Howdy Everybody, thought I'd post some pics of my Pinto from about 1995 or earlier.
It's a 1974 Runabout with a 2.3 a C-4 and the 6.75 differential with 3.40 gears. The interior of the car is black, and has the stock skinny high back bucket seats. One thing I have noticed about the car that I thought was unusual for an "economy" car, the seat material is real cotton stitched naugahyde, not vynl with pressed in simulated stitching. I paid $600.00 for the car when I got it.
When I first bought the car two of the previous owners lived in the same apartment complex as myself, and the guy I bought the car from was a speedway motor bike racer and had a motorcyle carrier frame mounted on the back of the car along with a set of helper springs, which I promptly removed. This little car has brought me through thick and thin and I probably would still be my daily driver it if I could have passed California visual smog inspection way back when I retired it.
I've had some interesting reactions from the car. I had one guy at a gas station walk up to me and offer me $12,000 for my Pinto, cash right on the spot, "No way man, this car and I have been through thick and thin together.". I had another person tell me that he could swear that my Pinto was the car that was offered at a raffle at Orange Coast College in Southern California in 1974. I used to love taking her to car shows, put the hood up and have people run over to see if it's a V8 Pinto (I'm a huge 2.3 liter engine fan.) I had some guys at Brotherhood Raceway (now defunct) offer to put a street racer Mazda rotary engine in it for me (an interesting idea I might add).
I've raced the car at Bonneville Raceways (defunct), Carlsbad Raceway (defunct), and was at Brotherhood Racway (defunct), every weekend for almost three years, when I first got the car it ran 21 seconds in the quarter mile at 64mph, and since ran a best of 18.25 at 76mph.
It's my Piiinto!!!
Your pinto seems to have a lot of history :) When was she retired?
I retired her sometime between 1995 and 1998. I broke an air injection valve and needed a car "tomorrow", so went out to a used car lot and found a 1986 Mustang Lx 2.3, 4 speed that was sitting waaay in the back, bought it for $1500 total on a credit card and that was pretty much the last time i drove my Pinto. I can say one thing for sure....letting a car sit is much more damaging than driving it every day unless you've got the right kind of cover for it.
Looks like you've got a pretty nice Pinto yourself.
Be still, my heart!!! Most of the folks on here know that my dearest desire was to replace my long-gone orange '74 Runabout with black interior! I loved it but, like the foolish child I was at the time, let it get away from me when it was only 2 1/2 years old. Other than the wheels (mine had dog dish hubcaps with trim rings and whitewall tires) and that piece of trim that outlines the area beneath the hatch door, yours is a dead ringer for the car I bought new when I was sixteen. Seeing your photos sure brings back some memories! After searching for years, I finally compromised and bought a '72 sedan with black interior. By the end of summer, it will be orange. Not an exact match for the one I had but it sure brings back memories, all the same, when I'm behind the wheel... hopefully even more so once the paint is done. Thanks for sharing your pictures.
Dwayne :smile: