I just got a notification from the PCCA that I received a 10th Anniversary award. Has it been that long? Yes, a check of my archived emails show I joined on 11-12-07. Maybe it is time to relate my Pinto story.
When I was a teenager my world revolved around Datsun's, 510's to be exact. The Pinto was kind of a "looked down on" car at the time. That said I (silently) did like the look and followed/cheered for Glidden, Gapp & Roush etc. . In 1992 I bought a salvaged T-Bird Turbo Coupe to be my daily driver. And it fulfilled that duty for ten years. But, it eventually failed it's smog test and I felt it was time to move on. Thus I parked it in the backyard and pretty much let it sit. When my wife found out a rat had gotten into the HVAC system she wanted it gone.
It had been a dream of mine to put the T/C drivetrain into a Pinto Thus I found a 1973 white wagon on Ebay that interested me. I contacted the own who ironically was an airline steward - in flight. He said he would pull the car from the auction if I was willing to pay $850. It was an offer he made, not my asking. I PayPal-ed him the money and it was mine..., if I could get it.
The "get it" part was that it was in San Francisco (actually two blocks from where my wife grew up) and 400 miles from where I lived in Southern California. I was initially going to drive it from San Francisco to Orangevale (Sacramento area) and make it more road worth before driving it home - when I could get up there. The seller said there was an issue because it was parked on the street and needed frequent moving. There was a pause on the phone... . Then as an airline employee he offered me FREE "buddy pass" to fly up and get the car. I had the flight made for Sacramento and then would have my brother drive me to S.F..
When I landed I had my brother take me to the local Pick N' Pull (Mack Rd) where I got a needed front turn signal lens. Not knowing any better at the time I passed on a set of cruise wagon panels that I have never seen since in a self serve yard (oh well). The next day my brother drove me to S.F to get the car. As we pulled up my heart sank. On a scale of 1-10 the pictures looked like a 7 or 8. In reality the car looked more 3 or 4. The guy was not there and the keys were under the seat. So, all I could do was drive it away. He had told me it ran on three cylinders and in fact, yes it did.
Thankfully I had a new plan in place. I was going to the S.F. Bayshore U-Haul and bringing it home on a trailer ($425 including gas). Still it was a white knuckle drive getting it the five or so miles there. When I arrived at the lot I was greatly relieved to see I was getting a 10ft. box truck with only 7,000 miles. I had heard horror stories of substitutions with 300,000 mile, 24 ft. trucks from U-Haul. The yard guy was super nice and apparently in 2007 a Pinto wagon was such a rare site that about six people came out of the office to see it.
The drive home was rather uneventful. I left S.F. at 11am and arrived home at 7:00pm. I averaged 12.9 MPG which for a gas box truck towing seemed decent. What with the truck/trailer size I had to park it up our short cul-de-sac, grabbing a few things out of the Pinto as I went inside to relax. The next morning my "car guy" neighbor knocked on my door (the Pinto was in front of his house) wanting to know whose Pinto that was. Apparently he was looking the car over in the morning and there was a cat inside! Thankfully it turned out to be the neighbors cat and not one from San Francisco. Apparently it got in when I gathered my things out of the car the evening before. Double thankful the cat hadn't done any "business" over night.
A few days prior I had joined the PCCA. When it became known what car I had purchased I received pictures from Pintony (he told me one of his "spies" had taken them) illustrating the real condition of the car. Mind you the car isn't horrible, but it was't to the caliber of the images on Ebay. I don't fault the seller, he was straightforwar d with me. It was more low res images and my wishful thinking. The engine turned out to have zero lash on some of the valves, hence the running on three cylinders. I tuned up the engine (getting all cylinders) and drove it stock for about six months. The process of the Turbo Coupe drive train swap is here on the site for those who want to search. The car is still a "work in progress" ten years later but I have a '65 Sunbeam Tiger that has been on hold for 18 Years and it is getting attention next. So, that is my Pinto story... ten years later.