(By Greg Rourke) – I’ve been known to drive long distances for dumb things. Being a Foodie there is often a diner or dive bar as the destination. Recently in search of burgers I drove 30 miles to Paw Paw, Illinois. Obviously I found something other than great burgers. A brace of Ford Pinto Cruising Wagons!
We all know the history of the Pinto. Fords entry into the subcompact world to compete with imports has well documented problems. They were known to burst into flames if something heavier than a shopping cart bumped into the back bumper. They were designed much like the Vega and Gremlin were, just a scaled down version of a bigger car, and bigger cars had the gas tanks behind the rear axle. Right in harms way. It could have just as easily been the Vega that got the reputation of having the back bumper made of flint.
Much like the Vega, the Pinto was available as a coupe with a trunk that was much like a mail slot, a hatchback, and a wagon. However, the Vega was also available as a sedan delivery from the beginning. The guys at Ford must have felt they missed the boat on that one, as well as the van craze being in full swing, so they added the Cruising Wagon option in 1977. Basically just the station wagon with panels added to replace the side windows, complete with a groovy round bubble porthole window. The back seat was retained so the kiddos could get car sick.
So here we have what’s likely the only two Cruising Wagons occupying the same area code. Well, sorta. The gray one is a pre-1977 nose, so either earlier sheetmetal was added at some point, or Cruising Wagon panels were screwed on. I happen to know where there are two NOS Cruising Wagon panels new in the box, if anyone’s interested. And anyone wandering northern Illinois, Two Paws Pub, formerly Poorboys West, has excellent burgers but a stingy pour on cocktails.
Can you say RUSTY
Rusty? More like faint patina for this genre. Rust has been kind to this pair.
lol, I know the guy who owns these,and a few more. the gray one is pretty trick
I live near there. If you can find my yard you will find the largest collection of Clark Cortez motorhomes in the world 🙂
I know this guy. In fact used to live in 2 paws. I also know of 2 places that have other car type collections. Like the VW bug collection and the ‘stang collection. Many people have their own type of collection of whatever.