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Historical Footage: Ramming an Impala Into A Ford Pinto For An Explosive Test


Historical Footage: Ramming an Impala Into A Ford Pinto For An Explosive Test

The story of the Ford Pinto should be well-known to you: In the process of trying to meet the “2000 lbs, $2,000 price” guidelines that Lee Iacocca set for the Ford Pinto development program, one key item came up as a cause for concern: the fuel tank was proving to be an extremely weak link in what was shaping up to be an otherwise decent small car. Memorandums circulate, and Ford unwittingly becomes a case study in risk management after it’s determined that it would be cheaper to deal with the lawsuits than it would be to spend $11 per car to fix the issue. Pintos get rear-ended and things get nasty, and Ford ends up recalling all 1971-76 Pintos and 1975-76 Mercury Bobcats to fix the fuel tank. The otherwise decent little car gets a reputation as a pipe bomb with taillights and Ford gets a black eye that takes years to recover from.

This footage shows a test performed where a 1971 Chevrolet Impala sedan is rammed into the back of a 1972 Pinto at 35 miles an hour. Everything goes pretty much as you expect: the heavy Chevy accordions the back end of the Pinto, glass goes flying, fuel starts to pour out the bottom, and in seconds both cars are engulfed in a fuel fire. According to the video’s poster, this fire took 45 seconds to put out.


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6 thoughts on “Historical Footage: Ramming an Impala Into A Ford Pinto For An Explosive Test

  1. Randy H (EcoboostedF100)

    I recognize where this took place. I worked there for a few years long ago . .

    Actually not too far from where I live now.

    Power plants used to move the veh to speed were 2 Ford 390’s hooked to a c-6 auto trans. I was one who serviced them. Along with prepping the vehicles for crash testing.

  2. Scott Liggett

    In case you are wondering why ’71 -76 GM fullsize tanks are gold to Derby drivers, here is proof.

    One thing I have never found out. What was the fix that only cost $11? I am wondering what something that only costs $11 that would keep that Impala from squashing that Pinto’s gas tank like a beer can.

    1. smpstech

      I believe they put essentially a (gasoline resistant) plastic bag inside the tank so that when the steel crumpled up and ultimately split open, the plastic would just keep it from leaking.

  3. Ed

    The recall fix, and the part installed on the later production cars, was a shield that was supposed to protect the fuel tank from being punctured by a part of the chassis just ahead of it which I can’t remember at the moment. I know my 79 had the shield hanging down in front of the tank.

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