Hello all...hope all has been well within everyones Pinto world. I myself am embarking on a jouney down Pinto restoration lane with my 1976 Ford Pinto Runabout. For those of you who don't know the car, its a V6 w/ C4 automatic 8" rear with A/C woodgrain leather etc etc...one of the most fully loaded pinto's you could order complete with a vinyl top.
 
Bought car at an auction house which purchased the car off of the original owner's estate after her passing...33,000 original miles. The downside to its lightly driven history is that it sat for a good while in an area of WV that recieves the most snow in our fine state and from what I can guess it was under a carport with the driver side exposed. It has extensive rust damage to the driver fender, doorskin, and quarter with some creeping in on the rocker. Although it has the cool pop-out quarter windows, those leaky things caused extensive rot in the rear floor pan and I just recently noticed that the cowl must be leaking and my passenger floor board was soaked 
 
Minus the rust, need of a new paint job and body work, the car drives like new because...well ..with the mileage why shouldn't it. Made the 200 mile trip home without a hitch averaging over 25 mpg on the highway from the V6.
 
I'll be posting the before shots here shortly and then when I get home tonight will upload pictures of my current progress. Hope everyone is ready to answer my questions!
 
      -beegle55

That about does it for the most current before pictures. Those were taken yesterday (1/8/2012) and the following are pictures of the first moments when the car was back at its new home.
 






 

Wow. She must've been gorgeous when she was new. I can see it even through the roughness. I know you'll do the car proud. Are you restoring the vinyl-top? 

Welcome back!  Looks like a really nice find.  Do you still have your orange Pintos too?
Dwayne

Great Looking little car there.  I like your idea of maybe making it a Stallion.  Good Luck!!!!!  Larry

And to address the vinyl roof, yes it will go back on if I go with a originality restoration. I like the look of it on the Pinto pretty well. I need the Pinto faithful to chime in on my below findings of the carnage from interior removal last night. All that remains is the dash and headliner which will both be removed soon. Here is the quick and dirty on my findings so far and what the car needs. After my conclusions I've been seriously considering hunting for a better shape and maybe rust free West Coast '76 body (Fred Morgan  ) and using all my good parts (which are plentiful) from this car and switching it all to a cleaner body. Here is my breakdown:
 
-Needs fender patches both sides
-Needs hood and roof straightening
-Driver side quarter replacement
-Driver side rocker repair
-Weatherstripping
-Passenger side needs minor R&R on the sheetmetal
-Cowl is leaking and needs repaired
-All floorpans need repaired minus the bracing and transmission tunnel
-Inner fenders need replaced
-Spare tire well needs repaired
-Dash pad replaced
-Headliner replaced
-Carpet replaced
-Engine detailing
-Possible engine overhaul (rings aren't sealing and its burning some oil)
-Wheels R&R
-New tires
-New brakes, brake lines and hoses
-Stripped, primed, painted
 
On to the pictures...
 
      -beegle55

 
And I'm sorry about the quality of these pictures they were taken in the dark or in my garage so you may need to study them closely to figure out whats going on. One thing is for sure, let there be rust!
 
Opinions please and thanks in advance!
 
       -beegle55

Last things to do to the car...remove door panels so I can get the door moldings off. Remove tail lights and bumpers. Remove the fenders. And then the parts ordering begins...
 
Fred Morgan will hopefully be able to supply most of the sheet metal that I need to replace. I'll be sending him a PM shortly to see what we can work out.
 
Thoughts and ideas appreciated.
 
     -beegle55