The white walls are throwing me off a bit here, as are the half-missing rear-side graphics. Unless those have just faded into oblivion over the last 49 years. This 1977 Ford Pinto Cruising Wagon is posted here on craigslist in the Fresh Meadows neighborhood of Queens, New York, and they’re asking $5,695. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Tony P. for the tip!
This is a base model, or standard Cruising Wagon, and they seem to be rarer than the overly showy ones we usually see. I know that white-letter tires are incredibly hard, or even impossible, to find for some sizes anymore. I’ve been looking for some for my 1980 Dodge D-50 Sport pickup and haven’t been able to find any. I guess when most vehicles come with 17- to 21-inch tires these days, companies stop making cool small tires. Not that white-letter tires even show up on new vehicles, come to think about it.
Ford offered the special steel-sided Cruising Wagon for the 1977 and 1978 model years, and they came in three varieties. We’ve seen a few of the fancy ones with heavy-handed graphics, and if you’re going to make a scene, be seen, as the late, great Mr Sound Effects, Wes Harrison, used to say. Ok, I just aged myself there. You could get the full graphics package, the standard graphics as shown here, or no graphics. All came with the round window (“Bubble Portholes”) on each side in the back, though. Here’s a 1977 Ford Wagon brochure.
This car, while somewhat plain on the exterior, comes with, I believe, the optional Interior Decor Group, including these fantastic Alpine plaid seats. Although that package also included woodgrain trim on the dash, and I don’t see that here. They say these are reupholstered seats in the original fabric, so maybe that’s why. We don’t really get to see the back seats other than in this photo, and there are no photos of the rear cargo area or the underside. Being in a rust-prone area, I’d sure want to see underneath this car. The seller has included a couple of detailed photos showing some rust, and they provided nice photos overall.
The engine is Ford’s Cologne 2.8-liter V6, which was rated at 90 horsepower and 138 lb-ft of torque when new. This one is backed by a three-speed automatic sending power to the rear wheels, making that 90 hp seem even less, or maybe less fun? The seller says it runs well and gets up to speed quickly, but there is a small oil leak from the pan, and they’re including a new gasket. Any thoughts on this Cruising Wagon?
These were nifty little machines. The plaid upholstery almost makes it worth the price of admission. Plus that sporty steering wheel, common to Fords of the time. And it even has the sports instrumentation package.
This example looks like it’s been around nearly 50 years but doesn’t look abused. Maybe the new owner will fix it up some. For sure it would get plenty of smiles around town.
Good job SG.
I’ve always liked these Cruising wagons. These rims with the thin stripe white walls really go good on these. I’d prefer a stick, but thats me. I’m sure the 6 with the automatic makes for a nice ride.
Lots of rust, 100,000+ miles, not sure there is that much demand for project Pinto wagons at that asking price.
Steve R
Yeah, probably not in California. Up here in the rust belt, there is much less to choose from. Someone might bite at it, if the seller takes it around to a few car shows.
Pintos are actually a rare sight in California, especially post 1975 models. For whatever reason, they didn’t survive, there are however, greater numbers of early to mid-1970’s Japanese imports.
Steve R
Coker Tire still sells BF Goodrich RWL tires down to 13″ rim sizes. I put a set on my ’76 Cosworth Vega to replace the 30-year-old Firestones it came to me with.