I still don't know if this is going to be a restoration or a resto-mod or even a total custom job. But either way, it's going to be a LONG, drawn out process and I may as well take you guys along for the ride :]
 I've been looking for a Pinto for about 15 years now and something always happens to keep me from getting one. Either I'll find one and not have the money. Or I'll have the money and can't find one close enough. Or I'll have the  money, find one, then something will happen where I have to spend the money on something else.
  I just got lucky enough to find a VERY rough 78 bobcat wagon, but I couldn't pass it up.

 Luckily the previous owner did a lot of work to it, new tires, new front brakes, new master cylinder, new valve cover gasket (and the rest of a new top end gasket kit, in a box in the back :] ), new acc. belts and radiator hoses, new plugs, wires, dist cap.
  78K miles with a 2.3 auto that runs fairly smooth, wicked rich at the moment, but I haven't had a chance to adjust the mixture. The transmission has "issues" and the exhaust fell off today.
  It looks great from a distance, but once you get up it and start opening doors, it's like an episode of kitchen nightmares, hence the name Gordon.
  The are lots of rust spots inside the doors and hatch that are covered with what looks and feels like roofing tar.
  The floor is pretty much gone except for the cardboard and fiberglass.  There's going to be a lot of cutting and welding up underneath. There is subframe rust. It's a gamble, I might have wasted my money, I won't know until I start cutting, but worst comes to worst, I'll weld up a tubular frame for it.
  It has a misaligned drivers door, which could be another cause for concern, the body might be twisting.
 So, once I get the underside sorted out, I'll decide whether or not I'm keeping the drive train or putting something else in it.  I'd love to go turbocoupe but the are almost impossible to find around here and I don't have an engine hoist.I'd love to swap to manual, but the odds of finding a pedal assembly around here are next to zero.
 So I will be trying to keep the stock bottom end and either put a more efficient intake and carb or the top end from a fuel injected ranger.
 My goal is to get 25mph or higher.  If I can improve performance as well, that would be great.

hopefully someday it will look half as good as yours

when I was looking for one, orange was actually one of the colors I had in mind for a paint job depending on what interior color I wound up with.
Green would have been my first choice if I got one with a  green interior or an interior that was so bad that the whole thing had to be re-done
second choice would be orange if I got one with black or a tan interior
strange thing, I'm REALLY digging the color on this one.

I can't say I"m loving the hood and grille though

Poomwah - my '76 looked wonderful from 10 feet. I paid WAYYYY too much for it - brought it home, it was a nightmare. Leaking gas tank, leaking brake system, mechanically shot, inner fender gone from battery corrosion, hidden rust, dents, eaten up floor boards, torn headliner, cracked dash, leaking windows, rust in doors, blah blah blah. Keep at it. I bought mine in 2008 and it's nearing completion, I hope to drive it next year. Take your time, do it right, be proud. It's a boatload of work and money, but well worth it as you start seeing the car come back to life again. I've loved restoring mine....and it almost wasn't worth doing, but I refused to let it get the best of me and persevered.

Chris