being from up in Boston and Maine
At least the price isn’t stupid ridiculous for this glorified pinto, I would question why the engine needed to be rebuilt with such low miles. I would like to say it will make a nice dependable ride for someone but with the rebuilt engine it all depends on the quality of the workmanship of whoever did the work.
Thank you for covering a car in the northeast!!! But I’ll take a hard pass on this one: bitter memories with Pintos, Mavericks, Comets and Bobcats: NO thanks!
Had a ’77 Pinto. It had the 2300 motor in it. Car ran fine, put many miles on it. It did have a “soft” cam shaft in it that the lobes got wiped out. Replaced it and had the head done. Never had any other problems with it. Easy car to work on. Like any car, change the oil regularly and there should be no problems. (The cam was a Ford defect)
Priced now at 4k. Nice little Ford wagon. Solid enough too and a runner. But still no 4 spd. But at this price maybe a worth while project too swap in a stick?
Only if that stick is bolted to an Ecoboost motor, LOL! This one is on the edge of “too nice to mess with”, unless there’s significant rust underneath, but you’d want to take a look at it before signing the check! Put a 2.3L Ecoboost in it, with a five-speed manual, and look out! 300 hp and 300 lb.-ft. of tire-shredding torque, Whee!
What is everyone’s aversion to automatic shift?? My problem.with this car is, I need a daily driver that will easily do 80 m.p.h., since I take trips on Interstates. Also, this one has at least 100,000 more miles than what shows on the odometer, and I would fear limited future life on this car. My Panther Platform.Mercury has 416,000 miles, and it is about done. Moreover, living in upstate New York, I know that once the tin-worm has established a foothold, you cannot stop the car from rotting away rather quickly.
If you ever drove a Pinto with an automatic, you wouldn’t ask that question. Something about the combination of the power band in the engine, and how the torque converter is set up makes them really, really, doggy. Interestingly, ones with the 2.8 V6 aren’t much better. My B in L had a V6/auto. wagon and it got 12 mpg around town- slowly. I’m not Pinto bashing. I had 2 wagons. A ‘72 2.0/4 speed, and a ‘74 2.3/4 speed. I absolutely loved them!
An automatic takes all the good out of driving. I do it, but I don’t like it.
I only want a manual if the car is old enough so that no automatic was available. Standard shift cars from the 1940s and earlier were made easy to shift and convenient, so an 89-year-old widow could drive one. But modern standard shifts tend to need the strength of youth, and I am elderly. I never want a modern “sporty” standard! — and NEVER a centre-console!!! If I have a standard, I want “three-on-the-tree” with an overdrive, and a bench seat. I also never want a coupe. I like four door sedans. And station wagons for convenience in hauling things. I hate “muscle” cars and anything “sporty”. Even when I was young, I drove like an old man. And I still do. I drove a 1946 Ford for 27 years — and you could depress the clutch pedal with your pinky. I also drove a 1938 Ford Deluxe Fordor for a time, and the shift was on the floor like an old school-bus. Fun. I LIKE COMFORT!!!
Ok, you sound like an old stick in the mud. What can I say?
In my youthful 67th year my favorite car is mostly hers, 2012 fiat 500 pop, with, yup, a 5 spd stick. Mine is a 95 E-36 mercedes wagon with an automatic, which if I could come up with cost would have a 6spd swapped in. (Basically an E-320 but with a c-36 engine swapped in.) I have mine cars built the way I like them. Though the fiat is as stock as the day is long, except for the removal of the big plastic cover fiat puts over the engine. Oh and removal of the hubcaps, which are always flying off anyway.
It is a blast to drive.
To each their own.
Hey! I replied “Thank you” to Robert Rollins- NOT Luckless Pedestrian. What gives?
The dangers associated with a limited number of Pinto Sedans & Hatchbacks was grossly overstated. If you are driving a 2000lb. car, and you get hit by a loaded Semi, you’re probably not going to fare well. It’s most likely going to be “Farewell”.
sorry for not responding right away. On vacation last week and decided to stay mostly computer free for the week. Your assessment meshes with my comment
I actually liked the cleaner stying of the Pinto over the Bobcat, but this one looks like it’s in good shape, so I’ll waive that point. I wish it had the optional sports instrumentation package, which included a tach, oil pressure, water temperature and voltmeter gages, and the third pedal would’ve been nice, but on the whole, a good, clean example. Some more pictures of the interior and underneath the car would have been nice, though. It’s in Billerica, about twenty (20) miles from me, so I might drive up and take a look! GLWTS!
I know right where Billerica is. But, had this had the optional sports instrumentation package and a manual shift, that would have been an automatic deal-killer for me, and I would have passed without even posting a comment.. My problem with this car is, I am leery of the re-built engine and the claimed mileage, as well as the rust. I would NEVER buy a car with sports or “performance” options, neither a standard shift in the automatic era. If you want to sell me a standard, the car has to be back from the time before that model had an automatic option — in other words, a “granny can drive it” standard, three-on-the-tree, overdrive, and a bench seat — preferably with four doors — and NO COUPES, PLEASE! The only time I would go for a floor shift, is the pre-1939 variety — NEVER A CENTRE CONSOLE WITH BUCKET SEATS!!! Regular family sedans and station wagons — no sports cars and no hot-rods or street rods or “muscle” cars! I know, I’m no fun.
I’m not against the KISS Principle, far from it! It served me well in a twenty-five (25) year long career as a working engineer. However, part of that principle is knowing what the Device Under Test (DUT) is doing at all times, and the only way you know what is happening under the hood is to read the gages connected to the engine. To get a reasonable set of gages in a Pinto/Bobcat, you had to pay extra for the “Sports Instrumentation Package”, for a proper set of gages. Basic buyers got a speedometer, a gas gage and an array of “idiot lights”, or as we used to call them, “Sorry, it’s already broken!” lights! No thank you! I want to know what is happening under the hood of my car, and the eighty dollars ($80.00) the extra gages cost back in the day was cheap insurance, no matter how expensive that was at the time! Today, all of the cars have a basic set of engine instruments as standard equipment, but that was far from true back in the “Malaise Era”!
I admit that my 1946 Ford had a temperature gauge (which with a flathead V-8 is VITALLY necessary!). It also had an oil-pressure gauge (another absolutely necessary thing with that powerplant!). Of course it had a gas-gauge and and a generator voltage gauge. My present 1988 Mercury Grand Marquis has a few idiot-lights to inform me if something is amiss (but as you say, by the time the light comes on, you already have a problem). I’ve never had that dreaded “check engine” light come on. But “low fuel” comes on when I get within 60 of running out of gas (as if I couldn’t read the gauge and see that). If “check oil” comes on, I’m about a quart low. There’s one for seat belts, and one for low battery, and I can’t tell you what any others are, without going out to look.