For me, I was 16 years old and it was given to me by my parents. A 1972 sedan brown, well parts of it, with the old 1600 overhead valve engine. It was 11 years old and not running so i had to work on it. Basically i had the car because it was almost free.
Why did you buy/obtain your first?
bought my FIRST pinto ('76 Olympic Edition coupe) off my cousin (first owner) in 1984
Bought my first Pinto in about september of last year for $300. I looked at a 1977 sedan but couldn't get it home so I bought a 78 runabout that I was able to dive home. Worst cash I ever spent, as the frame was severely rusted & the sub frame was seperating from the rest of the car... Now I got the 77 sedan that I originally looked at.
I bought my first Pinto, a 72 hatchback, in 1974. When I was in high school, my girlfriends dad bought a new 73 sedan, white with orange interior. That was the Pinto that got me hooked. My first Pinto went away about 79 but I have always had a Pinto of some sort ever since that first one. Now I have 4 Pintos, 1 Pangra and no time.
Picture it...Fairfax, Virginia...April, 1971. I was a young man of 20 driving a 1961 Corvair Monza which was my first car -a high school graduation gift from my folks. When the Pinto and Vega were introduced that Spring, I approached Dad with the idea of my buying a new car to replace the aging Corvair. We did all the research on both and although I liked the Vega GT with the hatchback, Dad was a Ford man (and was securing the loan through his credit union) so I went with the Pinto. Nothing on the lot matched my taste so I had it special ordered in the dark green metallic with saddle-vinyl interior. The options were the 2000 cc engine, am radio, racing mirrors and raised white letter tires. The delivery time was 3 weeks. As the expected date drew near, I would drive by Ted Britt Ford every afternoon after my college classes hoping that I would see it. Then one afternoon it was there and they had parked it on the service road just in front of the showroom. It was so striking in that gleaming metallic paint with those raised white letter Goodyear Polyglas tires! I pulled in and got a close look. Exactly as ordered and the sticker was $2,405...I will always remember that! I rushed home, called Dad at work and told him the car was in so that we could go take delivery as soon as he got home.
We didn't even eat dinner and went right over to the dealer. He signed the papers, handed over the check and they handed me the keys. I was surprised when they also handed me the special silver "Pinto" key although it could not be cut as a key but only used as decoration on the keyring. I got in, started it up and drove off the lot feeling like a millionaire! The shifter was tight -a far cry from the Monza! -and the power from the engine I couldn't believe! I can't remember what time I got home that night but I remember not being able to go inside to sleep!
I drove it to classes at George Mason College (not yet a university then) until my graduation that summer. I had the first Pinto on campus, and while others eventually showed up they were all the basic 1600cc models and none had the racing mirrors or RWL tires!
I took great care of that car over the next 3 years and added a custom console/armrest from a company called Saddleback in California. It fit and matched perfectly and became the mounting place for my foglamp switch. I mounted my round foglamps behind the grille for a unique although low-functional look! I also added an aluminum mesh grille on the taillamp panel which was available then from an aftermarket company.
I also added a tach on the steering column and 2 3-gauge clusters below the dash...I had oil pressure, vacuum, voltmeter- and can't remember the other 3 but they looked great at night with all the illumination. Eventually I added an 8-track mounted on the floor below the dash and 2 speakers on the rear package deck.
Over the years I took many trips in that car, and a memorable one to the newly-opened DisneyWorld in Orlando. On a stretch of road somewhere in Georgia at 4am the Pinto reached 110mph...and behaved very well!
The only trouble I got into with the car was a 360-spin on a wet road after turning too suddenly. No traction from that light rear end or those greasy Polyglas tires!
Eventually the Mercury Capri caught my eye and I traded for a 1974 2000cc bright red with sunroof and 4-speed. That began my long string of cars over the years that's brought me to my 55th year and a silver Sonata LX which is a wonderful, comfortable ride. I often wonder what a ride in my old Pinto would feel like now!
Several years after I traded my Pinto for that Capri, I acutally saw my old car in a shopping center parking lot. The gauges and console were still there but the paint was fading and the RWL tires had been replaced with conventional blackwalls. It was a little sad to see it aging but all the memories of when it was shiny and my first new car came rushing back. Still today whenever I see that rare Pinto on the road I think of my glory days. Some may joke and laugh about the Pinto and some of its negative legacies, but to me it will always be my first new car...and you always remember that.
Thanks for this site and congratulations to all of you who remember or have discovered the Pinto and are taking care of it just as it deserves!
I bought a 73 from a guy my dad worked with. It was a sports accent model,yellow vinyl top with white paint. The top was wasted so i stripped it off and had the whole car painted white. I drove it for a couple of years until I had tranny problems. I bought a new 82 Nissan Sentra and had it until my first wife got it in a divorce settlement. As far as the Pinto it was sold to a guy named Doug Taylor who took it to N Carolina. I think he was the same guy that went on to Nascar fame. Not sure about that though. I recently bought my 73 sports accent model only this one is White with a green vinyl top. I made the mistake of selling my first one. That won't happen again.
I BOUGHT MY FIRST CAR (PINTO) IN 1974 TO GET ME BACK AND FORTH TO COLLEGE. I BOUGHT IT FROM MY MOM'S UNCLE, MY DAD DROVE IT HOME, I HAD TO WORK. I STILL HAVE IT IN MY GARAGE AT HOME IN A MILLION PIECES WAITING TO GET A SMALL BLOCK AN ALL THE GOODIES THAT GO WITH IT. RIGHT NOW I'M DRIVING A '71 PINTO THAT LOOKS LIKE IT CAME OFF THE SHOW ROOM FLOOR. LOVE GETTING ALL THE COMMENTS FROM PEOPLE THAT USED TO OWN ONE JUST LIKE IT. THANKS FOR READING MY REPLY, HAVE A PINTO DAY. CONSFIRE
I bought my Pinto, an orange 1972 sedan, in 1975 on a trip to Knoxville, Tennessee. I saw it on the lot, drove it, and fell in love! I traded in my 1969 Chevrolet Impala (affectionately known as the "Burgandy Bomber") and took my "Pregnant Pumpkin" home!
Loved that car! Surprisingly, it was great in snow! Seems the weight of the car and the short wheel base, made it an excellent winter car. I put snow tires (regular, not studded) on it and I could go anywhere, even in all but the most extreme Buffalo winters.
I just bought a 1974 Pinto hatchback wiht 42,000 original miles! It is absolutely imaculate inside. All original. Even the original seats are in perfect shape. Can't wait to get my hands on it. Unfortunately, it is in Erie, Pennsylvania, and I am in Davenport, Iowa. Gotta figure out a way to get there and get it back here.
Janety2k
I had my Pinto hauled from California to Missouri by Reliable Carriers(The Orange Trucks) They were quick and competitive pricing. The best part was they were enclosed, my Pinto arrived in perfect condition, and never saw the elements while in transit.
Hey Terry,
NICE STORY!!!! ;D
The question was.... WHY did you buy your Pinto??? ;D ;D ;D
From Pintony
P.S.
See you tomorrow at the all Ford show in St. louie!
My dad bought the 1973 pinto sedan that he later gave to me. In his words:
"I WANTED A WORK CAR AND I HAD SEEN THE PINTO AND IT WAS IN GOOD SHAPE. (My friend) WANTED TO SELL IT AND ASSURED ME IT WAS STILL IN THE SHAPE I LAST SAW IT. I BOUGHT IT FROM HIM FOR I THINK $450 (in August 1986). HE LIED TO ME BIG TIME. HE HAD SPUN OUT ON GORST HILL GOING TO WORK AND WOUND UP IN THE DITCH BY THE CHURCH. HE HAD PUT SOME DENTS IN THE CAR RIPPED OFF THE ARM RESTS AND CAUSED OTHER DAMAGE TO OCCUR HE HAD A WATER HOSE LYING ACROSS A HOT MANIFOLD AND IT MELTED THE HOSE.".
Before the 1973, my dad had a 1973 wagon. On her way to school one morning, my sister hit some ice and ran it down a ravine and into a tree in '84 or '85. I sense my dad really liked the pinto wagon and he was very sad that it was totalled, but happy that my sis was ok. Thus, he bought the '73 sedan because he liked the pinto's and I carried on my dads love for pinto's. My dad still gets a kick out of the pinto that I still have, that was once his, and has gone through SO MANY FACELIFTS!!
Seems to me that those of us that had a Pinto before, want another Pinto later in life.
I can't say I have ever talked to anybody that wanted a second Vega.
Funny I guess.
My grandfather drove a Pinto to work every day and when my aunt, his youngest daughter, was ready for her first car it was a Pinto so I guess he was happy with his car.
I bought my 1st Pinto as a "parts car" for a mustang II. I gave $75 for it with a bad carb & cam. Somehow, the mustang ended up as the donor for the Pinto. It was a black '80 Runabout, that had seen better days. An interesting note, the previous owner was 4'6" Someone had put raising blocks under the seat & welded the same to the pedals. I wasn't exactly a bolt in fit in that car LOL Anyone who drove that car(including other pinto owners) LOVED the way it drove. Pintos have been on my list ever since because of thier (relatively) cheap prices & excellent handling. (205/60-14 tires make a BIG difference)
I bought my first pinto in 1981, it was a 74 runnabout, 2.3--flat cam ;)--, 4spd, yellow with black interior. the car was cosmeticly perfect except for a gaping wound through the drivers door, could see my window lift as you drove past on the other side of the freeway ;D ;D. Some one had backed into a metal fence post..... My dad worked for Or. Dept. of trans. and being the prankster he put a 12'' diameter state of oregon official stick over the hole....yes I was pulled over for it once ::)
I diverge....I BOUGHT IT BECAUSE I LOVED PINTOS!!!
My older brother was "punished" by dad with a 74 sedan for rolling his 66 mustang....hehehe.....as soon as Brian figured out that his pinto went around corners faster than a greasy cheetah all bets were off. My brother, myself, and our best friends, who were brothers too, began buying headers, webbers, swaybars, fancy brake pads cams and became the 4 pintoteers ;D Picture 4 under 20 boys drafting at high speeds everywhere we went.
We all grew up aound a little town in the country called Jefferson Or. "Peppermint capitol of the world" it was really great times. My mom drove a 74 sedan for years, my little sis had a ford lipstick red runnabout, my brother has owned 4.
I have owned from first to current. 74 runnabout, 77 runnabout I was married in was full zoot....Orange, orange plaid cloth, factory sunroof, maplight, 4spd, 71 racepinto 12 point cage nicely developed track car with a claimed speed of 140mph...I never tried to authenticate ;D, 72 runnabout "Group F" trim 2.0 4spd. and now my 2nd owner 73 runnabout yellow, brown interior, 2.0 4spd. This one stays with me ;)
I look back at my first Pinto and all the great times I had when I was 17, and now I am 40, I wouldnt trade my Pinto times for anything. They are a remarkable little car from many different perspectives. I love the wide low stance, I shiver deep down when I consider these numbers 51/49, I admire the wonderfull pedal feel of those firm disk brakes that seem to know just which line you want through the corner, I love love love the look on the face of that guy in the 530 BMW that I bullied through the mountains untill he capitulated, I love the sound of that ready 2.0 spooling up past 6500 rpms I love that I can sleep in the back of my runnabout when I take it to the coast for a surf, I love my little bucking pony emblems. Yeah I love Pintos.
Well..it was 1977, and our '66 LTD with a 390ci was just burning way too much gas for Dodge parts-counter guy's salary. We need something smaller..with some style...and we wanted a used Pinto..like her brother's '71. (And a Pinto was one car my father-in-law was willing to co-sign on for my fiance.) Oddly, we couldn't find a used one right away, so we found the last new one at a local dealer and went for it..a strip-down '77 sedan. Got the Pinto, got the girl, drove the Pinto to a Cape Cod honeymoon. Still got the car..and the girl, although the car needs a complete overhaul. The girl's still in great shape!
I bought my first Pinto, which was also the first vehicle my hard earned cash went towards, about three weeks before I turned 17. I had a grand total of 600 dollars in my bank account and I needed a new car. At first I thought my mom was kidding when she said that a woman she worked out with was selling a Ford Pinto.
That weekend I went and looked at the car with my parents. It was a cold weekend in Nebraska, and I was looking over the car in the woman's garage. Sitting there where it had been sitting for the better part of 20 years, it just begged to be driven. And the last time it was driven was the summer prior, when the engine had been completely detailed and it looked like I could have been driving it off the showroom floor. Other than a single gash in the driver's seat upholstery.
When I started my senior year of high school I drove the car everyday to school and work. Over the course of my senior year of high school I put quite a few miles on my beloved Pinto and smoked the tires a few times. I taught myself the way to do a perfect brake stand, who needs bleach... I've got a PINTO! I had once covered the entire car in a cloud of lovely thick white smoke off my stock one wheel wonder. I even took the car into a ditch once, took a gravel corner at 45 or so and didn't compensate for my oversteer enough. Luckily, both the car and I escaped unscathed from that incident.
Right now though, the car is sitting in my parent's backyard waiting to roar to life once again until I can build up my Boneyard Special Smallblock. I can't wait until I hear the old P-Bomb scream as I open it up and fly down the highway again. I know for a fact that I've hit about 100mph in my old Pinto, when I get about 300+ HP pushing it I'll be able to go fast enough to scare anyone in my passenger's seat.
It helps I don't have a girlfriend right now, I can devote most of my time to building the Pinto and making it my perfect hotrod. ;D
I bought my first Pinto , a 73 Runabout, right after I got out of the Army.
It is the only brand new car that I ever purchased. Sure wish that I had it now.
It was the white/light green color. I can still remember the new smell that came with it.
Al
in Ct.
My mom had totalled my '66 Fairlane, in 1988, and I was checking out cars to replace it. My girlfriend at the time drove a VW Rabbit, so a Rabbit truck caught my eye, but then I remembered the cost of the repairs to her Rabbit, so that was out. Then there were a few Fords and Chevys.... I settled on getting one of the two Pinto wagons they had at the lot. I think one was a early 70's model, the other was a blue 79.
The early 70's one was a woody, and I liked it, except the seats -- there wasn't as much vision because you were sitting so low. The blue 79 felt better to drive, the bucket seats were comfortable, but you were sitting a bit higher, there was better vision...... and it also reminded me a lot of the 70 Maverick I learned to drive on.
The first test drive the car died -- bad alternator, drained the battery. I said replace the alternator, and make sure the battery's good, I'll buy it. And I did -- because I just liked the car. I remember sitting in it, waiting for the dealer to show up... thinking that I was going to buy the car. Why? I think it's because it was a wagon, you could carry stuff in it. But it also was sporty -- two doors. Straight body. Also, because I've always preferred Fords, and it reminded me of the Maverick..... a whole bunch of reasons.
I'm glad I decided to buy it.
in 1982 my buddy Dan who had about 6 pintos had put together a 1971 with a 2.0 it came with an automatic but he put a 4 speed in it from one of his donor cars. it had a header and 2 inch straight pipe with a glass pack sticking out the back. This car would spin the tires through all 4 gears and sounded like a piper cub running down the road. it was love at first drive. I always wanted the car but never thought he would get rid of it. I was driving a 73 charger SE with a 318 automatic I think I payed $200.00 for(ah the good old days). we were talking one day and I can't remember who brought it up but we ended up trading even up. I drove it for about 6 months and was coming home from work one day and was forced into on-comming traffic by a truck and hit a Lincoln head on at 65 mph. I lived, the Lincoln and the Pinto however did not. i have had many pintos over the years(8 or 9) from beaters to almost mint but none have been quite the same as that first one. I am currently in the process of re creating that car with my present pinto. the only difference is it is a 72(close enough).
WOW!!! jgpinto72,
Great story!!!
Glad to know you survived such a terrible crash.
From Pintony
Pintony
Thanks I went out the pass. side window (no seatbelt)( probably saved my life)
8 stitches in my head and road rash on the whole left side of my body.
I looked like a raccoon for a month.
I drove my first pinto (parents 72 wagon) when I was fifteen (without my their knowledge). I knew nothing about driving a 4 speed and the took the punishment without fail. When I was about 19 or20 my dad gave his 75 wagon to me so I could get to work and support my family. But I found out that it had a cracked block and I could not aford to fix it so I put a brick on the accel. to see how long it would take to blow the motor ( young and stupid). The car ran For 2 hours and never blewup. Since then I've had more pintos then I can remember 2 with v8's. I have found that the cars are very reliable and cheap to maintain (and don't look bad either) What more can you ask for from a car. THEIR GREAT CARS !!
mine was a green 74 wagon. I got it from the guy who lived across the street from my uncle. he gave it to me for free and all it needed was a fuel pump. I beat the hell out of the car for about two years before getting another car. I replaced the tranny once, rear end twice. it had no interior only front seats and a stereo. it eventually got hauled off to the junk yard as it was beyond repair. I wanted another one even since then. and then about 3 years ago I found a one owner 73 wagon in napa, ca. I bought it for $1,200. it still has the original owners manual and warranty info from zumwalt ford in the glove compartment.
I brought my Pinto June 1, 2008. I saw it on Craigslist for $800, talked the guy down to $500. Not my first car but it is the first car I brought. I'm 16.
1972 Ford Pinto
2.8Lv6
c-4
I got my first Pinto when I was 16 for $300. IT was a 1971 and it was called the Skipper. It had a strips on the side and it was a pinkish kind of color. And it was rusted all the way through. The drivers seat was through the floor and the fenders were rusted. To put gas in it you had to hold the pipe. But I loved it. Now I have 1973 Pro Street Pinto with a 302 engine. I love this one more it has a lot more power.
Pintowoman73 :D
my first pinto was a 72 wagon yellow in color i mowed the guys lawn all summer for payment of the car a was 14 ,drove it around our yard for the first year ,that following summer i took an axe to the roof and made it a pickup never did make it to the road . had many more pinto's and bobcats since . longs i can still drive i will always have one (may it be only model form) ha ha . no still have 3 told the wife she goes before they do........... hope she don't read this :o
Well...
First one was given to me by my Grandmother as a new car in 1977; two door hatch. I was in high school, it was a new car, I was thrilled. My Mom eventually "inherited" it
Second one was given to me by my Grandfather (yes, same grandparents), a 1979 wagon with low mileage after I graduated college. I drove it between '81 and '83. It was parked after that, my brother used it, and eventually I got it back in 1990 when I went to college a second time. I let it go in 1993.
Third one was a 1980 hatch, BEAT, rusty, holes in the floor, drove it for 3 months until it died on the highway and I left it there. It actually was owned while I owned the 1979; the '79 was in the shop being repainted/restored and I needed another car.
TODAY I bought a 1976 MPG wagon, all original, 65k miles, Texas car. Been wanting anotehr Pinto for years, and am thrilled about it. I bought it because I HAD to have another one!!
Chris
mine was purchased in 1971 at Downey ford in Downey California. i bought it because i liked the looks and after a test drive i was impressed with the way it ran.
it was a 2.0, dark green metallic car with a 4 spd trans, and polyglas tires. trunk model as you guys call them. can't remember too much about interior options but it did have carpet all around but all else was vinyl.
i paid $2465.00 out the door with the keys in my hand.
within a week it had a cam, ported head & a set of Doug's Headers
within about 3 months it had a turbo.
it was the best car that i have owned. not because it was inexpensive but that it was a simple yet rugged, well built car. it wasn't a pretentious piece of crap that is all too prevalent today. it ran well, took a lickin' & kept on tickin' (too steal a quote from Timex) and it was cheap to own
i wish i had it today
Wow, long story behind mine. I'll try not to take to much time...
My mother received the car in 1978 as a college graduation present from her parents (my grandparents). A brand new, just off the lot, 1978 sedan. Yellow with Black interior, very basic package, even without a cigarette lighter, 2.3l with a 4spd transmission. She drove the heck out of it until she married my father and then they shared the car, driving their Oldsmobile Diesel Wagon and riding around on my fathers motorcycle until the late 80s and it was pretty much parked for about 9 or 10 more years. During the time my parents shared the car my father did all of the maintenance and had the clutch replaced once, even installing a set of gauges which included temperature, oil pressure and an ammeter. In the mid 90s he installed a series of FM radios and cassette decks (all of which he still has).
In the late 90s my older brother got the car as his first and he repainted it in auto body class for his senior high school classes. Canyon blue with a tad more pearl flake added to it to make it really shine! He drove that home from the shop he painted it in and it became his daily driver. The brakes went out on him once and he ended up e-braking it for about a mile to get home and he replaced the master brake cylinder. He used the car a lot to learn what he now knows about car audio installation. He did a lot to the car as far as car audio goes. He cut the radio bezel to install a modern CD player and added 6x9" speakers in the back, custom built a subwoofer enclosure which held his two 12" subs powered by a 1500W amp which took up the entire rear seating area by the aid of a large board placed across the seats. The last thing he did as far as modifications go was building custom kick panels with fiberglass to hold some 6" speakers for the front. The car was announced once on the radio by a local DJ saying he was "boomed out on his way to work by a blue Pinto!". My older brother really put the car through hell while he drove it. Burn outs before leaving work, cookies in the winter and racing it at lights. That all came back to haunt him when he blew the rings on every piston from over reving and the car was parked on the side of my parents house for 6-7 years.
It was now my turn to inherit the family Pinto. I was 14 when I started work on the car. I pulled as much as I could off the engine as I could and we used my cousin's engine hoist to pull the block out, then mounted it on the engine stand he loaned us (he builds drag cars from scratch now that he is retired). I stripped the block until there was nothing left on it. We had the block boiled out, had the cylinders bored out by .241 and installed larger pistons and the new Blue Racer camshaft with hydraulic lifters. Total engine rebuild. While the block was in the shop, my father and I flushed the transmission and rebuilt the brakes. Then we installed a new clutch assembly after getting the block back, before dropping it back into the car. After the car was together as much as we could get it, it sat in front of my parents house, never started, for about a year because the vacuum lines were a mess and we couldn't make sense of it, or had the time to get a hold of my cousin to help us out with it. After we got everything hooked up with aid of the internet and some people from a Pinto Yahoo! group, we started it up for the first time and it sounded magnificent! I was so pumped to hear it purr with a new, freshly rebuilt engine. Dad got in and we took it for a spin around the neighborhood and it drove great!
The car was parked again for about two more years since I kept putting off getting my license. I never had a need for one since we were dead center in town with everything around us, even the mall. I got kicked out of my parents house and my ex-girlfriend drove the car to get to her probation classes and so we had transportation. Her mom was driving it around town and the drive line dropped due to bad rear u-joints. The car sat overnight and my dad and I went to work on it. We couldn't get the clips out since they broke, but luckily there was a drive-line repair shop just a block away which replaced the joints for $15!
Eventually she left me and I moved into my apartment just down the road from my parents. They kept stressing that I get my license at the age of 19. I got my license and the first thing we did was go home to get the Pinto so I could learn how to drive a clutch out on the country roads. Stop go, stop go, stop go, just practicing to get the car moving was the hard part! I drove the car home, had dinner with the family, and then drove the car home, finally able to use my assigned parking spot! I installed one of the first Pioneer automotive AM/FM/Cassette decks in the car so I could have something to listen to while driving. I did a lot of chirping on the tires from taking off during that first month. I would drive my ex-fiance home at night and the car died due to a faulty alternator and voltage regulator. Replaced that and the car ran great!
Since then it's been a lot of restoration. New carpet, dash, added a tachometer to the steering column, Mustang II three spoke steering wheel, new sound system of two 6x9s in the back, and 8" sub in the trunk and two 6" speakers in the kick panels. It's been buffed and polished all around, cosmetically it's a beautiful Pinto even with the dings here and there on the paint. The engine has had a lot of maintenance done to it to keep her running, and she's gone through a few fuel pumps in the past year. Just finished rebuilding the clutch and replacing the input shaft seal on the transmission.
This month my mother is signing the title over to me, from her maiden name. The car has been in her name for 30 solid years now. One owner, one family. She doesn't want me to sell the car and I never plan to. With this many memories with this Pinto, how could I? It's my first car and everyone seems to regret selling their first car. I want to hand this car down to my kids just like it was handed down to me and keep it going through the family. It's not just a car anymore, it's a family heirloom. I wonder if my grandparents ever thought it would have so much meaning and last this long...
http://www.fordpinto.com/smf/index.php/topic,1563.msg9679.html#msg9679
Bill
mine was bought in 1986, was our second car, first being a 77 runabout, then we bought the bobcat for 175$ from a local impound yard, rebuilt/replaced parts of the engine and its been on the road since, its as been mentioned by others more a family heirloom then anything else and i would like to pass it on to my son when hes old enough to drive. i love the car, the car sounds unique, i get asked alot if it has a V8 in it cause of how she sounds. purrs like a cat at idle even though its got alot of miles on it. i wouldnt trade the car for anything out there. too many memories in the car.
Mines pretty cut, dry and boring.
Back in the day (maybe 8 months ago) after seeing an article on the pinto I thought it was time to finally buy a car. I wanted something different. I didnt want a civic or some "boring" car handed down from my parents like most people my age have. I started looking on ebay and craigslist and I found the car thats in my driveway right now. At first I thought the price was too much for me, but then I realized I had a few bonds I could cash in and replenish. When I first saw it I was surprised at how short and wide pintos were. The funny thing is, I never remember seeing a pinto in person until I saw my car on the trailer in my driveway.
As a used car dealer for four decades I came across many kinds of cars over the years. When I bought my first Pinto from a Ford dealer who I bought hundreds of cars from for resale I immediately was attracted to it and made it my own driver for quite a while. One of the fun things about having hundreds of cars is being able to drive a different car home every night. Well after running out of gas too many times and overheating, breaking fan belts and just breaking down many times you begin to find favorites to drive that are fun, economical and stylish in their own ways. The Pinto fit this favorites category perfectly and I found myself driving my Pinto frequently and as I began to get more and more Pinto's I upgraded to a newer model or with one that had air conditioning. Eventually my wife had one and my kids too and everyone liked them so we drove Pinto's for a long long time. They were the best car for the money for years and I am sure glad to see them make a comeback!
16 years ago, when I had to let go of my '79 wagon, I told the wife "someday, people will collect Pintos". She said "no way". I don't mean to be redundant, but look at us now ;D!!!
Chris
I was poor and I wanted my first set of wheels. The Pinto fuel tank scare was on the news everyday, and nobody wanted them. This was March of 1979. I learned at a young age the laws of supply and demand. I bought a '73 (6 years old) with 39000 miles for 400 bucks.
I took my daughter to a junk yard when she was back in Hi-school and of all the diferent car's there she picked a 73 powder blue pinto. She is 22 now, anyway that's how it started. Fred :)
My first Pinto was a 76 Bobcat, red with a four speed four cylinder. My mother gave it to me in 1977 after my brother tore the dickens out of the undercarriage running around with his hoodlum friends when he was supposed to be working at a school banquet. It was a great little car. I took it on my first road trip to Walsh College in Canton, Ohio in 1978 for a summer soccer camp, consummated my relationship with my first girlfriend in it (that was a trick) and just loved it. I gave it back to my mother when I bought my first new car at the beginning of my senior year - a 1978 Ford Pinto Cruising Wagon, 1G silver with the orange-purple-yellow stripe package, a 2.8L V-6 auto, and power steering. The am radio was standard. I could go on about that car all day. I still have the photos, and somewhere I might still have the window sticker. I fully customized the interior (it was the 70's and I hung out in a custom van shop) with a crushed velvet button tucked interior, dual sunroofs and van lights, double basket wire wheels and a killer stereo system. I sold it six years later and would give anything to get her back.
i got mine in 2007....... my mom had one in 74 and I drove it when she was`nt home and that in cudes my dad k....ha ha ha...and before that I took her falcon for a rides killed a cat at 110 miles per, the head stuckin the grill ....Now to the car, seen this one in victoria and i said to my buddy look theres a pinto for sale, im looking for a car, my mom had one, and he said i can see you drivin that thing... so i got it... starkey and hutch.... and i was looking for a daliy driver and thats my story so far .....she was made in canada and she`s
my wife had a brown hatchback in highschool and 1 day iwas kidding and said i shoud find a pinto and fix it up! :hypno:so after looking and finding fordpinto.com and bought a 77 wagon with 75000 org miles auto ac pwr stearing and brakes and rear window def. inever had a pinto but the more i worked on it the more i liked it. and now its my hobby or toyand it not stock anymore.i come up with new ideas about inprovmentsand workon it on weekends.its blue with silver flames wheels traction bars chrome valve cover alt. and air cleaner.the car was someones grandmas car in utah and i towed it home on the 4 of july ;Dits been 3 years now and alot of fun to drive and loved going to knotts this year ;D chris in ca.
Originally I bought my wagon for a second car, and a project to work on. Now I find myself becoming a pinto fan.
While I can remember vividly when Pintos where new, and always thought that they are a good looking car it was only about three years ago when I decided to buy one. How I found it was by in listing the help of a friend who makes deliveries for a living.
Jest as a point of reference:
I payed $1,200.00 for my 1975 wagon on 5-26-07
Does not have:
Power steering.
Power breaks.
Air conditioning.
Deluxe interior.
Deluxe wheels.
Dose have:
AM Radio.
Cigarette liter.
Carpeting.
8" Rearend.
C4 automatic transmition.
2.8 L V6 Engine. "The most powerfull factory Ford Pinto motor".
You can venue my Pinto in my gallery.