1975 Ford Pinto Squire Wagon 2.3 from North America
Summary:
Overdramatized and underrated
Faults:
Well worn to start with.
Never able to get even a new carb to work properly.
General Comments:
My uncle acquired this car to use for his painting/handyman business in the early 80s. It was classic Ford-70s green with wood grain sides. It stood out from the pack due to a set of Cragar SS four spoke mags. I worked for my uncle occasionally in college and blew the motor one afternoon because I rapped it up too tight coming out of a curve. It got rebuilt, and some how or another my dad ended up with it a couple of years later. He drove it for a year or so till the clutch went out. The transmission in my Volvo was going south for the second time, and the Pinto was cheaper to fix. Of course, I drove it around for a little while with the bad clutch - my uncle had taught me how to drive a stick without touching to clutch pedal much. Anyway, the shop that replaced the clutch informed me they had never seen Chevy and Dodge parts made to work in a Pinto clutch assembly... I drove the Pinto on an extended road trip into the south to fulfill a military obligation. During that time, I had to replace the oil pan due to my ignoring the speed limit going into the officer's club parking lot, and the worn out front suspension let the oil pan bounce against a speed bump. On the trip home I had to replace the timing belt. I got a lot of razzing about my ride, but mostly from those who didn't have cars with them, which quickly ended when I suggested they could walk.
Despite all the bad raps the Pinto has gotten, that little car did me well. It didn't do great on gas because I could never get the carb to work right, even when replacing it with a new one. It had a top speed of 80 mph, and the performance was so unspectacular I never got noticed by police. And when the temperature dropped below zero, it always managed to start.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 26th July, 2015