For the past 21 years, this 1977 Ford Pinto has been hiding in this barn in New Castle, Pennsylvania. The owner has decided it’s time for this pony to find a new barn to call home. They have listed it here on craigslist for $1,000 or best offer. You don’t see Pintos often these days, so perhaps this one deserves to be saved!
Yes Pinto was also one of Ford’s “Pony” cars, but not a muscular pony, especially not in this hatchback version.
The owner doesn’t state any more about the engine other then needing a valve job. This is another one that “ran when put away”.
We don’t know what’s under the seat covers? It appears the carpeting might be original to the car, but is obviously in rough shape.
The owner says that the fenders, rocker panels, and overall the body is in good shape. We think this Pinto has been rear ended and/or jacked up by the bumper and clearly some rust has given way. This paint maybe the ’77 Chartreuse that Ford used and is probably original to the car. The owner says there is very little rust, but we see a decent amount of rust. We don’t know if the engine spins, but these are easy cars to work on. $1,000 or best offer will give you the chance to free one of Ford’s other Pony Cars.
Motor-on,
Robert
whatever
Ran when put away…wet!
Really BF?
You don’t see pintos too often now days…. FOR A REASON!
Yeah that’s true. It’s probably because so many of them ended up being used in the Pinto Racing Series. Or because so many were cut up to provide front suspension components to kit cars, hot rods and other high performance custom cars.
There is a woman for every man, and a car for every guy. Many don’t care for the Pinto/Bobcat from FOMOCO. Just as some may not like an Impala or a Lincoln. Or in some extremes, if it ain’t MOPAR it’s NO CAR. The thing is, every bodys’ interests vary, and that is what this site is about. My stongest preference is full sized Pontiacs from 1960-1965, Oldsmobiles from 1960-1967 any model and Corvairs. For daily drivers I like the Pinto/Bobcat, Studebaker Larks, Ramblers and along that line for the economical operating cost and cheap insurance.
Hi 64, right on! I too like the cars you do, all cars, in fact. The Pinto was a good car, and they sold a bunch. For what it was, it couldn’t be beat. ( and please, don’t anyone start with that gas tank BS) People drove the heck out of them until they quit, and to find one like this, is truly a rare find. Back in the 80’s, my old man bought quite a few, mostly body damage, had them fixed and sold them. I know someone who raced a Pinto, and actually did pretty good.
And there is a lid for every garbage can.
JoeyG…
I think this pony should be put out to pasture.
Same here, but “if” it’s a paid ad, maybe it should be stated as such, and not a barn find maybe. This poo-ny was rode hard and left to die a slow death. Now someone actually wants more than “glue money” for the carcass.
Hi Randy, this isn’t a paid listing. Robert found it surfing craigslist.
Since my Blakely is powered by a Pinto engine and has a pinto suspension, I would like to have it for parts!
I’d like to see some of these complainers run a website we could call it come and whine about everything.
Parts car, maybe $250-300.
The only things this car was lacking in 77 were a pleasing design, durable mechanicals, safety, comfort, handling, and style. And a decent color scheme. And decent valves.
Other than that, it’s a piece of horse dung.
Is no the right answer?
If so, let me know what my prize is.(hopefully NOT this Pinto)
I’d say fix the thing up, but, for the unknowns, question the hell out of the seller , I wouldn’t go for totally modding it out.. a V/6 will move it along nicely .. it ran when put away… badly most likely
Well, judging by the stickers on rear valance, at least the prior owner was patriotic :)
Just don’t back it into the barn door getting it out…
We had a lot of Pintos in the shop.. Biggest problem was the valve seals and timing belts.. Sometimes the cam shafts would be worn out along with the followers, but overall, there were a lot of these cars on the road. I never did get the big “to do” about the gas tank issue. There was a program on tv a few years ago that pretty much debunked the whole thing, but that being said, it was too little, too late..
This car is nothing more than a parts car.. I can’t even think of the horrors lying under the rug on the front passenger side.. UGH!!
Lots of those cancerous rust spots showing up and bad paint.. I would pass on this one.
With the problems of the gas tanks exploding when rear/ended, this pony best stay in the barn.
LOL just couldn’t resist could you?
For what it’s worth I think they are charming. I’d love to see one restomodded with a Mustang steering rack and dropped a few inches.
If the “Mustang steering rack” you’re referring to is Mustang II, then the car already has one, since the Mustang II is based on the Pinto and its popular front suspension and steering are nothing but Pinto parts.
Ish
Not exactly. The Pinto’s steering rack bolted directly to the unibody crossmember, while the Mustang II front suspension and steering was mounted on a removable subframe. That was why Mustang II front ends became so popular–you could remove the rack and pinion steering and front disc brakes all in one shot. Recently I was on a website offering parts for Ford Falcons, and it offered a repro Mustang II subframe assembly, modified to fit the Falcon, for a cool $3,000.
You could, however, make the Pinto front end serve as well. I had a friend who was restomodding a ’39 Chevy 4-door sedan. He had a Pinto but no Mustang II in his tow yard. Solution? Slice off the entire front crossmember from the Pinto with a torch, trim it suitably, and weld it to the Chevy’s frame. It actually worked very well.
Thanks for the clarification.
It WAS a bit better than my “ish” wasn’t it? LOL
And I learned something.
Someone posted this recently it’s a great run down actually;
http://tech.fatmanfabrications.co/explaining-the-modern-mustang-ii-ifs-as-fatman-fabrications-builds-it-and-in-terms-youll-understand
I know that some cars are ridiculed more than others, however as old car guys, we shouldn’t disparage the vehicles, only the flippers who have O.D. on Barrett-Jackson as far as the asking price. In the late 70s’ I bought up a lot of Pintos, from 1970 thru about 1976, from dealers who took them in trade, for about $50-$75.00. I installed a new timing belt, did a tune up, and detailed them and sold them for $695.00 each. they were basic transportation, similar to a Model T in its’ day, for their simplicity. Many of the people that bought them were down on their luck due to the oil bust in Oklahoma, and some I gave to people thru my church, many of whom were single mothers with children. Now that they have “collector” status, I am guessing some people may have good memories of how it helped them get on their feet again. “nuff said”
My father did the same thing more or less. Over time we picked up about a dozen of the little buggers from various sources and did a lot of take-two-and-make-one repairs. They were about as simple as so many cinder blocks. I still have some leftover parts up in the attic of his old shop. Looking at this specimen, I found myself thinking, “I think I’ve got a rear hatch for this car”, and it did give me a good memory, thinking about the old days and the old man.
Very basic transportation. My sister had one of these, it had the full glass hatchback,
78? She and a friend swapped cars and raced over West Mountain in Hot Springs, Arkansas, as you can imagine the car she was driving, a Honda made the circuit, but the Pinto went off the edge, almost killing her friend, thank God for big trees. He was not accustomed to driving “basic transportation”! My first car was a gold ’64 Bonneville 4dr with a 389. It was a beauty!
Randy, you an Okie? where u at? I just outside Tulsa
I’m an Okie, down in Kiamichi, Ok. Deer hunters are running amuck here as we speak!! I was born in Clinton, Ok. I sold a bunch of parts to Tom at Tulsa Import auto parts, but lost track of him. You ever do business there?
randy, you way the heck south of me. Most of my dealings have been with Budget Import auto Salvage up on Pine east of N. 129th E. Av. Most the cars I have restored or done for other people have been 50s’ and 60s’ models. 1/2 a dozen early Mustangs, 65 el Camino, 66 Malibu 327/4 spd. several late 80s’ and early 90s’ Mustang 4 cyl. engines for racing, couple of Corvairs early and later models. a lot of 57 Chevys, I can’t even remember them all. doesn’t include any of my personal cars/hobby cars. Can’t get around like I use to due to several back surgeries, tore up my left had really bad a couple of times, and then there is age, which slows all us down.
I love it here, 40 acres of woods and a hay field, lots of deer etc. Not much in the way of money here though, I have learned to live with the trade off. Give me a jingle if you ever pass through. randylyle111atyahoodotcom
Looks like a Keeper~ Give you 175.00 just to haul it off~