(first posted 4/13/2016) As we were heading off for our afternoon walk, a couple of blocks down the street I spotted a blue Pinto wagon in front of a duplex. It appeared that the Pinto drivers had just made a deal to take an old recliner off someone’s hands, and the job at hand was to get said recliner into said Pinto. Would it fit?
As I walked up to check it out, I noticed the rather cryptic lettering on the windshield. A bit odd, but then this is Eugene.
By 1979, the Pinto was something of an old mare, having long lost its frisky nature when it arrived in 1971. The front end had received numerous face-lifts, and now looked like it had been Botox overdosed: Crude and heavy-handed. But who cared? Not the kind of folks who were still buying Pintos in 1979, the second to last year, before it was mercifully put out to pasture.
What’s under the hood of this one? I didn’t ask. But most likely the eponymous “Pinto” 2.3 L SOHC four, an engine that started out in Germany but came to power Fords all over the globe in its various variations and permutations. It only seems like yesterday that Ford was still selling Rangers with it under the hood.
I suppose it could have been the optional Cologne 2.8 V6, which upped the hp ante from 88 to 102. But then this is no Pinto Squire.
The Pinto suffered from the absurd notion that was rampant in Detroit in the late 60s that sub-compact cars needed to be more like mini-Mustangs and Camaros than proper cars. So they were very low, and the seats were right down on the floor. Which meant that space utilization was terrible, compared to the much more upright Japanese sedans and wagons that soon came to dominate the market. Never mind that Japanese versions also had four doors at their disposal, something that American small-car buyers were not deemed worthy of by Ford, GM and AMC.
That meant that the back seats were truly atrocious in these cars (Pinto, Vega), and completely useless in the case of the Gremlin. It took a while, but when Chrysler introduced their new Omni/Horizon in 1978, these Pintos and GM H-Cars were quickly exposed for the ridiculous and outdated jokesters that they were.
The Pinto wagon got a body extension in the rear, to make its cargo area relatively more usable, although that did nothing for the rear seat. With the high floor, due to its RWD, and low roof, these were anything but really spacious. A Saab 99 hatchback’s cargo area was vast in comparison.
Which means that although the Pinto Cruising wagon, with its blanked side windows (except for the porthole) was intended to convey the same purpose as the popular large vans at the time, the actual sex that could be had in the back of one was rather limited in its scope and variety of positions.
Good thing this reclining chair is a pretty modest-sized one. A Genuine Lazy Boy would have presented some serious challenges.
The rear hatch is even going to close all the way. And here I’ve been denigrating the Pinto’s utility futilely.
Everyone is happy, especially me. It’s not everyday one gets to see a Pinto proving its worth. And its shelf butt. Which also makes for a great tailgating bench.
The Pinto is about to head off with its bounty. And I’ve got my digital bounty in my phone. Time to get on with life, or the walk. Stephanie and the dog are getting a bit impatient, and these folks have a chair to transport. Is this the last time I’ll document a Pinto wagon hauling furniture? It is 2016, after all.
More Pinto wagon love:
CC 1977 Pinto Cruising Wagon: The Original Minivan? Jason S.
Just . . . wow. Those long ago rusted to powder in the midwest. It is amazing to see one that looks so good.
I find myself in agreement with you. These had some appeal in their early years, but that appeal was long gone by 1979. The Fairmont wagon was out by then, which gave some genuine utility (and probably similar fuel economy). I have, however, come to grudgingly respect these later ones if only for their fairly hardy nature.
There’s one perma-parked in a driveway on Spring Mill Road north of 86th St. here in Indy, along with a Pinto trunkback, and a Rambler. Seems like every 3-5 years another CC appears in that driveway and never moves again.
There’s a guy driving a ’74 or ’75 Pinto wagon year round here in Michigan; over the last couple of years, it has deteriorated noticeably. Too bad.
Someone where I live owns a white pinto. It’s in pristine shape too. Rarely see it anymore though. I should have gotten a picture while I had a chance.
Ya gotta love wagons. The impala wagon I drove while I was teaching was great for work. I guess they were just yesteryears SUV. I find myself thinking of my 4Runner as a wagon with the added benefit of ground clearance and 4wd. Nothing stays the same but you are pretty good at finding snippets of the past that are still alive and well in Eugene.
That Shelf Butt is inches away from being a “Continental” kit..
Wow! I never noticed that rear bumper before. That interior looks like that of a channeled hot rod with the seats so low on the floor!
The interior reminds me of my old Cortina. The seat cushion was level with the transmission tunnel in that too.
I got to drive a ’80 Pinto hatchback a couple months ago. It’s compact interior was really accentuated by the fact the previous owner had added 2″ risers to the driver’s seat. He had built the car for his sub 5′ tall wife, thus making it very difficult for anyone else to drive.
Aside form being walled in by the giant driveshaft tunnel, the steering wheel was between my legs, my head hit the headliner and I had to look down to see the rear view mirror. I'm used to small vehicles but this was ridiculous.
Aside from that, the Pinto rode surprisingly well. The manual steering was light and it handled well. Much lighter and nimble than a Gremlin. Not as pretty though 🙂
yes! The manual steering in these was really light. Except at a dead stop, you wouldn’t guess the steering was manual.
But yeah, the steering wheels were gigantic.
Over the years my Dad had 2 Pintos and a Bobcat. All were bought new and all were Hatchbacks. He loved the Bobcat. The other two he liked real well. All three gave great service, especially the ’75 Bobcat. He actually looked until he found the leftover ’80 Pinto so he could have one more. That one also gave good service, especially considering that he and I crashed it badly on an icy rural road when it was new. He used them in long commutes in his job. He and Mom even drove the ’76 Pinto from Southern Indiana to California and back . I was surprised they did that considering it was summer and the Pinto did not have air like their Olds 98 main car did.
Dad once hauled a dinette table and four chairs 20 miles home from the furniture store in the Bobcat. The hatch was open and I think the table and maybe the chairs were knocked down. Dad was 6’2″ and never complained about the driving position. The Bobcat lasted my youngest brother through college and an internship in Montana one summer. Later Dad kept it for a spare car for several years. I think I was the only one that never borrowed it.
I have always thought that Detroit initially designed these cars as two doors as they were still focusing on the Beetle.
Mustang Rick: It was well known at the time, that the Beetle was their target. Foolishly since the VW dated back to the 30s in design principles.
it’s not just the issue of two doors alone, although that was a substantial limitation. It’s also about building them so low, like a sports car. That was really impractical, but looks were given priority.
It seems I remember that Ford had toyed with another small car design called , I believe, the Cardinal and then scrapped the idea or sent it overseas. I seem to think it was more conventional than the Pinto and may have even been a sedan. I may be wrong on the details, but remember when they decided to call it quits. I think this was back in the early to mid sixties.
The Cardinal. FWD V4 sedan, designed to be a VW-fighter, for 1961 or 1962. Ford chickened out and sent it to Germany, where it became the Taunus 12M.
It wasn’t more conventional, being fwd and V4-powered!
The front-end of this Pinto has AMC-worthy styling.
As to “conventional” I meant sedan, not chassis layout.
I imagine Ford surveys got a thumbs down? on the more practical Cortina layout in its target market. Recall how the Falcon was overshadowed by the Mustang & got replaced by the fastback 2-door Maverick. Only squares drove sedans.
This was the same time frame that men’s trousers had to almost reach the ground if you wanted to be Cool.
Neat find and nice to see one on the road. I used to beat up on those with a ’69 Opel Kadett wagon.
Wow, that one has the lacy spoke wheels. I’ve never seen a Pinto with those before. I’ve had 5 Pinto’s. Currently have 2. Both 78’s.
I always felt like the wagon pulled off the final, square-front facelift a little better than the coupe/hatchback, and the “Rallye” version of the latter with its’ blackout trim attempting to expand the DLO downward seeming like a particularly pathetic attempt to make the dated mini-Mustang look like a Rabbit clone.
Saturn did the same darn thing with the SL wagons. Drove one for work back in 2001. Seat position was “go cart like” Feet straight out and body low to the ground. A real pain to get in and out of compared to the 1988 Delta 88 that was my daily driver.
Tommie: had a 95. Too low, plop and twist into the seat, very similar to the Sentra and Civic I’ve been in. Eventually gave it to my brother.
The ION is far, far better in entry, exit, head room and turning radius. At this point, given my arthritis, getting in and out of any SL would be YouTube worthy.
Considering its age, the dash & interior are in surprisingly good shape, except for the seats of course. A testament to Ford’s materials, or else the owner doesn’t keep rabid animals in there like others seem to do.
For a college job I drove a Pinto hatch for pizza delivery. Unexciting, but it got the job done.
“Peasant gang.” People love to put obscure, insider symbols & slogans on their cars.
And on the lower part of the windshield too, weird.
Kind of like those “In Memory Of…” decals which are so prevalent in the US. In Pennsylvania I once said to my Wife “When I die please do not make a rolling monument to me out of a clapped out 4 door Cavalier with a giant wing on the back”
My wife says she’s gonna bury me in my cars. Put em to the crusher. Now wether I’m still alive at the time, that’s the great unknown.
Hope the joggers don’t outrun it. Or the trees for that matter.
Here’s another.
Woohoo! Metro Toronto police from the late ’70’s.
American visitors could not believe our taxi cabs were black-and-white, and our police cars were yellow.
I recall they also used VW Beetles for some police duties, as well.
Pintos got a bad rap. Ford installed all of their gas tanks the same way as the Pinto. My brothers Lincoln Mark 4 had the same system, as did his 66 Lincoln. I drove a friends Pinto for a little while and it was a great little car. The 4 speed and the rack and pinion steering made it handle pretty well along with being fairly peppy.heck, I even put one of the racks into my 66 Dart (along with a lot of other stuff) and it worked great.
And Maverick, and Falcon and Fairlane. Common placement and no more prone to catching fire in a rear ender than other subcompacts of the period.
Add early Mustangs to that list, as well, and of course, Mustang IIs. If I remember correctly from the news stories of the time, the Pinto involved in the fire episode was stopped when rear ended by a drunk doing 70 mph in a Chevy van.
Well, who would want to get rear ended in any subcompact of the time? Pinto got bad rep from the so called ‘we wont fix, too much $’ internal memo that got out.
A 1980 Pinto Wagon was my college car –1985-1989. It hauled all my earthly possessions to my dorm each fall, and back home each spring.
When I got into motorcycles, I bolted a hitch to the rear, acquired a sturdy 4 x 8 trailer, and dragged (slowly!) my bikes all over southern California. It’s greatest feat was dragging two fully dressed Kawasaki KZ1000s over the I5 “grapevine” one hot summer day. Oh, I was running my self-installed aftermarket A/C too. Come to think of it…that car was never really the save after that….
–Took my now-wife on a first date in that nerd-mobile. She married me despite my Pinto. I also withheld the fact I was/am a Trekkie…….
CC effect almost, I saw a Pinto sedan last week a very rare sighting in this part of the planet they were not sold here ever. Regarding the chair I got a genuine lazyboy into my 93 Subaru wagon with ease surely the Pinto could swallow one.
It’s rarely mentioned and long forgotten that rear seat room in the Vega notchback was 3-4 inches more than the hatch and Kammback.
Rear legroom was 33.2″ and headroom was 37.4. Approx the same as a 2016 Ford Focus. Vega was the best of the Pinto/Gremlin/Vega trio in 2 door sedan form.
In 1972, when the Pinto wagon was just hitting showrooms, I took one with automatic transmission for a test drive in rural, hilly, northern Pennsylvania……what a dog. I bought a 72 Vega Panel Express with a manual transmission instead.
In 1976 I decided to go back to Fords. I wanted a Mustang II with 4 cylinder engine and automatic transmission, figuring that at some point in time I would swap out the 4 cylinder engine for a V8. I found THE Mustang I wanted but it was already sold, so I bought a similar Pinto hatchback. VERY trouble-free for 2 years/36,000 miles. But yes, that manual steering was a bicep-builder.
From what I remember reading when the 74 Pinto got it’s bigger engine, I thought the 2300 was designed in the U.S. to meet tougher emissions regulations, I guess the LIMA designation was a red-herring of sorts?
Finally, I wonder if that lettering on the windshield is a “tribute” to a local musical group?
That’s Lima, OH. Cleveland, Windsor, Kent, Köln, & Essex are other examples of Ford engines named after their factory locations. The English ones are counties, not cities.
Oh. I assumed it was Lima, Peru.
Two doors were considered sporty and stylish for decades, and young buyers of the time preferred them. Took quite some time for small 4 doors to take hold.
Maybe the ’81 Accord sedan changed all that?
Ford in the U.K. had 2 door Escort wagons into the 80s.
BTW, I was just on Wiki and the Pinto set a record for it’s development time of 25 MONTHS….up until 1970, it usually took 46 months to develop a new car.
I posted in Paul’s 1980 Pinto thread about my cherished wagon–uber-dependable down even to 30-below starts. I had the 4-speed, so performance wasn’t as bad as the slush box Escort/Lynx I replaced it with.
My father’s career was at Cleveland’s Engine Plants and Foundry. He explains that when Ford decided that all the 4-cyl (2.3) engines would be assembled in the US (Lima, OH = about an hour away), Ford kept in mind likely American-consumer maintenance standards, and so beefed up the block and cooling capacity, used the hydraulic lifters, and so on.
I worked in the Foundry for a while, and remember the master patterns and core apparatus for the 2.3, with blocks cast four at a time. IIRC, the cast bearing caps for the engine were as beefy as on any of the V8s, too. (Yikes–that was 40 years ago!)
Interesting. That might explain why Ford was able to turbocharge it later.
The 2.3 is a bit rough due to large displacement and no balance shafts, but other than that it’s a solid, well built, reliable engine that responds well to modification.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen one that color before…
I had a ’76, and your comments about space efficiency are completely correct. After the Pinto, I had a ’79 Corolla wagon. It, too, was a front-engine, RWD compact wagon. But it seemed to use its space better, being (as you point out) taller and narrow, rather than low and wide. Shoulder room wasn’t so hot, especially with 2 big guys sitting side by side. But the rear seats were better in the Corolla (not saying much), despite being a shorter car.
Your comment about having sex in the back made me literally laugh out loud, as a buddy of mine did exactly that with his girlfriend of the time. How they did it, I don’t know! Certainly, being nimble 20 year olds helped a lot!
I still like [at least the concept of] these, Pangra front clip and whatever you prefer under the hood. Cruising wagon ? That’s as silly now as then. Just don’t get amorous before dark.
I’m not sure if I agree with the AMC slagging – I’d argue that you’d cross shop this Pinto wagon with an AMC Concord wagon, not a Spirit, and you’d have your 4 doors no problem.
Parents had a gold ’72 2.0 4 speed with AC example. You really did sit almost on the floor. But it ran quite strong for the day, and the steering felt good through the manual rack and pinion and the shifter worked smoothly as well. Tiny trunk, though.
I never drove a wagon version, but I would think the extra weight on the back would have helped out the balance, the sedan was really light on the rear and it didn’t take much to lose traction in the rain. The extra room makes the car much more useful, better protects the gas tank and looks better, gets rid of the sawed off look of the sedan.
A pre big bumper wagon example equipped like our old ’72 would be the one I would want.
These cars were durable and had decent power for the day.
Paul’s comments about the interior dynamics of the Pinto and competing U.S. built cars of the time are spot on. When I became a driver / car buyer in the early ’80s, I’d look or sit briefly in a car like this, and then run as fast as I could to something far larger.
It wouldn’t surprise me if that was Detroit’s intention with such cars. The pesky Japanese messed up that marketing plan for them.
I had a 74 Pinto Hatchback . bought it used in 1980. I was desperate for a real cheap car, cause I didn’t have much money. Found it at a used car lot for $300. It had been rear ended, but not severely. Just enough for some left rear damage. I managed to tack on another tail light . Transmission was bad , There was no 2nd gear. I had to rev it up in 1st so I’d have power to continue in 3rd, tricky when driving up a hill. It got rear ended again slightly. The guys insurance company covered the previous damage too. I wasn’t going to tell them, ha ha. I used it for a new transmission. But yes , the seats were so low, it was like driving a go cart. I had an occasion to drive my mom’s VW Squareback , and it was like driving a truck in comparison. I only had the Pinto for a year. Then I sold it to my sister and bought a 71 Datsun 1200.
I had a 74 wagon from August to December 86. Paid $300 from a friend of a friend. It was a good stead. Got a $300 trade on a new 87 F150. So overall it worked out pretty good.
Nice to see one out doing yeoman duty .
I saw a very clean orange pinto Coupe with the 3/4 vinyl top going the other way on a flatbed yesterday , I hope it’s getting saved , not junked .
-Nate
Had a bright blue ’71 wagon in college (77-82) – I think it has the 2.0 engine, 4 speed, no air. I loved that car. Sawed a sunroof into it, beer tap stick, curtains on the back side windows, CB radio, 8-track stereo, “power booster” on the stereo, added speakers in the rear.
It went 122,000 before I sold it. One accident took out a front fender – got another one from a junk yard and spray painted it with an aerosol sprayer that had a glass jar and disposable propellant that screwed in the top. Results were just fine!
There is a red late 70’s Bobcat around town here that still seems to be in service; I’ve seen it several times in different locations over the past couple years. Seemed noticeably rattier at the last sighting, which worries me somewhat, but it seems to be doing reasonably well for a nearly 40 year old subcompact!
A 1977 Pinto has made 4 round trips from Fairbanks AK to Boise ID in the past 12 years
Had a ’72 wagon, put wide tires on it and it was a blast to drive once it got up to speed.
As for gas tanks, my wagon got totaled when a 16 yr old new driver slammed into the rear of mine while I was stopped for a school bus and he was busy talking to girlfriend. He didn’t even use his brakes and hit me at about 25-30mph, so hard it folded the roof cross-wise and jacked the car upwards in the middle. No flames, no leaks. I bent the metal around the rear wheel cutouts away from the tires and drove it 20 miles home. It was hauled off to the junkyard the next week and I got 200 more for it from insurance than the 1000 that I’d paid when we bought it from our friends being sent to Japan 2 years before in 1979. Great car!
We bought a new ’74 Pinto wagon, 2.3L and 4 speed not long after returning to Wisconsin upon graduation from ACCD. Traded in our CA. bought ’74 VW Super Bug. It wa$ another of my le$$ than $tellar moves in the vehicle market! By @ 8K miles the driveability was going south. By 10K it needed a complete tuneup/service. It was far worse than the VW for $ervice needs! OOPZ!
I sold the Pinto wagon not long after the needed service work was done and purchased a used ’69 Nova 230 c.i. 6 with the semi automatic trans. That combo actually-with radial tires-proved to be quite useful in Madison, Wisconsin Winter weather. Far better than the Pinto had been the precious Winter!
I had one more Pinto in my life. We bought a used ’71 HB 1600/4 spd upon returning to Kalifornia in 1976. It proved to be superior to the ’74 wagon; mainly because of the “Kent” (IIRC) pushrod 1.6. L. It was a decent lil motor, even on the L.A. freeway system. 🙂 Both Pintos had the excellent Brit built 4 speed which was the slickest shifting manual I ever had, besides our Miatas. The car ran amazingly well with decent gas mileage for the time; especially compared to my ’56 Chevy with its ’66 275 hp 327. DFO
My friend Doug used to haul his Honda ATC200S in his ’76 Bobcat wagon. Put it in ass forward, and front tire sat perfectly on the rear bumper (shelf) 🙂
Nice torsion-bar based rear hatch assist. Certainly lasted longer than gas struts would have.
According to Wikipedia, Ford originally planned a short wheelbase Fox platform car to replace the Pinto and Cortina, in addition to the Mustang, with the long wheelbase version to replace Maverick/Comet. I think the plans were dropped because of different manufacturing philosophies of Ford of North America and Europe. It would have been interesting to see the Fox replacement for Pinto – I guess somewhat similar to the RWD Corolla of the late 70’s and early 80’s.
Call me crazy but I like the 79-80 front end the best, yeah it’s puffed up but so is all of the body behind it, and it had been since inception, the earlier round headlight front ends look pinched like a duckbill. Plus I find a charm in its mediocrity, it’s trying to appear “modern” in literally the only place that doesn’t matter, this is an objectively terrible car in its segment in 1979-1980, yet it has way more character because of it, seeing an Accord from the same year isn’t half as exciting of a sight. But I’m the type who wants to rescue the runts. Could be familiarity bias too, I first became Pinto aware with a orange Rally version parked along Lake st I’d see every day on the bus to and from middle school.
The low seating seems miserable, even compared to other cars with it like the Mustang(I never found them too uncomfortable in the front, but I get it). It’s really clear between that, the two doors and sporty emphasis Ford and GM envisioned the Pinto and Vega purely as cheap cars for young drivers in their idyllic vision of the youth market, and never took into account how many mature adult buyers wanted something in their dimensional footprint, especially after the gas crisis. All those packaging quirks and problems may not have been much of an issue to a late teen first time car buyer or as a second car/grocery getter, but when they had to bear the burden as primary transportation alternatives to thirsty intermediates, full sizers and even “compacts”, all their problems became prime time news. I wonder how in an alternate timeline Detroit would have fared reputation wise without these cars, obviously quality, drivability and thirstyness plagued most of their models through the 70s, but those traditional cars were mostly just mediocre and perceived as dinosaurs at their worst, few models were notorious like these(at least until the 80s)