Yup, we were all about the same age, and the Pinto was a viable option for many people. My first car was a 1979 Ford Pinto Wagon (selected due to my frequent travels between home and college) with 2.3 liter engine, manual tranny, optional medium red glow paint, red cloth high-back seat interior with the exterior décor group. It was a little over an year old, when I purchased it from my father's colleague at Hancock Field AFB in Syracuse as he inherited his mother's larger Ford Wagon. I am unable to recall what I had paid for it, but it was affordable enough that I did not have to take a loan, but used my savings. I was one of those lucky kids who had a job with Budget rent A Car at Syracuse airport. An awesome job as I was a car-nut! I do have pictures of the car, and one of the pictures was at work with a ton of rental cars parked in the background. Mostly Marquis and Zephyrs. Once I figure out how to reduce the size of the pictures so it can be attached, I will be sure to post them.
Before I brought my pandemic project, the 1980 Pinto Squire Wagon, I searched for almost two years to find one exactly like mine, but it was nowhere to be found due to the rarity of the optional color. I did find a brown one equipped the same and considered to have it redone like mine, but couldn't come to an agreement with the seller's asking price...so I found my 1980 Squire Wagon which was too nice to convert it to mimic my first car, so that's how I ended up where I am now...chucklin g.
Happy Motoring!
Dan