A couple of weeks ago I posted a ’77 Vega for sale in San Salvador, with an unusual Toyota 21R engine transplant. I thought it was a fun enough curiosity to share, and most agreed the 21R was an improvement on the original hardware. But enough of those San Salvador ads for now.
Why not look around my old home state, California, and see if I can find something to balance out that non-stock Vega? What could I find on Craigslist?
Well, that wasn’t too hard. Here’s a base Pinto being sold in Southern California, looking quite original, and selling for the rather steep price of 12K. Then again, the car seems to have some film appearances, which I guess adds to that markup. And also, when was the last time you saw a base Pinto in one piece? If you ever wanted to re-experience early ’70s US-built econo-compact non-thrills, here’s your chance.
To be honest, I originally hoped to capture a similar vintage Pinto I had seen roaming San Salvador’s streets. I had caught a glimpse of that bulbous wonder wandering around my nearby Walmart, but never caught it parked. However, it’s been a while since I last saw it, and I suppose it just finally fell apart.
But back to this Oh-so-70s brownish-mustard-orangey Pinto for sale. In fitting Southern California style, the car seems to have played supporting roles in a few films and shows; The Nice Guys, The Astronaut’s Wives Club, This Is Us, and a few more. And appropriately, even if a bit low-res, the seller has staged the little Pinto in a rather cinematic desert setting.
About that film pedigree, if there was just a way to check…
Oh, that seems to be it! Right behind the Caddy! From a frame of The Nice Guys found at IMCDb!
The car is a base Pinto, with 73K original miles and carrying a 1.6L engine. The seller claims to be the 4th owner and has performed some work on the car since purchase; nothing too major – spark plugs, new battery, radiator restoration, new fuel lines and filter, new tires, new battery and a new voltage regulator.
No photos of the interior, but according to the ad, a new headliner is needed and the seat inlays are not original.
The paint appears to be all original and “looks better in pictures but it’s not bad in person.” As for its driving, the seller says it’s slow. That was actually a non-brisk 15 seconds from 0-60, back in 1971. What does this one feel like 50+ years later? Nonetheless, it’s a good warning for folk with modern expectations. Transmission is the slick-shifting 4 manual. So this base Pinto has that going for it.
I’m not up to date with prices on Detroit’s early econo-boxes, but I’m not sure I would plunk 12K for one. Then again, the income from those movie appearances may make up for the difference.
For those curious enough, the Craigslist ad is HERE.
Further reading:
Curbside Classic: 1971 Ford Pinto – 1971 Small Car Comparison No. 4
Speaking of base Pintos, I had one courtesy of General Mills. It was my first company car at the age of seven.
The steering action was pretty good, a small hand could swing the wheels left and right, but undue pressure would pop the tie rod off. Thankfully, it was easy to repair and get back on the road.
Geez you could have had the EV model for $1 more!
Nice shot.
Yeah, but back when every feature was optional, the batteries were not included. I couldn’t swing the payments for the car equipped with the batteries!
The Pinto EV is the same color as our featured car!
That reminds me of the very similar fire boat I got as a Kellogg’s premium right around the same time you got your Pinto. I’d probably rather have had the Pinto, although it may have been less fun in the bathtub.
Too bad my Pinto didn’t have a hitch. The boat would have been a nice pairing!
Ah so the plan is to list it on BaT eventually…….. where it will bring about 5 Grand.
It’s not hard to see why this car has been in so many films – nothing says “down and out in ’70s/’80s America” quite like a base model orangey-brown Pinto, even amongst those who aren’t car people. I assume the current or previous owner had some connection to one of those companies that provides period cars (and other props) to film crews who want to set the movie in a particular time from the past. Appearing in a bunch of movies I’ve never heard of isn’t enough to make me spend $12,000, or even $1,000, on a Pinto.
It sounds as if the present owner isn’t particularly eager to sell it; and that’s probably just as well as it seems quite unlikely that he’s going to sell it for anywhere close to his asking price (which he seems willing to admit, which I suppose begs the whole question of …. why?).
I have to say I’ve never really understood the whole idea of a car having film provenance as something that increases its value. I mean, if one has a car that somehow fits with the interests and conveniences of a casting director – and I totally agree with la673 as to why a Pinto might be desirable for a certain kind of dreary 1970s mood – then it can get cast. So what? If I buy this Pinto and take it to most parts of the country where there’s no active film industry then it’s a dreary brown Pinto worth maybe $2000.
Have to agree there.
Have a couple of those Pintos from cereal…I think I remember the western inspired jingo…..plastic bodies, tinted windows, (something) wheels….from Cheerios!!
Had (5) Pintos at one time to support a budding amateur road racing career….base was a ’71 Pinto shell, welded rear axle, shot in Brite white enamel & hardener. Had paint for the orange, green & red crosscar stripes that the Benneton BMWs had at the time. Built 3 engines for it, the venerable 2300. A lopey Crane cam, Rhodes lifter (super bleed down to get an idle) topped off with a 350 2V Holley carb & header. Was a hoot to drive once out of the idle range. A wedding precluded a drivers training day, but a friend took it for his day. Picked up a wagon & runabout, both fit on my trailer, but had a close call coming out of Chicago with the tail heavy trailer wagging the truck. A slow 30 mph drive home late night drive home. 2 others came & went, all contributed parts for the cause.
The first & 2nd engines became donors for daily drivers I had (a Fairmont 2 DR & wagon) less the cam, lifters, carb & header. Then life kicks in, a good job, a wife & all, so the road racing chapter closes. Sold it all to a guy who was doing circle tracks, dropped it all off to his house, then promptly filed for bankrupcy….the SOB…..still have a couple of those funky lifters around….and life goes on….
The jingle was “spinning wheels”
Still retains a bit of it’ youth. Somethings up with the interior as “no” pics are offered.
Would like to see the inside of the trunk as well.
$12,000? This car isn’t worth what Uncle Buck’s Marquis would fetch.
The Craigslist Ad is refreshingly candid.
If you live near the car and, for whatever reason, really want a 1.6 liter 4-speed Pinto in good condition, this is probably as good as it gets.
Go look at the car, haggle, and buy it.
Or, wait until, or if, owner lists car on BAT.
BAT will probably take the car–Pintos have done pretty well–and run a No Reserve Auction. Most “quirky” cars, or cars that were far from cool when new, but are cool now because they have survived and bring back memories of one’s youth, are listed for No Reserve. This is not a 1973 Z-28 or Porsche or even a Celica.
If the owner presents this car well, with good photos that show a decent interior and underbody, it should easily fetch over $4k. It may make it to $8. I don’t see $10, but one never knows. All Pintos look the same, but driving it to your local cars and coffee would be more bearable with the 2.0 engine.
For a local buyer then, the key is, go check out the car in person, and wait and bid on it. The beauty of auctions is, that if you win by a modest amount, you know at least one person was willing to pay almost as much on the day of the auction.
With the puny 1600cc engine if someone offers him $5K the seller should take it and run.
It is a Pinto. You really couldn’t give that car to me, and I’m a Ford guy.
I’d be curious as to how the current owner arrived at the $12k asking price. I can only surmise it’s based entirely on rarity, i.e., an old Pinto survivor has to be worth that much to someone, right?
Or maybe he’s hoping for another movie appearance where those in charge of procuring vehicles is specifically looking for a period car in decent shape and was flush with cash to get it. There are outfits in SoCal that do exactly that so maybe that’s the target market. The fact he didn’t include any interior shots (not needed in a background movie shot) kind of adds to that idea.
A typical CA car, no rust, thanks to the dry desert climate and lack of snow with road salt, but the paint is oxidized and faded from sun (UV) exposure, ditto the interior. It’s an original survivor, and it’s only original once, but the 1.6L base engine lets it down. No word on if it has A/C or not, but if it has it, the acceleration would be glacial with the A/C on. A car without A/C in Southern California is about as practical as a car without heat here in a New England winter, LOL!
A perfect movie car for a film set in the 1970s. Highly iconic shape immediately represents the times. Even in silhouette, very identifiable and representative of the era. For a film director, it allows them to set a scene in moments, with such a car so strongly associated with 1970s mainstreet USA. Base and original appearance and colour, makes it even more valuable and nostalgic. Without stealing any scenes, by standing out too much.
An ideal movie car, in many ways.
The scary thing is that a 1973 Pinto is 50 years old! If you think back to 1973, a 50 year old car would be from 1923. Maybe a Model T! $12,000 is still a lot of money for one of these. Someone will buy it at some point. Most rusted out quickly here in the Northeast and the early 1970s Pintos were gone by the early 1980s. I did see an interesting modification to one of these once. Someone took a 2.3 liter Mustang turbo engine and put it in a 1979 or 1980 Pinto. The 1979 and 1980 Pintos had the square headlights. Must have been a quick car when I saw it in the 1980s.
The 79/80 front end looked very modern, with a sharply chiseled look not all that different than a VW Rabbit from the same year, but it clashed badly with the obviously older rest of the car.
I never owned a Pinto, but I drove plenty of them and had friends who owned them, as five to ten year old cars. By the standards of the time, they weren’t THAT bad. I knew several young women for whom they were reliable, cheap cars. And a few guys for whom they were the entry drug into the world of four cylinder stick shift “sporty” cars. And trust me, even a 1600 cc Pinto was more fun on a twisty California back road than a Maverick or a Gremlin. And there were a lot of performance parts available for those crossflow Kent 1600’s. But all that said, it ain’t worth twelve grand.
I owned a 1977 Pinto with the 2.3 liter 4-cylinder and 4-speed manual. It was very reliable and durable. Not many options – no air conditioning or power steering.
I too remember these, I’d do LOF’s & tune ups and drive others, not a bad little car but no real joy in it like so many little cars from that time had .
-Nate
Might make a decent commuter car for someone that has to drive on the 10 during rush hour…… no need to get it up to 60
Twelve K is probably too much, but that’s a nice Pinto! My mom drove a very rusty brown ’74 Runabout when I was very young. My uncle bought it in ’83 and managed to keep it together for a couple years before sending it to the salvage yard. He passed away in ’22, but the Pinto’s engine might still be in one of his sheds. I know I have the Dart’s original slant six sitting out at his old place, but it’s been there for over 10 years and I wouldn’t be that upset if it disappeared on me, although I should probably go out there someday and tear off the manifolds, valve cover, and rocker shaft. Actually, I should probably just scrap it so my aunt doesn’t have to deal with it.
Man, this comment went off the rails.
Rails? Rails? We don’t need no stinkin’ RAILS.
That said, the Craigslist post says “*This is not the “Runabout”.”
I am not enough of a Pinto enthusiast to know why this deserves its own callout, but it may be that your mom had a more desirable car than this guy has.
For what that’s worth.
I don’t know what they sold the Pinto to my uncle for, but $300 comes to mind. Probably would have been $250 for the sedan. 🙂
Maybe they sold more Runabouts than sedans? They’re all pretty uncommon these days. A “Cruising Wagon” would be something.
I went looking for any kind of picture I might have of a Pinto. Ironic, that I get my first SLR in 1971 and can only take pictures of my car. Not the 70 Olds 98, the 68 Satellite wagon, the 74 Capri, the 72 911E, the 74 450SL, or the 74 Audi 100LS. This is all I have catching my brother’s 72 Pinto hatchback in the background. He must have sold it off once he was in the Navy and transferred to Guam for four years in 1976. It was no ordinary 2.0L engine of the day.
I owned a near identical ’73 Pinto base sedan. Almost identical to this one, I’m guess including the interior, but mine was beige on the outside. Same 1.6 motor. If you wanted an automatic, A/C power steering etc you had to opt for the 2.0 motor. Actually this car didn’t need power steering or brakes. The rack and pinion steering was light and pretty quick. Being a base model I’m guessing rubber floormats and an all-vinyl interior as mine had. It served its purpose when I graduated high school and was cheap to run and maintain. The trunk was puny with a mail slot for a lid. A hatchback would be more practical.
I had mine for about 1 1/2 years. During that time, I put on about 20,000 miles on it including a spring break trip to Daytona Beach Florida with 3 of us in that car and drove straight through from Wisconsin and back (we were 18 or 19 years old). Mine had about the same mileage as this one when I sold it, but it was a Wisconsin car its whole life and really rusted apart.