Unlikely survivors are my favorites. Most people bought these as commuter cars, the ones that didn't get used up I'm all about. I'd rather see a 1985 Tempo than a 1985 Corvette. (as much as I love the C4!)
Look at this survivor! Pinto content.
- Thread starter ls1mike
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Unlikely survivors are my favorites. Most people bought these as commuter cars, the ones that didn't get used up I'm all about. I'd rather see a 1985 Tempo than a 1985 Corvette. (as much as I love the C4!)
I feel the same way as I browse BaT. I was brought up to respect my stuff otherwise I wouldn't have anything. I treat cars differently (see my Benjamin Button '93 Sentra in other threads). Environment and use case has a lot to do with the longevity of a vehicle. The rest lies in the custodianship
This is my way...the instant you hear a noise or some deviation in the way the car performed the day before, address it.
If a car is simply a means of getting from A to B, figure 5-7 years max before the value reaches the point of diminishing returns. Sell or trade-in for a loss.
Otherwise lease and treat it like the "horse-on-the-spring-ride" at the county fair and start over.
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Because they were such throw away cars back in the day clean low mileage examples are starting to fetch real money.View attachment 348281
Didn't talk to anyone, but I would bet it is all original. Was the cleanest Pinto I have seen in 20 plus years.
Yes I was at Harbor Freight.
Very few people actually died due to the gas tank. The biggest thing that nailed Ford was when execs and the ceo were caught on tape saying it was cheaper to pay out death claims than it was to redesign the gas tank.
4wd
$50 site donor 2026
Same - and it was run very hard for a few years - then traded on a Mustang. I know it upsets the drama - but the car only saw the dealership those two days. (Bought/traded) …
4wd
$50 site donor 2026
Same with several other vehicles. If anyone thinks that tort lawyers in front of 12 “special folks” proves allot - you are missing one of the worst parts of America …
Look how John O’Q died …
It was a 1.7 VW block ....When I first got married in 85' my wife needed a car to get to nursing school...I found a 1980 Omni but it was a turd as mentioned in another post...carburetor problems IIRC were the main issue. My brother bought a new 1983 Omni 2.2 with a stick shift which was a good car but needed a clutch very early and maybe even a second one not long after that. I won a 1986 Omni with the 2.2 with an A/T in a raffle and it was a decent car that served me well.
As far as the Pinto goes...I agree the engines were stout. I responded (FD) to a burning Pinto on the Major Deegan Expressway in the Bronx (about a mile north of Yankee Stadium) in the early 80s. The occupant was out of the car and on the ground and we assumed he was dead due to the massive burns....when he spoke we were shocked. He succumbed a few minutes later. The proximity of my firehouse to the Cross Bronx Expressway and the Major Deegan Expressway and even the George Washington Bridge made vehicle incidents a regular occurrence. One thing I learned is that when a person is burned...it's a better sign that they are in pain than not. When they feel no pain it's not good.
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I bought a green pinto when I got out of the army. Hands down the worst car I ever had. After a few timing belt breaks on the 2HP four cylinder I gave it away. I don't think it even got good gas mileage. You had to keep it floored just to keep up with traffic on the interstate.
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And I've read, perhaps in the Mother Jones article, that Henry Ford II was adamant that the Pinto had to retail for under $2000 and still be profitable. So even the cheap plastic caps to cover the ends of the exposed bolts (that created sparks when puncturing the fuel tank in the course of a rear-end collision) were considered too pricy.
The U.S. entered an economic recession c. 1957. One casualty was Ford's Edsel, too expensive for the times. Sales of economical imports were increasing rapidly. The Rambler was the one brand that offered competition in that category.
The Big Three countered for the 1960 model year by introducing their new compacts - the Chevy Corvair, the Ford Falcon, and the Plymouth Valiant.
By the late 1960s, the Japanese imports were increasing in popularity (and market share), and Detroit launched their 2nd wave of small cars, I think around 1970 - the Pinto, the Vega, the Gremlin, and Chrysler's imports from Europe and the U.K.
The gas crisis was a bit later - I think starting in late 1973, as OPEC's protest against the U.S. supporting Israel in the Yom Kippur war.
Two manufacturers introduced cars that were stunning successes, as a result of the fuel shortages - Ford's Pinto-based Mustang II, and Honda's Civic.
One of my roomies had a new '76 Mercury Bobcat - a blinged-up Pinto. It was orange, and nicknamed The Jellybean.
The gearing (4 on the floor) was far too tall, resulting in very leisurely acceleration from a stop.
The other roomie had bought a new '77 Celica around the same time. No comparison - the Toyota was a joy to drive.
And in a distant 3rd place was my '71 Biscayne with the 250 six and Powerglide ...
I always liked the orphaned Cortina. Lived 3 blocks from a Ford dealership when I was young.
4wd
$50 site donor 2026
The decided to abuse the Mustang name insteadWonder why Ford hasn’t resurrected the Pinto name?
They did Maverick which wasn’t much better and those were a hit. The Bronco Sport could have been Pinto.
Thanks for the correction. Facts get distorted in my old age.
I forgot the Vega and Pinto came before the oil crises, our attempt to counter the small car imports attempting a foot-hold in our huge-size car culture. My memory of the oil crisis is that we were "caught with our pants down" regarding fuel supplies and quality efficient U.S. made cars while the Japanese and Europeans were poised to take advantage of it. I also remember a stigma associated with owning non U.S. made cars in the early 70's, at least in my blue collar upbringing.
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This is urban legend originally started by the prosecuting attorney. Actually Fords engineers took government standard methodology to prepare a position paper that said improving rollover protection was cost effective for the ENTIRE industry but injuries from gas tank fires was not, because injuries were relatively rare. The paper made no mention of Pinto which came out a couple years later. The attorney spun this to say Ford thought it cheaper to pay lawsuits.
Sad reminder every time I see a Pinto. My female cousin was married to a real jerk and was 8 months pregnant when she discovered he was cheating on her. She drove her 1969 Shelby Mustang 500 to a Ford dealership and traded it for a brand new 1970 Pinto. She regretted that later but was revenge I guess. She also said the Pinto was harder on gas than that 428 Shelby….I remember my dad was in shock…..
My '72 had studded snows! I remember one time I talked my brother into sitting in the trunk to put extra weight over the rear axle so we could make it up a hill...
Those 3.0 Mitsu V6s ran like the wind-until the weak valve guides started contaminating the cat with burned oil!
Right up the street from me a local scrapper has a pristine looking Plymouth Valiant 2 door, has to be '70-'72 from the looks of it. I should stop & take some pics, but I'm afraid I might buy it!
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