Month by month I am slowly getting to being almost done, I took half of my 1973 Ford Pinto 2.0 L engine out and am now replacing the valve seals. I am hoping that this will stop the oil burning out smoke from the exhaust. After that I am cleaning the whole engine up sanding it and oiling it down, does anyone think this is really worth it? Especially seeing how much things are these days...I can imagine how most of you feel when you take a really old beat up car that needs attention and making it a beautiful peace of work. I am a woman, I have dreams for this car, I seem to be really attached to it, I can't wait to drive this baby on the road and have people either point and laugh at me or give me respect for fixing it myself.
the Question is, Is it worth it to you? for me personally it is worth taking it apart and making it work right and making it work for me for a long time after. Its all in how you view the car for you.
Most everyone in my family, even my mother whom I inherited the car from, has asked me if the car is really worth maintaining so much, or restoring.
I see it as a very worthy subject to restoration and maintenance, regardless of how much money I keep dumping into it. I love my Pinto, and it holds a lot of personal value to it.
1) It was my mother's first straight off the lot, new car
2) It has been passed down to two of her children, including me
3) It was my first car
4) I learned literally everything I know about automotive technology by working on it
5) It is mine! I know it sounds childish, but it's my baby. It is my classic, my "sedan sports car" and my wanna be muscle car. :D
As 75bobcat stated, is it worth it to YOU?
The classic question.....
My only answer is, it has to be worth it to YOU, not anyone else. Having to ask for approval is comforting, but it doesn't mean a lot. I think your reasoning alone justifies your drive to get it done. Your personal motivation is inspiring, and mirrors much of my opinion about my own car. Don't do it to make money, don't do it to be popular. Do it to be unique, do it for the reaction, do it for YOU.
I understand this craziness as well, while my wife does not. My car needs a lot of work, and it's gonna cost me bux!! Is it worth it? Considering what I already have in it, I sure hope so!!
Good luck and enjoy!!
Chris
Everybody has a different 'dream car'. My dream car has almost always been a Pinto. The year/color/bodystyle changes once in a while, but the one now is closest to the 'dream' I always had. I waited five years and patiently got to know the owner and her attachment to the car because it was her dad's last car before he died and her inheritence. She wanted to make sure it went to a good home and not the crusher. I still keep in touch with her and she is delighted that the car runs and looks good. during the 5 years I tried to talk her out of it, it sat unused in the back of her yard because a mechanic told her it needed a new engine (it just needed a water pump) basically I think he just didn't want to work on it. The previous owner had ambitions of getting it fixed and preserving it, but she didn't have the means or knowledge. If it is your dream car, you should remind yourself of that every time you look at it. Then you will know the work you are doing is worth it.
Chuck
If you really like the car, there is no question about the cost. I love the wagons! I paid $950 for the 73 with a lot of needed work, but I could see the potential in it. I have rebuilt the engine, the suspension, done the body work, replaced most of the interior stuff, and am almost ready for paint. All in all the cost of all of this plus the work I have put into it are worth it to me. Especially when I'm out and someone (which happens almost every time I drive it) goes bonkers over it. The input I get from piers and others is worth it all. Besides, anyone can walk into a dealer and buy a regular car for about 20 times what I have in this one and not have nearly the fun that this car is. Of course in the end, it is what you want and is is worth the effort to you?
Pinto's are cool!
I agree with what everyone has said on here. I myself have always wanted a Pinto, right from the early age of 5 or 6 years old. I now own a 1977 Pinto sedan, and although she needs a lot of work to the underside & some bosy work the car is worth it to me. There are times that I can't afford to fix her so I step away from the car for a while, pay my bills & get back to her when I have the cash.
Bottom line, if the car makes you happy, you enjoy working on it, and it is what you want then yes, the car is worth it... No matter what the ney sayers may say about restoring a Pinto. It sounds to me by your post the car means a lot to you & you want to do the restoring to it, so if that is the case, keep it.
Like everyone else says it is up to you & you alone whether it is worth it.
I'm currently involved with a turbo Pinto project that's taking four times the effort than I thought that it would, and I'm wondering if it's worth it, too.
I think I got Xeno's Pinto. I keep getting halfway and half of that there without ever getting all the way there.
Here is the answer....
If it wasn't worth restoring (to you), you wouldn't have started this thread looking for more motivation to continue your project, with all of us doing what we can to keep you going. You really do want to restore it, but you have started to have doubts and you needed to hear from others that it would be worth it. By hearing how much we have loved restoring ours, and driving the ones that are so close to being finished, it keeps you on the Pinto path.
You just needed a little boost to keep you going. Am I right? :)
When she gets boosted enough, send some my way.
haha. I think we all get this way from time to time dholvrsn. :)
Sometimes I fall into a rut and don't want to continue with mine, but a quick trip to the salvage yard and ideas start to flow through my head. :evil:
you guys are freggin awesome. i think im going to cry. haha. just joshin...well kind of.
yea, all i needed was a boost to keep me going, even though i have no idea who you people are i never thought that there would be so many people to respond back to me.
i know when i get this ford pinto done with....you guys are gonna be jealous of how pimp it looks.
Can't wait to see it, would love to see the work in progress. Maybe one of the meets in the near future will be close enough for you to bring your pony to, then you will be able to meet some of the folks on here and then you won't be able to say that you have no idea who we are :D
The only thing I would throw out there is that you need to envision your purpose and final result.
Next, you need the appropriate car. Save the extra money to start with a good car. I guarantee it will cost you more to make a poor condition car into the car of your you want rather than spending the extra 2-3 thousand on a great car.
Never, ever, buy a rusty car even at low cost.
1) Driver - get a low mileage original car. You don't want to rebuild everything.
2) Race car - get a rust free shell or car.
3) Original or restored car - get a low mileage rust free car!
4) Low production special version - not much choices here.
Quote from: Starliner on November 11, 2008, 12:12:49 PM
....Never, ever, buy a rusty car even at low cost...
Unless its a 'parts car'.
I agree, get as good of a car as you can to start with.
Bill
Amen to that. I made that mistake first time around with my first Pinto, which became a parts car.
Matt
I dont know man...it has like 60,000 some miles on it, seems worth it to me.
Lower mileage than what mind had when I got it. More than 143,000! The first step to mine was the motor rebuild. It's been thing after thing on my list since then. Some of it major like the interior and the rear end and transmission. But at the same time, some of it has been modifications and regular maintenance. New ball joints, different steering wheel, center console, etc.
We all do this for different reasons. I rescued a car going to be a race car. i have more time and effort and money in this car than i ever dreamed of but it has been good for me. As some know I have health problems and this little car has helped keep me going. I love working on it to make it "better". I love driving it because it is just so much damn fun. I love the planing on what I am going to do next. and finally i love working on it because i know one day it will go to my granddaughter who loves it. [she is 15 and 1/2 ;-)]
One other point and that is the Pinto community. We are not splintered into opposing goups ie: restorers verses modifyers but we all accept each others cars because we all live under the singular Pinto banner. This is very different from most other car groups. We are as individual as our cars and that is what probably bands us together. If you had to pick out a group you can not do any better.
jim
Quote from: delizious on November 05, 2009, 11:36:49 PM
I dont know man...it has like 60,000 some miles on it, seems worth it to me.
Well look there, you said it, "It seems worth it to me". That is the first sign of Pintolics. We are all afflicked. Enjoy your car and as you've seen us guy are here for you if you have questions. There are a few guys down your way that might even come and help with you dream.
I add these pictures for motivation.
Delizious, as another woman who loves her Pintos and wants them running like they were meant to I have to admire you. The hardest thing I've performed on my Runabout was replacing the water pump. I don't have a lot of mechanical knowledge but I do what I can because I love my girls and they are definitely worth it! In fact. as far as I'm concerned EVERY Pinto is worth it, but then I'm a confirmed Pinto Freak, have been since I was a small child. Nowadays money is real tight but I'll never sell my girls if I can help it- the only exception being if I find a '72 in Grabber Blue like my very first one (sadly gone but never forgotten)
Sorry. I digress... If you love that lil' car and your heart says keep her and do her right... DO IT! I would. Never mind the lost souls who poo poo your dreams and your car. If the situation there is anything like here, you'll get far more kudos than insults and you'll know when your car runs- and looks like- a champ that you did it and you'll have that pride no one can take away. You Go Girl! ;D
Quote from: hellfirejim on November 06, 2009, 06:11:08 AM
i have more time and effort and money in this car than i ever dreamed of....
So I'm not the only one suffering from that.... ::)
When you love something, and it's your passion you don't think of the cost. Well, I should amend...you don't think of the cost once your dream is accomplished. ;D
Becky hit it on the head. I am regularly asked, knowing the $$ I have already put into my wagon, if I have regrets or if I wished I had bought another car. Here's the way I think about it:
1) The Pinto is a passion; I wanted a Pinto, I have owned Pintos, I have fond memories of Pintos. This Pinto will be my crown jewel, far better than any before, and likely after.
2) This car is not one of countless thousands of Mustangs, Chevelles, Corvettes, or Camaros. I'm not in this to be part of the "crowd".
3) I am far enough into it that money/time is not the concern; I have to keep the end goal in mind. If I give up now, what have I gained? I lose the pride of doing it, the sweat of the effort, and a whole bunch of cash thrown away.
4) Sure, I could have waited, saved my money, bought something different, something done. Anyone with cash can buy something and show it off. The guy who labors over something has a STORY when he is done - not just evidence of deep pockets.
Getting philosophical, it's about the RELATIONSHIP, man and machine, the thrill of dirty hands and long hours. Sleepless nights wondering when it will be done. The thrill "of the hunt" - parts, resources, help, information. The culturing of patience. The mass of ideas, variations, paint schemes, motors, transmissions, interiors, colors, fabrics, rubber, steel, glass. The bliss of small but significant accomplishments. It's a big meal with plenty of side dishes, some are more tasty than others, but when the whole meal is consumed, the fat tummy cares only about the sum whole of the experience, not the creamed peas.
.....and that's all I have to say!!
Chris
Right on Chris! You said it better than I did!
Delizious, I have two Pintos and an Isuzu Rodeo- plus I've driven many cars and trucks in my driving career but hands down the Pintos are the most fun! Compared to today's "more comfortable and efficient" cars the Pintos are promitive but then it's like riding bareback on a horse... you "feel" the car much better, and the thumbs-ups and "I love your Pinto!" exclamations only enrich the experience. And like Chris said, it's the relationship between you and the car. New mothers know the morning sickness, the waddling around, the labor pains, the birth... but when it's over all they remember is the joy and all the unpleasant stuff is forgotten.
Right on! I think I'm going to cry :'( You guys are the best
Quote from: Starliner on November 11, 2008, 12:12:49 PM
Never, ever, buy a rusty car even at low cost.
Hah! unless its perfect in every other way. My wreck is probably a bit too rusty even for you unfortunates that live in the rust belt out East. Its pretty bad. And whats not rust is probably bondo... i probably dont want to know. BUT... it will never be any more than flat-black, dented and savage looking... so rust is easier to overlook than say, being an automatic (ugh...) or having a pile ov options (i hate options), or having the smaller engine, or the smaller diff, or blah blah... you get the point. I'd RATHER it was rust free... but if that was the case i would have actually had to pay for it.
At least it doesn't leak, and the holes in the floor are in the perfect spots so water doesn't come splashing in... unlike my Cadillac...
Delizious... your car is badass already... if only for that gnarly engine paint. I think i wanna paint mine something bizarre now too...
I wonder if that engine paint glows under black light.... :afro:
Yea man, mine has a little rust slowly growing and growing underneath the car and it's moldy as hell on the outside but aside from that it still holds a place in my heart. Everything is a project in life, and I kind of look at it as everything is a lession for you to learn and accomplish as these other pinto lovers have taught me to understand and acheive. Yes I do think everything is worth it, but its going to have to take a lot of my time and money to get this pinto in the shape I want it.
Green paint..haha, its funny you mentioned that because the outside of the car isn't that color..its just white with green mold on it. I tend on keeping the inside green, and the outside I think I'm going to leave white. And since I have a lot of friends that are artists including myself, I'm going to have everyone pick out a section of there choice to do there art work on only it has to all go together somehow.
Good question, I guess I'm going to have to find out if it does glow under black light ;D
Welcome Delizious!
I cannot add much more to what has been said - just follow your heart and gut feeling. If costs will be an issue, perhaps lower your expectations. Instead of a perfect show car, go for a good looking daily driver, or 20 footer.
Mine will never be a show car, given its hard life, but it is reliable and cheap to keep running safely and dependably. Of course I live in TX, where rust is not an issue. It is fun to drive, too.
My Oldsmodile is my pride and joy, soon-to-be-show-car, but the Mighty Pinto still holds a special place in my heart - a friend that has let me down only once over 20 years (which was my fault anyway.)
So get a plan together, start a project thread, post some pictures, and get a wrenchin'! We are all here to help you and motivate you! ;)
Rob said: "Of course I live in TX, where rust is not an issue".
My answer: I live about 5 miles from Rob, in Texas, but his "rust not an issue" statement does not apply to my car, of course >:(.
Chris
Quote from: popbumper on December 02, 2009, 01:33:52 PM
Rob said: "Of course I live in TX, where rust is not an issue".
My answer: I live about 5 miles from Rob, in Texas, but his "rust not an issue" statement does not apply to my car, of course >:(.
Chris
Your car was the sacrificial anode for my car! :lol: :lol: :lol:
:look:
Quote from: 78txpony on December 02, 2009, 02:26:14 PM
Your car was the sacrificial anode for my car! :lol: :lol: :lol:
:look:
Boy, you got that right - only engineers would understand what that means.... :P
Chris
Yeah you desert guys got it good on the rust issue but not all is well in hot dry land as the plastic just falls to powder after being baked in the sun.. ask me how I know. :lost:
But I have a AZ car without the rot and it was worth it.
jim
Even having a Texas car, I am dealing with BOTH benefits of rust AND dead crumbling plastic. Lucky me! :nocool:
Chris
Yea but in florida it's ALWAYS humid!
Hey there, welcome back!!!