Forum > General Pinto Talk
Part 1, 2, 3 & 4 Pinto Video (All episodes)
PintoTim2:
I'm really enjoying the Pinto saga. One might question the decision to drive the vehicle that cannot keep coolant temps in control.... I do vehicle testing in Arizona during the summer and the grades there can be miles long and the temperatures are brutal. Wittsend's story of the anemic 2.0L auto reminds me of my wife's 130,000 + mile '80 Escort (that was alot of miles then...) with a 1.6L carb engine and 4 speed. When going up highway hills with the AC on, the car would slow down & you really didn't want to downshift at 65 MPH.... I would hit the "AC" button to shut off the AC and the car would speed up. I called it "Turbo Boost" after the Knight Rider TV show.
My only experience with an automatic Pinto is my '80 Pintaroo. Can't say if it was a dog or not, the C3 crapped out after 5 miles of ownership. Not too worried, I have a '88 2.3L turbo and T5 for it. Once I retire, I'll have time for my projects....
Wittsend:
This Pinto Saga is nicely paced. I taught TV Production for a living so I'm rather critical. Even though it is a long epic the flow keeps you interested. Right up there with the "running too hot" aspect is they can barely fit three people into the car with all the stuff they are travelling with - and that one dude is HUGE! These guys must have watched the recent Dylan McCool Pinto video and gotten the idea for the wood blocks on the suspension from him.
Still, with no A/C, read windows that don't open, the BIG dude and a packed car that isn't quiet this is going to be a L-O-N-G 3,000 mile journey. I think it was a big mistake to not swap out the 4K stall torque convertor. And the bigger question is what is to become of the Pinto when they get it back home???
If you enjoy these types of videos you should check out "Trabant Trek." I saw it on (free) Tubi. These guys (Americans) start off with three Trabants in Europe and try and drive them 10,000 miles to Cambodia. https://tubitv.com/series/3302/trabant-trek
PintoTim2:
My 1972 hatchback came from Arizona. It was a black car, black interior and no AC. I was told it sat on a used car lot for 2 years there before it got bought and sent to Michigan in ~1980 (I understand why). I've spent alot of weeks there testing trucks and have driven across AZ with no AC in July/August at up to 117 F a few times. It's pretty brutal, you learn to hate leather or vinyl seats. I would wear clip on shades over my sunglasses and put a white towel on the leg in the sun - otherwise your knee is burned so bad it hurts to stand. The scenery there is awesome. Sometimes you never see a cloud for days & you can see forever it seems. The bone yards are really something, I've gotten some good stuff.
The guy in the back of the Pinto is hilarious. I remember my sister and I riding in my Dad's '72 Pinto sedan in the back (I was 6' & my sister 5'10") because my Mom always rode in the front (5'5"). I thought that was cramped then....
Wittsend:
" I've spent a lot of weeks there testing trucks and have driven across AZ with no AC in July/August at up to 117 F a few times."
Years ago we had an Audi 5000 Turbo, a car I loved to hate. Prior to a Las Vegas trip I was flushing out leaves etc. from the cowl area to in my mine 'improve the function of the more than necessary A/C.' We got a few hours out of LA, I turned on the A/C..., and there was NOTHING! The trip home was worse. 117 in Baker. I took a heavy towel and SOAKED it dripping wet with water and threw it over my 1 year old daughter. 20 minutes down the road it was completely dry.
Turns out when I was flushing the cowl my hose caused a lever in the HVAC to bind and it stripped a tooth off a gear in the motor that opened and closed vents in conjunction with the climate control system. The fact was I did have cold air..., it just wasn't being ducted into the proper place!!!
Wittsend:
Part 3 is now available:
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