Polly has a new coat.
 
I joined PCCA in 2007 when I learned there was an "organization" of  ....well, Pinto people.  I haven't been on the website for ....a long time.  I was figuratively tickled to see "Jade" on the home page.  I had the priviledge of meeting Jade at Dave's house during the 2007 Tulsa Pinto gathering that Dave hosted.  It is interesting to think about the variety of Pintos represented in this outfit.  That summer, Jade, the forever NEW Pinto was resting in her air condition living room while venerable old '74 Polly rested in the sun on the street with ordinary classics.  Though Jade and Polly traveled very different roads, there is absolute kinship.   Jade's history is one with uniqueness and increasing dollar value, while Polly's is a history even richer than the little car in the coloring book.... with a dollar value that might surpass the original $2,900.00 with the help from inflation.  Jade has had a few owners, but Polly has been loved, hated, used, abused, and simply part of the same Kansas family since she was that shiny new red wagon.  Her 169,000 mile engine has been rebuilt twice.  She has been an organ donor once (light switch), but a recipient many many times. 
 
In her golden years she has done a few things younger more flashy vehicles would envy.  Last Memorial Day, she joined the Pinto Stampede and did eight laps around the mighty Kansas Motor Speedway.   ....85 MPH and climbing ...with a lowly 2.0 engine.   Just last month she flawlessly drove to Houston and back, a workhorse loaded with equipment.  While in humble Humble, Texas she received a shiny new red coat.  (I'll not tell all about the overspray on the interior.)  Now my wife will ride in Polly some times, but I think it will take more decades for her to forget how hot black vinyl seats get in the Kansas summertime. 
 
And now I can be sure I'll never be lonely.  In Polly, someone will always strike up a conversation that starts with something like, "Oh, we used to have (color) Pinto just like that..."   Yes, Shiny is GOOD!
 
PollyAl
 
 

Mine had primer when I bought it and I've left it that way.  I'm probably going to rattle can it olive drab soon, and mess around with other colors of spraypaint down the road.  Just enjoying it and doing whatever I want paint wise - I spraypaint and stencil random stuff onto it all the time and cover it up later to do something else.  All my money is going to go into the drivetrain and suspension once I repair the little rust there is, so paint is on the back burner for a few years at least.  The floorpan inside and out will probably get stripped and painted this year, but the body can wait for all I care. 

Despite mine looking pretty damned ratty, people love it.  I get comments everywhere I go, and people pass me all the time holding a thumbs up out the window.  I've heard so many stories about old Pintos since I started driving mine at the beginning of the summer.

Hey Al!

Great to talk to you this week. Man, I am so jealous of Polly getting a new coat. I so want to learn bodywork and paint, practicing on my blue beater. Work with your son and get us some pics up of Polly. I still marvel at Polly having a 2.0 in that '74 wagon. I don't think that was available for the whole model year. I don't recall that being an option when I bought my new '74.
I will no doubt be making a trip to spoil the grandkids in CO soon, will certainly ring you as I drive through Wichita so we can meet up.

Dave