The idea of rolling around in a ten-year-old crossover thanks to your budget issues has to be a low feeling. Nothing says “car guy” quite like a beat-up Toyota RAV4, huh? The only thing that looks worse than that is a bus pass, but what are you going to do when you need fuel economy, cargo room and you want some semblance of reliability? The answer: Ford Pinto. Quit laughing…

Fire jokes aside, the Pinto was still a decent little car, possibly the best effort made by a U.S. manufacturer in the 1970s. Chrysler cheated and imported Mitsubishis. Chevrolet’s H-bodies rusted away with their time-bomb engines waiting to go, and once they fixed those issues, had to deal with the reputation damage. And AMC just chopped the ass off of a Hornet. By contrast, the Pinto seemed to be an honest, complete attempt at an affordable, small car that would work well for the gas-crunched 1970s, and it did. 2.3L of four-banger Ford in a station wagon shape isn’t exactly a street terror, but that wagon shape can carry plenty, and you’re looking at the Pinto all wrong…it’s not a four-seater station wagon. It’s a two-seater with an extended cargo area…because, really: who sits in the back seat of a Pinto willingly without hating themselves?

With just a chip in the grille and typical age wear, this Pinto has managed to pull through the years looking…well, as good as it did leaving the factory. It looks like a bone-stocker. Time to go hunting for parts…a small turbo on the 2.3 will do wonders, and a T-5 should take the place of that automatic. There is a market for unique brown wagons, right? Or do they have to be diesel-powered? Three grand will get you Ford’s little wagon, and the other two thousand dollars of the Rough Start budget can go towards a new grille, at least.

Craigslist Link: 1977 Ford Pinto station wagon