The Pinto was Ford’s first entry into the subcompact car market which was dominated by the imports going into the 1970s. The Pinto was in production from 1971 to 1980 and would spawn the Mercury Bobcat along the way. One of the popular body styles was the 2-door station wagon, like the seller’s example from 1974. It looks to be in decent condition for the age and its engine has been rebuilt to provide ongoing use as a daily driver.
Ford sold more than three million copies of the Pinto in its 10 years. That’s 50% more than the Chevrolet Vega which was marketed from 1971 to 1977. The 1974 model year would be the Pinto’s most successful at more than a half million units sold, thanks to the OPEC-induced energy crisis of 1973. The cars were mostly unchanged except that the Pinto would begin wearing cow-catcher-like bumpers fore and aft that year in response to growing safety standards for collision protection.
When you bought a Pinto, you could choose between a coupe, hatchback, or a station wagon, with the latter being the most functional. This ’74 looks to have been well-used with a nice original interior. The body seems fine, but the brown paint is showing its age. For reasons unknown, the engine had to be rebuilt before the odometer turned 72,000 miles and it’s paired with an automatic transmission. Not a barn burner, but a winner at the gas pump.
A bunch of spare parts come with the car. That includes a spare turbo I-4 that could slide into this Pinto if you wanted more power. This seems like a lot of running car for the money by today’s standards. The asking price is just $1,750 (it has been reduced but we don’t know from what) and is near New York City. For more details, you can check out this Pinto here on craigslist. The only thing you might have to fix is one window which is broken. Another tip brought our way by
“Zappenduster”.
Yes, it’s a Pinto. And it has the ridiculous big bumpers. And the brown paint is a mishmash of decent and tired. And the seller say it has some rust. And it’s an automatic, which means it isn’t as much fun to drive (for me). But it is dirt cheap, as in really dirt cheap. One could have some fun just running errands around town, in the process enjoying the inevitable “my mom had one of these” comments.
From other Pintos on Barn Finds, their posts show that plenty of us had them. And by and large found them to have been, given their place and time, serviceable, even tough little critters.
Either this Pinto is completely porous underneath. The seller hasn’t looked at the prices these cars are demanding now. Or it’s a scam.
Maybe a 172k miles..Anyway these days $1750 barely gets you a car that runs, so there’s that.
Every time I see one of these, I remember the Blues Brothers movie. A Pinto wagon was driven by a group of Nazis in a car chase with Jake and Elwood. The Pinto is eventually destroyed after it flew of a raised expressway, backflipping as it seemingly plummeted hundreds of feet to the ground.
BTW, if my mom had offered me a ride to school in one of these (during a storm), I would have asked her to drop me a few blocks away….
Yes, better to arrive soaked than to arrive in a Pinto. Pure genius, camw..
“In high school, I had a Ford Pinto poster in my bedroom” , said no-one. Ever.
Yes, we have seen our share of Pintos here recently, and even if the brown color is not nice, it’s a “Leepin Leena” wagon, as used by my dead friend’s father, the mailman for local deliveries about 40 years ago. They did not have the rear end crash and fire issue. And, again, similar to the orange (?) wagon used by the neo nazi’s in the Blues Brothers movie. I will have to watch again, but I don’t remember the back flip off the elevated expressway, but a loong loong descension to the music “Flight of the Valkyries”, and “I always loved you” on the way down. Too much!
Cheap , buy it, fix it up a little , sell turbo engine, you almost paid nothing for the Pinto.
It will be interesting to see how long the listing stays up. This seems like it could be a good deal, but the term “does have some normal rust for its age” does not inspire confidence.
I wouldn’t assume the 2.3L turbo is included in the sale, “also have a” is not the same as “comes with”.
Worth checking out if you live reasonably close and are looking for an inexpensive beater/project.
Steve R
Pintos. Kind of hate ’em, kind of love ’em.
The last time I saw one of these in the wild I was astounded by how low to the ground it was. You basically fell into it, and then drove around with your butt about 5 inches off the pavement. Longer/lower/wider wasn’t just for the big guys with the V8 engines.
Also, this is a shade of brown that only seemed to exist in the mid 70s. If I was in the market for a Pinto, I’d take one in this color.
Bought a Pinto wagon at age 20. Sold my ‘68 442 that got 12mpg. Pinto got mid 30s on the highway. I thought I’d really miss my Olds, but the Pinto was surprisingly fun to drive. This one is priced right- I might even be able to overlook the homely brown paint- but for whatever reason, these things are absolute slugs with an automatic, and they use a lot more fuel. Pass
I had a ‘74 and I had to replace the engine before 100k. I had heard that some of the early 2300s didn’t have a squirter hole on the upper main bearing of the connecting rod so the piston skirt didn’t get oil which caused piston wear and oil consumption issues.
I bought a new one in1972. 72,000 miles seems about right for an engine rebuild
Like how the seller says 2.3 turbo engine will make a very fast Pinto. Should be a quicker Pinto, not very fast. Price is reasonable,but the window alone might take some sourcing. I like it’s a wagon and should be a good runabout.