Text by Patrick Bell.
Fifty-five years ago today the Pinto galloped into the world as Ford’s domestic entry into the subcompact market. In its decade of production, over 3.1 million units rolled out of the factories. Initially the Sedan was the only offering, but later in the year the 3-Door Runabout arrived and the Wagon debuted in ’72. Sales by body style were pretty even over the full production, with the Sedan at 36.3%, Runabout 32.6%, and the Wagon at 31.0%.
Opinions and experiences were quite varied over the years, and today we have a good gallery that is bound to stir some memories, so let’s take a look.
The first one we have seen before, but it is still a worthy addition for today. A young lady was posing with a bouquet of flowers and a ’71 or ’72 3-Door Runabout with the Luxury Decor Group. The car was likely close to new going by the photo date, and perhaps was a gift as well.
Here was a couple displaying the fashions of the 70s, and posing with the Simi Valley welcome sign and a ’71-’73 model with a special issue California license plate. The number (WA6KYP) was not the usual three number and three letter sequence. Perhaps it was an amateur radio operator plate.
Now we have a smiling lady with presumably her ’74 or ’75 3-Door Runabout. The options are hard to decipher using the sales brochures as a standard. It had a vinyl roof along with chrome side window moldings, which were only available as part of different option groups. The same goes for the color keyed wheel covers, which were part of the Sports Accent Group in ’74, which this car does not have. I also see some primer overspray on the front tire, and perhaps paint overspray on the rear, so this may have been someone’s minor custom job.
This man was in the process of throwing a snowball with a light snowfall coming down. Behind him was a ’72 or ’73 Wagon with the Squire Option Group and a luggage rack. And it was missing a door molding.
Per a search this was the photographer’s first car and his sister was posing with it. It was a ’72 Sedan, and was equipped with a vinyl roof, automatic transmission, air conditioning, and obviously was from New Jersey. As the young lady was pointing out, it was wearing a Pistilli Ford dealer decal, which was located in Paramus.
Henry Ford’s type of car, a basic Sedan in basic black. It was ’74-’76 model that had some aftermarket dress up including a half vinyl roof, body side molding, stripes, wheels and tires. And judging from the antenna style the radio was aftermarket as well.
And here was another basic Sedan, this one in basic white also with an aftermarket half vinyl roof. Per a search it was a ’76 model, and was this young man’s first car. The photo date was Christmas Day, 1976, and the location was the Dallas, Texas area.
This one looked brand new, with a buyer’s tag in the windshield. It was a ’74 or ’75 3-Door Runabout, and it was basic as well. The only options I see were a radio, and body side moldings that likely were aftermarket. But that bright red finish sure brightened it up. Perhaps it was the young lady’s new car. Behind it in the driveway may have been a ’74 Chevrolet Impala.
A Pinto was not often the canvas for customizing, but this one looked like a quality job. The ’74 or ’75 Wagon was well equipped from the factory with the Luxury Decor Group, luggage rack, tinted glass, Mirror Group, and Deluxe Bumper Group. And then customized with paint and wheels.
Another bright red one that started out as a ’76 3-Door Runabout and has some added touches. This image shows the redesigned grille and park lamps that were used for this year only. There appears to be an antenna on the roof, along with pinstripes, body side moldings, and mudguards that were all aftermarket. The headlamp trim and grille were blacked out, and the wire wheel covers were added as they weren’t available as a factory option until ’77, at least as far as I can tell. It also had an Ohio license plate, and the young man seemed proud of his clean and shiny car.
A Colorado license plate and likely location, going by the mountain range in the background, and a school across the street. A search reveals this was a ’77 3-Door Runabout model, and it was equipped with dual sport mirrors, body side molding, two tone paint, and Styled Steel Wheels. You can see the new headlight trim, grille, and parklamps that were also used in ’78.
We are now in Shawnee on Delaware, Pennsylvania, at a small vacation area in October of ’82. A blue ’74 Wagon with the Accent Group and a New York license plate was in the center, with another New Yorker to its right, a ’76-’78 Ford Mustang II Hardtop. To its left was an ’82 or ’83 Buick Skyhawk sedan, possibly from Vermont, and directly in front of it was a ’78-’80 Pontiac Grand Prix.
A lady was strutting for the camera with a ’74-’76 Sedan in the background. It appeared to have a good start on the rust process.
And here is another view of the ’77 3-Door Runabout from Colorado. The image label states they were “somewhere in New Mexico in 1978”. It was equipped with the “All-Glass Third Door”, which was a bit of a misnomer, as it was mostly glass with a strip along the bottom edge that was body color. Plus you can see the new tail light design in this view.
Thanks for joining us and have a great day!
Drove a ’72 wagon, dark green, as a commuter car in the late ’70s, a fun, cheap and dependable car until it got hit hard in the rear by an 18 yr old driver who was paying more attention to his girlfriend than to the road. I bent the rear wheel opening sheet metal off the tires and drove it 30 miles home, but the hit even creased the roof all the way across in the middle of the top of the car, and it was totaled. Oh, and the wagon’s gas tank was different than the sedans and didn’t tend to blow up, thankfully
Lots of cuties driving these things!
These were everywhere, new or used, as someone’s “first car.” Maintenance was simple, and if decently attended to, one could roll up lots of miles with not much gas. Interesting to see that Wagon sales were 30%+–they could haul a lot of stuff.
The bell-bottoms remind me that that fashion is back, and I see several young women nowadays who could be dropped right into these 1970s photos (with their grandmothers) without us even knowing.
Great “of its time” collection—-thanks!
These could be considered ‘hair shirts’, they went mostly under my radar when new in the early 1970’s .
Eventually I rode in and drove a few and noticed many high mileage units (135,000 + miles, one clutch etc.) still going string .
The white belt and shoes makes me smile, they’re a cyclical thing, my late stepfather Lawrence kept his from 1947 when he first married and used them again when he married mom in the very late 1960’s .
The special Cal. license tag is a ham radio number .
I hadn’t remembered all these colors .
-Nate
My aunt had a Pinto in the early 70’s. I named my first dog “Pinto” after her car.
Some nice-looking people in these photos; too bad about the Pintos… 🙂
Guy with the white tie has one of the most ridiculous outfits I’ve seen in awhile.
Nice custom paint on the green wagon; similar in style to the custom vans popular at the time.
I don’t remember many Pintos having vinyl roofs or custom wheels as seen here. They were cheap, basic transportation.
I don’t remember so many Pintos having vinyl roofs!
They weren’t super-common on new Pintos: even in 1973, which was basically Peak Vinyl, only 9.2 percent of buyers ordered them new, although some of these are obviously cheap aftermarket add-ons.
Always interesting to see vintage cars in the context of their time, and how they fit into society and style; that black one looks particularly nice.
The Pinto carries a big stigma with it (perhaps excessively so), but it does seem a solid choice as a cheap car that any mechanic could work on, adequate interior space, and decent – for the time – performance
When my brother turned sixteen, in October 1972, he got a new 1972 Pinto runabout 4 spd. For some reason he got a new car while I got the 18 month older car and was paying my father for it. Of course my brother ended up not being very good with his money vs. expenses like me. That reminds me that my sister got her new 74 Capri free and clear. My mother then got a 74 Pinto wagon with an automatic and I can say, without a doubt, that car was a dog going in and out at the dealer.
Anyway my brother was a budding mechanic and could remove the Pinto engine himself and did. It wasn’t long before he started to work on the 2.0 to wring more power out of it. The engine eventually ended up at a 11.0:1 compression by 1973. Scary fast was that car on what was it’s standard suspension. I was nervous riding in that car at 60-70 mph along Highway 12 in the Sacramento Delta. When he joined the Navy in 1975, to work on jets, him and the car disappeared with the car never coming back six years later. Of course the car couldn’t go to Guam. You can see the only shot of it below on the street in dark green.
I know this is a Pinto discussion, but I dig that Cougar. (With the shackles).
While I’ve used shackles before, I did not like the look of the “extra” unused holes beyond the chosen height. Personally, If I didn’t use the full length, I’d cut off the excess metal. (Then again, I’ve always used the full length).
Shackles and Air shocks. What a time to be alive. (1980’s, obviously) 😉
I think the “all-glass 3rd door” is pretty much a straight crib from a Volvo 1800ES, but that one was indeed all glass.
The Pinto one was all glass. The plastic filler panel is attached to the body. A big reason for the switch was because it was lighter.
That young lady from New Jersey looks mighty wholesome and capable: “And look, I made this dress and assembled this entire Pinto as a 4H project.”
There’s a photo of Jim Grey in front of his Pinto somewhere on CC I believe. The Pinto gets a lot of hate, or at least a lot of meh but they were decent cars for the time.
She looks like she’s showcasing it as a prize on Let’s Make a Deal. She has the Lovely Carol Merrill gesture down quite well.
Somehow though, I don’t think they ever gave away a Pinto on Let’s Make a Deal. Most contestants would probably have rather taken the Living Room Set by Broyhill.
My first car was a 1973 Pinto 2.0L hatchback. Brown w/white vinyl top. 4spd trans. Wish I had it today. In just a year and a half put on 35k miles with only a timing belt and coil replacement. Fun to drive!
In my post-college 2 year run of cheap rides (’79-’81), a neighbor sold me his very well used ’73 Pinto sedan for $50. It lasted me 4-5 months, which was a decent return on initial investment. It wasn’t the most fun drive, but it did its job in getting me around….
I miss all the color of that era. I’d like to see something besides varying shades of gray cars and home interiors again.
Until the gas tank issue hit the news, Ivnever recall jokes nor anyone putting down the Pinto But no praise either like most Fords back then. Maybe it was just the bucket seats, the Pinto wasn’t quite as bland and primitive as a Maverick to me. And it did have a OHC.engine but wasn’t known for performance.
Somehow, that black 74-76 black sedan has an echo, more than a hint of Leyland Princess/Austin-Morris 18-22 in it.
Yes, the BL car was unambiguously wedge and the softer window shapes on the Pinto are a variation but there’s something there.
I bought a used 1975 Pinto when I was stationed at Myrtle Beach AFB, SC. I had them add dash mounted a/c. I was white and a plain interior and a floor shift. It was just to tide me over for 3 month until I was sent to Turkey. I sold my new Cordoba fairly quickly and needed a car. I drove that Pinto from SC to JFK to pick up a friend, spend the night in NJ and drove it all the way to Spartanburg, SC. Just before I had to leave for Turkey, I drove it to Massachusetts to see some relatives, where I had to have the water pump replaced. My second Cousin bought it and drove it for 3 more years while attending medical school in Worchester. Seemingly it got him through school. It was a workhorse.
Just figured I’d add one here from my own collection of random photos – circa 1980 in Fairfax, Virginia:
Hey, is that a Dart Drugs at the far right? (somehow I’m pretty sure I recognize that plaza)
Yes – that’s Dart Drug! The plaza has gone through lots of names, but at the time was boringly called the Fairfax Mall… even though it wasn’t a real mall. Chesapeake Bay Seafood House was the most well-known tenant – it’s located in the center of this photo.
That part of the shopping center was torn down sometime in the 1990s – a supermarket is on the site now.
I used to loooooooove Chesapeake Bay Seafood House (we went to the one in Bethesda). It was my family’s go-to go out to dinner place.
This one’s for you – Same location, but about 10 years later:
People look back on the Pinto, and mostly down, in light of the “exploding” gas tanks. The truth is, it was something fresh when it appeared – more sophisticated and better to drive than the Falcon. So it was well-received, and actually a decent car for a lot of people. Then the gas tank fiasco took off, and that’s all people remember it for. That was bad, but not as bad as it’s made out to be (at least not in light of the safety – or lack thereof – of anything similar), and while it was very outclassed by the time it was retired, it seems to have been a solid choice when it first appeared. Finally, with the 2.0, pre-emission engine, four-speed, and disk brakes a ’71 could almost be considered sporty – would probably give the bloated ’71 Mustang a run for its money if it were twisty enough.
Mine had the 2.3. It would accelerate to 40 briskly (for the time) without me sinking my foot into the gas. It was low, and the driving position was odd as it felt like your legs were straight out to reach the pedals. And the steering wheel was large given it was manual steering. And its manual brakes meant sudden stops required both feet. But even in the mid 80s when I had one, it was a viable choice for an inexpensive getaround car.
Here’s my Pinto snapshot from 1986. This was a 75 I think. I loved this stupid car beyond all reason, even though its reverse gear was stripped and after a long trip it always dumped whatever was in the radiator straight onto the ground.
Love that first shot, especially how her dress is color coordinated with the car.
The all glass hatch was really all glass with just 6 holes in it. 2 for the plastic handle and 2 each for the hinges. The plastic piece you see was a filler panel that was bolted to the body via some studs.
I find the model mix numbers a little suspect. Of course in the 1st year they were mostly sedans, but at least around here you did not see more sedans than runabouts, it was probably 3 or 4 Runabouts to every sedan. Wagons were also more common than the sedans. My brother did have a 1980 sedan and I had a 1971 that was purchased as a parts car (for the 3.55 axle) since the owner had brought it to our area from the rust belt.
You’ll notice most of them do have the body side molding, either the factory or aftermarket as seen on red one with the wire wheel covers. It really was a must have as that deep curve in the body side made them very susceptible to door dings in parking lots. Of course it also added a little bit to the bottom line for dealer, but it was one case where it was also good for the buyer.
A hand-me-down 73 Runabout with the 2.0 and 4sp was my first car and the first of several Pintos, and one Bobcat, I had over the years. My brother had two over the years. I do even still have a few Pinto parts lying around including a MII V-8 oil pan and mounts in case I ever want to build another V8 Pinto.
Yes they did end up being the butt of many jokes, but the fact is they were good, economical cars that had some of the highest owner loyalty. This final year ad is one of my favorites. https://www.ebay.com/itm/115820621299
As far as the gas tank goes I saw an article back in the day where they actually compared the statistics for fires in vehicles in sub-compact class cars that were rear ended. I don’t remember all the contemporary cars that were included but I do remember the least likely to catch fire was the Datsun B-210 sedan, which made sense because it’s gas tank was mounted above the rear axle, right behind the seat back. The worst was the Honda Civic while the Pinto was right in the middle of the pack or about average for the class.
There’s a 1974 Pinto for sale near me for $32,500. Auto, AC, 50k miles. Looks great but I can’t stomach paying 32.5 for a Pinto, especially with big bumpers. That’s close to double the MSRP adjusted for inflation.
My first car was a 1972 Pinto Runabout in Butterscotch gold. Total stripper, didn’t have carpet if my old memory serves me right. Rusted away before my eyes. Had the 1.6L kent and four speed, was an awesome 1st car. I have nothing but good memories of Pinto’s. Everyone I knew had one, or two, or three in the family. Damm few got rear ended and blew up. Let’s talk about the beloved 65 Mustangs having a trunk floor made from the top of the gas tank, and don’t forget the side-saddle gas tank on the square body Chevy trucks, which more folks got burnt in than Pinto’s!. Then, and only then, will I listen to a Pinto blowing up if it gets its butt touched joke…maybe, just maybe. Ford sold nearly 3 million of these things. I would love to have a 79 Pinto Rallye wagon with its sporty bubble windows on the sides, in emerald green like the brochure!
PS, I found the latest versions with the all glass hatch to be fetching. If that’s weird, I don’t care
My first car was a 63 comet convertible given to me by my brother upon his entry into the marines.. I wanted a sport car and got a 69 sprite, but at 6ft 2in did not fit me well.. In 1971 I bought a new metallic forest green with black vinyl top 4 speed car.. Was a capable cool little car for a period. My girlfriend at the time had a red automatic pinto. Moved that one along and got a used 70 mgb roadster. Couple of guys at work had pintos souped up with cragar Chrome mags.. they were always running late for work and would cruise along I84 Highway at 80 and 90 miles an hour with theirs…