PINTO CAR CLUB of AMERICA
Shiny is Good! => General Pinto Talk => Topic started by: Glassman on June 29, 2003, 07:00:44 AM
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I pulled into a gas station and a guy pumping gas on the other side of the island stopped and came over. He said he hasnt seen a Pinto in years. Pintos are few and far between here in the NorthEast. He talked about a panel cruiser that one of his friends had.
Seems like everyone has owened a Pinto or knew someone that did. Most of the time the comments are great. I here a lot of "I beat that car and it just kept on going". ;D
What have you heard?
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Man I hear that same stuff all the time! I even had a guy walk into my garage when I was working on mine and start yapping about a pinto that his parents once had.
The best is when I am sitting at a stop light and some punk pulls up beside me and I can tell that he is smiling and talking about my Pinto. Then the light turns green and I see his face change VERY quickly...in my rearview mirror. ;D
SVOwagon
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I was talking about trying to find a cruisin' wagon one morning, and this guy told me a few stories about one he had back in the 80's, Everyone I know seems to have a funny story or memory involving one. When I show most people my car, theyre surprised mostly by the shape its in for being in the back yard for as long as it has.
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Everyone I run across always tells me "So and so had one like that..." Funniest thing I ever heard was some Rice boy coming up to me and asking what kinda car it was, and after I replied it was a Pinto, he asked me if it was made by AMC!
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Yea, I had one young kid say "Nice car Dude, what is it?"..
We have got to be old farts if kids don't know what a Pinto is!
Any body have any Geratol?
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Haha I love the reactions people do/say when they see my pinto!
Back in High School when i was restoring people got to see the restore job and complemented me on how "pimp" and sweet it was. Some started calling it the "schagin' wagon"
At the car show I went to with it I remember people telling me how they used to own a Pinto back in the day and how it was a fun little car. Another person joked with me how it had no power, 4 banger and going up a hill, had to get ur passenger out to help push it :P And finally a lady came with her husband and commented to him "My dream cars always been a Pinto, but everybody always laughs at me when I tell them it! but I love them so much!"
In college I had to give a speech about myself and blah blah, well it was how I owned a pinto and no sane person would restore one. The whole room started to laugh when I told them that, and I got shouts on how "I've seen the DORF its awesome man!" and "Pinto!" Alot of smiles and laughs.
Mainly I see people in their cars driving by checking out the car with a confused/happy looks on their faces.
I think it was worth all the work just to see people look at the car and just smile at it. Anybody else? Or am I just odd?
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The best reaction I've had was when I had my pinto in a car show. An elderly man and his 30 year old son came up to me and said that he bought a car like this in 1971 and that his son was conceived in the back seat. He wanted to know if he could buy the car as his anniversary was coming up and he wanted to take his wife out and relive memories...... ..
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71pintok Thats funny.
I used to get asked if my 76 MPG wagon was a hearse. I dont think it looks likes a hearse.
Here it is getting washed by my friend George over 10 years ago. It doesnt have the eng. and trans. in it so the front is sitting high.
(http://photos.imageevent.com/pandbz/misccarpics/websize/76pintogeorgewashrear.jpg)
I would also get asked what the MPG on the fenders stood for. I sometimes said they were my initials. ;D
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first reaction i usually get is "My god i haven't seen one of those in years" (Canadian winters were very brutal on these cars) then i usually get "holy crap....you converted that to EFI"
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when i was in highschool i got alot of mixed comments.. well at my high school most of the cars in the parking lot are 1960's mustangs.. and i had the only pinto... and my girlfriend had the only maverick, so we were recognized for that.. but it was funney cause alot of people thought it was kool having a pinto.. especially cause of howmuch a 4 cyl. can burn tires lol.. but yeah it was fun, but then you would get those people who would be all stupid and like "oh are you gonna blow up if i kick your back bumper?" and then the mustangt owners would get mad and back me up lol but other than that it was kool
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I took my Pangra to a car show last Friday and a coupple guys asked me if that was one of those Austrailian Fords??? >:(, Then there were some young guys singing the Wayns World song ( as I explained to them that this was a FORD not a AMC..... ;D
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I think my wife would rather walk than ride in my Pinto.LOL ;D
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Reviving this for the newbies.
Lately, when I tell people Im sticking an 88 Tbird engine, trans and computer in it....they are all for it. A couple have even asked for a ride when it gets done.
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I think my wife would rather walk than ride in my Pinto.LOL ;D
I have a friend that is like that. In the 10 years I have had my Dads wagon, he has rode in the car one time. My girl friend will ride in it but refuses to drive it anywhere by herself. ::)
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I have a fairly clean '80 Squire as a daily driver. I've gotten thumbs up on occasion, gotten the usual, "I haven't seen one of those in years!" and "I used to have one of those!" I know I'm getting old when I go in for parts and the parts person (must be politically correct, you know!) asks me "Who makes that?" after I tell them I need parts for a Pinto!! :-)
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I had a guy I work with come up to me one day and ask me "what kind of car is that?" I told him it was a Pinto and he said "yeah I think I heard of that car before, who is it made by?" I then asked him what year he was born in. He told me 1979. Now I understand the confused look on his face when I told him what kind of car it was.
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I myself have gotten quite a few odd looks and reactions to having a pinto. I get a lot of flak for it from my buddies, but being 18 and having a car that runs, looks good and is in the low mileage range is a reason for some jealousy I think. And I don't spend every weekend patching my car back together so it'll run another 7 days.
But I can't even count how many times I've been driving around town with the windows down, the AM radio cranked and someone at a stoplight says something. The normal is really just "I haven't seen one of those in years." The wierdest reaction I ever got was someone saying "I like your Gremlin." Took some explaining to make them understand the difference between AMC and Ford. But it's cool hearing the standard "oohs", "ahhs", and "Why the hell'd you buy a pinto?"
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I'm looking forward to what people will do when they see my turbo convert back on the road.
When I first got it, I had it at the car wash and a lady came up and asked if it was for sale. I said no, but she had one and wanted to get another. They were popular cars at one time.
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i got asked a lot when i bought it at a car auction 'why?? just why?
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I then asked him what year he was born in. He told me 1979. Now I understand the confused look on his face when I told him what kind of car it was.
The wierd thing is, some of us born in '79 remember the Pinto quite well. I was born in December of 79, and even when I was not even old enough, I wanted my first car to be a Ford PInto... For granted, my parents owned a 77 Wagon, and it was the family car, so I guess that's why I loved them so much. I was so upset when the engine blew in '89 cuz I wouldn't get to drive it...My parents had told me if it was around when I was 16 I could have it....
Well, I'm now 24, and I will finally have my Pinto. I'm looking at buying a 72 Pinto sedan, and the reaction I am getting is: Why the hell do you want a Pinto?
Because... I do, and I'm glad to see there's others out there who do as well.
LONG LIVE THE PINTO!!! The only good car Ford ever made... excuding the Mustang of course.
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sounds like me lol i love my little car and ive had alot of people make me offers of 3-6 grand.. i declined all cause as long as im alive it will stick in the family... as it has for so many years prior to my ownership
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i got asked a lot when i bought it at a car auction 'why?? just why?
I got asked that a lot, to which I'd always reply, "to make people like you ask, 'why?'"
I got my first Pinto, a '72, back in '80 and it was my race car and daily driver through the last year of high school and into the first year of college (I had a 429 powered '71 Torino GT as the musclecar at the time, but it didn't go around an autocross course very well, so the Pinto was tapped for that duty). I had a couple others after that, and now I have the two of them over in the Seattle/Bremerton area (a '73 hatch and a '77 trunk model), and my 11 year old stepson wants one as HIS first race car. Most people still ask, "why" when they find out I have one, however, and that somehow makes it all the better. hehehehehe.... ...
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A lot of people poke fun at me and ask why fix up a PINTO?!! ;D Others tell me its going to explode ::)
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My wife hates it & won't have anything to do with it, I've made some friends from half a block away that have been watching the slow progress of building it, The UPS man ask if it's for sale every time he comes to deliver my wifes Avon (my wife would sell it to him in a heart beat), I just picked up a used 5.0 block so my brother can build a 347 stroker for his Mustang and he THINKS he will be able to keep up with it. I have to dodge the old man at the local True Value or he'll keep me there for 20 minutes talking about the 70's and his first Pinto, and my dad just thinks I'm crazy.
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People are constantly laughing at mine ;D I've got some cool lettering going across the back that reads... " CAUTION!----EXPLOSIVE!***"
My own reaction when I bought it. I said to the previous owner, when I was signing paperwork, "I can't believe that I just bought a 1972 Pinto."
Now I tell people "I'm the proud owner of a 1972 Ford Exploder", some get it, some don't ;)
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Just tell the younger croud you have an early model Focus.
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I have to get in on this one. My second car was a 1980 Pinto i bought for $500. It was in very cherry condition, original owner, 97,000 miles. but it didnt run. I tinkered with it for an hour in the old womans driveway and left in cloud of tire smoke.
My favorite reaction was the tailgating issue. Not even a state patrol officer would tailgate me.....someone would pull in behind me and then give me plenty of room as soon as they saw the pinto on the deck lid. I miss my old car, I had to sell her in 2000 and cried as she went away. I got exactly $500 for her when i had offers for $3000......i had to sell her to someone that was not going to cut her up into a dirt track car and kill her, and everyone wanted to.
I am now in the market to buy another.....I have a built 2.3 turbo setup that i have put together.....a nd I will have another Pinto.
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had a truck load of guys[ ok maybe just 4 in the cab] pull up to me at a stop light and ask if it were a GREMLIN. I laughed at them and left them in my tire smoke.
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I had a guy in a Durango snicker and tell me my blue wagon was a "nice car" (not meaning it). I told him his Durango wasn't much more than a glorified station wagon. I then wondered aloud what condition his Durango would be in 32 years from now.
He shut up.
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I got a new reply:
I was talking to my best friends dad, and he came out of the blue and asked why do you want to restore a Pinto?? That's like fixing up a vega.. It's just stupid..
Now for the new part: I was building some resect and was pleased that you were groing up, but this Pinto thing is like taking 2 steps forward and 2000 steps back. What are you thinking??
Whatever he thinks.
I told him, I dont care what anyone thinks... I'm gonna do it anyways, cuz I've always wanted to.
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I was building some resect and was pleased that you were going up, but this Pinto thing is like taking 2 steps forward and 2000 steps back.
I'm thinking you mean respect and growing. Which, in those respects, I don't understand why rebuilding a Pinto is different than any other older car. Perception is 9/10 of most people's reality, I guess.
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i mostly get how come, but also at the car auction, when i got the car started, and drove it off, people were cheering, giving me thumbs up, and clapping and stuff, that was pretty cool. most people have had a pinto, or at least had fun in a pinto, its mostly just people are either just dont like admitting they like them, or are just to stubborn to get past their reputation. those are mostly the guys who buy a car for its looks, and nothing else, and to me that makes no sense, so o well, they have their ways, i have mine. but i bet my car gets more looks.
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I'm thinking you mean respect and growing. Which, in those respects, I don't understand why rebuilding a Pinto is different than any other older car. Perception is 9/10 of most people's reality, I guess.
Oops.. my bad... got it fixed... What is bad though, is my dad even understands why I want to do this.. Now if I could only get him to understand why I want to start doing it now, even though I have a Dodge Omni GLHT sitting at the bottom of the driveway waitiing to be fired up for the first time in months.
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(http://imagehost.epier.com/20680/silverpinto1.jpg)
(http://imagehost.epier.com/20680/silverpinto5interior.jpg)
People want to know why it does not have any side windows. ( I converted a stationwagon to a Panel wagon)they want to know if I know of anymore that they could buy so they could hot rod them....
Mike
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I always find it amusing when I go to the parts store and when I say the part is for a Pinto, the counter person (whom I don't know)will ask "Oh, do you have the red one?" I don't live in a big city by any means, but this community isn't THAT small, maybe 80,000 people in the area.
It seems everyone around here knows my car. But then, there is only one other guy in the area that still drives a Pinto for a daily driver.
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I always find it amusing when I go to the parts store and when I say the part is for a Pinto, the counter person (whom I don't know)will ask "Oh, do you have the red one?" I don't live in a big city by any means, but this community isn't THAT small, maybe 80,000 people in the area.
It seems everyone around here knows my car. But then, there is only one other guy in the area that still drives a Pinto for a daily driver.
I used to get the same thing in NY with my 76 wagon. The windows were tinted real dark and even people that knew me would say " Thats you driving the green Pinto?".
My wife and I were filling the gas tanks in New Jersey. I was gassing up the box truck towing the Ranger and my wife was gassing the Grand Marquis towing the Pinto. A guy about 18-19 years old came over to me and asked what year the Pinto was. I answered that it was a 79. He said he had never seen a 2 door wagon. He said he heard of them but never saw one. ??? I started describing the work Ive done so far and he seemed only interested in it being a 2 door wagon.
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Ok had bring this topic back from the dead. I enjoy all the funny stories. Ok heres my two so far.
When I finally decided to move my 77 CW on a trailer to bring it to a new home to start restoring it. I was about to unload it from the trailer and a Mexican guy walking by says Vega?? I say no Pinto Cruising Wagon. He says Oh cool car.
This was told to me by my friend where my project is stored in his garage. He had just got a 85 K5 blazer and invited one of his friends over to show it off, as he was starting to talk his friend saw the Pinto and was more interested in the Pinto than the K5 lol.
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I take my 88 year old dad to breakfast every Friday. Last week we spent 2 hours at breakfast and running chores. A few blocks from home I stopped for auto parts. The clerk asked to photograph the car. Then Dad said "We almost had a day with out someone noticing your bobcat."
2 years and still a perfect record.
Bill
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The Pintoracer always got looks and thumbs up no matter where l went! People taking pictures, standing around her at the Walmart parking lot when l come out with my groceries lol, checking her out while driving on the interstate! Even have cops pulling up beside me at lights and giving the thumbs up and nodding...oh yeah...l sure am missing that! ;D :(
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I had my Pinto in a high-end vintage auto restoration shop for a good amount of time. (www.ClassicAut oSmith.com) You name it, they had expensive show cars being worked on up there.
The shop owner told me, "You know when people come in here, the first thing they notice and comment on is your Pinto!"
At shows, mine is usually the only Pinto there. Countless people come up to admire it and tell me their Pinto stories.
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Bump..
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my favorite was last summer when i was heading back to work from lunch.i was running a little late doing 45 in a 35.i looked in the rear view and a city cop pulled out and here he came.i got caught at the next light,he pulled up beside me,rolled down his window and said `hey thats cool'.l told him thanks and went merrily back to work...
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the most common reaction i get in my car is the question " is that a gremlin ?" .. when i do tell them it`s a pinto i also tell them it is a very rare 1976 200th anniversary Spirit of America version .. it`s a 73 but they dont know that . it gets way more attention than my mustang i had ..
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That paint job is way too cool. Great idea and great story!
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Had a guy chasing me around town last year. He kept it up, I turned lots of corners & still followed, to the point I was going to call 911, thinking he was a nut bar out looking to cause problems.
I let him get ahead of me & he pulled over & gave me two thumbs up & a huge grin !
Every time I start it up (in town) to unload it (I do not drive it on the 6 miles of gravel to the pavement) people come out of the wood pile someplace & start asking questions.
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every time I drive or stop and get gas I hear a pinto story , I learned to drive in one , or my or dad had one , my best one is going up a huge hill maintaning 70 mph pulling a 16 foot scamp camper , yep got a head shake and a thumbs up on that day
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My son had me take my Pinteroo (Pinto pickup) out of his shop and back to my barn. It was getting more attention from his friends than his projects! He's going to paint it for me once I get the turbo 2.3L / T5 swap completed.
I've heard "Pinchero" is a bad word in Spanish, so the wife calls it Pinteroo.
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According to Google Translator:
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I like that better than what the urban dictionary says. There’s people with that for a last name so I think the urban dictionary is wrong (hopefully). I don’t have any friends who speak fluent Spanish so who knows....
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In Portuguese the Slang term for Pinto is listed as..., I'll try and be discrete, 'male appendage,' and typically used in an offensive way to mean 'diminished proportions.' So, Pinchero is likely some derivative of that. And the translation to "skewer" being of length and narrowness might be in a distorted, slang way applicable. I wonder how many Pinto's were sold In Portugal, or Portuguese speaking Brazil?
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It's fun to see that others' experiences 18 years ago are no different than ours are today. When I take it out, frequently the very least I get is "is that a Pinto?!" In contrast, My '68 Mustang is among the classic cars that are highly sought-after right now. It's obviously an unfinished project, but it's an icon that's loud, sounds mean, and gets 1% of the attention my Pinto does.
I think it might be because the Pinto was an everyman's car. Someday people might be nostalgic for Honda Civics in the same way.
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The day I brought mine home on the dolly, I stopped at a store to get a drink. A young man (late teens or early 20's) came out and exclaimed, "Dude, that's badass...is that a Gremlin?" I said, "No, it's a Pinto." I got another "that's badass" before he left. He wasn't even thought of when it was built!
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... He wasn't even thought of when it was built!
Assuming someone gets their license at 16 'before they were born' currently relates to a 2005 car. My '73 Pinto is 48 years old. If I take that back to when I was 16 (ironically 1973 also) it would relate to a 1925 Model T.
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A few years ago an acquaintance offered to give me a ride to pick up my car after an oil change. He did not know what kind of car I had. When we pulled into the lot, He started going on and on about what a amazingly beautiful car was parked right here. He told me the history of the car (with the confidence of an expert) and the hundreds of cars cars that blew up.
He then said it was a marvelous restoration, but only a fool would put so much money into such a looser of a car.
Because my oil change was prepaid, I thanked him for the ride, got into my car and drove away. I would loved to see his face but I didn't look back.
Bill
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Assuming someone gets their license at 16 'before they were born' currently relates to a 2005 car. My '73 Pinto is 48 years old. If I take that back to when I was 16 (ironically 1973 also) it would relate to a 1925 Model T.
That's a sobering thought, isn't it? BTW, I'm the same age as you.
Dwayne :o
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... BTW, I'm the same age as you.
Dwayne :o
I guess that makes us the some of Elder Statesmen around here!
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Sigh... I am only 56, and you guys are making me feel like an Octogenarian!👴 Lol...
Your reference of the model T was an eye opener as I never thought of it that way! Is there a fountain of youth nearby?
Happy Motoring!
Dan
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Pintos are the fountain of youth; why else would we love them so?
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LOL...excellen t point, Dwayne!😂
Happy Motoring!
Dan
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https://hooktube.com/watch?v=tRIY5H7pDuo (https://hooktube.com/watch?v=tRIY5H7pDuo)
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LOL! When on earth was this rap video made?
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Sweet D from 2006
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Never heard of him but now I'm a fan.
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I hear "Wow! We had one just like that!" a lot. Then they ask how many miles. So I tell them over 377'000 original miles.. they usually just stare.
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Got a note yesterday under the wiper, asking if I want to sell my Pinto, and if so, here is his number.
If I wanted to sell it I'd have a For Sale sign in the window, right?
I think I'll make a sign and put it on the dash. It would read: "Learn to admire without having to acquire. In other words, it's not for sale."
Last week a guy follows me into the parking lot, I park the Pinto, and he parks by my rear bumper. The statement he was making seemed to be, you ain't going anywhere until you talk with me about this car!
I drive into our driveway and a guy in his golf cart drives in right behind me to talk about my Pinto. Another guy flags me down to tell me he once had a Pinto. I asked him if he wishes he still had it, and he said yes.
I think our baby blue Pinto will stay in the family.
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I was in the Cruising Wagon stopped at a light with a nice newer Mustang in front of me, a guy in the parking lot yells over, "Hey! What is that?" I said "A Pinto!" He goes "A Pinto? Man that is bad a$$! Can I get a picture?" I said "Sure thing" and gave him the thumbs up. He snapped a pic and gives me a thumbs up and says "Cool car man!" While this is going on l see the guy in the 'Stang glancing in his mirrors. The light turns green and the guy in the Mustang revs his engine and barks the tires as he takes off. I guess he was upset that his new $40k Mustang wasn't getting any attention? Happens all the time! ;D
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Thanks for posting this!
😀
So great!