The history of the Ford Pinto has been told often enough that we don’t need to rehash it here. Yes, it’s true the pint-sized Pinto was conceived when Lee Iacocca ordered Ford designers to build a subcompact car that weighed less than 2,000 lbs. and cost less than $2,000. That was when Japanese cars were being recognized as a serious threat to the American car market, but before the first oil embargo. And it is true the car’s fuel tanks were poorly placed and were vulnerable to rupture in a car crash (but did not explode nearly as often as people think).
What is also true is that the car presented here is an unusually well-preserved example of a 1970s subcompact American hatchback. And it gets as much attention at car shows and cruise nights as any 1960s muscle car resto-mod with an agreed-upon insurance value equal to that of a nice two-bedroom house.
Jim Longworth, of Farmington, Conn., was looking for something different after selling his Corvette. Mission accomplished! With just about 39,000 original miles and as-built from the factory, his Polar White 1978 Pinto three-door Runabout was hard to resist. The only things not original to the car are the Styled Steel Wheels and raised-white-letter radial tires, which were factory options in 1978. The car was delivered to Archbold Sales-Service in Archbold, Ohio, with full wheel covers and 13-inch bias-ply whitewall tires instead. The window sticker shows an MSRP of $4,442.00, so it was not loyal to the price target Mr. Iacocca had in mind, but still a very low new-car price equal to $20,750 in today’s dollars.
Longworth’s Pinto has a middling number of options, including the SelectShift Automatic Transmission, dual sport mirrors, power steering, the interior décor group (which included the faux wood shifter housing) and the gorgeous Accent Tape Stripe. The Runabouts were notable for having the standard pneumatic-assisted all-glass third door for convenient access to the rear storage area. The 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine still runs great.
Although the exterior of the car is stunning and remarkably clean, the highlight of this little automobile is the interior, which features Ruffino vinyl low-back bucket seats in the very bright and cheerful Tangerine color (only available with Polar White or Tangerine cars, according to Ford’s dealer fact book). The cozy-looking rear seats fold down to provide additional storage.
Almost 189,000 Pintos were manufactured for the 1978 model year, a very large number considering it was in its eighth year of production with only minor changes. Since Pintos and other subcompact cars were usually purchased by people who put on a lot of miles or were of restricted financial means, many Pintos were used to their last drop and discarded, making Longworth’s survivor a true rarity.
Love Pintos? Here are a few more articles for your reading enjoyment.
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