I am a new member and I am planning to buy a Pinto sometime soon.
I remember them well from the early 70's when they debuted but also remember the rear end explosion problems they had with them. Can anyone help guide me as to what year Pinto's to stay away from that had this problem?...did they all?...overall, are the mid-late 70's Pinto's better quality cars than the earlier models?...would appreciate some guidance here. Thank you, Paul
I had asked this thing sorta not long ago. The main reply was, that was the earlier pinto, prominatly the hatch backs. They made a recal package for these. I was told if you can see a rubber style thing infront of the tank, likewise heck head bolts on the fuel filler kneck instead od regualr screw heads, then it has the recal on it. I was told the later years did not have such a issue. The wagons like mine I was asured did not have these issues! Just remember, if you see a truck coming at you at a high rate of speed from behind when you are stopped, dont be left saying "I shoulda had a V8! LOL. J/K! I wish you well in your search! If you go to the home page and do a search there, you will find some nice topics pertaining to this! Welcome to the group. Thanks.
Once again... they DO NOT EXPLODE. They had fire issues when rear-ended sometimes, but they did not explode or blow up.
Quote from: blupinto on March 14, 2011, 11:51:47 PM
Once again... they DO NOT EXPLODE. They had fire issues when rear-ended sometimes, but they did not explode or blow up.
And, needless to say, there is a VERY real difference! If they were truly prone to explosion, I doubt any of us would risk driving one! ANY car can catch fire in the event of an accident and the Pinto was no exception. The controversy came about when Ford decided it would be more cost-effective to settle the handful of claims resulting from those fires than to recall the millions of Pintos they had put on the road. The memo went public, and the rest is history.
Dwayne :smile:
my new neighbor was giving me the blow up pinto crap until i bet him i could back into his 08 charger set off the air bags and DRIVE my car away lol
You know, I remember the jokes about the Ford explorers and calling them ford exsploders. There are many cars that were made to not withstand a 70 plus MPH rear end collision! But then again, if you are stopped and some moron speeds that fast into you from any direction, you will stand a very high chance of getting hurt and your car getting totaled if not bursting into flames anyways!. I am willing to bet 9 out of 10 times the driver of the other vehicle will come out nearly unhurt because they are too drunk to know better! Well, until the next day then not only thier head will hurt but many other parts of thier body! LOL.
In the 70's Pinto's accounted for 1.9% of the cars on the road. Out of all fatalities related to fire and cars, Pintos accounted for 1.9%. It was no more prone to fire than any other car. Anyone at a standstill in an economy car rear ended at high speeds is susceptible to death. The problem here is not the car, but the idiot who wasn't paying attention and plowed into you.
Quote from: dave1957 on March 17, 2011, 05:39:57 PM
my new neighbor was giving me the blow up pinto crap until i bet him i could back into his 08 charger set off the air bags and DRIVE my car away lol
I like the way you think!!! :lol:
Dwayne :smile:
I thought about adding a halon system to the back with nozzles near the differential. Impact activated maybe? My new Pinto has an 8" so at least no bolts on that side. My new one is a 75 with later (78) aluminum bumpers.
I shut a classic Volkswagen Bug owner up when he was giving me a ration of Pinto explosion jokes. I told him "At least someone has to hit mine for it to catch on fire!"
You can get an airbag sensor from a old car and mount it on the back to activate the halon system. !!!
Back in the 80's I had a '79 wagon that converted to the panel wagon. Part of the "restoration" was to repaint the car. My friend who had a body shop painted the whole car bright white (similar to original finish, but much brighter), and then put tri-color FLAMES on the REAR of the car - awesome, big bright red and pink purple-tipped flames. The car ended up in Ohio when I left to move to Texas; where it went from there is anyone's guess.
CHris
Sedandelivery: That's a freakin great idea!
ya ford always seems to have Exploding story's remember the whole thing with the first explorers and that ishu they made a big deal about