I said it was no gem.
Hi Tony,
I Actualy wasnt looking for a sprint, or a runabout. I just saw this car wich was about to go to the shredder and it brought back memories,.. and a chance to make a project that I couldnt quite find the right canidate for,.. a 4 cyl rear drive road racer with teeth. And being it was a Pinto it would also afford a chance to prove something to my old crew chief. ( I told him about killing V8 cars in light to light engagements with the 71 I used to own,.. he would laugh and ask me if he could have some of what I was on )
The engine looks to be in excellent condition. I've had the valve cover off,.. Its spotless inside and it shows no sign of cam or follower wear.
Apintonut told me it has the wrong hatch, he lives a couple miles from me.. I'm also pretty sure the hood has been changed, the pinstripe border is blue instead of red like the rest of the car.
Anyway, I made a decision today to move ahead with this project, using this car,.. if anyone has a hatch with the small window for a 71-72, I'd be glad to pay shipping.
Quote from: Ironman on July 13, 2008, 02:49:15 PM
Apintonut told me it has the wrong hatch
If your Sprint has a big window hatch that is correct for 72. The small window hatch was 71 only.
This is an amazing find. So glad you were in the right place at the right time in order to save this car. It is a rare one. I believe there is only one other Sprint owner on this site.
Bob
Ironman,
You have a very special Pinto... Take care of it... A Sprint is an extremely neat find and it looks in good condition... I have only seen your one photo -- would love to see more!
Again, take care of it... We'll help!
Hi again,
I wanted to make sure there was no confusion,.. apintonut told me the hatch was wrong because it was from a later year car. something about the lip on the back being 3/8 in. too long, and not because the window was the wrong size. The hatch is rusted out underneath, and I wanted to replace it with the small window because I like the look more. I will put several pictures up showing condition,.. it has wierd rust issues in strange places,.. like the pinchweld on the firewall, in the engine bay side.
In my opinion restoration is possible, but would take some real dedication, I feel confident that all numbers match. The person who abandoned the car was the original owner and I got the original title from him. One of the things he told me was that the car was sent back to the dealer to have the gas tank issue resolved. I see a thick plastic shield and I think that was the "fix".
Its kind of exciting to have found a rare car. I have the means to preserve it, but not likely I could restore.
It had a black plastic grille in it ( not painted, but the plastic itself was black )
Was that stock?
A couple questions,..
Is the sprint package paint and interior trim only?
Is there more than one interior "scheme"?,... Mine has the dash carpet and bottom of doors in a kinda metalic blue.
I'd like to move ahead with my project, but I dont want ruin the possibilities of salvaging a rare car.
Aside from the hole in the spare tire well the pictures show the worst of it. the floor is solid as are the quarterpanels and wheel wells. the rusty area on the firewall under the fender had scale but there is still solid metal there.
Even with rust,.. is the car worth preserving?
Quote from: Pintony on July 14, 2008, 09:06:17 AM
What do you say Brian???
From Pintony
I'm assuming you mean me Tony...
Here are some of the pictures I took of the Sprint in Michigan recently.
click here --> http://www.cookieboystoys.com/sprint.htm
you should be able to use this as a guide to determine if the hatch is correct for your car Ironman. I believe this car was mostly original and have no reason to believe the hatch was ever replaced.
The car pictured above was repainted and not done correctly for stripes and size, hood stripes are not exactly correct but close. The reason you don't see any pics of the underside is that in my opinion only it was to far gone and nothing to "show off." I drove 15+ hours one way with a trailer and cash-in-hand to buy it but after seeing it.... I passed on it and didn't offer anything for it. Because of the repaint I had no idea how bad the body was rust-wise and could see the rust coming thru the paint. The underside of the car was to far gone for "me" to consider spending the money for a complete restore.
Ironman... I think the side stripes are correct for your car but agree the hood stripe isn't. Looks like the pin-stripe is blue instead of red... From what I can see all else looks as it should for a sprint except the wheels.
The Sprint Pinto was a paint and trim package only, no special motor or handling package.
as far as restoring this one.. that's up to you, looks like it would take a real didicated person, lot-o-work and a bit-o-cash to bring this one back and it would be really nice to see a "real" Sprint restored....
Hi Brian,
Apintonuts name is brian also. Thanx for your reply and pictures. The wheels you see on the car are not the ones that were on it when I brought it home, those are loaners from apintonut. the car had goodyear biased ply tires that would not hold air on black rims with caps and beauty rings.
All four caps are in nice shape and I have two of the rings. I noticed in the pictures that the michigan car dosnt have the rubber strip, or bumper gaurds. My car had both of these. Is that an option for the Sprint?
Quote from: Ironman on July 14, 2008, 04:51:01 PM
Apintonuts name is brian also.
All four caps are in nice shape and I have two of the rings. I noticed in the pictures that the michigan car dosnt have the rubber strip, or bumper gaurds. My car had both of these. Is that an option for the Sprint?
I know apintonut's name is Brian too, Tony and I have been discussing your car on the phone, that's why I was thinking "me." ;)
the ad for the sprint - mustang, maverick and Pinto shows clean bumpers and no strip/guard.
Tony also wanted me to post a pic of the door tag for the michigan car for you to compair yours to... he's interested in any differences between the 2... hey Tony, I remembered :showback: ;) :lol:
I couldn't read the tag. Hope you don't mind I took the liberty to attempt to improve the appearance.
Tom
Now that it's posted I still can't see it clearly. Sorry. Tom
Ok I've been comparing the photos and I've noticed a few differences,.. I'm including photos of both the door post sticker and the aluminum tag on the core support. One other thing I noticed besides the car being Canadian built was it has an additional red stripe on the back thats not present on the Michigan car. I believe the original hatch would probably have carried that line across to the other side.
One other thing I noticed was the valance that sits right behind the bumper,.. ( not the one under ) is white, and not blue like the Michigan car. I'm certain it wasnt repainted, so I'm thinking it was either replaced, or canadian Sprints might have been colored slightly different.
( EDIT ) Just found this on E-bay,.. including picture below. It seems the sprint could have come with several options including sunroof.
The one pictured has bumpergaurds.
So, Ironman, what ever happened with the car.
Are you going to restore it or destroy it?
Jim
I sold it to my brother and I wish he'd get it out of my yard
I hope to see it restored some day. That is a SUPER rare car. I dont think there are any Sprints left. Worth a hell of alot of $$$ when restored. Last sprint I saw got painted yellow with black interior. Sad.
I guess "gem" is a matter of opinion, I would love to have a sprint, have though about making my '78 a "clone" as its white. Ford did funny things with the blue interior over the years, I've had three with light blue interiors and two with dark blue interiors. The dash in my car is dark blue metallic and the original carpet was dark blue, but the rest of the interior is light blue. Some have blue emergency brake cover and dome light but my car has black.