Medium Yellow Gold is the perfect Pinto color, in my opinion. Maybe because my dad had a car exactly like this as a company car and I remember driving it (at age 9) on our gravel road out in the country, back when people didn’t lose their minds at such things as that. The seller is very, very, very slim on photos and information, but this 1971 Ford Pinto looks like new in the four photos they do show. Thanks to Mitchell G. for the tip!
This car looks flawless and it’s a two-door sedan with a trunk, an interesting configuration, and the only one available in the fall of 1970 when the Pinto debuted for the 1971 model year. The hatchback came out in February of 1971. We have seen a boatload of Pintos here on Barn Finds over the last decade or so, but only four 1971 models. That was the first year they were offered, and they lasted until the 1980 model year. Famous 1980s Chrysler Chairman, Lee Iacocca, wanted a small car to compete with Japanese imports and it had to be under 2,000 pounds and under $2,000. The Pinto met both of those criteria, give or take a few pounds and a few dollars.
Remember that Kansas plate for the next paragraph. The backup lights are on, is someone in there? The average income was reportedly $10,290 in 1971 – the equivalent of $79,797 in 2024 dollars, according to the inflation calculator. That’s a very nice income today, much higher than what our average salary really is ($55,000 to $65,000). $2,000 in 1971 would be $15,510 in today’s dollars, for those of you who still think a vintage car should be priced at what it would have cost new. Enough of the dollars and cents nonsense. I don’t see a flaw in this car at all, at least on the exterior, which is sadly all we see of it.
You already know that the seller didn’t bother to post any interior or engine photos, which is supremely disappointing. Not including interior photos seems to be a new trend, it used to just be not showing engine photos. I don’t like this new trend. The engine should be one of two four-cylinders available at the time, a 1.6-liter or 2.0-liter. We don’t have a clue which one it is but the seller says it “runs well” and the only other thing they say is it’s in “good condition.” They have it posted here on craigslist in Corry, Pennsylvania and they’re asking $7,900, and here is the original listing. Any thoughts on this pony?
It appears to be in astonishing condition, and like you I find it maddening that there aren’t more pictures. But I’ll also concede that I’m not in the market for this kind of thing so I’m only looking at it for my own entertainment and the seller doesn’t owe me anything. The color is absolutely perfect. Has it had a repaint, and if so, would someone go to all the trouble to put the rub strips back on? Did it come from the factory with that hood stripe? How does it reside in that part of Pennsylvania and isn’t eaten with rust? The placement of the rear bumper looks wonky … it’s pushed too far over to the driver’s side. But let’s face it. It could’ve come from the factory like that.
Also, thanks for adjusting for inflation! Always helpful. There are two new cars on the market right now that cost roughly what this Pinto cost when new, inflation adjusted – the Nissan Versa and the Mitsubishi Mirage. Both are far superior in every way… quicker, safer, and get much better gas mileage (Pintos were awful in that regard). The Mitsubishi is really fugly, though.
Thanks, Timmy V! I agree 100% that new vehicles are better, faster, much safer, better on fuel, more reliable, and all of those things. It’ll be interesting, as Bob_in_TN says about meeting back here in five decades, to see if either of those two cars you mentioned will be on the Barn Finds 2074 edition.
I was also wondering about the Kansas license plate on the back but it’s in PA.
Who knows! I do know I won’t be around in 2074 to find out (unless I live to be 105, don’t bank on it). But it’s not out of the realm of possibility that somebody might drag a Mirage out of a barn at that date and marvel that someone actually saved one! I suspect in 1974 a person might have been gobsmacked that this Pinto would even exist in 2024, and that people would be highlighting and talking about it. We had a Pinto variant (Mercury Bobcat Villager) when I was growing up and it was great. Never gave my parents a minute of trouble. It even looked a little sporty with the factory slotted mags. That thing swallowed all our stuff – family of four – on many long trips to the beach in the ‘70s. I really like the early Pintos and Mavericks (pre-big bumper). Seems like some thought actually went into the styling, which you can’t really say about a lot of new cars.
Awful fuel consumption? My Pinto’s got excellent fuel mileage. But you had to keep them tuned up. Like anything back then. I wouldn’t trade any of the Pinto’s I’ve owned throughout the years and I’ve owned some rough ones, for either of those two foreign junks you mentioned. I think the Versa was designed for people that hate automobiles. And the Mitsu was designed by people who hated the consumers.
Ford advertised 25 MPG combined in 1971 with the 1.6 liter, terrible by today’s standards but pretty standard for a compact car back then. That’s what my 2017 F150 gets, supposedly, but not the way I drive it. But as they say, your mileage may vary.
https://oldcarbrochures.org/United%20States/Ford/1971_Ford/1971%20Ford%20Pinto%20Brochure/slides/1971_Ford_Pinto-03.html
I’m not ragging on Pintos, we had one (Bobcat) and really liked it. We even had a Chevette, and it was a great car for what it was!
Good job Scotty. Especially trying to position prices and salaries into today’s dollars. That helps when someone says “I remember buying x car like this one for $500.” Well if that was in 1980, costs have changed. And I agree with Timmy V’s questions and comments.
Despite their faults, many people who had Pintos remember them as kind of tough, kind of fun little econocars, especially given their throw-away place in the automotive market. I wonder if, in fifty years, people will be making similar comments about 2024 Versas and Mirages.
Looks like a real nice Pinto, and I too like the period-correct color. But with so little info/pics, who knows.
Thanks, Bob! This looks like a real gem but as you say, who knows? It could be made of cardboard, or worse yet: AI. It seems like we’ve seen this car before, the location of the first photo sure looks familiar to me, but I didn’t see it when I searched for 1971 Pintos.
Someone once described the Ford Pinto as a car nobody loved but everybody bought. The thing is, I’ve known several people who absolutely did love their Pintos and they speak quite fondly of them.
In 1976, I paid $900 for my 4speed 71 Pinto Wagon with 41K. Used it for three years, hauling my bass amp to gigs, as well as for impromptu social activities. Looking back, one of my favorite cars.
That’s cool, 370zpp! I’d love to take a poll of Barn Finds readers who were in bands. I used to haul my gear around in my 1971 Toyota Corolla wagon, which I just read was much more dangerous in rear-end crashes than the 1971 Pinto was. That little wagon fit my 300-watt Ampeg SVT amp and both speaker bottoms. I was a guitar player, and that amp really cranked with a guitar.
Nice Corolla. An SVT and two bottoms? Wow.
Wish I had photos of my wagon.
Ha, the late ’70s was an interesting time, musically, and probably for everything – especially when you’re a teenager.
I bought a brown 71 pinto in the eighties for a twelve pack of PBR beer. Should have gave them a six pack, got ripped off.
Same here , but a 74 Squire with a 2ooo, ac and automatic. I could load two Kasino 2/15 cabs with JBLs, the head. 2 basses and a suitcase full of cords and such. Good solid car that rode great but the automatic version was really sloooooooooow. Before that i had a 72 Pinto coupe with a trunk ( like the one above) and it didn’t hold hardly anything but was much quicker and i never got stuck in it. I’d like the one for sale but it’s in PA. and i’m still in MO.
Right quarter panel has poorly repaired rust and rot.
My mom had a red 73 Pinto with black interior. No AC so it was a real treat to get in that after a 95-degree humid day in NJ. Mom felt safe after the recall for the gas tanks exploding on rear impact. That 1/4 thick plastic bar they put along the facing rear portion of the gas tank was truly an engineering marvel. A sizzling 68 MPH downhill, peddle to the floor and with the wind behind you, made us feel like we were in a race car! LOL…. Ralph Nader was foaming at the mouth when this and the others like it hit roads. Unsafe at any speed would’ve looked like a dictionary compared to the report on the Corvair! Oh well, they do recycle well though!
I didn’t read the write up so I have to ask, are the complimentary fire extinguishers included?
Haha, and there it is. The first comment about these being bombs. Unlike the vast majority of Pintos, the early hatchbacks were the dangerous ones. Wonder what Ford did with this one to remedy the situation. Or not!
The recall kit included shields at the front and rear of the tank, plus a longer filler pipe.
One way to tell if a 1971 through 1976 Pinto (hatchback and sedan) has had the recall completed is to check the fasteners that hold the filler neck to the quarter panel. A vehicle that’s had the fix will have Torx fasteners. If the fasteners are hex headed, the fix hasn’t been done.
The recall didn’t apply to the station wagon, sedan delivery or Cruising Wagon.
My family had two of these non-hatches. Ford put an updated filler neck and a skirt over the dif
Well someone had to hit the low hanging fruit… OTOH, I received a model of the Pinto in this exact same color from Cheerios with boxtops and $.75 (I think) back when these cars were introduced!
Another “tell” was a vented gas cap, which to simplify inventory and the recall-fix process was chrome rather than body-colored.
This car has a body-color cap but it could be taken off a post-’76 car and painted to match the earlier color at any time in the last 50 years.
The recall parts kit didn’t include a new gas cap at all. It had shields, a longer filler neck, a pipe to tank seal and shorter bumper mounting bolts that wouldn’t puncture the rear shield, but not a new gas cap.
As for the color, I think my 73 F-100 is the same color.
Having talked to the owner. it’s from Kansas as a retirement gift from his brother. There are some imperfect spots. Still a very nice find.
I owned one of these back in the 70s. Mine rolled on Firestone 721 radials (they were recalled when the belts let loose and a few people died) also the exploding gas tank recall consisted of a small plastic shield between the rear axle and fuel tank. The 71 had the Ford Kent 106 motor. So much better than the overhead cam motors that came after. Great cars I may have to buy this one to relive my youth. Yep got laid in the backseat too.
I owned a Grabber Blue ’71 with the 2000cc engine (we didn’t call it a 2-liter), four-speed, optional front disc brakes, and A70-13 Goodyear Polyglas white letter tires. It had a hole in the i.p. for a tachometer but it wasn’t an option.
The 2000, with its crossflow head and 2bbl Weber carb, made it faster than the 2300 Vega. The 1600 Kent engine was simply overtaxed by the Pinto’s 2000 lb curb weight.
The only problem I had was replacing the alternator, which I had to do more often than oil changes. The positioning of it, mounted on a long arm, meant it must have vibrated the bearing to mush. The alternators never out lasted the parts warranty. The dealer’s shop got to know me well.
I put about 25,00
Crush that death-trap
Then you’d need to crush EVERY 70’s small car. The Only reason there were slightly more fires involving Pintos than other small cars was because there were many many more of them. Proportionally speaking, it could be argued, the Pinto was slightly safer than the Japanese cars of the day.
Went to buy a new VW Beattle after graduating college in Dec. 1970. Dealer had none for sale, just a waiting list book with several names in it and it would be months before you could expect your VW to arrive. So settled for a new 1971 dark brown Pinto. Very hard to start when it rained the first year of owning it but dealer repaired that. Owned it for just 6 years and put on 63,000 miles when I sold it for $400 to a teen driver who totaled it. Had plenty of rust from a few winters in Chicago, Michigan and New Hampshire. Replaced muffler twice. When the car was less than 3 yrs old took it in to Ford dealer in NH because of what I thought was a loud exhaust system leak. The service writer told me as soon as he heard me pull in he recognized the problem. A faulty cam shaft lobe which he said was due to something wrong with one of the machines in the Ford factory. Not all Pintos had this problem. That cost about $145 to replace, as I recall. A lot of money back then having just started my first job in my profession that year. Decided to sell it after 6 yrs with 63,000 miles and some rust spots along with a leaky trunk after it rained. Replaced muffler 2 or 3 times, and shocks once and brakes. Cost $2,400 out the door, tax and license included. Fergus Ford, Skokie, IL. Drove like a truck because of no power steering. I have no idea why anyone would want to buy a vintage Pinto these days. The 1971 AMC Gremlin had much better styling, as did the Chevy Vega.
Owned 80′ last year Pinto with the trunk,4-speed,no air.
worked the graveyard shift in Atlantic City 10pm-6am so got by w/o the air.Ran it up to 93k trouble free miles and traded it in for a 86′ Ranger,again stick w/o air,still on grave shift till 92′
Funny, I was just talking to a friend about the Pintos. There’s a microbrewery nearby that has a Mexica lager called the Pinto (it’s very good btw). Any how I had a brown ‘71 Pinto that i absolutely loved! I put a set of rims on it, along with a header, 4 bbl intake and a bugspray carb on it. The header was a 2 piece gem that you installed the lower half on you exhaust system. Then after you bolted the top half to the head you jammed the two pieces together and were supposed to tack weld them together so they didn’t come apart. Didn’t know how to weld then so, every once and awhile I had to pull in to a parking lot and crawl part way under the car and jam the two pieces back together. Oh ya, if you shifted hard enough between 1st an 2nd sometimes the shifter and nylon retainer would come off the top of the transmission in your hand. I kinda miss those days🤣🤣🤣🤣
Interesting variety of opinions (which is what there should be). I bought a 1972 Pinto, which was gold and my first brand new car. I’ll just say I’m not one of the believers. Without a doubt, the worst new car I’ve ever bought, and I’ve bought as lot (I’m old). I’m glad there are others who had a different experience.
Bought a ‘72 wagon in ‘74 for a little over $2k. 2000/4speed. Drove it like I stole it. Got 35+ mpg on the highway. Lots of room to haul stuff, handled great. It wouldn’t do 100- but 90+ on a long flat straightaway. Yeah, it was awful.
I’ve owned two back when they were inexpensive used cars. Both were the same model as this one. Easy to work on and economical. I don’t think they drove like a truck. Mine were both base models with no power steering. I would describe the steering as more go kart like than truck.
If memory serves me right, in rear end Collision they would go BOOM..back in 75, headed out of Burlington on 7, just starting too roll, and a PINTO,in dak red, No Brake light, stopped turning into Nordic Ford,, not good….
They didn’t catch fire any more often than other cars of similiar size.
Thanks, STEVER. I tried to emphasize that but the legend lives on I guess. Thanks for trying.
My 1971 Pinto was tail-ended by a Buick Electra 225. It went boom and I died.
The listing is gone, did one of you Pinto lovers grab this one?