1974 was the first year for federally-mandated 5 mph bumpers on both the front and rear of most American cars, including the Pinto, and they really did a number on the visual aspects of what was otherwise an interesting little car. The seller has this super clean 1974 Ford Pinto listed here on eBay in San Marcos, California and they have a buy-it-now price of $9,950 listed or you can make an offer.
Pintos are always interesting for me as my dad had two of them in succession as company cars. They were both early ones with small bumpers and both were four-speed manual cars so they were fun to drive for a little teenager like me. One was a yellow/gold color and the next one was dark green and I always like an actual color, but this white Pinto looks basically perfect on the exterior.
The bumpers are so crazy out-of-scale huge that they’re almost laughable, or cryable – if that’s a word. It is now. The seller doesn’t go overboard filling us in on the car’s condition, giving us exactly ten words of description but those ten words are gold in the used car world: “Runs and drives excellent – All original – California rust free vehicle”. Boom, it doesn’t get much better than that. Wait, scratch that “boom” part.
There’s no four-speed manual in this car, this one has Ford’s C4 three-speed automatic with a console shifter. Actually, all shifting duties were relegated to the console, or tunnel/hump I should say, there is really no console here. The front seats are in fairly rough shape but the back seating area looks very nice. The dash is cracked but I love the badge on the face of it! Classic.
The engine here looks almost exactly like a rear hatchback cargo area for some odd reason. Oh yeah, because the seller didn’t provide an engine photo, in keeping with 2022 traditions and rules. This one has Ford’s 2.3L inline-four with 82 horsepower and they say that it runs and drives great. Any thoughts on this Pinto or any Pinto that you’ve seen, or owned, or may want to own, or… anything, in general? Hey, it’s Saturday, let’r rip!
I know, it seems I have a story for everything, not really, but just for the sake of conversation ( I wouldn’t spend $10g’s on a Pinto if it had $5 grand in the trunk), BUT, there is a Pinto for sale near me like this, kind of on a side road ( I swear, when it comes to selling a classic, these people think someone is magically going to come down their little road looking for a Pinto in their front yard) it’s been there for months, just a for sale sign. I wasn’t that interested, so never checked it out, looks pretty clean. Well, they must be getting desperate, now a sign saying $3500, OBO, a much more plausible number, I think.
Again, I feel the examples I give( at a greatly reduced price from these featured) are much more in line for this stuff. Like on FB Marketplace, almost ALWAYS, the original price has a slash, with the new price half of what it was. I’d LOVE to go “HAW-HAW”,,but then I’d be no better than the rest of that FB ilk. If these were really bringing the money these people are asking, don’t you think someone would have come along, bought that Pinto I saw for $3 grand, and flip it in California for $10? Apparently, in the real world, they never get their $10 grand, a childhood song comes to mind, and Scotty loves nostalgia, so he won’t mind,”But they had high hopes, they had high hopes, they had, high apple pie in the sky, hopes”
I owned a ‘73 Pinto and found it a great little car .With the German sourced 4 cylinder engine and four speed transmission it was a blast to drive.
Rusted out from under me though , especially the rear quarters.
4 speed manual transmission.
And people mock the Matador two door for the actually clean and simple solution to the Fed 5 MPH bumpers.
For was actually the very worst when it came to that.
Nice to see a floor not consumed by some asinine plastic log eating up space.
I love that there isn’t a stupid console in this car.
Minor nit: Pintos had a C3 automatic, not a C4.
Thanks for the info, Bill. I was going by this website:
https://www.automobile-catalog.com/car/1974/842495/ford_pinto_2-door_sedan_2300-cc_cruise-o-matic.html
Wiki lists the C4 as being used in the Pinto:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_C4_transmission
But, they also list the C3 as being used in the Pinto.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_C3_transmission
Looks like Wiki lists the C3 being used from 1974, so I guess early automatic cars had a C4. The Pinto was available with a V6 from 1975-79 and I’d imagine those cars had a C4 also. (The V6 was only available with an automatic, and not very many units were sold.)
I always liked Pinto’s , when we were buying for 500 or alot less sometimes,had many good times in my 78 wagon with A/C.
Seeing the hand brake / parking brake / emergency brake right next to the automatic shifter makes me think of some things:
1. It reminds me of what an old guy told me when I was a young guy: Either use the parking brake whenever you park or don’t use it at all (because if you just decide to use it one day out of the blue, it might get stuck).
2. Short of an actual emergency, how many people really use the parking brake on automatic cars anyways (assuming you’re not in San Fran or some hilly area)?
3. We used to have a lot of fun w/ those hand brake cars… it was a great way to start a nice, sideways slide.
~Lothar
I use my parking brake. I heard you’re always supposed to use it, as it relieves stress on the parking pawl, which wasn’t intended to hold the entire weight of the vehicle for long periods.
The caveat I always heard was not to use the parking brake in freezing weather if you could avoid it, since it might get frozen in the “On” position.
Hi Lothar, well, coming from the Badger, or any salt encrusted environment, you learn early on NEVER use the parking brake. It’s the 1st thing to seize up, and usually, the only remedy is to cut the cable at the drum. You only do THAT once. It must also be a humidity thing, as I was surprised the emergency brake works perfect on both my squarebody and the Jeep both natives of Colorado where there’s no humidity. Unheard of in Wisconsin. You learned to carry a brick with you, get it, “emergency brick”[sic]
Howard-
Yep. I had a 1973 Beetle (first car) w/ about as much Bondo as metal below the top of the fenders. It ran pretty good but the parking brake didn’t work.
I’m a Wisconsin guy too and I was working out in the country when I was a kid w/ a friend on a painting project until 9:30 pm or so. We then left work in our respective jalopies – him a Buick Opel and me in the Beetle. We came across a raccoon that was hit but wasn’t dead (yet), which I can’t stand to see, so we both ran the poor bugger over to finish it off. My friend, knowing the ‘coon had gotten hit at least 3X now, wisely kept going and went home. I, like an idiot, turned round and stopped the car, on a hill, and got out to make absolutely sure we finished off the poor guy (we did) and just as I was turning around to go back to the car, I heard it rolling off the road and away from me and there was no safe way to catch up and open the door and get back in. So, off my Beetle went without me, off the road, down a steep incline and into a bunch of small trees. I had to call a tow truck. The truck driver thought it was pretty funny and said “What happened to Herbie?” :) No damage to the car luckily.
I’ll make more mistakes in my life but never repeat that one.
Nice start for a Bob Glidden tribute .. .
No engine photos, has 14 other vehicles listed. $10k??
I always use a hand break too. Partly outta Habit of owning many stuck shifts , partly thinking that it saves stress on the transmission in park
Had an emergency brick for my mustang that the hand brake was broken on.
I believe the 5mph bumpers started in ’73. I had a ’73 Mustang with them.
“In 1974, to meet federal regulations, 5 mph bumpers were added to both the front and rear.” – according to Wiki.
I don’t believe the 1973 Pintos had the horrible, huge bumpers, Miminite. Big over-riders maybe:
https://barnfinds.com/?s=1973+ford+pinto
But, not the full battering ram bumpers that came along in 1974.
https://www.mecum.com/lots/CA0819-380912/1973-ford-pinto/
https://classiccars.com/listings/view/1292328/1973-ford-pinto-for-sale-in-la-verne-california-91750
not all had them front and rear in 73. my 73 gran torino sport only had it in front.
I bought a ’79 Pinto in the late 1980’s for $150. It was really reliable and kind of fun as a $150 beater. Cheap crappy cars like Pinto’s and the Mustang II were interesting and strange to drive with that huge transmission drive shaft hump and low seats. They felt a lot closer to the early days of cars than to modern cars we drive now.
Are there Pinto people out there who will pay the asking on this? Especially since this one is good but far from perfect.
Nothing to do with handbrakes , but young and stupid driving mistakes , had a 78 corrola I decided it would be cool to drift thru the parking lot after work (circa 1988) , Joe Cool here drifted right into a parked be mad new toyota supra. Did no damage to my car , the metal bumper on it grabbed those plastic fender flares on the supra and ripped em right off. Cost me more to fix the supra than buy the Corolla
Continental kit? The rear bumper is ready for it. Did anyone do 5MPH bumpers worse than Furd? Fortunately we were spared that in Australia.
I have a sense of deja vu…
Haven’t we seen this same car recently, like, a month ago?
Auction update: this one ended with no bids.
I cannot fathom this over $1900. Automatic. 74. Big bumpers. Smog equipment sucking life out of that motor. I had a 74 with 26k original miles in 06. With a 4 speed manual. So slow. Super convertible blew its Doors off.
Maybe since I was too young to care about cars before 1973-ish, the big bumpers don’t bother me. I don’t know why people dislike them and I think it would be a nice place to sit down or set your can of Busch Light.
Now yer talkin’! Making lemonade out of lemons, I like your thinking, sir.
Yeah kid , your ok. And I mean if they bother ya that bad , couldn’t you change em to the small ones. I mean… It’s a pinto not a dussenburg
The one thing i noticed on this car is that the seat belt latches appear to have been replaced. They look like generic replacement parts, versus the standard Ford belt latches used on everything from Pinto to F350.
I could maybe see this as a clown car, for attention. If not over $900. I had one I purchased in late 90’s with 15000 original miles. Saddle Bronze color. For $1250. An older lady drove it to church and grocery store for 26 years. At least it was Manual. Thing was like off factory floor. Tape was hanging from rear leaf springs from the factory. Had all paperwork, including recalls and bill of sale. It was in Norcal since first purchased in San Jose. Where it was made.
It was also just miserable. Those boat anchor bumpers. Smog Pump. Slower than a Beetle Convertible I owned next to it. I put 10000 mostly less than enjoyable miles. Loved the attention. Not the car. Finally sold it after asking $1750 for a good year to a college student who’s Grand Am blew a head gasket.
This one isn’t half as nice. Interior is awfully worn out. Its got the 2.3, and honestly I think the 2.0 is better.
$9000? Why??