Are you pining for a survivor-quality Pinto to prance over to the nearest Cars ‘N Coffee? We found just the thing, and with a little elbow grease, it might really shine. Here on craigslist is a Ford Pinto hatchback from the model’s 1971 introductory year, with 85,000 miles under one owner and an asking price of $3000. The car is located in La Pine, a few miles south of Bend, Oregon. Rocco B: great find! keep them coming. Ford’s Pinto has a few firsts to its name: its development period was the fastest in the industry at just 25 months, it used the first four-cylinder that Ford had offered in the US since the Model A, and on the unfortunate side, it broke records for product liability by bursting into flames when lightly rear-ended. Ford was notoriously slow to remediate the fuel tank issue, which spelled the demise of the Pinto nameplate, but only after more than 3 million were sold.
The development of the Pinto was a response to the import invasion: cars from Germany, Britain, Japan, even France, were arriving in droves to capture American hearts and wallets with great gas mileage, sporty features and cheap prices. Ford needed a product on the streets as soon as possible. The rush to market was facilitated by scavenging Ford’s European offerings for components. At launch, the standard engine was a 1.6 liter four-cylinder Kent from Ford’s Anglia, good for 75 hp. This example sports the optional 2.0 liter overhead cam four generating 97 hp. It’s paired with a four-speed manual. This combination was the hot ticket, costing several hundred dollars more than the base car. The seller notes it runs, drives and stops, but a road trip should be undertaken only after thorough inspection.
Bucket seats are concealed by aftermarket seat covers in decent condition. The headliner is intact. La Pine, for those who don’t know the area, is high and dry with plenty of sun and warmth in the summer and snow in the winter. This car must have been kept under cover to escape weather damage for all these years. Kudos to the owner for preserving this blast from the past.
The first body style offered in late 1970 was a sedan with a trunk. By February of 1971, the hatchback was introduced, nicknamed the Runabout. Early hatchbacks had exterior chrome hinges, five chrome trim strips running down the tailgate, and a window about the size of the sedan’s rear glass. In 1972, Ford re-designed the hatch with a much larger glass area, eliminating the chrome strips. So we have a one-year-only, single-owner Runabout in survivor condition – does that merit “collectible” status? What do you think?
Excellent, this is a great find! The one-year-only body style and details make this one a no-brainer to clean up as much as possible to keep it as original as possible. With the OHC 2.0 and manual, this one would be a keeper.
Does anyone know if this car has already been sold ?? If not, I am very interested ! My very first car (in 1971 :-) ) was the Pinto Run a bout with the small hatch window. Been trying to find one for quite a while.
I’m with Scotty. The small-glass Runabout is unique. So many Pintos didn’t survive (throw-away economy cars, rust) that it is good to see one in decent shape. With the “big” engine and the manual transmission, it would be fun to drive. I hope someone gives it love.
I know I’ve said this like 79.374 times on here….. But I always learn something new here on Barnfinds. I never realized there was a different rear hatch design on the 71’s. I like it much better with the chrome. Just like Bob and Scotty said above me. This one is a no brainer to grab and keep. Great write up Michelle!!!
What’s with all those air cleaner lid wing nuts & clips? ONE wing nut should be all that’s needed – in the center!
Compared to 30 yrs ago, today’s colorless poorly fitting & designed aftermarket seat covers are a joke. Can’t tell if the gas tank fix was done by a dealer, looking at the poor man’s gas cap.
In 1978 I was a repair tech at a Ford dealership when the Pinto gas tank recall campaign began. If there’s any doubt as to whether the fix has been performed on a 1971 through 1976, remove the gas cap and look at the filler neck fasteners. If there are Torx fasteners, that’s the first sign the job has been done. If there’s a plastic shield on the front side of the tank, that’s the second sign. There were also shorter bumper mounting bolts and a longer filler tube but they would have to be compared to the originals to discern the difference.
Any truth to what I’d heard in a few different places, that there was also a vented gas cap as part of the recall, which was always chrome so it didn’t need to be color matched?
I wonder because gas caps were frequently lost and replacements were usually chrome for the same reason.
It’s funny how these old cars grow on you. When I was a kid, you didn’t think anything of a Pinto. Unless you were hauling a$$ on your bike, and skidded to a stop just before you hit the rear bumper! That’s what we did in our neighborhood for entertainment circa 1979.
The “demise” of the Pinto was caused by the introduction of Fords “World Car,” the Escort. It had ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with the overhyped gas tank issue.
You’re right, that issue was resolved by the mid 70’s,l. And another point to note, the wagons never did suffer the same flaw.
Exactly. The gas tank fix applied to the 1971 through 1976 sedans and hatchbacks. None of the station wagons, sedan deliveries or the Cruising Van were affected due to their different tank and filler design.
The 1977 through 1980 models had the update built in at the factory.
The Escort was introduced in N.A. in 1980. Sales of the Pinto fell off a cliff in 1975, from over half a million in ’74 to 224k, long before Ford was selling the Escort here. That sales decline was a direct result of a demand for investigation as per here, in 1974:
https://www.autosafety.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/04-09-1974-Request-to-Open-Investigation-of-Ford-Pintos-Vegas-for-Gas-Tank-Failure.pdf
The issue was not “resolved by the mid 70s” either. Ford continued to experience lawsuits and damage awards. It wasn’t until late ’78 that a recall was issued for every Pinto to make repairs.
You can think it was overhyped, but the public said otherwise, as evidenced by plunging sales that coincided with publicity about the problem.
And it was thoroughly obsolete on the new-car market by then. Were it not for the high gas prices and a weak dollar making imports pricey, Ford might not have amortized the tooling for the expensive facelift it had for 1979.
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Great write up as usual, but a few points, if I may. Ford had the Cortina, which was made in England and shipped to the States. They only sold the Mk1 and Mk2 models, as the arrival of the Pinto ceased sales of the Cortina here in 1970, while the Cortina continued in world wide production until 1985. I can’t state to the Anglia’s power plant, but the Mk2 Cortina was using the 1600 Kent engine in a couple of different stages of tune. if I’m not mistaken, the Capri also began life here with that same engine. That OHC engine definitely gave it more zip.
The information I have is that the Cortina’s rear axle was used in the Pinto at the outset.
I had a 71 with the 105E motor back in 78. Mine rode on Firestone 500s (google em) so basically coupled with the fuel tank recall ( plastic shield) mounted in front of the rear axle and in front of the fuel tank, the most dangerous car you could ever drive. However it would light up the tires in first and second gear on dry pavement and returned over 30 mpg. I loved that car!
1)The danger posed by the Pinto fuel tank issue was greatly exaggerated, and if I understand your post, your car had the upgrade.
2) About 2 million Firestone 500 tires were produced. About 200 reportedly failed- under any circumstances. (Under inflation, over inflation, overloading, road hazard…) Do the math. .0001% failure rate. I actually went out and actively scooped up every one of these tires I could find. Drove a set up the Alcan, as a matter of fact. Wore every one of them down to the nubbins- no failures.
“Most dangerous car you could ever drive…” Yeah. No.
Guess it makes for a cool story though.
Back in the early eighties; Tom, a friend of mine, inherited one of these from an aunt whose husband passed. She didn’t drive. She was very religious and the top of the dashboard sported a considerable number of artifacts seeking Divine protection from the travails of the highway. No matter. One day coming home from work an electrical fire emanated from under the dashboard and Tom quickly pulled over. By this time flames were now consuming the dash and the sacred items. Tom bailed. Fortunately the car didn’t explode but it was “toast”. I guess even St. Christopher couldn’t save this unfortunate Pinto. Yes Pintos are cute and nostalgic but uh, no thanks.
As regards the Model A being the last domestic Ford available with a four cylinder engine, the company did offer a four in cars through 1932 and in trucks through 1934.
In 1941 and 1942 Ford offered a 119.5 CID (2.0L) four cylinder engine (shared with the tractor) in light trucks, and some may have been installed in fleet cars such as taxis. This was during the start of the fuel rationing years and many buyers were grabbing what they could in order to survive three years of no new vehicle availability.
Drove one of these in Driver’s Ed, without power steering, no less! The idea was to force the students to learn how to do three-point turns and parallel park in a car without power steering. My college car pool partner had one that I rode in to college, sitting in the passenger seat wasn’t like sitting in the penalty box, LOL! It actually rode and handled quite well, far better, in fact, than the 1972 Ford Maverick I was driving at the time!
I’m partial to the wagons, myself. The later versions, with the all-glass hatch look sharp, and the later models, with the inertia-reel, three-point seatbelts were much more comfortable to wear and easier to use than the simple lap belts with separate shoulder harnesses on the early models.
Does anyone know if this car is still for sale ? This is the same make and model of my first car.
Does anyone know if this car is still for sale ? This is the same make and model of my first car. Do I need to be a member to contact this seller ?