Looks can be deceiving. When Ron Ward sent me the link for this 1978 Pinto wagon, I saw baby-blue, primer, some bodywork that was best described as “cringeworthy” and wheels I wouldn’t put on a LeMons racer. Nope, no thank you, moving on. But doing so I would’ve shorted myself one of the more interesting projects that I’ve come across via the vastness of Craigslist.
What you have here is a stout little beast hidden under the veil of ugly. We all know a V8 makes a Pinto into an entertaining ride and in this case, a 1991 vintage 5.0 is running the show. Aluminum Ford Racing heads and a Ford Racing bumpstick make things lively, and the overdrive automatic is still attached, so you could even call it slightly economic. A Mustang II front suspension setup and four-wheel disc brakes compliment the suspension setup, and inside you’ll find a pretty clean interior, modern front buckets and some cage work.
At $5300 it isn’t cheap, but it looks to be well along and if all it needs is some prettying up, then this would be a good score. Finish out the interior, paint it something other than that God-awful Robin’s Egg Blue and go have a blast with it.
SCROLL DOWN TO SEE THE PHOTOS AND THEN HIT THE LINK TO SEE THE CL AD FOR THIS PINTO –
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE EBAY AD FOR THIS PINTO WAGON
wow – can you say: ‘sleeper’ or at least the start of one – I’d lose the wheels…maybe a set of those Magnum 500 style wheels (there was a factory type on these cars, although 4 lug) & some drag radials and a lot of engine up grades (turbo) – would touch the rest of the body – that hood is pretty cool & lots of stuff can be hidden under there 🙂 – wouldn’t touch the interior either
I Wouldn’t touch the rest of the body
There’s nothing wrong with the front that 10 min with a skil saw wouldnt’ fix…namely ditch the air dam and the school bus reflectors it’s festooned with . A nice cowl hood would clean up the front.
A turbo in that big engine compartment would certain provide some additional scoot.
And ditch the wheels… they’re terrible!
Those airdam things are not pretty, but I’d leave it on because until you have driven 1 of these cars with a good powered V8, you have no idea how much it helps at the top end of a run ! Cool little sleeper if the exhaust is quiet. Money maker at night !
Lose the wheels, fix that awful air damn and drive that bitch!
This is a classic http://www.peopleofcraigslist.org