This sporty 1979 Pinto station wagon is just 46,871 miles from new and would make a great entry level collector car without breaking the bank. With 2 doors, a nice set of styled steel wheels and its compact size this fun little cruiser would show proudly at any local car show and would certainly gain attention driving around town. This pony is listed on Ebay in Easton, Pennsylvania where bidding was at $3,050 early in the auction.
The metallic brown exterior is said to be all original and looks to be in great shape. A ding is reported on the rear hatch but I couldn’t see it in the photos so this looks to be a minor issue. The current owner is the third to own this Pinto and says it has been lovingly maintained throughout its ownership.
There have been plenty of mechanical issues addressed recently with the most prominent being a rebuild of the automatic transmission 1,000 miles ago. There was also a major tune up that included a carburetor rebuild, new plugs wires and distributor cap. There is also a new timing belt, fuel pump, fan belt, anti freeze and hoses. Brake fluid was replaced and the gas filter was replaced as well.
Pintos were much maligned form the start and much if it may have been the public and automotive press hoping for another Mustang which the Pinto wasn’t but they were huge sellers early on and in retrospect it was a good decision for Ford to have the economical Pinto in its fleet when the gas crises hit in 1973. The death knell for the Pinto came when Ford became the subject of lawsuits and bad publicity due to fuel tank fires caused from rear end collisions. 1.5 million Pintos were recalled voluntarily but ultimately the Pinto was found to be no more dangerous than any other compact of the time.
The interior is just as nice as the exterior with no evidence of wear or fade. The radio isn’t currently working but all the other controls are said to work fine.
Our family owned a 1971 Pinto in the 70’s that eventually was given to me as my first car. Okay, so I didn’t keep it for too long as I sold it to a friend so I could buy a ’66 Mustang I had my eye on, but that Pinto was a good car for us. We had some brutal winters where I grew up and when our other cars were sometimes uncooperative in brutal weather, our Pinto always started and ran!
Nice to see a Pinto Station Wagon in good condition. I hope the new owner will properly care for it and preserve it for the future. Wish I still had my 71 Pinto Runabout that I am told was the lowest production model for Pinto. It had the 2000cc engine, automatic, and factory A/C. It was a metallic brown color. I still have the original gas cap painted in this color.
I have one just like it. Just did the major engine overhall.