I guess I would have to say, WHO CARES WHAT PEOPLE ON THE OUTSIDE THINK! I love my Pinto. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and the reason I own one. If they were more popular I probably would not have been able to buy one. She is rare. When I drive down the street people point at her and smile. I like to say Pintos make people happy. No one has come up to my car and been hostile or angry. In fact they all have a Pinto story, or they tell me how much they like my car. I am sure you all have heard this before. I almost drove off the highway when a Semi blew his horn to give me the thumbs up. Everyone loves Pintos, they just don't know it until they see one. Everyone I told I was looking for a Pinto looked at me like I was crazy, now they want to know where to get one. As for the whole exploding thing, you have to make light of it, my Pinto is named "Blue Up" and she wears it like a badge of honor and by todays standards she would rip through all other compacts produced today. We are a special breed, we are not one voice unheard and lost millions of Mustang clones. Don't get me wronh, I do like Mustangs alot, just as I like Maverick, Torinos, etc. just not as much as i like Pintos.
Lets here your story. What makes you a Pinto person?
I'm on my second Pinto. For me, it's a great daily driver, that if need be, you can field strip alongside the road to fix.
I love the way they drive with a good set of performance tires. They handle extremely well. Very predictable, when pushed to thier limits.
While not exactly a powerhouse, they will get on down the road with some authority, and a really nice, deep growl.
I'd love to turbo my Pinto, but I'm afraid it'd upset the handling. Someday, when I get the free cash, I'll do a high compression N/A 2.3 with EFI. My ideal number is 140 crank HP. That's 1hp/cu in.
My dad owned a few groing up and I always loved the way the back seat seperated me from my sister. Also the easily scratchable panels were fun as a kid to scratch pictures into. Although my first car was an Escort I wanted a Pinto and was very mad at my father for not getting me one. I sold the Escort and made him by me a 73 Wagon with 4 speed and 2.0. I loved the car but was short lived when on my way to the parts store to add a bit of oil it ran out and freezed the engine. Was the saddest day of my life. I have since owned three wagons, 4 sedans not to mention the wagon I made into a Pinchero.
Turbo Pintos are the only way to go in my eyes. I hate carbs... to hard to work on. I am working on another Pinturbo and now have a great running 73 Capri with the turbo. You dont lose much drivability at all unless you live in snow or dirt roads which is ok still cause sideways driving is fun too. I LOVE Pintos!!! They make me happy and thats all that matters.
First, let me answer "AMEN".
Second, I have owned three of these cars, a '77 Sedan, a '79 wagon, and an '80 hatch.
The '77 was a gift from my Grandmother when I was in high school (yes, any 17 year old is happy to receive a NEW CAR). Sure, other guys were driving old ragged out cars (my best friend even had a full size Buick wagon - go figure), but it was MINE. It was always kept clean, and of course I added new wheel covers, mud flaps (did he really say "mud flaps.. :hypno:"), and a requisite 8 track player with two 6x9 coax speakers on the shelf :cheesy_n:. Foghat and Foreigner 8 tracks were common, not to mention Styx "Grand Illusion". I drove the car for two years, until my mother...um..."inherited it".
In 1981, I went to school in Philadelphia, 8 hours from home. My Granfather (same side) had bought a '79 wagon while working in construction - and gave it to me, knowing I needed a car once I graduated. The wagon was by far my favorite. Why? I was a kid in my 20's, and it was my baby. I added slotted mags, a header, Supertrapp muffler, fog lamps, and tinted windows. It was ALWAYS washed and waxed (I remember many a morning (I worked night shift) in front of the row house I was renting getting out the bucket and scrubbing it down. I don't think anyone ever cared for a Pinto as much as I did. I would even go camping in it, with my girlfriend and I (all 6'3" of me) sleeping comfortably in the back at night. That's a trip I will never forget, we had a great time and the car served another purpose beautifully.
I drove the car everywhere, and even in the harsh winters of Pa., it was always dependable. I remember only a bad ignition module and a broken shock tab as the problems I had.
Why do I love Pintos? Because I have fond remebrances of them. Because they were reliable. Because they are a fun automobile whose time for POSITIVE recognition has come!!
Chris.
Quote from: 2point3turbo on April 03, 2008, 01:21:29 AM
I always loved the way the back seat seperated me from my sister.
LOL I remember MANY a battle in my mom's Chevette because my brother's leg was touching mine, or he was "looking out my window". Kinda funny because my brother drives a Chevette now everyday :P
I wanted a Pinto because I decided it was time to have a car I REALLY loved driving and that definitely stood out among the Honda/Toyota masses. I love it when people come up and talk about the car.
I look forward to the odd glances, thumbsup and overall feeling of satisfaction knowing that I saved another one from the wrecking yard.
Reading all this makes me want to get the latest Pinto project started. I have a friend putting together a Cruizer that he looked at for 11 years dreaming everyday as a child and even playing in it while it gracefully sat in a friends back yard waiting for him. He tells the story so much better then I can explain it but his dream car since he was 10 was to own that Pinto and to make it a 70's style disco ride. He has even had the paint scheme in his head for many years. Rootbeer brown with yellow and brown stripes. Its a truelly beautiful car indeed. He was going to do the V8 thang but after meeting me has decided to go with the 2.3t motor. It was a perfect body with all the molding and valances still on. While getting the car out of the yard the guy used a tractor to pull it and took a corner to sharp and put a crease down the drivers side and ripped part of the front rubber thats around the head light. What a shame! He said he cried when it got to his house looking like it just went through a crash durby. I never thought I would meet another Pinto guy around here with the passion like mine. We are truely a rare breed. I would much rather roll in my Pinto then a Porsche any day. Give me a Porsche and I would sell it and buy every Pinto I could get my hands on.
Driving my Pinto is like driving a Delorean here in Boise Idaho. You never see two on the same road, much less one. Everyone has a story to tell about it (The Delorean was well known due to the movie series Back To the Future), and everyone points at it and smiles.
I remember driving my girlfriend downtown to school and four guys in their late 20s, early 30s, pointed at the Pinto and screamed "Now THAT'S a car!".
People follow me around in stores just to ask if they can go back out to the parking lot to look the car over.
My Pinto has been a great car thus far and there are plenty of family memories that follow me everywhere I go. I love driving it, even if I look funny in it, but driving down town and just cruising around in my Pinto puts me at the top of the world.
the first car i owned was a 72 sedan,white with blue and yellow stripes.friends dad gave me the car,he drove a red sedan.bought a 78 hatchback next,followed by a 79 sedan.had lots of fun in these car. something about a pinto,dont know if its the lines or the fact people look at me funny when i say the word pinto,but i love these little cars.ive owned lots of pintos just about every year color and style(except cruisin wagon)maybe next project.currently i have a 73 sedan with 72k,75 hatch,and a 78 all glass hatch that i had spent about 20 years trying to locate.i think we as pinto owners are a special breed and they are very special cars.
Quote from: gatlin429 on April 05, 2008, 10:05:43 AM
the first car i owned was a 72 sedan,white with blue and yellow stripes.friends dad gave me the car,he drove a red sedan.bought a 78 hatchback next,followed by a 79 sedan.had lots of fun in these car. something about a pinto,dont know if its the lines or the fact people look at me funny when i say the word pinto,but i love these little cars.ive owned lots of pintos just about every year color and style(except cruisin wagon)maybe next project.currently i have a 73 sedan with 72k,75 hatch,and a 78 all glass hatch that i had spent about 20 years trying to locate.i think we as pinto owners are a special breed and they are very special cars.
:welcome: gatlin429
Hell because of their bulletproffness it's why I got another one....I had a 1979 Pinto withot any sheetmetal that had a dent in it..If I need engine parts throw a rock in the Ford row and have fun.....It only had a drivers side seat and the not folding rear seat....I could not kill it......It was just a gas and check the oil and go......Pretty easy..The wagon however is proving to be trouble however...I'm still working on it.....
I didn't really plan on getting a Pinto. I actually have a 1979 Camaro that I've been fixing for 3 years but when it came time when I really needed a car for work, the only thing we had was a 1979 Pinto we just bought.
Ever since I've fallen in love with "Jackie". We named her that because on That 70's Show, one of the stars is named Jackie and she's a bitch. And at the time, I had to rebuild the carburetor on THE SIDE OF THE ROAD around 3 times and had so many problems. But I will keep her for the rest of my life.
man i alway get the same 2 stories i had a pinto man i loved that car never gave me any troubles grate to drive
or
we had one of those and we beat the $h!t out of it and it just wouldn't die.
for me i have never not had a pinto
road home from the hospitable in the 71 pinto we had til i was 16 when we turned it in to a race car for 3 more years and then a destitution derby car. then a hart transplant in to...(wait for it) .......a
limo! yes the engine and trans went into a 1928 modle A limo and is still running strong
but buy that time i had my 75 pinto and i beat that car so hard delivered pizza with it for 4 years for pizza hut and round table at 16 hours day of driving! driving like a NUT! the hole time I have now owned every year and model there is (- a pangra and red white and blue one that i have a line on )
Quote from: rear ended on April 02, 2008, 07:48:12 PM
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,
i always thought beauty was in the eye of the BEERholder.
i got my first pinto when i was 17. it was a 76 wagon. i loved the look, the size, and the fact that it fit my 6-4 body very well. plus....rear wheel drive. im now on my third and i like driving and working on it more then my fox bodies and the street rods. the car is suprisingly user friendly for its age. minus no armrest. plus the weight and design equals a GREAT sleeper.
bob
grats on the car for starters, I got my bobct just 3 years ago from my father, my first experience as with a 76/77 runabout pinto when i was just 5 or 6 years old when we moved from the los angelos area to Victorville. i remember all the pintos we had come and go, all mid 70's 2 wagons one was a Cw the rest either runabouts or sw's but either way ive always been around and loved the cars, all my friends liked em too. now i get those same looks, (mostly from confused teens). I get asked what is it alot too. no one really knows what it is tell i tell them, and they are like thats what they look like? so ya its a priceless car. i love it and am slowly putting her back together.