This car has a missing letter “O” and that’s the least of its problems. It’s original, like a time capsule that was left inside of a sealed ziploc in Puerto Rico for three decades which is a shame. This is a 1976 Ford Pinto with a new-for-1976 egg-crate grille and that looks perfect! You’ll see why that’s exciting in a minute. This one is posted here on eBay in Sultan, Washington and nobody is jumping on the $2,500 buy-it-now price.
This car looks great from some angles, you can see how complete it is right down to the nice full wheel covers and new tires. Ford had three dark green colors and I’m not sure which one this is. Ivy Glow? Dark Green Metallic? Medium Lime Metallic? Probably one of the first two.
Oddly enough, the body on this car might be its best feature, looking pretty solid and dent-free overall. There is some rust visible which usually means that there’s rust underneath and elsewhere. This coming from a guy who grew up in northern Minnesota with literally every single vehicle that we owned being rusty. Every single one. I love how complete this car is, there aren’t any missing side moldings, no missing wheel covers or broken-off antenna or mirrors.
The back of it looks even better, maybe I’m being too hard on this Pinto? Under that hatch, however, you can see where the rust starts creeping in. There appears to be more rust inside than outside, even though most of the exterior paint is faded or missing.
5-mph bumpers were added for the 1974 model year and the year after this Pinto, there would be a slanted grille. Make mine an early model with tiny bumpers and a 4-speed, please. This one has an automatic which should be Ford’s C3 three-speed automatic. You can see that once the door is open, all bets are off.
The seats look good in the back but even the formerly cool plaid seat fabric is rusty! If smoking wasn’t bad enough for you, now you can get tetanus while using the ashtray and then there’s the huge crack in the top of the padded dash. Did I mention the headliner? Or, the fuses under the dash? There’s rust there, too, and that may explain the electrical issues that the seller talks about.
Have the eyes rolled back into your skull yet? The engine is Ford’s 2.3L inline-four which had 92 horsepower and 121 lb-ft of torque. This one runs but only up to 35 mph and then all bets are off as it starts leaking coolant, I think? This is an exercise in patience I know, just seeing how bad things can get while still being a somewhat viable restoration candidate. Is there any hope for this Pinto?
The rust on ALL of the interior components, (especially the electricals) portend nothiong but heartaches for anyone bold enough to take on this project! As for the body…..think “tip of the iceberg”!! GLWTA!! :-)
Flood car? Or just life in a high-humidity environment? The dark green / plaid avocado is a nice period-correct scheme, it would be eye-catching if restored. But I’d say too many problems here. Which is unfortunate.
Only real question is how long was it submerged? In the early 70s I brought a 69 ford convertible that looked like this rust-wise. Rust and pitting on every metal surface. But it was a red convertible for$300. Stopped dead in its tracks whenever the pavement got wet.
Some nice Pintos pop up here occasionally. This is not one of them.
Could be a flood car, but most likely has just been marinating west of the Cascades- where it only rains once a year. Starts in January, ends in December. Which is why I now live east of the Cascades.
“Starts in January and ends in December”. That’s hilarious, but true! Coming from another rain-shadow WA resident (Anacortes).
RUN, don’t walk.
99% certain this one has been underwater. My 71 Pinto was underwater (over the roof) at least 4 times in 3 years. It ran great till the trans exploded, too much water in it, not enough grease. If this is truly a PR car, chances are it’s a hurricane car. And the waters of a hurricane are loaded with salt. I can smell the mold from here.
You couldn’t PAY me to sit in that back seat.
Flood victim or not, you’d be underwater the moment you slapped down the cash….
Question for you experts, why did the government care about 5 Mile per hour impacts? It seems higher speed impacts should be their concern. Just trying to learn.
Thanks
The 5mph (initially 2.5 mph in the rear) bumper were to protect the lights and cooling system of the vehicle. Prior to this, even those boasting about their “Big American Steel” vehicles, found that a SLIGHT impact would render the car undrivable. The shock of a “bump” would put the radiator into the fan, twist the thin chrome bumper around to force the fender into the wheel making steering impossible. Where any lights that survived ended up pointed was anyone’s guess. Yes, they looked clunky and stupid when bolted to existing cars but it beat being backed into in a parking lot and having to call a tow truck. Actual crash-ability came later
like these, but not this 1. It didnt go for a swim, just the sno/salt mixture we use over here for pre-sales prep.
I’ll take a wagon instead. Love the Lima and carb (H/Weber 32/36 progreaaive) too (put the later ranger head on w/D shaped ports).
AND?
prep mine w/pepper steada salt?
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Had a ’76 … was our winter car as the Vette stayed in the garage in Chicago snow … cam flattened at 36,033 miles – just outside warranty …
I would like to find a form for Pinto owners.
Thank you